Is The Wii Worth It?

In short - yes. I am not much of a "gamer" but this thing is fun. My kids (ages 2 and 5) love the Wii as well.

One of the great things that makes it fun is you get to create characters called Mii's that look like you. There is a set up screen that allows to to select from some basic facial features, hair styles and hair colors so you can play with a computer generated approximation of yourself.

We created Mii's for the entire family, including grandparents, aunts and uncles. In addition to being fun, the Mii's have a practical application in certain games. It saves your progress, so you can see how good you are getting at a game and once you set it up, it remembers whether you are left-handed or right-handed.

The Wii Sports game which is included with the system is awesome.

Tennis is great and my 5 year old does pretty well. My 2 year old likes to play and does ok, but timing her swing is a bit of a problem.

Baseball is a bit tough for both kids since it requires some fairly precise timing. They love to watch me play because all of the other Mii's we created show up as team members in the batting order and in the field playing defense. They giggle hysterically when they see "Grandpa" make a diving catch.

Golf is really fun and both kids do well with their drives and approaching the green, but putting is a little tough. You cannot take a full swing, which they both have a little trouble comprehending.

Bowling is tough for both of them since it requires pressing a button and holding it down while you make the throwing motion, then releasing the button when you are ready for your guy to release the ball. It's a bit too complicated.

Boxing is downright awesome and tons of fun. Both kids really love it. No buttons to push - just punching until they knock the other guy out or until they pass out from exhaustion. It's a great pre-bedtime activity to wear them down :-)

Every night, both kids want to go downstairs to play the Wii. It's great family time and keeps them very active. I feel a lot better with them playing the Wii than watching cartoons. It's a lot more fun, too.