The Next Step

Fresh off of Thanksgiving break, I’m being thrown to the wolves. Here’s a rough outline of this week’s activities:

MONDAY: 2500 word proposal due, Japanese vocab quiz
WEDNESDAY: Stats exam, Japanese vocab quiz, programming assignment due
THURSDAY: 1000 word draft of portfolio reflection due, Japanese listening and speaking test

And through all this, I have to deal with Twilight Princess sitting in the living room begging me to play it.

As we all know, all men are just pedophiles looking for an opportunity. And I thought America was bad.

Stretch out before playing Wii Sports. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

So yesterday I got up at 4:45 am and set out with Josh and Cory to get me a Wii of my very own. And let me tell you: this was much more than the Gamecube launch. We stopped first at the Halifax Wal-mart, only to find 23 people camped out with sleeping bags, tents and a TV (yes, a TV) waiting for a chance to buy one of the 20 available systems. Knowing full well that none of them would leave, we moved on to Hanover. Circuit City had only 9 and the line was already full, but that Wal-mart had a whopping 32 systems available and only 18 people in line. Jackpot!

However, the Hanover Mall has a strict “No loitering” policy, so we couldn’t stand in line and make it clear that we were there before other people. Fortunately for us, one kid who had gotten there early on had the foresight to start a list. So here’s to you, redheaded kid. Enjoy your Wii. The line did fill up by about 7:30 and they started letting us in to give them money at 8:00. They (and, as I understand, lots of other people) did run out of extra nunchucks, unfortunately. No multiplayer boxing for me.

As for the Wii itself, well… it takes some getting used to. I’ve managed to run into technical difficulty in both places I’ve tried to set up the system. In Halifax, I set Cory’s system up, but there isn’t a good place to put the sensor bar either above or below the TV. The best we could do was to put it on a shelf about 6 inches above the TV and a few inches in front of it. As far as I can tell, this just makes it so the pointer is a little off from where you think it should be. Any height-dependent games become a little harder.

In Boston, I set up my own system, but Ethan’s HDTV has a slight delay when taking input through standard A/V cables, and of course the Wii component cables aren’t available yet. The delay is painfully clear when you’ve got a pointer that you’re supposed to be able to move like a mouse on the TV screen.

Other than the setup issues, Wii Sports is a lot of fun. I’m not a big fan of boxing, but that’s just because I suck at it. Tennis and bowling are very good, and golf is ok. The movements take some getting used to. Baseball is nearly impossible, especially once your opponent figures out how to actually pitch. Later today: I play Zelda!

With the imminent release of the Wii, I’m forced to make some tough monetary decisions. While I am certainly going to buy the console, the question becomes: what else do I buy with it?

I’ll want another controller (probably like $50? I can’t find a price), so that will cost me. Twilight Princess ($50) is also a gimme, and I’m leaning toward Trauma Center ($50) or Red Steel ($50) as well, but that leaves me without a good multiplayer game other than Wii Sports. Perhaps Rayman ($50)? Let’s not forget the component cables ($20 and which, for some weird reason, apparently won’t be available at launch?) so I can actually get a decent picture.

All in all, it looks to be an expensive weekend. But here’s a fun fact. The Metro claimst that the ratio of software to PS3 sales so far is 0.98, meaning there are a lot of people out there who bought a PS3 and NO GAMES.

Also, it seems that Sony is trying to push the PSP as the handheld that will get you (re?) laid. A noble cause, to be sure, but I think the ladies might like the DS Lite better.

It has come to my attention that the following bands have not had a song in either Guitar Hero or Guitar Hero 2:

ACDC
The Eagles
ACDC
The White Stripes
ACDC
Tom Petty
ACDC
Charlie Daniels
ACDC
The Doors
ACDC
Bruce Springsteen
ACDC
Led Zeppelin
ACDC
The Beatles
ACDC
The Who
ACDC

I understand that licensing is an issue. I also don’t care. Please get on this.

I fully expect to see the usual slew of stories about thousands of people rising from the grave to vote republican.

Remember folks: vote early, vote often.