There were a number of casualties suffered when the Nintendo Wii first arrived. Arthritic hands proved inadequate for Wii Bowling, or in the bloodiest cases, Wii Baseball. Toddlers and their grandparents spent the first few months of the Wii's life randomly tossing Wii nunchucks around the living room, until they traded up to The Strap.

There was another problem, though. It may not have injured our flesh, but it prevented us from being the gamers we can be. I'm talking about the Wii cord, of course. The ol' Ball and Chain. In the history of video games, has there ever been a device so close to perfection that its one flaw felt like a personal insult? How could Nintendo revolutionize the way we play modern video games and then tie us down with a jump rope for hobbits? It seemed unfair and that's because it was. Past tense.

Now we have an option -- clocking in at twenty bucks to boot. The Nyko Cord-Free may have one of the dullest names in recent memory, but it single-handedly (pun intended) changes the way you'll play your favorite Wii games.
It's simple to set up. Pop in the nunchuck, wrap the ball and chain around the base, plug it into the small adapter, turn it on and Wii-la, you're wireless (last bad pun, I promise). I'd gotten used to holding back when playing Wii Boxing. The cord would force me to pull my punches, and that game is the only workout I ever get. After 15 minutes of playing with the Nyko I felt like I'd been through a real sparring match. RE4 was also a joy. Without the Nyko, I lost the cord connection a few times when zombies made me jump. But no more of that nonsense with the Cord-Free. I can be as big a spaz as I want to be now.

All in all, this thing does the job Nintendo should have done in the first place. You won't get pulled out of an immersive game experience by a pesky wire tangling up anymore. Twenty bucks! Get it...