Wii Be Jammin'

Vacation means I can do nothing. Without academic consequences. I can have arguments with my dad. I can reunite with my cat (last letter ended "send catnip"). And I can indulge in whatever newfangled multimedia sidetrack that's come out and my brother has purchased. This Christmas, that's the Nintendo Wii.
The Wii, Nintendo's most recent gaming console, was released last month. Since then, more than a million have sold world-wide, with thousands flying off shelves in minutes. Intended to compete with the PlayStation 3, the Wii offers a new kind of gameplay: motion sensing.
Each console comes with a hand joystick and a wiimote, which detect player movement, speed and intensity. While the Wii may not boast freaky commericals, the console does mean integrated gaming. Pray elaborate with pictures, you say?

Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz.

It's about more than chasing b-a-n-a-n-a-ss around an Island. It's about developing the critical hand-eye coordination necessary for climbing up the corporate ladder. Choose from half a dozen characters, each with different strengths, and try your hand at over fifty games, challenges and puzzles. But be forwarned--the Blitz might bring out a dirty competitive streak. My party of four spend hours attempting to out-do each other in the simplest game ever: jump rope.

Wii Sports

The simulations are life-like and moderately challenging, just make sure not to cause any damage. I'm fond of the tennis, which will jog up your heart rate and provide an excuse for skimpy, Serena-inspired tennis outfits (them Chinese can sew, boy!). The bowling, which includes a zoom in/out feature is fun and toe-fungus free. High score 209. If you're thinking about boxing, get prepared. Seriously, loosen your collar and do some streches before you go 3 rounds with an avatar (the black ones punch harder), and watch out. Just like real boxing, you have to move around, protect your face ("get those arms up!") and dodge all the uppercuts you see coming. Fortunately, the Wii's hyper-sensitive controls make jabbing fun at all ages, even if you're not in boxing shape . After three rounds of almost beating up the TV I was sweaty, sore, and...victorious.

Trauma Center: Second Opinion.

Forget everything you learned in Biochem. All you need to be a surgeon in this game is electricity. Work your way through a docket of patients with progressively serious ailments (from "Kiss my boo-boo" to "I have a shard of glass in my heart") all the time skipping through Nurse Betty's annoying banter (just hit -). If the power to save CG lives doesn't do it for you, you'll at least score a few for the Words I Use When I Want To Sound Smart bank. Plus, loading's the shortest residency ever.

After a week of gameplay, I admit I've had fun. Does that mean I'm leaving right now to tattoo a pic of my fav av to my r. arm? No.

But I'm definitely wiintertained.