Wii: The honeymoon phase

You know how every relationship has a honeymoon phase? You can't get enough of each other, you are always holding hands, you can't wait till your day's responsibilities can be set aside and the two of you can cozy up again? That's me and my Wii.

The Wii arrived on Sep 22, and I've been playing almost every day since. No, my skill levels don't reflect that, but my fun levels do. I mainly indulge myself in tennis and boxing. It took me a while to move from auntie boxing** (see below - a whole another story) to trying to dodge and use proper technique, but it is paying off. In fact, now the Wii seems to think I am very smart, and makes hooks fancier than I actually intended them to be. More power to mii :)

Tennis was a lot trickier. The timing takes a while to get used to. If you swing out for your stroke too fast, the Wii thinks that is your actual stroke and you end up playing the opposite (back vs forehand) of what you intended, and it is often too late to correct it. MrM has been reminding me to open slowly and then bring it home fast. I'm improving.

Real deal vs Wii tennis: A friend at work said that Wii tennis and real tennis strokes aren't similar enough. If you play enough Wii, you start doing non-tennis things like flicking your wrists to get a faster stroke. At some point, you have to lose some form either in real tennis or in your Wii tennis. Considering I don't play any real tennis, I am going to let that suffer. Sorry Serena, it was nice knowing you.

MrM and I have been playing a lot of games together. We are even somewhat good at Wii golf though my real golfing skills are non-existent. Last night we discovered something even better: we can play doubles tennis as one team rather than playing against each other. This has been a blast! I wouldn't attempt it in real life tennis, but we make a good Wii team. And we beat the crap out of those bots.

There have been a few accidents: a friend smacked Pixel, I hit the bookshelf, I hit MrM and a little piece of plastic dug simultaneously into his arm and my pinky finger, leaving us both yelping for a bit. Apparently I swing out too wide in tennis - something to correct.

This is my initial honeymoon review. It is a great toy. You can work up a crazy sweat with boxing (and I do!). It can be played in the comfort of your own home, in your jammies, with no babysitter needed. Perfect for new parents. The set up with a projector is a little more awkward than with a TV since half the stuff wires behind you (at the projector) and one thing (the sensor) needs to wire in front of you, where the screen is. We managed to place the Wii in the middle and stretch our wires out just enough. This has been a giant time sink, but I am enjoying it very much! Warning: Prepare for sore shoulders.

** auntie boxing : Some of you know what it is. Some of you know who it is. Auntie refers to my friend's mom. She has spent quality time boxing on the Wii, and kicks up a firestorm every time she plays. Her hands fly rhythmically like 2 hammers hitting the enemy, her rows of bangles jingling along in a fast "clink clink clink". She never dodges or protects her body. She throws punches like there is no tomorrow and if you are a Wii beginner, you might as well declare defeat before you start. During our first ever Wii party, MrM was the only beginner to beat her, and that too only after he adapted the auntie-boxing technique himself. It has been an upward battle steering myself away from auntie-boxing. It is such an easy way to defeat your opponent. Yet, I'm seeing the benefits of fighting more skillful bots with some strategy. The biggest benefit of course is that my arms are still functional the next day instead of turning into jelly.