A Christmas Wii

Image c/o Wikipedia Commons

It's been a bit of a year for Nintendo – their Wii and DS consoles have continually exceeded sales expectations throughout the year, and getting hold of one for Christmas has been as easy as prising a cake from the pudgy digits of Rick Waller.

Luckily for me, I'm one of the smug gits who picked one up a few months ago. Thing is, it's been sat in it's box gathering dust for a while. Until now that is.

You see, on it's own the Wii is actually pretty boring. There's only so much of Wii Sports you can get through without finding popping out your eyeballs with a toothpick more enjoyable. With new games costing 35-40 smackers I'd rather be accelerating my liver's demise at a rate of knots than spend a night in waggling a remote control.

I am being a tad harsh on it though, as it is probably the most inventive games system since the Atari. The control system is simply a work of art – point/flip/swipe/waggle/hurl the remote around, and your cutestified on-screen alias will do the same. Hit a home-run, swing for a hole-in-one, bowl a strike – it's fascinating stuff. For the first five minutes at least.

It's not until you watch someone else play that you realise although your on-screen persona may be hitting a ball with the sublime grace of Federer, in reality you're bearing more of a resemblance to an adolescent teen furiously masturbating over a copy of Nuts.

This is where the fun comes in though, and I don't mean in the self-abuse stakes. Having a Wii at home for Christmas is an absolute hoot. Watching your Mum, Sister, Nan and Granddad attempt to play Wii Sports provides non-stop YouTube moments – I can't remember the last time I pissed my lungs out laughing, and you think you'd recall such an occasion. I'm still taking stick for getting knocked out by my Mum in boxing and beaten by my Nan in her first bash at ten-pin bowling!

It might be impossible to buy without getting shafted by the shysters with inflated prices on Tottenham Court Road. It might go through more batteries than a bored housewife after a delivery from Ann Summers. You might never buy another game for it.

But if you can get one back for the family at Christmas, my god it's worth it – pure comedy gold.