Nintendo Wii

I remember the Nintendo Wii first being released, several years ago. It was just coming up to Christmas time, and like many people I’m sure, decided this would be the ideal gift for my children. We could not get hold of one prior to Xmas for love nor money, so eventually gave up and managed to get hold of one towards the end of January. People were raving about them, and rightly so – the Nintendo Wii was worth the wait.

This was the first piece of gaming equipment that came into our household, not because of any moral high-ground, it had just never interested me. I was very sporty at the time, and the last thing I wanted the kids to be doing was spending even more time with their eyes glued to the TV screen, but the Wii allows the player the best of both worlds. The controllers are completely wireless, using an infra-red technology, so as long as they are pointing in the direction of the detector it allows, and in fact encourages the player to move around rather than remain routed to the spot. Many of the games available for this device are sporting or dancing games where the purpose of the game is to move around the room to accumulate points. A game of tennis for example, or a game on the ‘Wii Dance’ is a shattering workout, and leaves the player gasping for breath and dripping with sweat!

It is ideal for adults and children alike, providing a fantastic form of fitness and entertainment alike. Many games are multi player and extra remotes can easily be added so the family can play and compete at a game. Players can just as easily ‘drop out’ to leave the remaining contestants, so if you need to go and make the kids tea, this is not a problem. All sorts of extras can also be purchased to make the gaming experience feel more authentic: tennis rackets, golf clubs, steering wheels, guns and even light-sabres. Add an extra element of excitement. The Nintendo Wii can also be used for an ideal source of exercise for anyone who is either housebound, gym-phobics or, like myself, works from home and has a sneaky half hour workout!

The machine is smart looking, and is really simple to set up – it just requires plugging in, following a couple of on-screen instructions, and away you go. The unit makes a slight humming noise when the power is on. This is not audible when actually playing a game, just when the room is in silence; it serves as a reminder to switch the machine off though!

The picture quality is good, but the only possible negative is the lack of preciseness. It suits our gaming habits fine, but I can imagine for the slightly more technical games requiring fast finger movements, the fact that the control is not directly attached to the unit may cause a slight problem with fast/precise movements. O certain games such as shooting a target, a steady hand is required for an accurate hot, though developing this skill is half the fun.

As I said, we have had our Nintendo Wii for a number of years and have never had a problem with it at all, and it is still popular with everyone in the household. Our Wii alone cost about £140, but I believe there are all sorts of bundle deals available now which are well worth thinking about as they often include a popular/current game which works out far cheaper than buying it separately.

A highly recommended product for everyone