Got some new games for the Wii

Wow, another weekend has come and gone :(

Still enjoying the Wii and yes, I am still working on more review details, but I just haven't had the time to finish yet. Yesterday, I traded in some Xbox 360 games that just hadn't done it for me and picked up the following Wii titles:

Excite Truck
Super Paper Mario
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

I also took the Wii over to our friend's Matt & Chrissy's house and he and I spent some time with Wii Sports and Excite Truck. Just like man video games, you really need more than 1 person to truly enjoy it as much as possible.

I've also spent some time with Super Paper Mario and it is fun and has some neat tricks, but wow is the dialogue in the game HORRIBLE. It is B-grade at best :)

Initial Impressions of the Wii

My first few days were without internet access, so I didn't initially get to try that out (and once I did I discovered it isn't what I expected, but more on that later).

First off ... the hardware:

• Beautifully designed. My favorite of all the current consoles.
• The feel of the Wii Remote is good. It isn't too heavy, but is generally very comfortable.
• The Nunchuk controller is similar, but is rather more simplistic. Still, it feels natural to use.
• The range of the Sensor Bar to detect pointing directions from the Wii Remote is somewhat problematic for me right now. I can't find any position that allows me to stand or sit and play without moving the sensor bar, but I think this may be solvable.
• I really wish the console came with video cables better than plain old composite. Honestly, in this day and age, S-Video or more likely, Component really needs to come in box.
• Video generally looks good (given SD expectations), but I haven't tried hooking it up to my HDTV and likely won't until I get my hands on a Component cable.
• Seems I can save just about anything to good 'old SD flash. Nice change from other vendors.
  

Now for the software:

• I started with only Wii Sport. This game is a lot of fun, if not a bit repetitive. My favorite mini-games so far are Golf and Boxing.
• I rather quickly went out and picked up Wii Play bundled with a second Wii Remote. This game is a bargain bin collection at best. It isn't nearly as good as the Sport disc, but you only pay a $10 premium over a Wii Remote on its own, so the value isn't too bad. The Cow riding and fishing are fun. I have yet to get comfortable playing Billiards.
• I think games that demand physical action (sports, etc.) will work beautifully. I'm not sure the novelty won't fade on other titles, but we'll see.
  
• I rented SSX Blur and Elebits last night. Both seem fun, but I haven't really dug into them much yet.

More coming this week:

• Internet Connectivity
• Virtual Console
• More in-depth discussion on the listed game titles