Any Wii owners out there?

[JohnKleban]

Hey fellow editors,

Curious if any other Cassie folks on these boards own a Wii?

I'm not a hard-gore gamer at all; in fact, I don't have the attention span (nor time to dedicate) to many of those long story-telling role playing type of games. I do however, find interactive gaming to be quite fun. About 4-5 years back, I bought a little known system called Xavix http://www.xavixstore.com/products/application.html I love this system and our family still plays it when we have the opportunity. The disadvantage with these guys are the lack of titles they have out; about 8-9 thus far and no online play is available. They are still around, just more of a grass roots marketing campaign as they are a smaller company.

About 3-4 weeks back, my wife went to a local Target for an unrelated birthday gift and came home with their last Wii system. I was seeing previews on TV for their game Mario Kart and thought that looked like a great family game. Turns out, it's FANTASTIC; my 6 year old daughter loves it as much as my wife and I do. A couple of nights back, my daughter and I were racing against others in the country live via the Wii's internet connection. I did pick up a few titles for the family, plus a couple of zombie shoot ‘em up games for dad. I'm not for violent games at all, but blasting zombies away sometimes is a guilty pleasure I guess; it's sci-fi, so I don't have any issues with it.

Between the Wii and Xavix, I would have to say the Wii has graphics that are more fluid and their title selection doesn't even compare, as well as the Wii having the ability to play online with other family and friends as well. Both systems are a lot of fun.

Anyway, curious if anyone else here has a Wii? If so, any favorite titles you have rented or purchased?

Finally, if you do, do you have Mario Kart? Mike Anderson (another Cassie user and March Get Together attendee/presenter) has this title and late last night we raced against each other via internet connection - good entertainment before going to bed. If you have the game and have interest in racing against a couple of fellow Cassie users, please PM me.

Regards and happy editing.

PS. Yes, this thread is a bit off-topic (thus in this forum), but every editor needs to take a break once and a while, right?

[ChrisStone]

Hey John
I've got a Wii and I love it. I havent got Mario Cart, but since you've raved about it I guess I'll get it. I didnt know you could play other people online with the Wii.
My two favorite games for it are Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime-Corruption. Both look and play very well.

I also have an Xbox 360 and just got NASCAR 09. Awesome game if your a NASCAR fan.

[ASHampton]

Since we are off topic i have a customer that records clips from some of his Wii games and uses them in his productions!!!!! Risky business! i havew a 360 and really like it. has anyone played Asassins Creed Holy Moly it is Sweet!

[JohnKleban]

Hey Chris,

We do have Super Mario Galaxy but I haven’t had much time with it; from the little I have done, I do like it. I've read good things about Metroid Prime-Corruption and almost bought that the last time I was at the store; I guess now it's on my list for next time, cool. For myself, I picked up The House of the Dead 2 & 3 (both sold on one disc) and Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles. To use with these games, I picked up a couple of Nyko pistols – excellent feel and response, I would highly recommend them for these kinds of titles. http://gear.ign.com/articles/841/841403p1.html

You have to get Mario Kart, you’ll love it. It comes with one steering wheel, but we got a second one (sold separately) for two player action. At any rate, the Wii is WiFi and will automatically detect your internet signal (if you have wireless); and of course, it will certainly work on a wired connection as well. I have DSL wireless and it took me less than 5 minutes to get it set-up and working; very straight-forward. Once you’ve done that, then you can play Mario Cart with other people live in the region, or worldwide. Also, they have a Friends section, in which you can add other people who you know that play the game; so, you can then race strictly against them – it’s great.

PM if you pick-up the title; I’m guessing you have high-speed internet.

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Seth,

I wish they had that on the Wii, I’d check it out. I do know the Xbox 360 has quite the extensive online gaming set-up; Mike who I mentioned earlier also has a 360 and his son does some online game playing with a few sports titles.

John

[ChrisStone]

John
I do have high speed internet, and I've had my Wii online since day one. I download games from the virtual console and Wii ware sites and even have the opera web browser. I just never saw anywhere (on the web or in print) that nintendo had online gaming. I will defineatly be getting Mario Cart soon.

[JohnKleban]

Hey Chris,

Are there any downloadable titles that you now have that you would recommend and that are worth the price?

Also, do these games then show up in a channels box on the main Wii menu then, or someplace else? I'm guessing these older system games you download actually stay out on their server so to speak, or can you then play them without being online? This is new territory for me.

Thanks!

[ChrisStone]

John
Any games you buy online are downloaded onto the Wii hard drive. So you own them and dont have to be online to play them. I've got Galaga, one of my favorite arcade classics, and Pop, a simple but addictive game where you pop bubbles againts a timer.