LEVANTE LIFESTYLE

GAMES CONSOLES - THUMBS UP FOR THE Wii

By Clare Reynolds

At last, a games console that really does appeal to the whole family; even granny and granddad can join in.

No more frustration with not being able to remember all the different buttons to press. No more feeling completely stupid because even your six year old can do it.

At first I thought it was just another consol that would turn the children into hermits and mean not seeing them until they crawled out for something to eat. How wrong I was!

With the Wii comes Wii Sports, which has has tenpin bowling, tennis, golf, boxing and baseball. Once you are all set up and ready to go, believe me you won’t be disappointed. All you have to do is hold the small stick-like controller in your hand and wave it around as if you were out on a tennis court or rolling the ball down the ally willing for a strike.

With most of the games there are only one or two buttons to press while playing. The movement of the controller is picked up by a sensor on top of or in front of the TV screen, and the game does the rest.

With games such as the racing cars there are special adaptors for your controller that turns it into a steering wheel. There is also a kit with a mini tennis racket, golf club and baseball bat in case you want it to feel any more realistic.

We have friends and family round all the time, and they think I am exaggerating when I tell them about Wii. Then the following day they call me to say how much their muscles hurt from trying to hit that home run on the baseball.

It really is that easy. All ages from three to 93 can give it a go; people who have never had any interest in gaming before have had a great time and rushed out to buy one.

The Playstation 3 came out around March this year, and there is no comparison when it comes to talking about graphics; the reality is like nothing you have seen before. The thing is it will set you back a whopping 599 euros and 70 euros for the latest game, whereas the Wii price is 249 euros and the games 39.99.

The Nintendo DS is great for kids and adults too. You may have seen Nicole Kidman advertising it on the TV with a game called brain training on the TV, and let’s face it, anything that makes us more intelligent has got to be a good thing!

The other games range from three upwards. It’s a hand held consol similar to the PSP. This type of console is brilliant for long journeys in the car to keep the kids busy.

I still think the best of them all is the Wii. It will bring the whole family together - I can imagine everybody working off the Christmas dinner playing with this, unlike with the others where you don’t see the kids from Christmas morning until they have to go back to school in the New Year.

The Wii gets the thumbs up.