Wii Sports Review

Wii Sports Review

As mentioned above, Wii Sports is composed of five different sports. You can enjoy these alone (against a computer-controlled opponent) or with up to three other friends via additional Wii Remotes and Nunchuks. Some games, like golf and bowling, can be enjoyed by several people using a single Wii Remote (or "Wiimote"), while others, like boxing and tennis, must make use of additional controllers.

Graphics and Sounds

While you won't be amazed by groundbreaking graphics and earth-shattering sound in Wii Sports, Nintendo has done a good job of jazzing it up with vibrantly-colored backgrounds, fluid animations, and quirky-looking characters. Perhaps one of the greatest appeals of the game is that you can make use of the "Mii" characters you create in the Wii's Mii maker. In this way, you can form likenesses of yourself, your family, and even celebrities (I find it particularly enjoyable pitting Muhammad Ali against George W. Bush in a rousing game of boxing). The simple graphics make this immediately appealing and approachable for someone who would otherwise categorize themselves as a "non-gamer."

Wii Sports: Five Fun Sports Represented

The five sports in this title are: tennis, bowling, boxing, golf, and baseball. Here are my impressions of each.

Wii Tennis

This is a particularly good example of how Wii Sports is easy to learn, but difficult to master. The games played are always doubles, and as such, up to four human players can enjoy the action. The rest of the characters on-screen are controlled by the computer, or -- alternatively -- you can control multiple characters with a single Wii Remote. This way, you can control both players on one team at the same time.

The on-screen avatars gravitate toward the ball on their own, while you must swing the Wii Remote (just like how you swing a real tennis racket) to hit the ball back. Both forehands and backhands are used, as well as smashes. Timing is everything in this game. Swing too early or too late and your shot will go veering off to the side. By twisting and rotating the controller during your swing, you can add spin to your shots.

This was one of the first Wii Sports games announced, and it is easily one of the most enjoyable. An absolute blast at a party.

Wii Bowling

Wii

Mimicking real life motions, you hold the Wii Remote in front of your chest like how you would when preparing for your turn in real bowling. When you are ready to take your shot, you hold the B button (located on the underside of the Wii-mote, sometimes referred to as the "trigger button") and begin your approach by swinging the controller backward. As you begin your forward motion, you decide when you release the B button as if you were deciding when to release the bowling ball in real life. Angles, spins, and speed all come into play. You can also adjust the starting position of your player by using the directional pad pre-shot.

If you have several Miis created on your Wii, you will find that they make up the gallery during a bowling match. They'll walk by in the background, jump up and down in elation as you hit a strike, and so on. That in itself is pretty darn amusing.

For this game, as with tennis, I recommend that you give players enough room to swing their arms about, because once you get into it, you really get into it. Wii Bowling is arguably one of the best implemented games in Wii Sports.

Wii Boxing

Although the premise seemed like a good idea, I found the execution in Wii Boxing to be lacking. It is the only game in Wii Sports to make use of both the Wii Remote and the Nunchuk attachment. You hold the Wii Remote in your right hand, the Nunchuk in your left hand, and throw your punches accordingly. By holding the two of them together in front of your chest, you block, and you can bob and weave from side to side by moving the two controllers appropriately. I wouldn't say that this game fails, but it could have been done better. I found that the punches would "lag" sometimes, and aiming for the right shot was frustratingly difficult at times. That said, if you can master this game, you'll be throwing hooks, uppercuts, and jabs with the best of them.

Wii Golf

Wii Golf can be played at a much more relaxed pace than Tennis or Bowling, as you probably suspect. You approach the ball just like how you would in real life, steadying the club in front of you. You don't get a full bag to play with here; instead, you are given a driver, an iron, a wedge, and a putter. As such, it is incredibly important to control not only the direction of your shot (which you change with the directional pad) but also the strength of it (determined by how much backswing you give and how fast you follow through).

There is much skill involved here, and while most players can pick up and play Wii Golf, it is difficult to do well. Putting is particularly difficult, as you really do need to read the green and be very delicate with how much "umph" you put into your shot. When you are ready to take a swing, you hold the A button and swing; otherwise, they are all practice swings... and you'll need those to adjust the strength of your shot. There is an indicator on the left side of the screen.

Before each swing, whether it's a "live" shot or a practice swing, remember to prep your player by pointing the Wii Remote directly downwards in front of you. This calibrates the shot for you.

Wii Baseball

This is baseball simplified for average Joe. All the fielding and running is done on your behalf. All you are responsible for on offence is to swing the bat, and all you are responsible for on defence is to pitch the ball. By holding different directions while throwing, you perform different pitches, like a curveball or fastball. When it's your turn to bat, timing is everything, just as it was in tennis. In fact, baseball plays much like tennis in many ways.

Other Modes

There are two other modes available to you in addition to the standard gameplay offered by the five sports.

• Training Mode: Training mode is more than just "training." It is here that you will enjoy three different mini-games for each sport. For example, in Tennis, you learn to return serves, then hitting toward a specific area, and finally hitting actual targets on a wall. You'll find similar exercises in the other four that will challenge your skills in that game.

• Fitness Mode: Just as Brain Age for the Nintendo DS helped keep your mind in tip-top condition, you can keep your physical body in its best shape through the Fitness Mode in Wii Sports. It is designed to be played daily and it gives you a "fitness age" ranging from 20 to 80 to indicate how well you are doing (with a fitness age of 20 being the best).

Wii Sports: A Conclusion

With five different sports to enjoy, fifteen mini-games to challenge you, and a fitness mode to keep you in tip-top condition, Wii Sports is probably the best pack-in title possible for the Nintendo Wii. It is simple enough to bring in "non-gamers" -- just about anyone can start enjoying it, even in the first few minutes -- yet complex enough for avid players to want to "master" the games, finding all the little nuances and Easter eggs. That said, if you're looking for incredibly deep gameplay and an engaging story, Wii Sports isn't for you.... not that you have a real choice, because every Nintendo Wii sold in North America comes with it.

I'm not sure if I would buy Wii Sports if it weren't included with the game system, but if they priced it as a bargain title -- like how they have with Brain Age for the Nintendo DS -- then it is certainly worth the $20-30 they would have charged otherwise.