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Bioshock 2

The first gameplay footage looks very cool.  I love the scene with the water rushing in:

Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings

The trailer for this new Wii game is more entertaining than the last film:

I'll definitely be picking this up when it comes out.

-Otis

REALLY Super Mario Bros.

The Wii Scream

Snoopy Flying Ace

Coming in 2010:

As soon as I saw this, I immediately became 5 years old again, spinning this 45:

Speaking of Peanuts, you can now view the last 50 years of the strip for free online.

And you should.

-Otis

BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams Trailer

This Is My Brain On Wii

Any questions?

-Otis

We Got Wii!

Leigh and I stayed up all night on Saturday, waiting in a line at a local Target and got two Wiis (one for eBay), three games, an extra Wiimote/Nunchuck, a classic style  controller and a Wii Points card!  It was a lot of fun waiting with all of the other Nintendo fans.  And Target did an amazing job of keeping things organized once the doors opened.  There was no shouting, no shoving, no mayhem or robberies . . . just hopeful gamers having a great time.  It was definitely worth a night in the cold.

I saw it written somewhere else, and it's true;  the only true next-Gen console out there is the Nintendo Wii. I love my XBox 360, but playing the Wii is a completely new and unique gaming experience.

The first game that I played after setting up the system around 10am Sunday morning, Tennis on Wii Sports (which comes free with the Wii system), is the most fun I've had playing a new game since Mario 64 in 1996. I ended up playing Tennis for over an hour, forgetting completely that I had other games to try.  It's that much fun.  Especially if you stand up and really get into the tennis-style movements.  After hours playing the game, my arm is actually sore.  The other Wii Sports games on the disc (Golf, Bowling, Baseball and Boxing) are all fun and will be great for parties, but Tennis is my favorite game on the Wii, hands down.

The other games we got were The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Call of Duty 3, and Excite Truck.

Zelda is interesting, but doesn't take advantage of the new controls enough and feels like a game that could exist on the Gamecube, IMHO.

Call of Duty 3 suffers from limited graphics (compared to the XBox 360 version) and awful controls.  This is a game that needs a classic-style controller to work.  After playing Call of Duty 2 on my XBox 360, with it's beautiful graphics and superb controls, this was a big disappointment.  I played for about 10 minutes and traded in the game at Gamestop the next day.  I fear that the Wii is simply not made for first person shooters, but time will tell.

Of the three purchased games, only Excite Truck truly takes advantage of the new controls and offers something unique to the Wii.  You hold the "Wiimote"  sideways like a steering wheel to drive and it's the first racing game that I've actually enjoyed.  Along with Tennis, it's the game that I've come back to the most and definitely has potential for constant replay.

Other great features include the Mii Channel (where you create a little avatar of yourself to use in Mii games), the free internet channels with Wi-Fi and the Virtual Console games that you can download from the Shopping Channel.

The only disappointment at this stage is no new Mario game at launch and the lack of online gaming, both of which I understand will be coming in 2007.  Other than those minor nits, the Wii was definitely worth the wait.  It may not be able to compete in the graphics departent with the XBox or PS3, but it offers a unique gaming experience that no other console can give you.

It was definitely worth a night in the cold.

-Otis (and Leigh)