Wii Ultra Wireless Sensor Bar

For just $19,99, we recently decided to add the wireless ultra sensor bar to our Wii system.  If you are sitting across the room, the regular sensor does not have enough range for you to use the remote.

We use our Wii for streaming NetFlix movies, so being able to use the long range sensor is a great bonus when searching through movies. We really like the bar, but learned quickly, this is about all its good for.  It sucks the life out of batteries like you wouldn’t believe, even rechargeables.  It would be better for it to actually be wired in, so you wouldn’t be changing the batteries out every other day. We don’t even utilize it when playing games- it wouldn’t be worth it. You also have to remember to turn it on, as it only stays on stand-by for 1 or 2 hours. (This is suppose to save battery life. I find that amusing.)

Here are the Wii bar particulars:

Features

• Platform: Nintendo Wii
• Category: More Accessories
• Publisher: Bensussen, Deutsch & Associates
• Console Accessory Features: LED Indicator Light, On/Off Switch
• Gaming System Compatibility: Nintendo Wii
• Includes: Wireless Sensor Bar
• System Requirements: Batteries Required
• Power Source: Battery-Powered
• Warranty Description: 2 Year Limited Manufacturer Warranty

I’m not exactly regretting the purchase, because I like to use it for NetFlix. And, let’s face it, it wasn’t a large investment.  But, I think Nintendo needs a re-design of this one  or some sort of fix for the battery draining- because to date I have spent more on batteries than the device.

Dance Central For XBox 360 Kinect

Remember my posting that listed my 7 Must-Haves for the Holiday Season?  Well my husband and my aunt were listening because I got three of my Must-Haves for Christmas!  *Squee*

My husband got me Dance Central for XBOX 360 Kinect – as an early Christmas present.  (Isn’t he awesome ladies?)

We have always had just about every.single.video.game.system.ever.  My husband has been a pretty big gamer since we were teenagers.  That was back when I used to sit on the couch next to him pretending to be interested in watching him play.  (Now, I don’t pretend…he knows I am just.not.interested.)  I haven’t been interested in fact, since Nintendo.

It’s true.

When I was small I remember getting an Atari.  It was so exciting!  Then we got Nintendo and I was all over Mario Bros.  My younger sister, brother and I would play for hours.  And then after awhile it was just them playing.  I was over video games.  Fast forward to high school and my then boyfriend now husband and I would spend a lot of time in … arcades (back when kids did that sort of thing) and on the couch at his house playing video games.

Correction.  He was playing.  I was faking an interest.

Right now the XBOX 360 and the Wii get a lot of play in our house.  My boys are following in their dad’s footsteps and love to play as well.  I have had zero interest in any of it… until that is, I was seeing ads for the Kinect.  Wireless?  No controller needed?  I was intrigued.

Then came the ads for Dance Central.  I mean I had to have this suddenly.  I was so excited about this I even wrote to the company that made Dance Central (Harmonix) to tell them how much I loved it immediately after trying it.  I almost never do that!  And about a video game!

For the last year I have been a sometimes avid, sometimes not at all, YMCA user.  We just put a hold on our account for a few months because we just were not getting there as much as we should.  After this winter maybe we’ll have more time to get back there.  But it’s January – which means there are only about five (5!) months till beach season (which equals bathing suits) and the boys are already bugging me about when we get to start hitting the beach again.

I have decided this game is going to be my workout routine.  It’s going to get me bathing suit ready once.and.for.all because the last 3 years I have struggled like you wouldn’t believe.  I’m thinking if I can put in one hour a day (after the boys go to bed), I may just finally look the way I want to.  While not even feeling like I am working out.

The game is rated T for Teens.  It is amazing because it breaks down all of the dance steps slowly for you.  You practice them.  It even shows you what you are doing wrong by highlighting the body part that isn’t moving correctly in red.  Levels on each song vary from Easy, Medium to Hard.  For the first 15 minutes you are playing you’re thinking about how you can’t possibly be exercising … another 45 minutes goes by like that as you move up levels and unlock new songs and suddenly your whole body is feeling the workout.  And all you were doing was dancing.

Oh, and super fun fact.  The game takes pictures of you dancing!  And plays them back for you!  A visit to Kinectshare.com allows you to access and share photos and videos from your Kinect games.  Unfortunately Dance Central isn’t on the list yet.   But WHO does not love to dance, while losing some extra weight in your own living room.  And (not that I have tried) but this could be a pretty fun game to pull out when you’ve had a few drinks and some friends are over (provided you are over 21).  Dance Battle feature.  Need I say more?

Songs on Dance Central range from Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” to Bel Biv DeVoe’s “Poison”… even Wreckx-n-Effect’s “Rump Shaker”.  Just shake your rump!  When you get tired of the songs that came with the game?  You can also go online and download new songs for about $3.00!

While all Kinect games retail for about $49.99, you can find it on Amazon.com for as low as $39.99!  Want to join me online?  My gamer tag is “Liza Rae”.

Family Game Night where no one dies.

Our household consists of one grown woman, one grown man, one four year old girl, and one nine year old boy.

Finding something that the four of us can do together is… let’s say… tricky.

My son, for example, loves the Monopoly board game.  My daughter can’t add or subtract or sit still for a four hour board game.  My daughter loves to color, and my son is so. over. coloring.  *eye roll*

We watch a lot of movies as a family (and Lord knows even finding a movie we can all agree on can be agonizing), but once in a while it’d be nice to do something together where talking is allowed.

Enter Hasboro’s Family Game Night for the Wii, which we’ve apparently had forever but never played before.

We played this together for the first time last Friday night, and it was a big hit with everyone.

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