Wii

Adapted from a recent online discussion. Question: My sister and I are wondering about something, and I said we should try to get your take. Our brother and his wife (and their two kids) are not hurting financially. They both work, live in a more expensive area than we do, and send their kids to private school. Their son and my son are almost the same age and like to get together for their days off. My nephew was here for a long weekend, and they spent almost the whole day playing Wii. At dinner, my son said, "You should get one for your house.

Ivy the Kiwi? Reviewed for Wii; also available for Nintendo DS From: Prope, XSeed Games Age rating: Everyone (comic mischief) If you squint hard enough to see through the Wii's forest of ill-devised motion-control tech demos, half-baked mini-game collections, and one-trick peripherals, you might be lucky enough to spot a game like Ivy the Kiwi?, a sublime example of a game that homes in on one thing the Wii does best and then takes perfect advantage of it without any unnecessary fuss.

Monster Hunter Tri For: Wii From: Capcom ESRB Rating: Teen (blood, use of alcohol, violence) Capcom has tried and failed to persuade America to love Monster Hunter the way Japan does, but Monster Hunter Tri - imperfect and saturated with old trappings though it still is - might be where that persistence finally pays off. Should Tri's breakthrough happen, credit likely will go to the surprising support for four-player online co-op...

Who would have a thought a cartoon cow and some high school kids could reach through the silent and remote world of Dennison Perez? Perez, 25, who has cerebral palsy and other disabilities, doesn't speak, stares at the floor, and tends to rock back and forth in his wheelchair. But as he played Wii's cow-racing game, steering a bovine through pastures and over fences on a large television screen, Perez's face lit up as if he were in a real-life running of the bulls. "That's a week's worth of reaction from him," said Lylian Melendez, director of therapeutic activities at United Cerebral Palsy of Philadelphia, as she and other staff members cheered on Perez and his rampaging cow. Until recently, playing Wii, a popular activity at UCP, was out of the question for Perez because his stiff hands couldn't grasp a steering wheel or remote.

Who would have a thought a cartoon cow and some high school kids could reach through the silent and remote world of Dennison Perez? Perez, 25, who has cerebral palsy and other disabilities, doesn't speak, stares at the floor, and tends to rock back and forth in his wheelchair. But as he played Wii's cow-racing game, steering a bovine through pastures and over fences on a large television screen, Perez's face lit up as if he were in a real-life running of the bulls. "That's a week's worth of reaction from him," said Lylian Melendez, director of therapeutic activities at United Cerebral Palsy of Philadelphia, as she and other staff members cheered on Perez and his rampaging cow. Until recently, playing Wii, a popular activity at UCP, was out of the question for Perez because his stiff hands couldn't grasp a steering wheel or remote.

NBA Jam Reviewed for: Wii Coming soon for: PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 From: EA Sports ESRB Rating: Everyone The tenets of NBA Jam never disappeared, because NBA Street and its ilk offered comparable arcade basketball experiences in the meantime. But Jam's soul - cartoony players, cheat codes, announcer Tim Kitzrow screaming, "He's on fire!" - is as essential to the experience as the game itself, and that soul's complete return to form after 16 years is what makes this comeback so blissfully welcome.

Where: IceWorks Skating Complex, 3100 W. Dutton Mill Rd., Aston, 610-497-2200 When: Saturday through Feb. 18. Four sessions: 8 a.m., noon, 4 p.m., 8 p.m. Tickets: $8 for combined 8 a.m. and noon sessions; $10 for combined 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. sessions; $15 for all day; $99 for all week. Fan Zone: All-day activities every day include curling lessons and Wii curling. Websites: For tickets, streaming video of all events, and information, www.iceworks.net www.www.usacurl.org/ curlingrocks www.ustream.tv/ channel/usa-curling

Fox announced that it will use "video game-style coverage" during the baseball playoffs. According to Fox Sports president Eric Shanks, cameras will "zip" over the field of play, providing "a video game view of baseball for the first time. "   Are either of you excited for the new camera work Fox is billing as "a television first"? Being the sober journalist that I am, I will reserve judgment until I see the result. But if it's anything like that giant, plodding  transformer-like figure in a helmet that's been featured on Fox Sports forever, I'm skeptical.

Although plans for his memorial service are still pending, maybe you have hit Michael Jackson overload by the time you read this. He is all over the place, and while we savor his music, it hasn't taken long for the post-mourning sordidness to surface. But there is one more thing we should consider in this column - MJ was a serious gamer. Legend has it that he was so enamored with Mortal Kombat that he would take it on tour with him. Not the console version, mind you, but the arcade cabinet!

Hey, guys. Don't mean to be Mr. Topic Boss, but Gonzovacant's been falling down on the job recently. I was wondering what your level of confidence is in the 76ers as they approach tonight's Game 2 in Orlando. They came back from way down in the fourth quarter of the opener and got a pretty good win. For me, if all it takes is a combined 35 effective minutes from Theo Ratliff and Donyell Marshall to beat the Magic, I think the Sixers are still in big trouble. I have faith that Donyell Marshall looks like Ludacris.

Where: IceWorks Skating Complex, 3100 W. Dutton Mill Rd., Aston, 610-497-2200 When: Saturday through Feb. 18. Four sessions: 8 a.m., noon, 4 p.m., 8 p.m. Tickets: $8 for combined 8 a.m. and noon sessions; $10 for combined 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. sessions; $15 for all day; $99 for all week. Fan Zone: All-day activities every day include curling lessons and Wii curling. Websites: For tickets, streaming video of all events, and information, www.iceworks.net www.www.usacurl.org/ curlingrocks www.ustream.tv/ channel/usa-curling

NBA Jam Reviewed for: Wii Coming soon for: PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 From: EA Sports ESRB Rating: Everyone The tenets of NBA Jam never disappeared, because NBA Street and its ilk offered comparable arcade basketball experiences in the meantime. But Jam's soul - cartoony players, cheat codes, announcer Tim Kitzrow screaming, "He's on fire!" - is as essential to the experience as the game itself, and that soul's complete return to form after 16 years is what makes this comeback so blissfully welcome.

Fox announced that it will use "video game-style coverage" during the baseball playoffs. According to Fox Sports president Eric Shanks, cameras will "zip" over the field of play, providing "a video game view of baseball for the first time. "   Are either of you excited for the new camera work Fox is billing as "a television first"? Being the sober journalist that I am, I will reserve judgment until I see the result. But if it's anything like that giant, plodding  transformer-like figure in a helmet that's been featured on Fox Sports forever, I'm skeptical.

Ivy the Kiwi? Reviewed for Wii; also available for Nintendo DS From: Prope, XSeed Games Age rating: Everyone (comic mischief) If you squint hard enough to see through the Wii's forest of ill-devised motion-control tech demos, half-baked mini-game collections, and one-trick peripherals, you might be lucky enough to spot a game like Ivy the Kiwi?, a sublime example of a game that homes in on one thing the Wii does best and then takes perfect advantage of it without any unnecessary fuss.

Adapted from a recent online discussion. Question: My sister and I are wondering about something, and I said we should try to get your take. Our brother and his wife (and their two kids) are not hurting financially. They both work, live in a more expensive area than we do, and send their kids to private school. Their son and my son are almost the same age and like to get together for their days off. My nephew was here for a long weekend, and they spent almost the whole day playing Wii. At dinner, my son said, "You should get one for your house.

Who would have a thought a cartoon cow and some high school kids could reach through the silent and remote world of Dennison Perez? Perez, 25, who has cerebral palsy and other disabilities, doesn't speak, stares at the floor, and tends to rock back and forth in his wheelchair. But as he played Wii's cow-racing game, steering a bovine through pastures and over fences on a large television screen, Perez's face lit up as if he were in a real-life running of the bulls. "That's a week's worth of reaction from him," said Lylian Melendez, director of therapeutic activities at United Cerebral Palsy of Philadelphia, as she and other staff members cheered on Perez and his rampaging cow. Until recently, playing Wii, a popular activity at UCP, was out of the question for Perez because his stiff hands couldn't grasp a steering wheel or remote.

Who would have a thought a cartoon cow and some high school kids could reach through the silent and remote world of Dennison Perez? Perez, 25, who has cerebral palsy and other disabilities, doesn't speak, stares at the floor, and tends to rock back and forth in his wheelchair. But as he played Wii's cow-racing game, steering a bovine through pastures and over fences on a large television screen, Perez's face lit up as if he were in a real-life running of the bulls. "That's a week's worth of reaction from him," said Lylian Melendez, director of therapeutic activities at United Cerebral Palsy of Philadelphia, as she and other staff members cheered on Perez and his rampaging cow. Until recently, playing Wii, a popular activity at UCP, was out of the question for Perez because his stiff hands couldn't grasp a steering wheel or remote.

Monster Hunter Tri For: Wii From: Capcom ESRB Rating: Teen (blood, use of alcohol, violence) Capcom has tried and failed to persuade America to love Monster Hunter the way Japan does, but Monster Hunter Tri - imperfect and saturated with old trappings though it still is - might be where that persistence finally pays off. Should Tri's breakthrough happen, credit likely will go to the surprising support for four-player online co-op...

They seem like a pretty motley crew, this Drexel University design team - Jared Weinstock in his flip-flops, quoting Zoolander and expounding on the virtues of the fourth dimension; Kyle McArdle, grass stains on his jeans, downing cheesesteaks at every group meeting; and Nick Deimler, taking potshots from the gang as his ring tone, "Land Down Under," fills the room. "It's my mom," he says sheepishly. But look and listen closer, and the accolades they are receiving start to make sense.

Although plans for his memorial service are still pending, maybe you have hit Michael Jackson overload by the time you read this. He is all over the place, and while we savor his music, it hasn't taken long for the post-mourning sordidness to surface. But there is one more thing we should consider in this column - MJ was a serious gamer. Legend has it that he was so enamored with Mortal Kombat that he would take it on tour with him. Not the console version, mind you, but the arcade cabinet!