Wii Sports is a complicated game to review; you see everyone who buys a Wii gets it. So why does it need to be reviewed? Youre getting something for nothing- does it matter if its any good? Well yes- and no, but put that aside well review the game any...
Wii Sports is a complicated game to review; you see everyone who buys a Wii gets it. So why does it need to be reviewed? Youre getting something for nothing- does it matter if its any good? Well yes- and no, but put that aside well review the game anyway.
Wii Sports is bundled with the Wii for a reason, its not enough for a full game, but at the same time it offers everybody an easy way to get into Wii. Everyone knows how to play at least one of the sports featured on game disk. Beyond the fun of the 5
games, there is an extensive training mode and a daily fitness age similar to the DS game of Brain Training, although not quite as extensive.
Before I detail each of the games, lets go over the nitty-gritty, the graphics and the sound. Yeah I know what your thinking- he is going to rag on the Wii Sports graphics for being simple and plain- they are, but hey- thats what Nintendo were going for. Wii Sports can be enjoyed by the average gamer- its not aimed for us, the more Informed Gamer. The simple Mii presentation on Wii Sports works quite well for what it is- it’s nothing great and its not complicated.
The GUI of the game is also big and simple again too, picking your Miis to play and your playing order is all done before the game, so if youre a left, make sure you pick the same Mii. Apart from the Miis, the game’s worlds are quite nice too, with the tennis court and gold course looking mighty fine- again nothing too spectacular, but gets the job done.
The sound is also a low key affair, with simple tunes on the menus, when you win or lose, but it’s not much more than that, and again it doesn’t break any ground, but doesn’t do anything wrong. The sound effects in the game also serve their purpose right, with a corresponding sound coming out of the speaker when you hit a tennis ball, drive a golfball or punch your Friend, Cousin, Brother, Mother or Father in the face during boxing. Very satisfying.
So what games are included in the Wii sports package? First up is Tennis, which is good enough to make Maria Sharapova grunt for joy, next up is Golf, then Boxing, Bowling and finally Baseball. Ill run through the basics of each one.
Let’s get this out the way first I suck at Sport in General, so I can’t tell you if playing Wii Tennis is playing the real thing. What I can tell you, however, is that Wii Tennis is a hell of a lot of fun. Its not a simple back and forward Pong game either, serving must be done as if youre really serving and when the ball comes back, you must react with either a hit on the left or right of your Mii, or it will simply miss it. Thats another thing- you dont actually control where you run your Miis, the CPU will do it for you. This takes out one action of the game and allows you to completely concentrate on hitting the ball.
Even though you wont have to run around, youll still need a fair amount of room to play doubles, 4 people takes up even more space. The game doesnt use the sensor bar, so you dont need to be in view of the bar which is good. Just dont wack your fellow Wii game player in the head.
Bowling is your normal 10 pin Bowling game, except without the expensive food and the disgusting Bowling Alley shoes. Bowling is simple- pull the Wiimote up to your chest, hold the trigger, swing back, and swing the controller forward, releasing the trigger to let go of the ball. Like Tennis, if you do it wonky, the ball will come out spinning or curving in a certain direction. Bowling also is one of the Wii Sports games to use buttons, before you take your swing you can choose where you Mii bowls from and then you can also select an angle for it to go down.
Wii Sports can be played with 4 players with one controller too if you use the swap around method, great if you dont own four controllers yet.
Hurrah! Finally a game I actually know how to play, Golf is a great sport, Just dont do it as a class at school, but enough about that- time to look at the game on hand. Firstly Golf doesnt work the way you think it would, it measures how hard your hitting, not by your back swing and then follow. Through moving the controller really quick from one point to another, it will warrant the same result as doing the full swing action, luckily you have to hit a before you step up to your ball so you can practice your hit.
Probably the weakest game of the lot, you either can play as the Pitcher or the Batter. There is nothing wrong with the Batting, you swing, it hits. That is fine, its the pitching and fielding that is a a bit crazy. For one, the AI seems to catch everything. Pitching on the other hand is not making the usual Baseball motion, but a simple chuck will do fine. Maybe its because Baseball isn’t big in Australia that I dont like/get it, but there is nothing inherently wrong with it, it just doesn’t stand out from the pack.
Ah Boxing. The art of bashing people up to prove ones cajones are bigger than another’s, or so Ive heard. Wii Boxing is the only Wii Sports game to make use of the Nunchuck. Its a single player affair if you dont have a second nunchuck, however the single player is nothing the sneeze at, with the AI giving a good fight. Multiplayer with a friend is where it really shines, as its easier to predict a humans move and if they start using one move too much, you know how to counter it.
Boxing is played simple, smash each others life gauge until they fall to the floor, the game is also the most intense physically as your standing there jabbing and swinging at the TV. The ability to lean, block is also there with the accelerometer being put to its full use.
So while Baseball, for example, isn’t the best game, All the elements of it and the other sports games are used in a Brain Training-esque mode. Everyday you can test your Fitness Age in the Wii Fitness mode. You play one of 3 mini games from the sports range and out of that, it calculates your Fitness Age – Very similar to Brain Training and a reason to come back to the game. 20 of course, is the lowest age.
So Wii Sports is a game you’re going to buy whether you like it or not, but its a great pack-in game. And its the best way to get your parents or mates accustomed to the Wii. Oh – its a load of fun to play. A true party game.
Update: Round 1 drawn.