Cheap as free

If you're like me, you enjoy free things. And near the top of the Free Things I Love list are free video games.

You can now enjoy free Nintendo DS game samples via the Nintendo Channel, a free download available for the Nintendo Wii. You simply bring the Nintendo Channel onto your Wii, then use the DS Download Service to wirelessly beam free game samples to your DS. It is, as the kids say nowadays, sick. Sure, the samples are relatively brief and disappear as soon as you turn off your DS. But doesn't that make them just all the more precious?

I've had great fun sampling gems I might have otherwise missed, such as addictive "My Word Coach" and the stylish "Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword." I've also laughed my way through several games I'm glad I wasted no money buying, including the terribly inaccurate "Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney" and cumbersomely controlled "Iron Man" game.

Give the service a try if you haven't already. I think you'll find it's well worth the 248 blocks of precious Wii memory space it consumes.