Wii....weeeee.....weeee.....weeeeee....funneeeeeee

I confess...I am not much of a gamer. The kinds of games I play online are word games...like Bookworm, or Textwist or Whatword...in the past...the handheld devices of yore were PacMan and Tetris...

So you can tempt with with PSP...or the latest XBox...and what nots...but they bore me. It's bad enough that the notebook has aggravated my carpal tunnel syndrome, so I don't think I want to twiddle my fingers on some controller which has a life of its own.

Until....I fell in love with Wii.
I saw the series of adverts of its pre-launch...and at the ICT conference last year at Republic Poly, it was so, so , so cool to see this almost interactive game set which allows the player greater mobility. I admit, the sales pitch about it being something that allows one to exercise is a great plus point.

I hemmed and hawed many many times before I decided to purchase one. I did not want my kids to get addicted to some machine. But the lure was too hard to resist. Finally, after checking it out for the umpteenth time, I caved in.

Weeeeeee.....weeeeeee.....weeeee..... I love it.
And over the long weekend, I spend a wonderful time, rebonding with the family through this little machine. Kudos to Nintendo for coming up with things that are more family-oriented.

Why do I love it?
One....it is almost idiot-proof to use...You just slip the remote over your wrist (clever...so you will not accidently throw the remote in your excitment) and sometimes hold the nunchuck in your other. [gee...for the life of me, i cannot figure out what the word means]. So the kids need not roll up their eyes having to explain how to use the controller to this technosaur rex. You really get the hang of it fast.

Two...I really get to work up a sweat...hehehe...you see, I did not realise that all I needed to do was just to flick the wrist to get an on-screen response. So when I played a game of virtual tennis... all the skills I know instinctively came back to place: from flinging the ball into the air during a serve, and even going to do a double backhand return. {thank you, Mr Quah...you were a fanastic coach...even the footwork was right). But mind you, if you want to play on Wii...please make sure that you clear the area. Otherwise, you'll be banging into things as you use some nifty moves.

Yes!Yes!Yes!...and for the first time...I won...(Yea!Yea!Yea!).Never mind the long rallies, and a near accident where I almost twisted my foot when I fell to 'return a serve'. [can you imagine that...first injury due to virtual tennis?].Makes me want to pick up my racket again and start playing in school.

And then, there is bowling...for those of you who have not seen me bowl, let me tell you this...actually, I have very little hand power. So what I lack in strength, I make up with accuracy. So my style is what my family calls 'slow-mo bo". No spins, no curls...but a straight line to the first pin to create a domino effect to get a strike. I can roll the ball first...and a person who starts later will likely hit the pin first before my ball reaches its destination...The best weight: a 10-pounder.

Anway, of course on Wii..you will not have the weight of the ball on hand...but I can still release with accuracy...(yea...turkey...turkey...)

But I guess, at this moment, best of all, is the amount of fun the whole family experiences when we play together. I see the younger ones engaged in this game with a whole series of rabid rabbits (I think)...and it's non-stop laughter. My next play time, I want to cook up a storm...or join the Super Mario brothers in some kind of space galaxy adventures.

I am grateful that this week...I got to laugh...and laugh..and laugh...something to really chase the blues away. But I guess, nothing beats the real thing...

So is there anyone out there who wants to bowl or play tennis with me this school holidays?