I gots me a Wii! Surprisingly the only place I could find that has any in stock was Wal-Mart, and while everywhere else was sold out and eagerly awaiting further shipments Wal-Mart had five sitting in the case in electronics.

Now if you’re going to buy a Wii, I have a few recommendations: first don’t buy an extra controller. At $30 for the Wiimote, plus another $20 for the nun chuck add-on, it gets pricey, and there aren’t enough games out with multiplayer yet to really make it worthwhile. Second, don’t buy a memory card. The Wii’s memory card is a regular old SD card that most digital cameras use. Instead of buying the “made for Wii” memory card go to a computer store and get one for $20, it’s much cheaper. And third, you really don’t need to buy a game to start off with. Unlike most systems these days, the Wii comes with “Wii Sports” that lets you play five games: baseball, tennis, bowling, boxing and golf. Wii sports has multiplayer and serves as an introduction to using the Wii.

I’m pretty sure anyone into video games has heard of the Wii by now. Rather than using a joy pad to move, you actually move the remote-shaped controller, the Wiimote, to control the action on screen. There is also an add-on for the Wiimote, which gives you a joystick and a couple more buttons which you hold in your other hand, is also motion sensitive, and gives the controller it’s “nun chuck” nickname because it kind of looks and feels like a pair of nun chucks. You can also connect your Wii to the Internet for online play and to download extra content and classic Nintendo games.

When I bought my Wii, I also picked up a copy of the new Mario game “Super Paper Mario.” The Paper Mario series, of which this is the third, started out as an RPG spin-off that used graphics designed to look like paper cutouts. The sequel played up on this idea by giving the player paper abilities, such as being able to turn sideways and slip through cracks and being able to fold up into a paper airplane.

“Super Paper Mario” eliminates most of the RPG elements in favor of old school game play with a paper look. The game features four playable characters, Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and Bowser, which you can switch between at any time. Each of the characters also has a unique ability, Mario can cause the world to “turn sideways” and go from a two-dimensional view to a 3D version to give you a radically different look at a Mario level.

The basic story is that an evil count named Bleck hypnotized Peach and Bowser, and almost had them married before Luigi crashed the party. Then they all get sucked into an alternate dimension and Mario has to rescue them. As you rescue characters you are able to play as them. Bleck is using an ancient prophecy to destroy all worlds, and Mario and friends are four prophesized heroes who can stop him.

I wonder, though, how come Bowser is no longer a serious villain? He’s either an ally or comic relief, I mean come on he used to be so cool and evil, and now he’s kind of a joke.

The controls, and the Wii itself, take a little while to get used to but are relatively easy to learn, and the game more or less holds your hand for the first part of the game with a very gradual learning curve. While most of the RPG elements have been eliminated, some things remain such as status effects and characters have hit points and will level up. Hit points make everything much easier than the traditional “one hit you’re dead, unless you have a mushroom then it’s two hits” scheme. “Super Paper Mario” is a great game for fans of Nintendo and it’s a great first game for new Wii owners.

I would like to end by thanking all my readers and wishing everyone graduating “good luck.” Everyone else, I’ll see you next semester with more Wii coverage and even more of my patented brand of irreverent and self-indulgent commentary. ‘Til then, be sure you have a towel to wipe your hands on when they get sweaty after long periods of playing so you don’t lose your grip!