Thrustmaster Lightsaber Add-On for Wii turns you into Luke Skywalker

We’ve seen similar gadgets for the Wii before, but Thrustmaster’s version actually looks like something any would-be Luke Skywalker would be interested in using. These add-on sticks are powered by three AAAs and have 17 blue or red LEDs for glow-in-the-dark action. Very cool…for the right kind of game.

Ultra cool, but we’re not sure how much more “gameplay” it’ll add to The Force Unleashed, for the most part considered a bore of a game according to many reviews and a flop for the franchise. Not a total loss though; the controller can be adapted for other laser/fighting type games, and probably will be in the future.

Stories of Wii and Rehabilitation

Laura Schlobohm of Emporia enjoyed a game of bowling recently, cheering on her spares and attempting to coax the ball to hit the pins. Only Schlobohm wasn’t at a bowling alley. She was participating in Wii-habilitation and was one day from returning home from Newman Regional Health’s inpatient rehabilitation unit. The amazing thing: She had broken her hip just over two weeks earlier.

Part of Schlobohm’s rehabilitation exercises was to use the Nintendo Wii system, which is being used around the country not only for entertainment purposes but now for rehabilitation programs. The program is called Wii Fit and Wii Sport. The results are proven to speed up the rehabilitation process in patients who have had injuries or strokes, said Kim Bales, program director of Newman’s inpatient rehabilitation unit.

Bales said the whole purpose of inpatient rehabilitation is to get patients home and have them be as safe as possible when going home. The Wii system is another tool to work toward that goal. It’s now being used in several different wards for strengthening and balance.

Bales added that patients from 39 to 89 years old have enjoyed using the system. “Our average age is 79 that comes in (inpatient rehab) and they all love it (Wii).”

Dale Barb, a physical therapist at Newman, said there are many ways the Wii game system can be used in rehabilitation. Barb said the system helps patients practice tasks they will have to perform when they go home from the unit, including standing, balance and coordination.

The game helps patients stand longer and distracts them from the task at hand and gives them something fun to focus on, Barb explained as Schlobohm cheered in the background with her registered occupational therapist, Julia Gotchall.

“It’s fun,” Schlobohm said after she was done with her session. “I think it’s wonderful. It’s terrific exercise. It’s a wonderful program and the whole thing up here is wonderful.”

“My friends ask me if I can walk,” she said. “I said, ‘Run, no; walk, yes.”‘

SimCity Creator to be released for the Wii

Real SimCity needs no introduction, and SimCity Creator is real SimCity. Don’t be fooled by “Creator”; they just put that in the title because “SimCity: It’s Real Deal SimCity on the Wii” wouldn’t fit on the marketing brochures. However, just because this new Wii version has everything the old SimCity games had, doesn’t mean that a few new buildings haven’t sprung up in the familiar zones.

Curvy roads are to be introduced in this version. That’s right, SimCity Creator will mark the first SimCity game ever to feature curvy roads. No longer will you be forced to use clever zoning patterns as your signature; you will now be able to literally write your name in your domain with concrete. You just draw on the map with the Wii Remote and you’re done. New buildings and other new features (including turning your city into a “candy” world) are designated to be included with this release.

Most everything else is old-school SimCity, where buildings need power, people need recreation, and towns need landfills (preferably not too close to the restaurants). You’ll build up an idyllic city and then crush it to flaming pieces.

EA could have just ported SimCity to the Wii with a basic set of Wii controls and been guaranteed to sell a lot of copies. The fact that it included things like new disasters, revolutionary city-creation tools, and, of all things, curvy roads, you really get the idea that it didn’t just want to give you an old-school version of SimCity–it wanted to give you a rather unique version of SimCity. Whether or not its building is up to code will be revealed this September 22, when it will be available in stores.

Little League World Series 2008 Released

Activision’s Little League World Series 2008 is made for Wii, literally. And that’s what makes it a interesing game. You can bat, pitch, and field the ball in Little League, which is more than you do with the more static Wii Sports Baseball.

There is a bit to learn here, so Little League prompts you during game play to shake the Wiimote to move your character, for example.

Like the Wii itself, Little League is highly intuitive, so kids pick it up faster than their parents. You can choose from 16 teams, half of them from outside the United States. You can also customize your player/character and track statistics throughout a World Series, even a full season. You can boost your character’s skill levels at any point, and play in miniseries.

The game somehow captures the wacky earnestness (some say over-the-top madness) of Little League Baseball, and the Japanese obsession with the sport, notably the collecting of trophies and souvenirs.

Little League’s barking announcer, the crowds roaring in the background, and the Ferris wheel beyond the centerfield wall all add to the fun.

Little League World Series 2008 costs about $50 and should be on shelves now.

Rock Band killer ‘Wii Music’ coming soon

On the fence about about getting the new Rock Band 2? It may not be necessary; Wii Music will be coming to stores according to Kotaku, and one reason fans should be excited is the the lack of extra physical instruments that’ll clutter your living-room.

With your Wiimote and nunchuck controller, you’ll be able to play over 50 songs on 60 different instruments including the trumpet, piano, violin, and saxophone, instruments not included with Guitar Hero.

Even more uniquely, you can send songs to your Wii friends via the message board so they can add their own spin if they wish. A song list hasn’t been released yet but Nintendo should be including popular licensed songs to the setlist as well as classical tunes. The Wii balance board will come in handy as a virtual pedal when you’re playing drums in this game, so start dusting it off.

Pricing was not released at the time this article was written, but expect the game in stores on October 20th.

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