Playing the Wii

Hi neighbors. Did any of you get "fooled" on April 1? I certainly hope you had a few kind-natured laughs on each other.

April Fools Day is also my birthday. This year my son got me a Wii video game. If you are not familiar with it, it is an interactive game you play on your television. The hand-held controller sends electronic messages to a sensor bar placed on your television set that makes the character in the game that represents you (called your Mii) move as you move.

We played bowling first and I was really good at that. Then we played golf and I wasn't so good at that at all. It helped when my son pointed out the gauge on the left side of the screen that showed how hard to hit the ball to get it near the hole. Once I figured that out, my game went from really bad to sort of bad.

There are several other games to play, most of which I play extremely badly. Some of the games are reminiscent of really old games -- odd how the 1980s translates to being "really old" -- like "Duck Hunt." Remember that game? Most people remember the obnoxious dog that always snickered when you messed up.

Although this new game version is a form of target practice and you "shoot" at pop cans, skeets, balloons, and of course, ducks. The background is identical to the old "Duck Hunt" game -- including the flight patterns of the ducks. No dog though.

Another game is easily identified as the old "Battle Tank" game with new overlays to make it fresher.

Whether or not they intended to strike up these old memories of games long gone, the ploy works. The new games are recognized as old antics and you have to smile when they come on the screen.

The smiles are what Wii is all about. Unlike many video games on the market now, Wii Sports does involve some physical activity. Not as much as physical versions in the real world, but still, more than twiddling your thumbs with other controllers.

My first video game was "Pong" -- with those slow moving paddles that went up and down on either side of the screen to hit a moving blot. By today's games standards, this game was worse than slow motion.

"Donkey Kong" was one game I actually beat a couple of times. Of course poor Mario got killed off hundreds of times first -- and the princess gave up on rescue -- waiting on him to climb those ladders and avoid the barrels to save her from the huge monkey.

Then came all the other Mario games. I never lasted past the first cliff or opposing character on any of those.

"Mega Man" was one of the games my son enjoyed when he was very young. It seemed very complicated to me. "Mega Man" had to pick his opponents in a certain sequence to get the tools needed to beat the next one.

Remember "Centipede"? Now I could play that game pretty well. Mostly, I assume, because you didn't have to have a real game plan -- just keep moving and keep shooting.

Another old game we had was "Alien Invasion" where the space ships picked up the little humans. The Wii system has a game similar to that one.

The games now are more like watching a movie. The characters no longer look like "little people" or Lego people. They are fully developed computer graphic creations that look and move like actual actors.

They are a far cry from "Donkey Kong." But maybe not as much fun.

The controllers are as complicated as a computer and you have to have the dexterity and hand/eye coordination of an air traffic control officer to achieve any success in today's games.

I would like to have some games that are more reality based for those of us who have no desire to go to war or invade outer space.

What about a travel game where you can tour Europe? Some problems could be waiting to see if your passport gets delivered in time. Will your flight be canceled? Will your baggage be lost?

When you get to your destination, will you find a hotel to stay in where they speak English? How about a bike tour of Europe or England or any other country or continent!

What about a safari to an African jungle? Or the Amazon? What about being able to breath under water to take a tour of the ocean?

I can think of lots of "games" I would like to play that use computer graphics to make any documentary or travel show interactive. Wouldn't that be cool?

Until the next time friends remember there are lots of video games to choose from. Some of them are even fun!