Sunday, January 13, 2008

a Wii bit interested...

I’m not a big fan of video games. Despite what Nate might tell you, I don’t hate them, I just hate the idea of us having them. I think I’d like video games more if they were handled how a lot of us used board games growing up. We got them out on an occasional Friday night or for Family Home Evening. But it wasn’t every day after school, for three hours on a Saturday or something we chose instead of going to bed.

When this new Wii craze hit I didn’t care. What’s the big deal, right? But when Nate’s work gave one as the grand prize at his Christmas party, Nate’s family got one, and our friends, one right after another, seemed to have this new system, I started taking note. Not becoming a part of the madness, just taking note. I was content as an observer for a long time, but it was only a matter of time before I got roped into a four player game of bowling on Wii Sports. And you know what? It was pretty fun. I scored better on the Wii version than I usually do at a real alley. Maybe that bowling class at BYU really was worth it.

So, just the other day I came across Cooking Mama Cook Off, a Wii game where the remote becomes the ultimate cooking utensil allowing you to chop, grate, slice, stir and roll. There’s a cooking challenge mode where two players can engage in a cook off and the one with the fewest mistakes wins. You mean I could be competitive and cook at the same time and not have any mess to clean up when I’m finished? This is my kind of game! With 55 dishes from 10 different countries to choose from it’s like virtual culinary school. O.k., that’s probably a stretch. Now all we need is Nintendo to develop a way to produce the real meal after these virtual ones have been created! Annie? Becky? Are you up for a culinary challenge? You can see a short video demonstration of the game here.

I’d definitely like to try this game out. Notice, not buy, not have, but TRY. Kind of like borrowing your friend’s board game. You’ll play it a few times and return it. And you aren’t going to play it until the sun comes up tomorrow. By the way, don’t ask me in ten years if we have a game system. I’m afraid what the answer might be.