The world of interactive gaming has definitely improved in leaps and bounds from the good ol’ days of playing text based adventure games, Horrace Goes Skiing, and Frogger on my ZX Spectrum. During my childhood in Zambia we really didn’t have the exposure that most kids did to computer game consoles such as the Nintendo, Sega Master System and Mega Drive. As a child we were more into Lego and playing outdoors and it was considered a real treat to go over to a friend’s house and play on their computer. One of those lucky punks was my best friend Sahan who owned a Sega Master System. This was considered the pinacle of gaming during our time in Africa because of the advanced colour, graphics and sound. We used to play Ninja Gaiden sharing one controller as Sahan would control the directions and I would fire the deadly ninja stars while we both sang our adlib theme song for the game.

Things have come a long way since those types of games with virtual environments becoming more interactive and gaming companies trying to make every experience as realistic as possible. The subtle motion of a characters hair blowing in the wind, Spielberg inspired movie cut scenes and the rumbling blast waves from a mortar shell exploding in front of you are just some of the things that are done to make you feel like you’re immersed in the game. I’ve owned a few consoles such as the XBOX, the XBOX 360 and Playstation which are aimed more towards the teenager and adult demographics…

Enter the Wii… I finally crumbled after holding out and I purchased  a Nintendo Wii. This console doesn’t have the latest and greatest graphics, but it does emphasize one thing: HAVING FUN. When you play games on the Wii, it brings a whole new level on interactivity due to the use of the remote and nun chuck for controlling the character requiring you to make hand motions and gestures. It takes away the glitz and glam graphically and creates a more simple and fun gaming experience that always manages to bring a smile to your face. On top of this the whole nostalgic feeling comes into play as they’ve revived a variety of “oldskool” games such as Mario, Sonic The Hedgehog etc. Tash has never really been into playing games and when I’m playing my XBOX 360 and I try to show her some amazing graphics or scene in a game her eyes kinda glaze over with disinterest, but the minute she picked up the Wii controllers and started playing Mario Kart it’s almost like I have to pry them from her hands in order to have my turn…

Now all I have to do is make sure that Tash wears the safety strap and doesn’t get too carried away while using the controller otherwise I’m going to come home one day and find the Wiimote embedded in my 46″ LCD TV…! “Ooooops… did I do that?”