Inching forward in conversation with some semi-friends (semi, because I had only met them recently and wasn’t sure of their friendliness yet) a few weeks ago, I brought up the Wii coming out.  The one fellow, whose house we were playing Halo at, remarked that “the Wii is going to blow”.  A few other guys chipped in their opinions, explaining to me that when they’re at home sitting down for a nice relaxing (and they emphasized relaxing) session of gaming, they don’t want to have to jump around and swing their arms to get a few kills.  Silly, silly boys, I thought in my head.  When I’m at home gaming, I usually don’t feel relaxed.  I am so enveloped in Halo and Ghost Recon that my cheeks turn bright red and I have to remind myself to breathe in air.  My mind goes into destroy mode, my heart hammers against my chest plate and I automatically tune out any noise coming from outside my gaming bubble.  The only time I feel relaxed when I’m gaming is just after I stole a horse in Oblivion and I depart into the wilderness for a long nature ride… but then my horse eventually gets attacked by dog-size rats and the calm feeling is replaced with adrenaline, obligating me to dismount and slice my sword through the ginormous rodents.

I was privileged enough to play Red Steel and Excite Truck on the Wii for about an hour before E3 was opened to the public.  Both games were amazing!  Nintendo is genius and anyone who doesn’t realize the enormous coolness/funness the Wii contains will have their minds blown when they get their hands on it. 

I turned the controller sideways, got into my competitive racing stance (you can picture that, right?) and hit start.  My monster truck made giant bounds through the air as I ramped off natural slope-shaped rocks and dove straight into a cactus patch.  “Exciting Crash!” It even made me feel good about wrecking.  It took a lot of focus and correct management of the controller to be able to steer my way through the courses, but I’m happy to say that after a few intense games I was able to place 1st against the racing bots.  The experience was better than being in an arcade, but I felt just as submerged as I do sitting in a rumbling racing seat, gripping onto a steering wheel with blasting speakers next to my head.  I picked up the controller in front of Red Steel and began my journey discharging bullets into the heads of bad guys… actually, I probably shot most of them in the neck and collar bone; I need to work on my aim.  I soon came to a part where I was entrusted with a sword and took great joy slashing through a couple guys.

I am so energized for the Wii to come out, I can hardly stand it.  In a great IGN interview with Ubisoft’s North American president, Laurent Detoc, it is revealed that Ubisoft is bringing seven new games to Nintendo’s Wii console in time for the system’s launch.  Which seven games?!  Red Steel, Rayman Raving Rabbids, Far Cry, Blazing Angels, Open Season, Monster 4x4: World Circuit, and an exclusive new racer called GT Pro Series.  Detoc goes into some detail on Far Cry explaining that “Far Cry Wii will include elements from Far Cry Instincts Evolution, in addition to a fresh storyline, new maps, characters and equipment. Second and even more importantly, Far Cry has strong diversity of gameplay so the game is a natural fit for the Wii remote.” He continues on revealing a little more about the Far Cry game play saying, “You will be able to shoot using the remote; you will also be able to throw grenades, punch, jump, run and balance to keep from plunging to your death. You will also be able to drive cars, trucks and boats. If you’re looking for a game that allows you to experience the true beauty of the Wii and its revolutionary remote technology, this is it.”

Is anyone else as pumped up for the Wii as I am?  Come on guys, sing it with me, “Wii is teh champion, my frie-hends!” (The PAX geekiness is still in my system, if you couldn’t already tell.)