Nintendo Wii: First Thoughts

I received my Nintendo Wii for Xmas just a few days ago and I must say that I am extremely pleased with it. The game included with the Wii is Sports, which features Tennis, Golf, Bowling, Baseball & Boxing. I've been playing Tennis for the most part, which, while simple and easy to get into, takes time to master. The Wii remote is great fun to use, and due to the vibrations felt when making contact with the ball, gives the sensation of actually swinging at a tennis ball. That said, it is difficult to put the ball exactly where you want.

The Wii was easy to connect to my wireless internet set up and thereafter download a trial edition of the Opera web browser. Browsing the internet through the Wii is not as enjoyable or easy as on a PC, but it's a convenient tool for quickly checking up on something not worth switching the PC on for.

Part of the reason I bought the Wii was to make use of the Virtual Console, which allows you to download and play selected games from the NES, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Megadrive and TurboGrafx systems. The current number of games available is in the tens, but will be added to over the coming months. The games cost a few pounds each, depending on platform (as far as I can tell), but always under £10 (GBP). I downloaded Sonic The Hedgehog, the classic Megadrive side-scroller. It plays exactly as I remember the original, having no enhancements. In the last couple of days I've been playing this more than Sports, enjoying the simple platform adventure format I grew up with.

The Wii makes a great addition to the entertainment rig at my house, and being a small machine, easily fits in the television cabinet. That's all for now; I'll be adding to these first thoughts in a few weeks, hopefully with nothing but praise for the Wii!