Nintendo's latest gaming system a BIG HIT

One of my earliest memories is looking for fun on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Seeking guidance, I went up to the master of fun and said, "Daddy, what's the funnest thing in the whole wide world?" Without hesitation he said "sex," and walked away. \nWell, he was right, but if you were to ask me the funnest video game in the whole wide world, I wouldn't have to hesitate either. I would hand you a Wii-mote and say "Wii Sports." Let's bowl and then maybe some home-run derby and a boxing match. \nWii sports may not have the HD capabilities or game play of the other two big systems, but it brings out your inner child and makes you stand up and say wheee! When my friend executed a perfect stiff arm in Madden just by moving his arm to the side, our living room erupted in applause. When the most un-athletic kid you know gets his first turkey in Wii bowling and is beaming from ear-to-ear, you realize there's just something special about the true next-generation system.\nWhen you're boxing, the sensor bar reads your head and arm movements, but most controls come from the wireless Wii-mote. The TV remote-control-sized controller is kind of like how Garth described a new pair of underwear in Wayne's World: "At first, it's constrictive, but after awhile it becomes a part of you." Most games use just one Wii-mote, but boxing, "Zelda" and "Madden" require a nunchuck controller for a full range of motions. It's your baseball bat, tennis racket, golf club and becomes a part of you as it transforms into your arms for pitching, boxing and bowling. \nThe sports you're treated to are, in my order of favorites: bowling, boxing, tennis, baseball and golf. It's kind of a sampler platter of sports games that are largely ignored in the sports video game world. You get three innings of baseball, nine holes of golf spread across three courses, and unlimited boxing and tennis competitors.\nWii bowling is like crack. For a couple weeks I was so obsessed with getting a perfect 300 in bowling, my 3 a.m. bedtime was pushed back until closer to 5 as I kept saying, OK just one more game. (I've twice started with 10 strikes, but can't crack 289 as of publication.) \nThe regular games are fun, but the thing about the Wii that keeps me up late at night is the training mini-games and Wii fitness. Three for each game gives you 15 opportunities to earn medals for your records. Throughout my childhood I would head to the park with a couple friends and play home run derby on the kickball field. It was fun, but hitting 600 foot home runs that actually leave the park is as satisfying a feeling you can have with your clothes on. The bowling power throw mini-game is another stand out. You start with 10 pins and add a row until you're throwing at 91 pins that fall like dominoes with cherry bombs on them. \nFor Wii-fitness you're given three random mini-games to play and they calculate your age based on your scores on the games. I guess I'm over the hill at 22, because the Wii says the optimal fitness age is 20.\nMuch like sex, Wii Sports is much more fun when more than once person is involved. As the late, great Mitch Hedberg once put it, "Whee!" That's what you say when you're having fun. You refer to yourself and some other people. With three or four people it can get crowded with everyone swinging their stick around, but Wii Sports is made for a orgiastic gaming experience. Boxing is fun against the computer, but raising your arms up and having your character taunt your friend's Wii lying on the ground is much more rewarding.\nYou can't get sex for $249, but you can get a Wii fully equipped with Wii Sports. On second thought, OK you probably can get sex for that much, but that sex will be a one-time thing and you can't get herpes from the Wii.