Buy Cheap Wii Sports Resort

Gift Guide: High-tech happiness for $100 or less – Yahoo! News

No one’s going to blame you for keeping holiday gifts minimal this year. But if you want to round out your handmade cards, scarves, pickles and jam with a gadget or gizmo, here are a handful of our $100-and-under favorites.

___

Wii MotionPlus accessory for Nintendo Wii ($20, or $50 with a game, available at bestbuy.com and elsewhere)

For many families, “Wii Sports,” the game that’s been bundled with the Nintendo Wii since its 2006 launch, remains a favorite. By letting people swing a controller to play virtual rounds of bowling, golf, tennis, baseball and boxing, it has changed how we play video games and made more of us into gamers.

The Wii MotionPlus is an attachment for the original “Wiimote” controller. The MotionPlus makes the motion-sensing controls more sensitive and precise, so a flick of a wrist can turn your virtual tennis racket and spin your bowling ball. If your gift recipient doesn’t already own “Wii Sports Resort,” it’s worth throwing that in, too — it adds frisbee-throwing with a dog, water-scooter racing, sword fighting and other new games and comes with one MotionPlus attachment.

___

Roku SD Netflix Player ($80, roku.com)

If someone you know uses Netflix, he or she needs Roku. In less than five minutes, I had this little black box plugged in to my television, connected to the Wi-Fi in my home and synched to my Netflix queue.

Netflix lets members who pay at least $9 per month stream more than 17,000 movies and TV shows using Roku or a computer, and the list is growing. I still had to use my computer to add new titles to my queue, but it was easy to scroll through them on the TV screen and pick something to watch.

The Roku SD is $20 less than the original model. It would be a good bet for someone like me, who still has an old-school boxy television. By the time I get a flat-screen TV, this kind of feature will come built in. If you’re shopping for someone who already has a house full of high-definition TVs, this isn’t the right Roku. Instead, pick the $100 Roku HD, which can stream high-def video, or the $130 Roku HD-XR, which uses the latest Wi-Fi technology to send that video to farther-away TVs in the house.

___

WikiReader ($99, thewikireader.com)

This pocketable gadget contains nearly all of the text of Wikipedia, the online community-built encyclopedia, and displays it on a monochrome LCD. It works anywhere, and can be updated through downloads every few months.

Using the WikiReader is faster than searching Wikipedia on a cell phone. Too bad the WikiReader’s on-screen keyboard makes it difficult to type search terms, and scrolling through long entries is slow. Wikipedia’s images and tables are missing. Still, a cool gift for the curious. Comes with two AAA batteries, which Openmoko Inc., the gadget’s maker, says will power the reader for about a year.

___

Magic Mouse for Macs ($69, store.apple.com)

Apple’s new wireless mouse comes nestled in a clear case like some artifact in an alien museum. It’s flatter than most mice, which is nice for my small hands. It also has no buttons or wheels, just a shiny white surface that clicks and responds to various fingertip gestures.

It took three software updates and reboots to get my iMac and mouse working together. Once that was done, I found it intuitive to use gestures for scrolling and panning: Just drag one finger across the surface of the mouse, in any direction.

I still haven’t mastered the “two-finger swipe,” a side-to-side gesture that can mean “go back” or “go forward” in programs such as Web browsers or digital photo collections. The movement is uncomfortable and the mouse keeps creeping to one side under my fingertips.

This is a good-looking addition to my desktop setup at home, though it isn’t a revolution. Buy it for die-hard Apple fans who love bragging about their latest iGadget.

___

Avid M-Audio Studiophile AV 30 and LaCie Sound2 computer speakers ($100 for either set, m-audio.com; lacie.com)

Playing music at any significant volume on built-in computer speakers gives me a headache — the desk seems to vibrate with the tinny racket. I’m no audiophile, but these speaker sets allowed me to enjoy listening to music in my home office again.

The minimalist black-and-white LaCie set looks more at home with my iMac. It’s also capable of drawing power from the computer over a USB connection if an outlet isn’t available. But to my amateur ears, the blockier black M-Audio ones sounded richer.

___

“FAIL Nation: A Visual Romp Through the World of Epic Fails” ($12, in bookstores)

The Web-trend connoisseur will recognize the source of this book, 2-year-old failblog.org, as the online pictorial compendium of things going horribly wrong. Even technophobes should be amused by the bloopers and awkward wordings captured in this slim volume, published in October by Harper Paperbacks.

The book reprints more than 100 of the Failblog’s reader-submitted photos. Marvel at signs that say “keep right” while pointing left, or that direct diners to the “drive-thur.” Snort at the ATM that asks you to withdraw multiples of $20 — to a maximum of $250. And so on.

The blog is run by Pet Holdings Inc., the same folks who brought you LOLcats, the art of writing funny captions for amateur cat photos (see icanhascheezburger.com).

___

Tiny tripods ($10-$20)

Spontaneous group photos are better when one person isn’t stuck holding the camera. The Bottle Cap Tripod from Dynomighty Design Inc. ($10, dynomighty.com) has a rubbery base that stuck perfectly on top of a wine bottle and a maple syrup container, although it was wobbly atop a bottle of Perrier. It’s common for cameras to have a hole on the bottom that screws onto tripods; I attached my point-and-shoot, tilted to get the right angle and set off the timer. Perfect.

The Manfrotto Modo Pocket ($20, bhphotovideo.com and elsewhere) is tabletop tripod that, when folded flat, is about half the size of a business card in length and width. Unfolded, it has four rubber-coated feet that grip nicely to most surfaces, and in the center, a threaded screw that works with digital cameras up to 17 ounces.

___

LaCie iamaKey USB flash drive ($22-$100, lacie.com)

Most USB drives are ugly and easy to lose. This one caught my eye because it looks like a key, which makes it at home on my key chain (it’s smaller than my car key) and LaCie says the part that sticks into the computer is water- and scratch-resistant. The iamaKey comes in four sizes, from 4 gigabytes to 32 gigabytes, and works on both Macs and Windows PCs.

___

AP Technology Writers Barbara Ortutay and Peter Svensson in New York and Associated Press Writer Ron Harris in Atlanta contributed to this report.

---

Wii  Sports Resort video game begins high in the sky, with you hurtling through the clouds after leaping from the belly of a biplane.

You control your Mii character with a twist of your remote, linking hands with other earthward-bound Miis, grinning for the camera.

Below, an expanse of land appears; a glorious formation of lush green hills, trimmed with gorgeous golden beaches.

With the wind roaring in your ears, your parachute opens with the name of the game emblazoned on the canvas.

As you float towards Wuhu Island, a smile spreads as wide as the glistening blue ocean on the screen.

It’s a look that, unless you are a rather stony-hearted individual, will stay plastered on your face for the majority of your time with Wii Sports Resort.

Related Articles

There are 12 different events, each with their own variations and difficulties.

Golf and bowling return from the original game and, while not ostensibly different, benefit from enhanced Motion Plus control.

Otherwise, there are ten brand new events to get your teeth into.

First on the menu is Swordplay, which undoubtedly acts as one of the game’s more outward advertisements for Motion Plus.

The sword movement on screen tracks your gestures rather beautifully as you swing, thrust and twist your wooden blade.

Holding B braces your sword in a defensive position to block your opponent’s strikes and a successful parry will give you your chance to counter attack.

There’s nothing overly complicated about swordplay, but it’s an instantly gratifying mode that shows off Motion Plus rather well.

It comes in three flavours too; Duel is a straight up one-on-one battle on a platform suspended over the sea, with the goal naturally being to bash your opponent over the edge.

Speed Slice requires you to swing your sword in a specified direction quickly to cut a selection of wacky objects -from giant pencils to boiled eggs- in two.

Showdown, meanwhile, pits you against a stream of enemies somewhere on Wuhu Island, with you only allowed to receive three hits.

While some mad waggling may get you past the first few levels, later on you have to start taking careful notice of your opponents and picking your blows.

Wakeboarding has you holding you remote horizontally as you take to the water, sweeping from side to side and flicking the remote up as your board hits the wave.

All you have to do is then deftly position yourself to land safely on the surf.

From there, it’s a case of timing and momentum, your craft pulling you faster and the jumps becoming fancier as your Mii twirls high above the waves.

The other water sports are more mixed.

Power Cruising is one of few disappointments, with rather clumsy steering controls.

While canoeing is fairly hopeless in single player, but a hilarious free-for-all with friends.

It often leads to a room full of people frantically swinging their arms/paddle from side to side, desperately trying to keep their spiralling canoe under control.

The Frisbee events are another neat demo for Motion Plus, allowing you to throw to an impossibly cute dog on the golden beaches of the island, or play the ever popular Frisbee golf.

The former mode will eat up far more of your time than you’d reasonably expect.

Throwing a Frisbee in that perfect curve, slicing through a bonus balloon before your dog leaps to grab the disc in its teeth is incredibly satisfying and has that ‘one more go’ factor in abundance.

It’s a similar story for the timed three-point basketball throws.

Another incredibly simple mode, it’s the sensitivity of Motion Plus that brings it to life.

You think you’re throwing in the same motion to drain that basket from different areas on the court, but it’s that slight twist or turn of your wrist that means it cannons back off the rim.

You remain convinced you can throw a perfect game, so you come back again and again and again.

Archery is slightly more sedate.

Pulling back the nunchuk to tauten your bow is pleasantly tactile, and the challenge ramps up as you progress through the difficulties.

The targets increase in range and there are even some obstacles that start blocking the way.

Archery is fun enough, but only has the one mode variant.

Perhaps a rapid-fire mode would have been welcome here.

Cycling is possibly Resort’s only out and out failure.

While barrelling around Wuhu Island on a mountain bike has its charms, the control mish-mash of shaking the remote and nunchuk to pedal while simultaneously titling them to steer is ungainly to say the least.

The Air Sports section, on the other hand, could have been expanded into a game of its own right.

Parachuting makes a welcome return from the game’s opening, while dogfight is a fun, but ultimately throwaway, blast for two players.

Free flight, however, allows Nintendo to show you the beauty of Wuhu Island itself.

You take to the air, circling the island from above and searching out ‘points of interest’ to dive down and collect.

It’s a wonderfully relaxing mode, allowing you to wind down after some serious time with the game’s more exerting activities.

Chief of which is Resort’s undoubted star of the show, table tennis.

Just as tennis and bowling in the original Wii Sports captured the imagination of so many, it’s likely to be table tennis that will do the same for Resort and possibly even Motion Plus itself.

It’s nothing more complex than one-on-one ping pong competition, but its implementation is nigh-on perfect.

It captures the movement of your bat beautifully, allowing you to slice and spin your shots with an unerring representation of real life.

Need more power? Swing your arm up and over the ball, adding vital topspin.

Curve your shot into the corner with a quick twist of the wrist on impact.

Slow down a rally by slicing a shot into the shallow of the table.

This is all done with nothing more than the deft movement of your arm.

Table tennis would be worth the trip to Resort on its own, it’s fantastically fun and a terrific display of Motion Plus potential.

Being a Nintendo game, Resort is also cute as a button.

Wuhu Island is a glorious creation, drenched in gorgeous, bright primary colours.

And the implementation of the Mii Channel adds weird and wonderful creations to your game.

Have Miss Piggy and Batman pilot your wakeboarding craft, or play table tennis with Mr.

Burns from the Simpsons, it all adds an untouchable charm that keeps that grin spread wide.

There are complaints of course.

The lack of even the most bare bones online play will disappoint many, while some of the events are in desperate need of fleshing out.

Customisation, too, is non-existent.

Why, for example, can you not up the point limit in a game of table tennis?

These are genuine complaints, but criticising Resort can feel like scolding a playful puppy for having too much fun.

It’s just an outrageously joyous game, beautifully crafted for nothing but simple pleasures.

But more than that, many of the events can feel like microcosms of potential for Motion Plus.

Imagine, for instance, transferring the swordplay and archery into a Zelda game? A mouth-watering prospect indeed.

Resort is perhaps not as industry shaking as its predecessor, but it comes at a time where many gamers have taken their camp.

You either like the Wii, or you don’t, and there’s very little middle ground.

Wii Sports Resort is an unashamed definition of its host console; simple, colourful, accessible to all, but with a hidden depth for those who wish to explore it.

It’s unlikely to convert many that are lost to the Wii cause, but for those who have already embraced it, a trip to Wuhu Island will be some of the most fun you’ll have all year

About The Author

Owner of the UK’s premier website http://www.glimmers.co.uk for Nintendo Wii, Sony Playstation, and Microsoft Xbox games and accessories. We have created a number of websites selling the top video games and accessories for all the top brand names with our http://www.glimmers.co.uk one of the UK’s top sites for all types of video games.

 Mail this post

Technorati Tags: cheap wii sports resort