Wii Sports review

Hands up who remembers the exuberant trio of Reggie, Iwata and Miyamoto at this year's E3 convention? Yep, it’s hard to forget it really, for it was the universal debut of Wii Sports, one of the Wii’s strongest titles to showcase the philosophy that, up until then, had been all but words scribbled on a press release.

But no, with Sports came the showcase of simplicity coupled with the new direction that Nintendo intended taking us on; generously packed with the Wii at launch, Wii Sports ensured every gamer that they could witness first hand what Nintendo’s white wonder can do. And thankfully, it does an admirable job.

Deluxe Package

Wii Sports contains five titles; Baseball, Bowling, Boxing, Golf and Tennis, each one taking full advantage of the Wii-motes motion sensing, some with better result than others. Although you can dive straight into the game first hand, there are some useful training games to go through first of all to allow yourself to get to grips with the control.

These include anything from basic manoeuvres to more complicated moves for your chosen sport, with more unlockable as you progress. Meanwhile, there’s also a Brain Training-style event to take part in, which is used to test and ultimately improve your skills in each game, giving you your Wii-age at the end. Be sure to design yourself your own Mii, though, as it’ll represent your player in all the games.

Precision Perception

The meat of the game is of course the sports titles themselves, all of which can be chosen from the start of the game to be played in any order you wish. Tennis, probably the most publicised of them all (no doubt thanks to Reggie’s incompetency at E3) is a fine example of how Wii-mote functionality can be implemented into something this simple, yet feel so rich and detailed at the same time.

Each shot you take can ultimately be manipulated in some form or another, usually by the amount of pressure you apply to each shot or the direction your hand is facing. One thing’s for sure, though; you’re going to need ample room to get the best out of the Wii’s sensor bar, so expect some problems with motion detection otherwise, and this applies to all titles. Tennis is no doubt among the most competent of the Wii Sports catalogue, and one that exhibits the wii-motes functionality at its best, and the amount of precision is admirable.

Full Swing

The same can be said (with somewhat mixed result) in Wii Bowling and Boxing. With the former, you are prompted to actually execute a motion as if you were holding a bowling ball, releasing at the right time and letting it fly. While there’s the obvious perception its simply about luck from there on out, it’s not the case at all; tilting your wrist in the desired direction will cause the ball to subtly turn in motion, which is vital for those much needed curved shots.

Boxing on the other hand is perhaps the most adventurous of all the games, for the simple reason you’re endowed with the ability to perform a variety of actions, aside from just standing there punching. You can punch, dodge, uppercut, aim for the body or head provided your execution is on track, which unfortunately, isn’t always the case. More than often, the game fails to register your movements and you’ll find its probably just best to lay the smacketh down with a few simple jabs to the noggin. A shame, as it could have been perhaps the most discerning of all games given the chance in terms of what the wii-mote can do.

Mixed Bag

Baseball on the other hand does little to actually challenge the player; batting requires somewhat decent timing on your part, but there’s little evidence that that your swing was at all determined by the amount of power you put behind it; for the most part, its totally random how fast and far the ball travels. The same can be said about pitching, where there’s little room for much in the way of precision. After going through a few training sessions, you’ll find out that you can actually change the direction the ball is hit or thrown, but actually perfecting it is a challenge in its own.

Meanwhile, Golf I found appears to have horrible trouble picking up the pace of your swing, and is unquestionably the most flawed of the lot; more than often, I’d find myself hitting the ball without even completing a full swing. In a game that requires an almost immaculate sense of timing, the inaccuracy of the wii-mote here really does make the game near unplayable at times. Then again, when you get it right, it works great, which can be said for any of the titles that experience the occasional hiccup.

Bring Your Friends

Needless to say, things become a lot more enjoyable when you invite a couple of mates round for some four-player action, an area where Wii Sports is unquestionably aimed. That said, the single player outing is by no means uninteresting after you’ve ploughed through each game; it’s just too addictive to want to put down most of the time. While there’s no doubt the game is a competent showcase of the wii-mote, there are times when it can feel like somewhat gimmicky, especially when you discover the game isn’t picking up your actions and things start to get a little disappointing.

All games suffer from this basic issue at some point, some more than others. Thankfully, the majority of the time you’ll find that things run smoothly without a hitch. Wii Sports doesn’t look anything special, but it was never going to be the showcase of the consoles visual splendour; that being said, there are some nice environments to take in when you can tear your eyes away from your playmobile Miis.

Box of Delights

Overall, Wii Sports is the poster child for Nintendo’s latest box of wonders. It’s simple, addictive, compelling and innovative all rolled into one, whether you’re on your own or have a couple of friends round for a night of gaming (or even the family if you can persuade your dad videogames are better than cricket).

The package isn’t without its flaws, and the various motion-related mishaps that occur can at times put a damper on the whole situation. At the end of day though, Wii Sports expresses everything the Wii philosophy aims to be; fun and accessible, and that’s just what it is. Just be sure not to get a little too carried away and land your Wii-mote in the kisser.