A year ago I was almost killed in a nerd riot.

I stood in line all night at a Target to try and get an Xbox 360. I was about 14th in line and felt my chances were good. When the store manager emerged on the brink of tears I began to pack up my stuff. The store had five systems, and about forty over-tired gamers waited in line. You do the math.

This year I was much smarter and made sure I was one of the first to preorder a Nintendo Wii. Nintendo has its act together, unlike Sony and Microsoft. Shortages are expected, but nothing along the lines of the competing systems.

Still, I was prepared. And despite an infuriating lack of component cables the Wii launch went well.

I bought “The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess” as did most people who got the Wii. Having just played “Gears of War” and “Splinter Cell: Double Agent” for the 360, it took awhile for me to adjust to the Wii’s visuals. Running in standard resolution over a composite cable sucks, but once I got a feel for the new controls, I was blown away.

I was never too skeptical of the Wii’s remote and nunchuck attachment, but I couldn’t be sure until I held it in my hand. The feeling is more natural than any controller I’ve used. The best part for me is that I can hold my hands where and how I want them instead of having them tied to the ergonomics of a single controller.

Sword play is accomplished by flicking the remote in combination with button presses. And yes you can make wide swinging gestures if you want, but really a subtle flick of the wrist is all you need to make Link attack a bad guy.

Ranged attacks are even better. With butter smooth aiming, going back to a standard controller will be hard. So far, all I’ve done is used the slingshot. All it takes is a press of the B button and you get direct control over the reticle, and pinpoint accuracy.

Hopefully third-party developers will take the time that Nintendo does with their control development. It will be a shame if all they do is tack on shoddy controls as an afterthought, relegating the console to a gimmick. Thankfully, Nintendo’s titles will keep that from happening entirely.

I really want this system to succeed. Sony and Microsoft are locked into a technology arms race, and their bigger, faster, more, more, more mentality gets old. Gamers want something new, and high definition resolutions are great, but they aren’t the revolution that people are led to believe.

Hell, I’d take a properly calibrated 480p TV over a high-contrast, overly-bright, washed out, color-bleeding HDTV any day. I’ve seen it on several occasions where someone has a HD set that is still set to showroom floor settings. I’m anything but an Imaging Science Foundation Technician, but it’s not hard to buy an AVIA DVD and setup your TV at least somewhat correctly.

High Definition is not quite mainstream, and I think Nintendo can get away without including HD support for this generation.

I’d rather have a novel way to play games than the same old crap that’s just better looking. Or, better yet, not be such a damn fanboy and realize that Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft can all make great games and systems that appeal to a wide audience.