My quest for a Wii began sometime prior to the Thanksgiving Holiday. I didn’t pre-order a console because Nintendo assured us gamers that there would not be a shortage of consoles—a problem (real or fabricated for press) that has plagued other console manufacturers as they have released their shiny new boxes upon the public.

Christmas came and went and I still did not have a Wii in my possession. Daily calls to Toys ‘R Us and other big box chains proved fruitless. Hourly checking of online technology retailers proved equally futile. My brother-in-law received a Wii for Christmas, his wife (and also my sister) having the foresight to pre-order one for him.

After a night of playing Wii sports and Super Monkey Ball mini-games, my wife and I were hooked. We needed to have one and couldn’t wait until whenever Nintendo reported that stores would have a normal stock of consoles. Still, despite my desire to own a Wii, I did not want to overpay for one on ebay or craigslist.

New Year’s Day came and went and it was back to work. I was sitting at my desk, lamenting my inability to track down a console. As if moved by the hand of God, I decided to call Toys ‘R Us in Middle Village, Queens. The lady on the other end of the call told me “Yes, we got in an unexpected shipment of 30 this morning.” It was like the most beautiful song my ears have ever heard. “Can you hold one for me?” “No I’m sorry, we can’t…but we should still have them by this evening…nobody knows we have them in stock.”

I immediately e-mailed my friend Chadd. Chadd is a HUGE Nintendo fan in need of a Wii even more badly than I. “Can I come with you?” he asked. “Sure you can, but if there’s only one left it goes to me.” “Tough but fair” was his reply.

I left work at 5 and picked him up. We raced from Astoria to Middle Village. We ran from the car and sprinted down the escalator, arriving out of breath at the video game counter. We each left the store with a console. I bought Super Monkey Ball, Trauma Center and Elebits. Chadd bought a “classic controller” which is used to play the downloadable virtual console games. Since that time Chadd has spent $150 dollars on Virtual Console games. A virtual madman, I’d say.

As with any console launch, some games are hit and some are miss. Here are my quick takes on the games I have played.

Wii Sports
Tennis is my favorite of the Wii sports games. A blast to play with friends and tough AI opponents bring surprising replay value to this simple affair.

Bowling is great for friends and a lot of fun. The first game I played on the Wii, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the Wii knew when I twisted my arm, I wanted to curve the ball. I expected controls to be much more simplistic.

Boxing is fun (and a pretty good workout), but is probably the least responsive of the Wii sports games.

Baseball is a blast (pun intended), especially trying to fool a friend by mixing up pitches. I definitely enjoyed pitching more than hitting.

Golf is fairly straightforward. You hold your controller like a club and swing to hit your ball. It’s a little hard to judge exactly how hard you need to swing, but with practice it becomes easier.

Elebits
Elebits is an extremely fun game. You chase down tiny elebits, capturing them with your capture gun. Capturing elebits powers up various appliances on a particular level. Once powered up, more elebits spring out of the object. Different power-ups help you capture more elebits as you race against the clock to reach your capture goal. Also features a two player mode where you and a friend compete to capture the most elebits.

Trauma Center: Second Opinion
This is a game with an absolutely ridiculous storyline, but on that also features great game play. Using your remote and nunchuk, you perform various operations on patients. Racing against the clock and declining vital signs, things can get hectic very quickly. This is especially true as you progress and the operations become more and more difficult. The only thing missing is a red light-up nose on your patient.

Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
I just bought this the other day, so I haven’t spent a lot of time with it yet. As with prior Wario Ware games, you complete simple tasks in a rapid-fire environment. Save the girl from falling, balance the man on the ball, drink a glass of water, find the man with the flashlight, etc, etc.

This game is a perfect demonstration of the Wii remote capabilities. Before you use a new “move”, you are given a brief narrative on how to use the controller to move it. I can’t really explain it in words, but suffice it to say these narratives are bizarrely hilarious.

I can’t wait to play some more and unlock multiplayer mode. By far I would say this is my favorite game yet.