I own a disturbing amount of Dragon Ball Z and Yu-Gi-Oh video games for the sole purpose of humiliating my nephew. Like Rocky Balboa taking on the younger boxers to prove he still has it, defeating the chipper young 12 year old has become one of my main goals in life, and one I am reaching with far less frequency than I would like. Thus I practice in my free time, and this morning's session involved the Wii version of Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2. I've spent some time with the PS2 version only to get bored rather quickly, so I picked up the Wii version to see if it was any better, and figuring I would have an advantage since he doesn't have the new Nintendo console yet. I'm crafty that way.

So I spun up the disc to poke around for a few minutes before breakfast. It's now five hours later, and I really would rather be in the next room playing it right now. It is amazing the difference actual physical movement makes in a fighting game.

As with most Wii games, control is awkward at first. I would definitely recommend going through the tutorial or at least reading the manual before playing. The nunchuck stick moves you around. Shaking it while pointing the stick in any directions sends you dashing. Holding the C button and dipping it up and down controls flying height. The A button on the Wiimote punches, the B button kicks, and pointing it upwards blocks.
The most interesting control element has to be the special moves. Once your ki energy is powered up, you hold down the triggers on the respective controllers. Many moves then require you to move the Wiimote off the screen in a particular direction and then back again, triggering a super move. It is really hard not to pose dramatically while doing this. Even better are the moves that make you pull the controllers back in unison, and then jab them both outward. Pretty sure I woke my girlfriend up this morning shouting, "Take that, bitch!" at the television screen as I unloaded a Kamehameha (which amazingly enough was in my Open Office Writer spell check}. It's exhilarating, and it totally makes you feel like a complete bad ass.

It's amazing how much more fun I'm having with this game on the Wii, rather than playing it on the PS2. Not only does the Wii hold the potential to generate some innovative new game play types, it can revitalize older genres, adding a bit more fun to the mix. Plus, if my nephew starts to win I can always deliver a Wiimote to the windpipe. Accidentally, mind you. These old reflexes aren't what they used to be. Michael Fahey