Apparently the Wii can let you bowl, bond with your family, and now teach you karate. Yes, that’s right, this ancient art is coming to the Wii and it’ll supposedly teach you the fine art of martial arts. It’s called Ninja Reflex, and Electronic Arts hopes to teach martial arts visually through the Wii console. EA announced that Ninja Reflex should be coming to retail stores after March 4, so people won’t have to wait too long to test out their ninja skills ‘Wiisually’.

How Ninja Reflex works is that it offers a series of ninja challenges to test your true inner ninja by testing reflexes, hand and eye coordination, and reaction times. A sensei — the typical Asian teacher with a long white beard — guides you as he tests how truly skilled you are. As you practice your ninja skills, you’ll advance by belts, just like in Tae Kwon Do. You can go from a white belt to a black belt, depending on how masterful you are with their challenges. It might seem silly, even juvenile to an extent, but experts of martial arts are backing this up, including Tae Kwon Do medalist Herb Perez. You know these guys mean serious business, so there must be some legality to this game.

Ninja Reflex looks like a game people should at least check out, if not just for the fact that major martial arts experts are behind this game’s legality. Who knows — you could become a ninja master too, if you play it enough. Ninja Reflex is available in stores now — and if not, available within a couple of weeks — so check it out and see how well your ninja skills test against the competition. EA thinks this game is going to be a true innovator, but that’s up for the gamers to decide.

Bully: Scholarship Edition was released for the Wii on March 7, and with that noted, is this version better than the original? Here’s what Rockstar Games changed about this edition:

• Better graphics. They’ve tweaked here and there to make it passable (at least more improved than the original PS2 version), and you’ll notice a slight difference. Just not a lot. It’s still a bit glitchy in some areas, but it’s not distracting.
• Controls. They’ve adapted the controls for the Wii, and it’s actually better than expected. Wiggle the Wii remote to fight against bullies. It just seems to make more sense, and it’s a helluva lot more engaging than a plain PS2 control.
• Multiplayer mode. You know you’re excited. Instead of playing it solo, play with a friend and compete against each other.

New missions and items. Of course this had to be added (and frankly, if it wasn’t, it wouldn’t be worth anyone’s time). You’ve got 8 new missions to play with unlockable items, mostly clothes. It’s still worth the play through, and you’re going to have more to explore.

There are very little gripes about this upgrade, and they’ve really tweaked Bully in the right way. Some mini-games are missing — which isn’t such a big deal, because they weren’t important mini-games to begin with — and the environment still feels too closed. For something that’s similar to Grand Theft Auto, it’s missing that freedom of exploration. However, you will have a lot more to explore, not in terms of space but in quantity, and you’ll barely remember that detail once you get into it (hello nostalgia!). Bully is definitely something to check out, even if you already own the original version. If you are not thinking of buying it, rent it out. It’s worth a good play or two.

So after 7 long years of waiting for a “three-quel”, Nintendo’s finally giving us another Super Smash Brothers installment, exclusively for the Wii. Super Smash Brothers Brawl’s had time to brew and cultivate into a Wii-exclusive beat-em-up game, and since the last installment — for people out of the loop, that’s Super Smash Brothers Melee — Nintendo’s worked on making the third installment better than the rest. From the looks of it, SSBB’s going to be the biggest thing to hit the Wii — behind Mario Kart Wii, of course.This is what’s different about SSBB:

• New characters. Along with Mario, Yoshi, and Link, SSBB introduces some new characters, including Princess Zelda (who, by the way, can transform into Sheik — oh yeah!), Pokemon Trainer, and more notably Snake. Yes, that Snake. Who knows how Metal Gear Solid relates with the whole kill-in-fluffy-safe-ways, since Snake isn’t exactly kid-friendly, but he’s in there, and he’s actually a very interesting character.
• A new addition called Adventure Mode. This was in previous installments to an extent, but nothing like this. The plotline is more involved, where you play out character storylines while fighting against evil Nobody-like creatures called the Subspace army, and depending on how well you do, you win trophies.
• Online capabilities. You’ll have the ability to play with other friends online, and that should open up some interesting possibilities.
  
  
• Classic games. Besides winning trophies, you can win masterpieces, which enable players to play classic games such as the original Super Mario Brothers and Star Fox. Boosting included.

There isn’t much information yet — SSBB was released the 9th of this month — so within the month more developments (or problems, whatever develops) will come forth. SSBB is going to be one of this Spring’s top sellers for the Wii, and possibly the best game of the year for the Wii. It’s only March too! Wii’s definitely going to be on top this year, something that can’t be said about other platforms. You know who you are.

Bully’s just been released, and on March 9^th gamers were treated to Super Smash Bros. Brawl for All. It’s been 7 years since Super Smash Bros. Melee came out for the Gamecube, and gamers have anticipated this release for years. Looks like there are new capabilities with the Wii format, and this also includes the introduction of Snake from Metal Gear Solid. Could it get any better than that?

and with that noted, some gamers are wondering what else is left for Spring 08′? The second half of 08’s going to be bigger, but Spring 08 has some pretty big games as well. Here are some other big games that are coming for the Wii this Spring.

May 13: Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian. Book turned movie turned video game hits the Wii this May and it looks to be a blast for kids of all ages. Coincides with the movie release also, if that’s worth anything to note.

May (date unknown): King of Fighters, The Orochi Saga. Fighting games are dry this year, but King of Fighters proves to be that new oasis for all gamers. Does it stack up? Gamers will have to wait to find out.

Those are the anticipated dates for Wii games with official dates – the rest below don’t have confirmed dates, but they are coming out in Spring 08. Here are some game releases slated for Spring releases

Don King Presents Prizefighter. People have been waiting for another Wii boxing game since Wii Boxing, but will it stack up?

Wii Fit. Some places are rumoring this for a Spring release; others with a later summer release. Gamers anticipate this to be a classic with everyone, including Great-Grandma Edna.

Mario Kart Wii. Yes, Mario Kart’s coming to the Wii! It’s slated for a spring release (who knows when that’ll be), but gamers have waited for this since Double Dash’s release in 2003, so it’s not too much of a wait.

Summer and Fall 08’s going to be bigger (Star Wars, anybody?), so stay tuned.

We Ski, you ski, we all ski…once it hits shelves this May.

We Ski is Namco Bandai’s newest addition to the Wii Fit series, and if you thought they exhausted all sports ideas, they didn’t. Luckily enough, it’s not bad. Apparently Mario and his friends didn’t get that memo (Mario Party, anyone?).

At first glance, We Ski looks pretty fun. You control your Mii as you glide down expansive courses, using the Wii remote to guide you to the finish line. You can choose from freestyle, which is a non-race way to explore ski courses, or choose to race against CPUs or with friends. From there you can choose from a regular race, slalom race, or Mogul race. There are 40 confirmed races, 20 being regular and 20 being slalom. All of these races haven’t been revealed, something we’ll have to wait for until this spring.

If you’re up to it, you can use the Wii Balance too. You can ski perfectly fine using the Wii remote and nunchuck, but you can use the Wii Balance for an extra challenge – and of course, to burn off those calories. The only drawback is you can only use it in single player mode, but that’s probably a good idea. Would you really want to be in a room with three friends on Wii Balance boards? Hello, lawsuit!

One other thing you can do is do flips and tricks off jumps. Namco Bandai emphasizes that this isn’t the focus of We Ski. We Ski is mainly your typical explore-places-by-skiing sort of game, so don’t expect flashy effects and little Miis pummeling to their death over high cliffs. If you want to pummel your Miis off high cliffs, start praying that Tony Hawk comes to the Wii.

We Ski doesn’t have an official release date yet, but it should come out with May as an addition to the Wii Fit series. Unfortunately, you can’t take your Mii out for skiing until then.

Here comes the stranger of the strangest things coming out for the Wii this April. Here’s a couple of hints: it involves fighting bacteria with pre-pubescent girls, anime, and really short skirts.

Well if you haven’t guessed it by now, it’s a game called Osouji Sentai Clean Keeper, otherwise known as Cleaning Battalion: Clean Keeper. For some reason Idea Factory thought it would be a fantastic idea if they combined half-naked anime girls, cleaning, and non-stop Wii action. For right now only Japanese folk will have access to this cleaning battalion, but you could purchase it yourself, provided you know any Japanese.

It’s not all pre-pubescent girls screaming of pedophilia, though. Despite the newly released screenshots (word of advice: it’s probably not safe for work, life, or your eyes), the game doesn’t involve any weird situations, if you consider fighting off bacteria with school girls normal.

You play high school student Kurou Manamoto, who one day skips out on class (for whatever reason that is). That happened to be the day everyone was assigned after-school extracurricular activities, so in spite of your boredom, you end up as the head of the Cleaning Club. During an exciting day of cleaning school hallways, you meet a cleaning spirit called Mary. She tells poor ol’ you that an evil organization wants to summon the powers of the Dirt Devil to make your school particularly dirty and unkempt. Uh oh!

This is where those scantily clad anime chicks come in. Called the Clean Keepers, your job is to find other cleaning spirits and fight the evil bacteria and dirt that plagues your school. You pick one Clean Keeper to help you fight these dirty parasites, but that’s up to your preference.

Cleaning Battalion: Clean Keeper hits Japanese stores on April 24. If you’re really in need of a new Japanese cleaning/dating/anime game that makes you feel a bit dirty (in more ways than one) it might be worth checking out. Just keep it away from little children.

There are some strange rumors about the Wii floating around cyberspace, and most of them include Namco Bandai. What have they done now? On the bright side, at least the Wii remote hasn’t been turned into a light saber.

Well actually, it has. Too bad it’s not April 1.

Here are some of the rumors you should (or maybe shouldn’t) know about:

• Arcades in Japan are shutting down thanks to Namco Bandai and Sega. Sega’s tight lipped about it, but Namco points its finger at the Wii. The Wii’s popularity has reached the hearts – and pocketbooks – of many young Japanese students, and their forays are aimed at upgrading their Wiis instead of heading to the local arcade. So Namco, after realizing how empty their arcades looked, closed roughly 20% of their arcades. Sega won’t say if that infernal Wii is causing them trouble, but it’s definitely not because of that infernal PS3.
• Time to put your Wii down, guys. Satayan Mahajan, chairman of Motus Corporation, has developed a Darwin remote in its stead. A Darwin light saber, that is. Mahajan says the Darwin is better than the Wii remote because it allows more realistic gameplay, but we’ll have to see if Mahajan can walk his talk. It is said to retail at $90 (when it’s released), so start saving up now.
• Namco Bandai thought it was a great idea to expand every sport in existence and release it for the Wii. Now Namco is rumored to be creating a cheerleading game. No one’s sure how this will pan out, but it’s time to brush up on those pom pom skills. You’ll be using a Wii Balance, a Wii remote and nunchuck to do all the intense cheerleading action, and this game is obviously going to be a hit with men. Obviously. Namco is still in the developing stages, so it’ll be a while before you can raise those pom poms.

March is going to be a big month for the Wii, so maybe we’ll hear where Namco is going with this idea. Not that anyone wants to, but innovation is innovation. Even if it involves cheerleading.

We’re finally going to get another Mario Kart, and this time it’s for the Wii.

Right now it’s being called Mario Kart Wii, with most of the same setup. You and your Nintendo friend race on elaborate courses, throwing stray turtle shells competing for the prize of top Mario Kart champion. You’d think that after revamping this series so many times would get stale after a while…it hasn’t. They changed it up again, and these features are speek-tak-yoo-lar.

Here’s what different now:

• 32 courses, 16 of them being brand-new.
• Three classes: light, medium, and heavy. Baby versions flood the light category — Bowser and Wario belong in the heavy category.
• Here’s a strange feature — you use karts in the 50cc races, but for races faster than that, you have to use a bike.
• Online capability (big plus there).
• Something called the Mario Kart Channel. It’s basically a place to share your racing information and test your current skills. You can also see how you rack up against friends and strangers, if you feel like it.
• New pickup items, such as a giant mushroom and a pow block.
• You can do wheelies.

As for the graphics, they’re absolutely stellar. The race tracks are immersing, each character is fully detailed (although we could’ve gone without that with Wario), and the effects are pretty snappy. The graphics were great in Double Dash too, but it looks like Mario Kart Wii beat that too.

As for the controls, it’s still a bit of a learning curve. Driving with a Wii remote is a pain. You can get an actual wheel, but it’s pretty expensive. You should be used to that leaning curve if you’re a fan of Mario Kart, though.

Mario Kart Wii is slated for release in 2008, but we don’t know when. Just don’t expect it before Summer.