The original Wii Sports is “the best selling video game of all time”. However, those numbers are largely due to the fact that it is a game packed in with one of the best selling consoles of all time. I have no doubt that Wii Sports Resort will sell incredibly well, but unless every Wii owner out there buys a copy, the numbers will fall well short of the 45 million odd copies the original “sold”. Much like Wii Sports was essentially a tech demo for what can be done with the Wii, so Wii Sports Resort is a tech demo for what can be done with the new peripheral, the Wii Motion Plus (one of which comes packed in the game).
Wii Sports Resorts contains significantly more content than the original did. Though, you would expect as much considering you have to actually pay for this one. Where the first only had five activities, Wii Sports Resort has twelve different types of activities, and most of these are split into several varieties. For example Swordplay has three modes, one where you try and knock you opponent off a platform, one where you try and slice various objects in the right direction (you try and beat your opponent to it) and one where you go through various levels beating up on a whole bunch of Mii’s. Though many are fairly similar, there are twenty four different activities all up. Because this title is largely a sum of its parts, I will go through each of the activities separately.
As mentioned above, the first mode in Swordplay has you facing off against an opponent, with the goal of knocking them off a platform. While you would think this would be a great use of Wii Motion Plus, it leaves a bit to be desired. While your virtual sword follows roughly what you are doing with your Wiimote, it is quite lacking. The main problem is that there is no real hit detection. That is to say your sword will pass through theirs unless they are blocking (you block by holding B). While you can block an AI opponent fairly easily, in practise it simply doesn’t work when facing a real life opponent recklessly flailing their Wiimote around unless adopting similar tactics (my wife is still undefeated). The second mode has you and a friend (or AI) standing side by side while a sensei (of sorts) throws various large objects in front of each of you. These have an arrow showing the direction in which they have to be chopped, with a point going to the first to do so. It’s a fun mode. The last mode is called Showdown and is by far the most enjoyable of Swordplay. It consists of a number of stages which pit you against a near constant stream of Mii’s. They come with various skill levels and health and the last of your Mii enemies is a mini boss.
Wakeboarding is definitely one of the more engaging games on the disc. You can go at it on your own, or take turns with up to four people, Because you need to take turns, this is one probably best played on your own or with two people, otherwise it can drag on a bit. You control it by holding the Wiimote as you would a rope (ie horizontally). You then steer it side to side and give it a flick as you cut across the wake. This will cause you to jump and perform what appears to be automated tricks. To score points you need to ensure you land with the board flat. Its a fun mode, but I’m not sure how much you would come back to it.
Archery is broken up into three difficulty modes with each difficulty giving you different sets of targets. These range from close stationary targets to distant ones that move side to side…while partially obstructed by objects. You hold the Wiimote vertically as the bow, then pull back the nunchuck while holding the Z button. As you pull back it also focuses in on the target. You need to adjust your aim to compensate for distance and wind. This is definitely one of the coolest activities, and I would be surprised if the next Zelda did not have something very similar.
Table tennis is pretty fun. It has great Motion Plus integration and is one of the few games that allow two people to play at the same time. You have full control which means you can spin the ball by doing what you would do if you were playing real table tennis. It has a relatively slow pace to it which means you can have drawn out battles. I see myself coming back to table tennis.
Two activities return from the first Wii Sports, and they are bowling and golf. Bowling is pretty much as you would remember from the first. It is still a lot of fun. I find it better with Motion Plus, and easier to do what i intend to do. It also provides a 100 Pin mode, which is normal bowling but with a 100 pins, and a Spin Control mode in which each frame has different objects in the lane. Golf is still golf, but the Wii Motion Plus integration is pretty awesome. It provides a much better game of golf and is now much harder to play while sitting on the couch (I still manage). Putting is much easier, but largely because putting in the first was rubbish.
Frisbee has two modes. In the first you throw a frisbee for your dog (which i believe to be the nintendogs dog) to catch. Basically you try and get it as close as you can to an arrow, or alternatively through a balloon then onto an arrow. Its okay. The second mode is Disc Golf. It is fairly similar to the extra mode in Tiger 10 but not as fully featured. You select between 3 different sized frisbees (or discs) and play golf, i.e. try and get a disc into a circle in the least amount of throws. I am told people do this for real. Each to their own, but this is a fun mode. Not sure how much I would come back to it.
The rest of the game types will be described in passing, because they are less fun/inferior. Basketball has two modes, a 3 point contest which is reasonably fun in small doses and a 3 on 3 game which sucks. There is cycling which is okay but not very exciting. Power Cruising is a pretty fun jet-ski game but is fairly shallow. Canoeing is terrible. Air Sports consists of Skydiving, Island Flyover and Dogfight. When you start Wii Sports Resort you skydive into Wuhu Island. You probably wont be doing it again. In Island Flyover you fly around the island and grab collectables and in Dogfight you fight against a friend. It is limited to two players which kinda sucks. Its not overly exciting with two players but could have pretty fun with four. It sucks that there isn’t a mode that approximates the Red Bull air race, and its sucks that there isn’t anything like the old arcade game Prop Cycle.
As far as showing off the Wii Motion Plus peripheral Wii Sports Resort has varying levels of success. Some of the games, like table tennis and frisbee do an excellent job of showing off the technology. Others, such as canoeing and cycling could easily have been done without it and ultimately don’t add much to the collection. Worth pointing out is that the Wii motion Plus (or perhaps the software) gets out of sync from time to time. It mostly happens in the Swordplay games when flailing eratically. While it is a pain, all you need to do to correct it is to hit down on the d-pad.
Closing Comments
While there are a lot of missed opportunities in Wii Sports Resort, it is pretty fun as a whole. Much like the first Wii Sports, it is at its best when mucking around with a bunch of friends. It is a relatively expensive proposition however and the game with an extra Wii Motion Plus will cost you around NZ$160. In saying that, you will no doubt be needing those Wii Motion Plus addons in the future. Personally I see it as a worth while purchase. My wife and her friend (both non-gamers) played it for 3 hours straight. I think that says something. As for you “core” gamers out there, I would say those who still pull out Wii Sports from time to time should definitely pick this one up.
Tags: Motion Plus, Wii Motion Plus, Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort
wow. 160 nzd !?
That’s including an extra MotionPlus.
you go splungeman, but seriously if this reviewer believes the dog in disc dog in the “nintendogs dog” he needs to wake up to himself.
also, im sick of the term ‘core’ gamer.
that flyover is pips i can do it easily i need 2 mor locations then im completed
Whoa, quite costly for a game. I sure hope the peripheral doesn’t break easily or it would be troublesome to get one just for a single game.
“Lets face it .. The WII is still largely defective.
Some games work OK but 98% don’t work and should be considered defective. But Nintendo writes the rules, and they can continue to make and sell defective games and you cant do a THING ABOUT IT.”
Let’s face what? That the Wii beat XBOX and Playstation’s collective behinds? What do you mean you can’t do a thing about it? DON’T PURCHASE. That’s how business works. In the case of the Wii, people played at their friend’s houses, did NOT find it defective, and went out a purchased their own. Not only that, but people older than 30 were doing this. Not bad for a “defective” product. If you don’t like it, don’t buy it. The rest of us will have fun without you. :)