 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: |   |
The other three games are all fun, falling somewhere in-between the first two. In Baseball, batting is done simply like it is in real life. You hold the Remote like a baseball bat, and then just swing as the ball crosses the plate. Getting your timing down is very satisfying, particularly when you knock one out of the park. Pitching is a little more complex, as by using the D-pad players can aim pitches to either be inside or outside while mimicking a pitching motion with the Remote. Holding a button in conjunction also chooses one of several pitch types, including a fastball, curveball, screwball, and splitter.
Unfortunately, Baseball feels very limited since the player cannot do any actual fielding or base running. The player simply swings the bat and throws the pitches, while the CPU handles the rest of the gameplay in each short three-inning game. You won’t be playing seasons, substituting players, stealing bases, or even doing your own fielding here. So once the novelty wears off, you’re left with very little reason to return to the game.
Tennis and Golf are also fairly true to life, but not compelling enough for long-term play. Serving in Tennis is handled by swinging the Remote up and then down, while the direction and timing of a stroke determines ball placement on successive hits. There’s definitely some depth to the Tennis game, as I found myself getting better as I played and learned the nuances of each swing. It never truly feels like a game of tennis however since the player doesn’t actually control on-screen movement; the CPU moves characters into position and then the player swings. Also, Tennis is limited do doubles tennis regardless of how many players there are, so if you’re playing by yourself you’re forced to control two players on one side (and the CPU virtually never uses the up man in that situation).
Golf doesn’t feature any sort of limitations like that. What it does suffer from though are controls that never feel 100% accurate. Swinging the Remote like a club feels intuitive enough, and pre-swing you can control the direction and perform practice swings just like other golf games. However, it usually takes several tedious practice swings before each real swing before you have a good idea of how hard you should swing for the actual shot. Even then, it never seems like you know ahead of time exactly how hard a swing in reality will be replicated in the game. With practice you do of course get better, but it’s doubtful that most casual gamers (which this whole collection is mostly aimed at) will stick around long enough to master it.
There is some added depth to these short games in the form of a Training Mode and Fitness Test. In the Training Mode, the game presents you with three challenges per mini-game, and awards platinum, gold, silver, or bronze medals depending on your performance. These challenges can actually be rather difficult and inventive, really helping to hone your skills in the process. The Fitness Test determines your Wii Fitness Age by recording your results from three training games. This Brain Age-ish idea can be played once a day per Mii, with the results saved on the Wii Message Board.
I don’t want to spend a lot of time on the graphics and sound, because I think everyone knows by now that the game is intentionally sparse and not aimed at wowing anyone visually. Nintendo wanted the game to appeal to all ages, and I think with that goal in mind a simple look is the way to go. While this may be disappointing to some, it doesn’t really bother me. The game uses created Mii characters in each game, presenting a simple but stylized look that makes the game feel more personal to each player. If Nintendo had went with hyper-realistic graphics for Wii Sports, the Mii characters would’ve simply looked out of place. Sound is also very mass market friendly, with basic easy-going music for the most part that doesn’t really add to or subtract from the experience. The use of the Wii Remote’s speaker is a nice touch though, including hitting the ball in Tennis, the crack of the bat in Baseball, etc.
Bottom Line:
With the exception of Boxing, which was disappointing almost immediately (aside from the joy of KO’ing an opponent), my first few hours with Wii Sports trying out the different games were some of the most fun I’ve had while gaming in a long time. Each game literally put a smile on my face, which is saying something in today’s gaming world.
After the initial euphoria wore off however, I’ve found little reason to come back to most of Wii Sports. It will definitely get some playtime after I finish this review, but I have little reason to play it again for more than short sessions at a time. The lack of a game that truly shows off the capability of the Nunchuk is also pretty disappointing, reducing the overall value of the package even more.
| Pros: | Cons: | Final Score: |
|---|---|---|
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| 6.0 |
Posted: 2006-11-20 14:06:46 PST