You can get in the driver’s seat with Mario Kart, with the zany character who is always ready to zoom and make you laugh at the same time. You can enter a Grand Prix or be part of the Mushroom Kingdom racing circuit. Single player or multi-player, this game gets your blood racing.

Transform the Wii Remote into a Wii Wheel to take hold of the action. Use the Nunchuk to control character movements. Boost the speed by giving the Wiimote a shake and you’re on your way. Become Mario, Luigi, or any of his other friends, or use your favorite personalized Mii character. Play with up to 12 people using the Wii’s Wi-Fi connection.

Now enter the ‘real’ world and become a NASCAR competitor with Nascar Kart Racing. Grab the steering wheel and compete for the NASCAR Sprint Cup as you jump rivers, dodge falling boulders, and speed through dangerous terrain.

Become any one of 14 different NASCAR champions or ten other animated characters. Speed off at the drop of the checkered flag, then slingshot around the track to race ahead of your competitors. Watch out for that oil slick! Whew, that was close.

Select up to 24 different race layouts that wind through deserts, race along freeways, zoom through canyons, or many other settings. Enter the Daytona International Speedway and get ready to go. In the blink of an eye you can be at the Bristol Motor Speedway.

Now head off for the sport’s biggest event in the Indianapolis 500 Racing game. Reach speeds of nearly 200 mph in a 1960s-era racing car that crouches low over the track. Crashes come thick and fast in this high-speed race to the finish line.

Play with the legends – A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, and Parnelli Jones – as you maneuver around the track. Join 30 other rivals as you all race for the finish line trying to avoid the crowd. In this arcade-style game you’ll dodge oil slicks, cars spinning out of control, and that ever-present quick-death from the wall.

Now leave the track and head for the skies in Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII. Be part of the air combat at Pearl Harbor as the Japanese attack the Hawaiian port and bomb U.S. battleships. Fly over to England and join in the Battle of Britain as the Luftwaffe tries to pound the UK into submission. Engage the enemy in the Pacific in authentic WWII fighter planes.

Use the Nunchuk to fire, brake, and accelerate. Command the squadron with the Wii Remote. Tilt it sideways to bank and turn as you race away from the enemy to come back up from behind. Break through the clouds with your machine gun ready. Now bombs away as you take out enemy battleships and tanks near the shore.

Whether on the ground or in the air, you’re in control while racing or flying to your goal with one of these superb Wii games.

Click Here for Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum

When you commence the game, you will enter as a recruit in the Jillian Michaels fitness boot camp. As you proceed, you can easily navigate through different routines by using the Wiimote. The avatar for Jillian Michaels will be there with you every step of the way.

By using the Wii platform, you can actually interact with the game. Whether pummelling a punching bag or rowing a kayak, you move your body as though you are doing it in real life. The game offers an innovative way to get in shape and get some exercise.

Fitness Ultimatum offers several different lengths for your workouts and you can also custom tailor your workout intensity and difficulty level. At the onset, Jillian Michaels will assist you in designing a program to help with your long term fitness or weight loss.

Fitness Ultimatum also offers some videos on weight loss and nutrition, designed to enhance your health experience. If you are looking to add an exercise component to your Wii, then Fitness Ultimatum could be a good choice for you.

EA Sports Active

If you want to work out with friends or family in other fitness games, you have to take turns, making your exercise session into a series of starts and stops. This kind of approach prevents you from reaching your top performance level, and reduces the effectiveness of your fitness.

You can also use the program to keep track of the foods you eat to help you eat smarter. Just like when you go to the gym for a workout, EA Sports Active provides you with a virtual personal trainer that will guide you and motivate as you try reach your goals.

Each workout starts with clear instructions, and once you are on your way you will get instant feedback along with encouragement and tips from your trainer to achieve the results you are looking for.

The kit includes a leg strap and a resistance band. The resistance band helps when you are doing exercises for the arms. You can get a more intense workout when you are working with your biceps, your shoulders and your forearms with the resistance band.

Wii is one of the best simulators on the market and you can participate in dancing, tennis, volleyball and more – right in your own home. Workout in your living room, your bedroom, your family room or wherever you have a TV. This is the convenient way to get that cardio workout that you need to stay in shape.

You can also combine EA Sports Active with the Wii Balance Board. Some of the great activities in EA Sports Active include dancing, inline skating, tennis and volleyball. These are just a few of the more than 25 exercises and activities available to jump start your fitness.

The Wii EA Sports Active allows you and a friend or family member to enjoy the workouts that are provided through the use of a split player mode. Finally, as an extra incentive, the Wii EA Sports Active offers a 30 day fitness challenge to encourage you to get in shape even more.

All in all, EA Sports Active is a sure winner if you’re looking to improve your fitness in the comfort of your own home.

The Wii actually has a slight advantage in one respect over a PC or Mac when it comes to displaying graphics. Since it’s already connected to a TV, displaying any image or video on the larger screen becomes a simple exercise. No need to connect your PC or Mac to the TV. All that’s required is to download or select what you want to display.

In the case of images or video, that can come from several sources. Users can select images from the Wii Message Board that have been shared by friends. Or, with the use of Wii Internet you can obtain jpegs or video from email attachments and download them to the internal flash storage of the console. Or, just slip in an SD card into the onboard slot and select whatever you want to view from the menu.

All these can be accessed via the Photo Channel, one of the main options in the Wii system. From here, it’s easy to access image or video files. When the Wii scans the SD card, it displays the familiar thumbnail for images and small filmstrip icons for video. Expanding or shrinking the size of the thumbnails is elementary using the + and – options. Flipping through the images is ultra-simple using the D-pad.

But the system offers more than mere display. Using the Fun button, kids can draw on the images, just as you might using Paint or Photoshop. There are also different filters that allow users to modify the look or to copy portions of the images. Users of all ages can have fun turning their images into a photo jigsaw puzzle, which can also be done with video. Slideshows are a snap.

There also exists third-party freeware that allows you to convert your video files for use on the Wii. If you have something you’re eager to watch on the TV through the console, it’s an easy way to expand your use of the Wii playback feature.

The open source Wii Miidia center is another great way to display video stored on the SD card, using the Wii’s Wi-Fi or Ethernet support to connect to their Internet site.

Explore every feature of your Wii, including the image and video playback features.

It contains many of the standard features: clearly-marked A and B buttons, a four-way directional pad, two analog control sticks, four face buttons, and four shoulder buttons. Each game you load describes how to use all those buttons and controls, so there’s never any problem adapting from one to the next. It also houses three control buttons for navigating the Wii menu system to Select, go to Home, and to Start.

The Classic Controller is lightweight and easy to handle. The layout is uncluttered, making it easy to learn and operate even by novice gamers. That fits in nicely with the overall design motif for the Wii: the ability of anyone to set up a Wii and begin having fun with it right away. The learning curve is extremely flat for this system and the Classic continues that theme.

There is one downside to the Classic that is a little surprising: it can’t play GameCube games. It is designed to be used with games offered through Nintendo’s Virtual Console online offering. The Wii system itself can play any GameCube game, but that requires a GameCube controller.

Fortunately, that dilemma is easily overcome, thanks to the Wii’s four ports that allow a number of controllers to be attached. It also presents only a minor difficulty, since so many of those Virtual Console games are so well designed and enjoyable. Wind Waker, Metroid Prime, Mario Kart, Zelda: Twilight Princess, and others are great fun. There are tons of games you can download using the VC. You won’t run out of options anytime soon.

The other minor drawback probably should not be labeled as such anyway: the Classic Controller plugs into the Wiimote, which provides it with power. Still, if it needs to be plugged into something, connecting to the Wiimote can easily be seen as an advantage. It gives more flexibility and distance than if it’s plugged into the console itself. It also means that the Classic does not require its own batteries, reducing cost and weight and increasing convenience.

For those who want the ultimate in legacy-style gaming control, Hori has released a version of the Classic Controller that goes by the same name. It offers numerous controls and the layout is superb.

The function of the Hori’s buttons are clearly marked and the boomerang shape is in line with many of the controllers that experienced gamers ‘grew up’ with. It even offers easy-to-use autofire switches. Anyone interested in utilizing all those hard-earned skills from years of traditional gaming will want to check it out as well.

The Disc Channel is one of the most basic. It provides a way to use Wii discs that hold games. It’s also backwards compatible with the Nintendo GameCube, so those who have used that system can enjoy their Wii and still take advantage of all that hard-earned knowledge and software from the Wii predecessor.

The Wii Shop is one of the primary gateways to much, much more. Through it, Wii users can acquire all kinds of great software and accessories from Nintendo. Far from a mere marketing tool – though, hey, Nintendo wants to earn revenue, sure – it is a portal that opens up thousands of new possibilities.

One of those possibilities is the Internet Channel. It provides a mechanism to download a version of the Opera 9 browser and use the Wii system to navigate the World Wide Web. Working in conjunction with the Wiimote, users can point-and-click, zoom, and more to access everything the Internet offers with a secure and easy-to-use browser. Using the TV as an Internet monitor has been a goal of gaming and computer enthusiasts for a long time, and now it has arrived.

Many more options open up via the Virtual Console, another channel. This one provides dozens of legacy games that can be used with the Classic Controller, the GameCube Controller, and others. For long-time gamers who remember Nintendo 64 and more – or new ones who want to explore what gaming has offered all these years – it’s a cornucopia of game delights.

The Mii Channel will delight many gamers, young and old. These Nintendo characters extend your gaming fun. They can play a role in dozens of Wii adventures. They can be tailored and kids will find no end of ways to do so.

There are channels for grown-ups, too. The Everybody Votes Channel houses many national polls that give you a chance to have your views counted. The News Channel provides one way to get informed so you can vote wisely. The Wii Message Board let’s you exchange messages to influence friends and family, or just let them know what you’re up to.

When you do, you might want to use the Photo Channel to grab some images out of email or off the SD card inserted in the Wii to display on your TV. Using Wii Internet you can share them via any Internet-based email system.

The Forecast Channel adds one more dimension to explore the world of Wii and beyond. This service provides automatically updated weather reports from around the globe. So, if you’re playing a Wii game with a friend overseas, you can each share what the world is like in your neighborhood.

The Wii system offers much more than gaming, as central as that is to the whole experience. Explore some of them using Wii Channels.

Since it is in essence an Internet connection (that’s where the game updates, messages, and more come from) it relies on underlying mechanisms. One of the more important aspects is the Wii’s built-in Wi-Fi support. Wi-Fi allows the Wii to wirelessly connect to the Internet.

There are a few different ways to support that connectivity. One is to make use of a wireless router you have already in place in your home computer network. If you don’t have that as part of your network design, you can take advantage of the Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector. This small device plugs into your computer’s USB port and acts like a mini-wireless router for a system that is hard-wired to the Internet.

Once your Internet connectivity is established, using WiiConnect24 is straightforward. It enables any Wii console to remain connected to the Internet 24 hours per day (hence the name) while in standby mode. In that mode it’s possible to receive the game updates, messages, and more referred to above. Forecast Channel and News Channel both use WiiConnect24 to receive up-to-date information, for example.

There is a potential problem with that feature that has affected some Wii consoles. Wi-Fi connectivity can produce excess heat, the enemy of all electronic systems. In standby mode with WiiConnect24, the Wii uses more power, nearly 10 watts as opposed to just a bit more than 1 watt without it. When the internal temperature becomes too great, chips misbehave, sometimes even suffering permanent damage.

It’s rare, and it’s pretty easy to minimize the probability of that happening.

Early victims of the problem suspected it was WiiConnect24 itself creating the risk. But that’s just a software element and so it can’t produce heat. Others suspected the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) was at fault, since one way the problem shows up is through random darkened pixels on the screen. But that’s a side-effect, not the underlying cause. With the system in standby mode, there’s no way a graphics unit can produce excess heat.

After much research, Nintendo found that the Wi-Fi components inside the console were responsible for the problem for those few systems that experienced it. Fortunately, the cure is straightforward.

Despite the name, few systems are designed to be on 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. Those (like PCs and Macs) have special software, fans, and more  that help reduce heat. The heat is produced by the chips themselves as electricity passes through them all day. The Wii, too, has a fan and vents to expel heat and cool the components, but they have to be allowed to work properly. Keeping your Wii in a well-ventilated area with none of its vents covered or too close to a wall can head off problems before they occur.

If that doesn’t do the trick as you can detect by touching the side of your Wii and finding it excessively hot to the touch, external cooling fans are an option. In the worst case, which isn’t very bad after all, just completely power off your Wii once in a while. Daily power-off is rarely needed, but that’s an option, too. The Wii boots up quickly.

Once you’ve established your WiiConnect24, you’ll be able to get updates for Animal Crossing, Big Brain Academy, Mario Kart, and many more games. You’ll be able to tell that your feature is working by the yellow color of the Power LED (red means off). Once you receive updates the Wii Optical Drive will glow blue and/or flash depending on your firmware level or what sort of data has been received.

We Ski

There are hundreds, no thousands of good examples, but none better than We Ski. Because the Wiimote and Nunchuk have motion sensors built in, you don’t just play the game, you’re in it. You race down the ski slopes with friends and family who wield their own controls. Slalom down the black diamond path and bump over the moguls.

You can ski at night on beginner, intermediate, or advanced runs. For those who want a little instruction, join Ski School. Once you graduate enter the Centipede Race. Advance your We Ski play still further as you Wii Step onto your Wii Balance Board. Become an advanced skier and you can join the Search and Rescue squad. Do your good deed then ski back to the lodge, sit back, and enjoy the nighttime fireworks show.

Winter Sports – The Ultimate Challenge

Now that you’re an expert, you’re ready for Winter Sports, The Ultimate Challenge. You can enter any of 9 different winter sports and show your stuff. Or, you can take on any one of over 40 missions with other players.

Become a Speed Skater and use the Wiimote and Nunchuk to guide your actions down the ice. Enter a Ski Jump and zoom off into the air with perfect form. You’ll need to control the action just right to avoid a crash landing. Slide into the Bobsled and race down the track at lightening speed where any mistake can mean instant death.

For a more leisurely, but still highly challenging sport try the Curling. You’ll need to exercise the most precise hand movements to hit the goal and win a medal. Now enjoy the final ceremonies as you are honored with the Gold in front of cheering crowds and the commentators applaud your performance.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09

Now shake off those winter blues and take part in the Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09. Let Tiger’s real-life coach Hank Haney give you tips on how to improve your game. Calibrate your clubs using the Club Tuner to get exactly the swing you want.

The Tiger Woods PGA Tour has levels of play for everyone from duffers to world champs. In Golf Party Mode you can play with up to 15 friends. Get a preview of how you’ll do against your competitors with the All-Play swing mode, which shows you exactly where your ball would go before you hit.

You’ll play on courses around the world: the Gary Player Country club in South Africa, the Wentworth Country Club in England, and many more. Practice your putt with Darren Clarke. Adjust your putt on the D-pad and sink the ball like a pro.

With the Wii system you do much more than merely observe a sport, you play it and play it hard. Wii Sports and Outdoor Games are the next best thing to being there.

The Wii Nunchuk connects to the Wii Remote via a cord that provides both electrical power and coordination between the two devices. Nyko makes a wireless version for those who want to eliminate the cord. So, the Nunchuk needs no batteries unlike the Wiimote, which takes 2-AA’s. It also provides a feedback loop to the Wiimote and the console, increasing realism and control.

Boxing, for example, takes on an added dimension thanks to the Nunchuk. Gamers can jab with the left (the Nunchuk) and fire off a roundhouse punch with the right (the Wii Remote). In a first-person shooter, the Nunchuk lets you control the basic movements while you fire with the Wiimote.

The Nunchuk (named after the Japanese martial arts weapon) can do that because it contains much of the technology of the Remote and some extras. It houses the same type of three-axis motion sensors so you can shift left and right, up and down, forward and backward, and perform rotations (a combination of the three). In addition, it adds an analog stick and two buttons similar to traditional game controllers.

The Nunchuk thus becomes more than the sum of its parts. Working alone, it gives you added realism and a wider range of motions by the combination of traditional gaming controls and Wiimote-style control. Working in conjunction with the Wii Remote which works with the sensor bar and receptors in the console, it provides a new level of gaming.

Most players (like most people) are right-handed. So, they’ll hold the Wiimote in the right and the Nunchuk in the left. But the devices are designed to be ambidextrous, so you can easily switch them without a loss of control. If you happen to be left handed, or just learned to play computer games that way, you’ll enjoy the same full experience whichever way you choose.

You can even use the extra ports on the console to plug in more than one Nunchuk (and more controllers, like the Classic Controller or a GameCube controller). That permits a huge variation in your style of play for single-player games, and even more fun for multiple-player games. In either scenario, you can use the analog stick to increase character movement while you use the Remote to throw a football, aim a rifle, or perform hundreds of other moves with increased realism.

The Nunchuk is supplied but not required, though. In fact there are many games, especially older ones from the GameCube (and earlier) era that don’t take advantage of the added flexibility. Even in more contemporary games where the Nunchuk can be used, it is often not essential.

Like any new gaming device, there is a learning curve involved, but the free Wii Sports available with the system provides plenty of fun opportunities right out of the box for getting used to the Nunchuk. Once you do, you’ll rarely want to be without it. The combined pair makes gaming the next best thing to virtual reality.

Lego Star Wars

Lego Star Wars is a great example. Star Wars lets you stretch your mind to encompass that huge galaxy far, far away. You take on the mantle of Luke or Han and explore the events from the six Star Wars films. You fight the evil empire with all the futuristic weapons devised by Lucas and crew. Take off in the Millenium Falcon. Talk to a Wookie. Zap an evil Storm Trooper with a light sabre. Explore the unknown and risk life and limb to save Princess Leia.

Super Mario Galaxy

Super Mario Galaxy provides a great twist on a legacy character who continues to be popular year after year. Battle enemies from planet to planet as you zoom from one to the next. Perform death-defying feats as you conquer gravity using the Wiimote and Nunchuk to control your destiny. Run and jump over alien territory as you evade super-powerful villains. Act alone or team up with a partner who can watch your back.

Rayman Raving Rabbids

Enter an entirely different kind of world in Rayman Raving Rabbids. Giant cartoon spiders chase you through the jungle as you rush away to safety. Do battle with crazed Evil Rabbits as you explore the World of Rayman. Tame sharks or ride a rhino as you roam a land stranger than any you’ve ever seen.

Call of Duty

Re-enter the ‘real’ world by answering the Call of Duty. You’ll experience the thrill and terror of close-quarters battle. You’ll watch the clock ticking as you attempt to disarm traps. You’ll stretch your will and sinew to the limit as you engage in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy.

Choose a mission and then take off. You’ll hunt down enemy hideouts, then blow them up with the latest explosives. Out flank your opponent as he tries to stop you from completing your mission. Fire away, then it’s on to the next dangerous task as the Allies march onward. Enjoy the action with up to 16 players.

Metroid: Prime 3

Zoom off to another off-world experience with Metroid: Prime3 Corruption. Become Samus and use the Wiimote to fire against any approaching danger. Fire on the run using the Nunchuk. Protect your flank with the Grapple Beam or Morph Ball as you blast away in midair.

Samus Aran the Galactic Bounty-hunter is under attack by the Space Pirates. Only you can save the day. Just around the corner lurks danger. Be prepared. Solve the puzzle to unlock the key to the mystery. Beware the shadows that hide the enemy and be ready for anything in this alien culture.

Explore the world of action games on the Wii system with any of hundreds of choices. Solve mysteries, participate in adventures, risk life and virtual limb at every turn, all the while the fate of the universe rests in your Wiimote and Nunchuk filled hands.