Things I Enjoyed in 2006

In no particular order.

• Children of Men – Fantastic thriller with Clive Owen and Michael Caine. Strong cast, an inspired dystopian future, and a valuable lesson for today.



• Fancy Dress Parties – The most fun you can have with someone else’s clothes on!



• Animal Crossing: Wide World – The reason I bought a Nintendo DS, and the reason I’m happy when it rains.



• Best friends – A cliché, but these are the people that kept me sane (You know who you are!)



• FilmFour – for bringing me all the Studio Ghibli goodness I could handle.



• CSI: New York – I’m a late-comer, but it’s still the only regular TV I watch. And I’m in love with “Montana”.



• Sugar Rush 2 – Great show with a great cast. More please.



• Lock and Load’s Battle of the Bands – Its encouraging seeing so much new local musical talent. And it’s the best night out you’ll have in Yarmouth during Spring/Summer.



• That Mitchell and Webb Look – And in particular The Surprising Adventures of Sir Digby Chicken Caesar. Dunderunderunderunderun…



• The Norwich Playhouse – Great place for a quiet drink in the evening. And as it’s far off the beaten track you don’t get the usual Friday-night rent-a-mob.



• We Love Katamari – If only I could get that catchy theme tune out of my head.



• Dead Rising – As much as hate the Xbox, this is the best zombie game ever!



• Nicola from Girls Aloud – my current lust object



• Evans – as every big girl knows.



• Wikipedia – Not always right, but always useful.



• Kingdom of Loathing – Still playing this online roleplayer one year on. And there’s still new content being added.

Wii Love You!

At the risk of sounding like a Nintendo fan-girl; Wii Sports is amazing!

The graphics are bright and cheery, but nothing the Gamecube couldn’t do.

The sports are basic, and would only be considered bonus games on another platform.

Fine control is fiddly and can sometimes appear arbitrary.

BUT IT’S SO MUCH FUN!

There were five of us last night crowded in a friend’s tiny bedroom, golfing, bowling and boxing. And we spent over five hours just playing Wii Sports (with a half hour break for Monkeyball and food).

You know you are on to a winner when a spectacular putt or a brutal low blow makes the whole room erupt with victorious or sympathetic noises.

Making the Mii (a virtual you) part of the console operation, and therefore transferable between games, is a great way to build in association with your character. OK so it’s not up to Second Life standards, but you can create very recognisable personas. And it’s that bond that makes us all wince as a below the belt uppercut swept Rick off his feet in Wii Boxing.

I’m not sure where they are going to end up, but Nintendo are back on the ascent.