Wii Sports is a fairly simple game, but it can keep you hooked for hours on end. Players can choose from five different sports, including golf, bowling, tennis, baseball, and boxing. Each of these sports uses the Wii-mote in its own unique way. Wii Sports is a great game to start off with, because it really familiarizes players with the basic functions and motions of the Wii's unique controller.

Tennis is a simple, but fun game. Its probably one of the easier games to master on Wii Sports. It basically involves swinging the controller just as one would swing a tennis racket. You also have to do backhand swings to hit the balls that go to the left side of you. Tennis can have up to four players, which makes for a very entertaining game. A single player can also control both of his players, and although that might sound difficult, it is very easy. Tennis does not use the nunchuck, and the players move automatically based on the path of the ball.

Baseball is an interesting game, since players can bat and pitch. Batting involves simply holding the Wii-mote on your shoulder, and then swinging it when the ball is pitched to you. It takes a while to get used to the timing, but once you figure it out you'll have no trouble popping a few into the outfield, and maybe even getting some homers. When pitching, players just swing the controller foward, at whatever speed he or she chooses. Holding B will result in a curveball, holding A throws a screwball, and holding both A and B lets the pitcher throw a splitter. Baseball is a lot of fun, but I would have liked to have been able to do some fielding as well.

Bowling is my favorite game out of all the sports. Basically, you hold the controller straight up, and then you hold B and swing your arm back. When you let go of B, the ball drops. So obviously if you release the ball at just the right time, it will be more accurate. The most interesting thing about bowling is that the Wii-mote will even detect the spin you put on the ball. This allows players to be a bit more creative with their strategies. I did have a problem when the ball would keep spinning to the left for no reason, but then I figured out that I have to stand directly in front of the TV to make it roll straight. Bowling can have up to 4 players, but if you don't have 4 controllers, you can simply use one controller and switch off as you go.

Golf is one of the more challenging sports, and I think that younger children might have a tough time mastering it. You start off with your driver, and hit the ball within range of the flag. If you hit the ball too hard, it goes too high and can be affected by the wind more easily. Basically, golf is just a matter of getting used to the amount of force you put into each hit. It is sometimes a bit hard to do a very close put, because you have to flick the controller very lightly. Golf is a lot of fun though, because if you press 1, you can see a relief map of the area, which shows the basic curveature of the land. This can be a very useful tool when trying to execute long range putts. Believe me, you'll go nuts when you get your first eagle!

Boxing is the only game on Wii Sports which uses the nunchuck attachment, which serves as your left boxing glove. When you play boxing for the first time, there will be a short tutorial of how to throw different punches. Players hold the Wii-mote up to their faces to block, and thrusting the controller foward is how you punch. You can also dodge punches by moving your body side to side, which utilizes the tilt function in the controller. There are a few different punches you can throw, including body jabs, face punches, left and right hooks, left and right upper cuts, and side punches. There are a variety of ways to knock the other player out; some prefer guarding themselves and hitting hard when there's a good open shot, while others simply swing the remotes in all directions as fast as they can, knocking the guy out in 30 seconds.

Everytime you win a game, or beat your previous score, you will get points. There is a graph for each sport, where you start off at zero, and the highest score is 1000 (pro). To train for these sports, you can either use the game's training mode, or the fitness mode. Training mode offers some basic training for each sport. It also gives you tips, and shows you how to use some different abilities in each game. The fitness mode is really cool because you will have to execute different challenges pertaining to each sport. Based on how well you perform, you will get a "fitness age." I am 34 right now, but you can only play the game once per day. It gets harder and harder as your fitness age drops. Fitness and training are basically just side games to work on if you want to take a break from playing a full game.

One of the interesting aspects about Wii Sports is that it utilizes the Wii's Mii Channel. The Mii channel is basically a built-in mini game which allows people to create little characters. Although the customization options are fairly limited, you can customize the heights and weights, eyes, noses, mouths, and many other characteristics of your player. If you try hard enough, you can actually make some pretty decent look alikes. When you create a Mii, it goes into a while room called the Mii plaza. The more Mii's you make, the more full the plaza becomes. Wii Sports uses these Mii's as player profiles during the games, and each player has his or her own stats.

As far as graphics go, Wii Sports is not the best looking game out there. The characters are very cartooney, and basically look somewhat like 3D South Park characters. But I think that the graphics fit the gameplay well, since it is supposed to be for younger children. Though the graphics may not be this game's strongest point, the game is still a lot of fun, especially when you have friends over to play with you. As far as sound, I was pleased by a lot of the sound effects. The announcer voice is fitting for the game, and I like some of the sounds that come out of the Wii-mote.

Wii Sports is probably one of the better games that has come free with a console. It will provide players with hours of enjoyment. I have to say that even though I had Twilight Princess when I first got the Wii, I still player Wii Sports first, for about 2 hours. Despite the game's seemingly simple presentation, there are plenty of good things to find in Wii Sports. It is a highly addictive game, and clearly demonstrates the Wii-motes abilities.

Final Score: 8.2

Atlus Co.'s Trauma Center was originally developed for the Nintendo DS a few years ago. It received many positive reactions, and although it did not receive as much attention as it should have, there were still plenty of fans. The Nintendo Wii's Trauma Center: Second Opinion continues the series, while still maintaining a grasp on the core elements we enjoyed on the DS. With heart-pounding episodes, as well as a strange, but creative storyline, Trauma Center will keep you in the Operating Room for hours.

Second Opinion's story outlines the life of a 26 year old rookie doctor named Derek Stiles. To start the game off, players are faced with simple missions, which serve as guides to help you get used to the basic controls. But don't get used to these simple missions; their difficulty will increase rapidly throughout the course of the game. Your basic surgical tools include the scalpel, forceps, suture kit, disinfectant, and many other well-known instruments. As the missions become more intricate, you will begin to incorporate the ultrasound, magnifier, and even the laser to your repertoire of devices. Each mission utilizes the tools in its own unique way, and most of them are a lot of fun to use.

At first glance, this game might seem too easy for some people. After all, they do tell you everything you have to do in each mission. But as you complete the levels, you will have to rely on yourself more than your tutorial doctors for advice and instruction. Basically, the beginning missions familiarize players with the uses of each tool, and after, the game will expect you to figure out some of the uses for yourself. So if you are worried about the difficulty level, just remember that the game gets much harder as you progress from rookie doctor to senior surgeon.

Although Trauma Center's graphics aren't exactly stunning, they do have their own unique style. The cutscenes are basically anime-drawn, and there is little action among the characters. They are almost like comic book style cutscenes, where still frames are racked on to show progression in the story. The in-game graphics seem rather basic at times, but then again, they serve the game well for the most part. Second Opinion wasn't really going for a realistic look, so don't expect to see anything identical to those medical shows on TV.

The sound is ok, but they could have had some voice acting in the cutscenes, instead of just plain text. I feel that it would have instilled a bit more life into the characters. Without good voice acting, it is kind of hard to pay attention to the storyline. Now you might say, "Hey, if you're too lazy to read, then why even play th game?" The truth is, I don't think anyone really wants to read that much text between chapters. As for the in-game sound, its a whole different story. The music is perfect for the gameplay, and players will often hear some very suspenseful music, as well as the heart-beat sound effect when things are really getting bad. The other doctors do occasionally talk, but they usually just scream your name when you do something wrong, or give you a helpful hint if your in a jam. So although the cutscene sound is hardly existant, the in-game music is actually quite good.

As for the gameplay, you basically do most of the things you'd expect to do as a surgeon, as well as some cool, unorthodox missions. The first mission makes you feel like just a regular surgeon, but then Dr. Stiles will begin having headaches and strange visions; that's where the game begins to get interesting. Dr. Stiles eventually discovers that he is not like the other doctor; he has supernatural powers! He can use these powers to help him in even the toughest situations. To use this power, you must hold Z and B, and then draw a star on the screen. It takes some getting used to, but once you get the hang of it it can really come in handy. Its basic function is to slow down time, allowing you to do some quick fixes to get your patient stable again. But even with this awesome ability, the missions are still very challenging.

The Wii-mote works surprisingly well with almost every single function that players must carry out. Most of the tools require drawing lines on the screen with the Wii-mote, which allows this game to maintain its original feel from the DS. Every single tool seems to work in a logical way, and even if you don't know exactly what you are doing, you can still figure it out because of this logical control scheme. The only tools that I had trouble with were the heart paddles, but even they were easy once I learned what to do with them. Throughout the game, you will scalpel, laser, and suture you way through some very exciting missions, some of which even have "bosses" per say.

Trauma Center: Second Opinion is a great addition to the Nintendo Wii. I think that we can most definitely recognize it as one of the better launch titles we have seen over the years. I wouldn't recommend this game for younger children though, because they might have a little trouble following directions and keeping up with the fast-paced missions. If you enjoyed the original Trauma Center on the Nintendo DS, you will most likely find some fun and replay value in Second Opinion.

Final Score: 8.3/10