BACK TO THE INDEX. Volume:16 "The First Wiik" -By Harold "Hbomb" Price- -Originally published on 11/27/2006.- -Posted 04/20/2007-

Well, my brand new Nintendo Wii arrived on Tuesday afternoon. It took me awhile to get it set up, between figuring out some of the pieces, dealing with the excitement of my cousins Sami and CJ, and trying to establish an internet connection. The first thing I did, once I got everything established, was to create my Mii. Then it was time for Wii Sports. Sami was my first opponent as we took on Bowling and Baseball. Bowling came natural to me, moreso than actual bowling, where my average is approximately equal to my waist size. After Wii Sports, Sami wanted to play Sonic Adventure 2 Battle. Yeah, I know. I have got a new system, and the kid wants to play a Cube game. So, I put in Sonic. Personally, I did not notice much of a difference. After dinner, it was CJ's turn for some Wii Sports, so we gave Boxing and Tennis a try. Nintendo, if you are listening, a Punch-Out remake would be cool. As for Tennis, I can not seem to do much besides serve, which was all I seemed to need against CJ. I did struggle a bit later against the CPU. Finally, I tried the Golf portion of Wii Sports. I gave up after the first hole. Then, I moved on to the WiiStore and bought Bonk's Adventure with my WiiPoints. Bonk is a solid sidescroller. I still have yet to make it past the first level. Finally, I put in Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2. I still had the Cube controllers plugged in from Sonic, so I played with that controller instead of the Wiimote. I played with the Wiimote and Nunchuk the next day, and I think I prefer the Cube controller for that game. Wednesday, I got in a little DBZ and Bonk before work. When I got home, Trauma Center: Second Opinion was waiting for me. I tried it. The Wiimote definitely handles differently than the DS's touch screen and stylus. I did not get too far before moving on. I plugged in an SD card and tested out the Photo channel. Sami and CJ loved playing with my pictures. Next was another Virtual Console game- SimCity. I never owned it for SNES, but my sister once borrowed it from a friend, and then my dad got the PC version. If Nintendo and EA ever release a Wii version of SimCity, the commercials need to feature the song "We Built This City"... or should I say "Wii Built This City". Thursday was Thanksgiving. Not much new, but my sister and brother-in-law came over for breakfast. My sister was definitely impressed and amazed by the unique controls. Sami and CJ still are enjoying scribbling on photos. Friday, I decided to download another Virtual Console title- Solomon's Key. It is tough. I can not get past the first stage. Doing a little better on some of the other games, like Bonk's Adventure where I have gotten to Level 2-4. Also gotten a little further on Trauma Center. About as far as I got on the DS game, which is like 1-5. I also found out that Zelda shipped. Still no word on ExciteTruck. I also sent out a message to Imakuni?Neo (of "World Domination" fame). I also picked up what Best Buy referred to as a "launch kit", containing a Wii hat, a system organizer, 2 Wiimote sleeves and wrist straps (have not used the straps- prefer the factory ones), a year of GamePro and a trial subscription to GameFly (expect a future column about GameFly). Saturday, same old, same old. Improving my stats on WiiSports and improving my SimCity. GameFly shipped my first 2 games- Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz and Super Mario Strikers. Oh, and non-Wii related, my USF Bulls beat #7 West Virginia on the road 24-19. Go Bulls! Sunday means football. However, I did get some Wii in. Finally heard back from Neo. More SimCity. I actually left it on trying to accumulate money, and I left it on for longer than I intended. When I got back, about 25 Sim years had elapsed, and I had a good deal of money to work with. That is about it on my first week with Wii. I am still waiting on the arrival of Zelda and Excite Truck, as well as my rental of Super Monkey Ball, but I have enjoyed everything so far, and I am looking forward to what Wii will bring (especially Super Smash Bros. Brawl). Hbomb's Wii Friend Code is 8072 6075 3958 0678 -Hbomb is approved for your consumption- -Property of dmgice.com-