We got our Wii last Christmas, and have been having a blast playing games ever since. My favorite is still Tiger Woods, but the kids have always been more fans of the traditional Mario Bros type games.

I'm still not sure what we'll find under the tree this year. I'm kind of hoping for Guitar Hero, but to be honest what I probably need is Wii Fit ... lol, don't we all?

So, which games are you hoping Santa will bring you this year?

First thing first, as advertised, this game is majorly addictive. The first time I opened the box to "try it out", Ana (my wife) finally came in and rolled her eyes at me about 2 1/2 hours later ... at midnight.

I also earned another eye roll from Ana the next day, when I woke up a little bit sore ... from swinging the controller. lol, so if any of you are wondering, Yes it's true ... you really can get some semblance of a "mini workout" playing a few of these wii games.

What I liked:

Driving - As you might expect, hitting the ball off the tee is by far the most enjoyable part of this game. And when you're playing as Tiger Woods, you can even occasionally experience the exhilleration of hitting a 350 yard drive. When you play with a custom profile, the distances and skill levels tend to be a bit more realistic. It takes some practice, but once you get the hang of it, drawing and fading the ball is even pretty reliable (and somewhat realistic).

Putting - Especially on medium and long range putts, it almost feels like the real thing ... making a smooth, well paced stroke tends to produce the best results. As far as "reading" the greens goes, if you're familiar with previous versions of this game from earlier systems, you should have no problem adjusting to the Wii version. Line on the grids move to show you uphill or downhill, and how much of a side slope exists. Just like in real golf, some of the hardest putt are in the 6-8 foot range. It's hard to leave the putt short, but sometimes without even doing anything differently, the ball can easily shoot 10 feet past the hole ... obviously, happens most often when putting downhill.

Graphics - Obviously, this isn't the PlayStation 3 or anything. It's not that realistic. But, the last time I played Tiger Woods PGA Tour, was the 2003 version on my PC ... so, I'm a happy camper when it comes to how the game looks.

What I didn't like:

Controlling Distance - Ok, I know it's just a game, but especially on wedge shots, there is almost no rhyme or reason to how far the ball sometimes travels. And maybe I just need more practice, but right now I'm finding it virtually impossible to hit 1/2 or 3/4 shots with the short clubs. Doesn't matter how slow I swing the controller, there's very good chance that the swing will end up being 110% strength ... sending the ball flying over the green into the rough.

Unrealistic Scoring - I know that part of the idea is to give players the thrill of what it feels like to be Tiger Woods. But come on now ... I've been playing this game for less than a week, and I already have 2 holes in one, a double eagle, and more eagles than I can count on my fingers. I shot a 59 two days ago on the St Andrews Old Course ... I never hit the ball in a single bunker. Again, I don't know if this is a realistic criticism on my part. I'm sure there are already people out there who have 18 hole scores in the low 50s on this game. I doubt it was made to ever come close to satisfying "real" golfers. That being said, if you can't get to the course, at least you can tell your buddies you shot -11 ... not much chance of that happening in real life ... unless of course you're the real Tiger Woods.

One thing I learned:

Use only One Hand - For everything other than putting, the game tends to work much better if you Don't try to swing the controller with both hands, like you would a real golf club. It's much easier to just use your right hand (or left if that's the way you swing), and just make a one-handed swinging motion. This tends to produce longer drives, and it's much easier to control fades and draws.
Well, that's my Wii Game Review of the new Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08. I hope you found it helpful. If you've played this game, and want to share your own thoughts and advice, feel free to leave a comment below.

Keep havin FuN!

Todd

Hey all you gamers, I'm Johnathan and this is a new segment I like to call game rankings. This is Johnathan speaking, the number one game expert/collector/game champion in the world. Feel free to challenge me.

Anyway, today's wii game is Mario Kart.

This Wii game features awesome tracks, new characters. You can even play as your mii, play all around the world, and race other players.
On the bad side ...

The Mario Kart game features no story, and it's sometimes hard to unlock the characters.

But anyway, I give this game a 4. Still a good awesome game. So take the Wii wheel and RACE.

This is Johnathan signing out.

Above is a screen shot of my second mid 50's round tonight.

I'm not sure what to do now. I guess I can either adjust the settings to make it harder, or I can just keep playing and see how long it takes to score in the 40s. I wonder what the lowest score somebody's shot on this game is ... does anybody know?

This game is by no means "real golf". But if you're a golf nut stuck indoors during the cold winter, Tiger Woods 2008 on the Wii is certainly more fun than just watching tournaments on TV.

Keep havin FuN!
Todd

He had is friend David over to play a new war game that they got ... lol, I wasn't paying enough attention to see what the name of it is.  I will see if I can finally get him to do some reviews for me though.  The kid spends countless hours every day playing games, so he's a ture expert.  But getting an 11 kid to actually sit down and write an article or two is like pulling teeth ... I've offered to pay him

Oh well, one of these days you'll be treated to his thoughts.

In the mean time, I'm going to take a break from the computer and go take a few swings on Tiger Woods.

Catch up again soon,
Todd

This blog will chronicle some of our favorite games, and our own personal experiences. Check back often for updates.

Todd

Looks like we'll have to wait a few more days before we can start to play games again.

Oh well, that's life.
Todd

Anyhow, about 2 weeks ago, we boxed it up, and put it in the mail. I'm sure it's probably here in Texas already, but I haven't made it over to the post office to check my box yet ... and besides, we've already got Way too much stuff with us here our hotel room. Hopefully we'll find a house soon.

We were just down at the mall earlier today, and I saw that a couple of game stores have the Wii Fit ... which is a game we've been wanting for a while now. Of course I'm going to check our own wii store first, but if the prices are close, I might just save myself the shipping time and pick it up at the mall.

I'm looking forward to being able to get in an extra workout in the living room. Ana is a little concerned about the game ... apparently she saw something on Oprah or Tyra about how the game accesses your weight when your first set up your profile ... something about the game calling a little boy obese. Well, Johnathan has always carried a few extra pounds, so she's a little concerned about how he might feel about having a video game judge him. I'm not too worried ... kids are usually pretty understanding about that sort of thing ... if they even notice at all.

... lol, then again, that is a man's opinion, and we're very well known for how perceptive we are of other's feelings.
Anyhow, that's our Wii story for this week.

Keep havin fuN!

Todd

Nintendo sold over 2 million of the popular video game consoles in the United States U.S. last month, according to data from market researcher NPD Group. Its smaller sibling, the Nintendo DS, sold over 1.5 million units — not bad for a handheld system in its fourth year of life.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28184210/

Wow, looks like we're not the only ones who are loving our Nintendo Wii this year. If several million new users coming online, I can only imagine that the variety and volume of games is going to continue to improve as well.

We are definitely a Nintendo Family. We own the Wii, 4 DS, and more games than I can count. It's nice to see that we're not alone.

Keep havin FuN!

Todd

Seeing as how we have a Wii that we really enjoy playing, obviously this caught my attention. After doing a bit more investigating, it appears that Nintedo lost a lawsuit involving a patent on the "classic" controller for the Wii and GameCube.

Fortunately, we doing have any games right now that require that controller. But hopefully Nintendo is able to resolve this situation, and continue to produce the Wii system.

So what's your take?

Will this have any negative effect on the Wii as a whole?