 Review By: Jared Black |
Developer: | Nintendo |
| Publisher: | Nintendo | |
| Genre: | Sports | |
| ESRB: | Everyone | |
| # Of Players: | 1-4 | |
| Online Play: | No | |
| Accessories: | Nunchuk, Mii, Wii pack-in game | |
| Buy Now: |   |
Super Mario World for the SNES was an amazing pack-in game. Not only did it have the kind of depth that could keep SNES owners busy for weeks, but it also did an excellent job of showing off the SNES’ innovative controller (for its time) and graphic functionality. By comparison Wii Sports fails on all counts, as it lacks much depth, fails to show off the Wii’s graphic capabilities, and most importantly doesn’t completely convey how innovative the new controller combination can be.
That’s not to say it’s fair to compare the two games directly against each other, because it’s not. We live in a totally different era now, where gamers are fortunate to get any kind of pack-in game at all with a new system. It was much more important to have a killer app packed in with the system during the 16-bit wars, in that case with Mario on one side and Sonic on another (and Bonk hiding in a dark corner). For Nintendo to include Wii Sports at all now is a smart move indeed, and it makes it seem like they appreciate their fan base more than either Sony or Microsoft does. So I am grateful that Nintendo included something new for Wii owners to play out of the box. Still, while Wii Sports is a fun little collection of games, all told it probably ranks among the worst pack-in games of all time.
Included in Wii Sports are five different games: Tennis, Baseball, Bowling, Golf, and Boxing. Boxing is easily the worst of the bunch. Holding the Wii Remote and Nunchuk in front of your face like boxing gloves, players punch by thrusting either one outward. Thrusting upwards will aim a punch at the opponent’s head, while thrusting downward will aim a punch at the body. The player can also block by holding both in front of them, as well as dodge by moving forward, back, left and right while holding the controller.
All of this sounds good in practice, and when it works properly it’s fun, but the problem is that the controls are never that responsive. It’s definitely not a 1:1 ratio of your movement in real life with what’s represented on the screen; for example, trying to throw right and left-hand combinations is virtually impossible. In fact, about the only way to throw good combinations is if you stick to the same arm the entire time. The same goes for blocking as well, as your movements in real life are never completely replicated on-screen.
While one stinker out of five games isn’t really that bad, the problem here is that Boxing is the only one to use the Nunchuk. Yes, in a game designed to show off the system’s new unique Remote and Nunchuk controller, only one game uses the latter and it’s the worst game in the collection. Even when it does work you're simply swinging the Nunchuk back and forth, not using its buttons in any way. Therefore, to truly get a feel for how the Remote and Nunchuk work together in a game, you pretty much have to buy another game at retail. When a game designed to show off the system’s controller still makes you feel like you need to buy another game at retail to truly get a feel for that very controller’s functionality, that’s a huge mark against it in my opinion.
Fortunately, the games that only use the Wii Remote fair better. Out of them, my favorite is Bowling. Pre-throw, you can use the D-pad to move left or right and aim your throw. Then to actually throw, you begin by holding the Remote up to your chest, press and hold the B trigger, swing the Remote backwards, and then move forward and release the B button to throw just like you would in real life. This feels very true to life, and in my very first game I was able to roughly replicate how I’d perform in a real bowling alley after only one or two frames. I honestly believe that practicing bowling in Wii Sports could improve my real-life game, and that’s quite an accomplishment in itself.
Posted: 2006-11-20 14:06:46 PST