Broken Frontier

It seems like a new video game console comes out every year. The past couple years have been a fiasco for gamers. The big three contenders, Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo, all unleashed their next gen systems on the world. Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and the Wii are part of the seventh generation of console systems and are by far the best thing since sliced bread.

Since I have my finger on the pulse of the video game industry, it was only a matter of time until I got my hands on one of the new systems. But which was it going to be?

I have a personal vendetta against Microsoft so it wasn’t going to be Xbox. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a powerful system, and I use lots of Microsoft stuff (hell, this column is being typed up in Word), but I think the world could benefit from giving a little less money to Bill Gates and his cronies.

My personal pick of the three was the PlayStation 3. I’ve had the last two PlayStations and played them for hours. But the price is a bit much. I can’t scrounge together $600 for anything, much less a video game console. But the fact that it also feature a Blu-ray player is very appealing. I have a high definition television and I’d love to get the most out of watching movies on it. But I’m reluctant once again because we still don’t know if HD DVD or Blu-ray is going to come out on top during the format war. Too much of a gamble for me…

Then there’s the Wii. Nintendo is quite a trooper. Their latest effort includes backwards compatibility, free internet access, and handy wireless controllers. But it doesn’t boast the High Definition features the other system do. Will this system give Nintendo the attention they need and deserve? Well, I bought a Wii and I’m here to say "HELL YES!"

My fiancée and I picked up a Wii at a wholesale club last week for $329. It came with an extra controller, Zelda, and like every new Wii, a copy of Wii Sports. Since we hooked it up to the TV I think I’ve used it everyday. One option is to make your own character, called a Mii. Once you’ve created some Miis you can connect with other Wii owning friends and send them to their console using Wii’s internet connection. Your Mii character can also be used in various games like in Wii Sports.

The WiiConnect24 is pretty neat too. It offers different downloadable channels that include news and weather. It also allows you to download old school video games right onto your Wii! Games are included from Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, and Sega Genesis! The possibilities are endless for Nintendo with WiiConnect24.

I’ll admit I was nervous about the controller. When I first saw the pictures released I was a bit skeptical. Would gamers really want to take the time to learn how to use a new controller? Would it be difficult to use? And how effective would it be? I had a Power Glove back in the day and that thing sucked! But the remote is simple to use and extremely accurate.

As for the game library, it looks pretty solid. As I mentioned above, our bundle pack came with Zelda. I’m a big Zelda fan and this game is pretty awesome so far. I love the way the remote gets used when it comes to using the sword and going fishing. We also picked up Super Paper Mario this weekend and it is ridiculously fun. Like ‘it’s so fun it should be illegal’ fun. And even if you think there’s not much to offer from the Wii game right now, you can always go back and pick up those GameCube games you missed out on.

I’m impressed enough that I put my PS2 and all the games for it up on eBay to get money to buy stuff for the Wii. I can’t be sure if the Wii will be as huge as I hope, but it’s definitely got my vote.