Wii Sports? Is that hygenic? (Wii Sports (Wii))

Member Name: SWSt

Product:	Wii Sports (Wii)
Date:	01/10/09 (45 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fun when played against other people, 2 great events

Disadvantages: Two average events and one poor one, limited single player fun

Wii Sports is probably familiar to pretty much anyone who owns a Wii as it comes bundled with the console. Whilst bundled games are never the greatest, it still offers a reasonable amount of fun - particularly when played against other people.

It consists of 5 different events: tennis, ten pin bowling, boxing, baseball and golf, all of which can be played against the computer or other human players.

The graphics on Wii Sports are acceptable without being outstanding. They are very colourful and cartoon-like, giving the game a look that will particularly appeal to younger gamers. The fact that you can use your own Mii (a Wii-based avatar you create) also gives more of a connection with your character; you are playing as "yourself", not some soul-less computer graphic.

The characters do look a little bizarre at times. In the boxing event there are no arms - just a big pair of boxing gloves floating independently of your torso; in baseball, there are no legs, making characters resemble some kind of pointy-bottomed Weeble. Occasionally, this is slightly freaky, but it works surprisingly well and gives the game a distinctive visual style.

The sound on Wii Sports is also fine, without being spectacular. You get the usual crowd noises, the satisfying "thwok" when hitting a ball and so on and that creates enough of a sense of atmosphere to add to the fun.

The controls show off the Wii remote (Wiimote) well. Initially, you might feel a little strange and self-conscious standing there waving a remote control around, but it soon feels entirely natural and really adds the immersive nature of the game. Thanks to the innovative controls, you really feel like you are holding a baseball bat or bowling a ball. It also makes them pretty intuitive and, whilst there is a brief tutorial for each event, it doesn't take long to get the hang of it.

The game can be played against the console or up to 4 people. However, the computer AI is pretty basic and it won't take long before you thrash it every time. There's still the challenge of competing against yourself (trying to beat your best score), but this is a game which definitely benefits from having a few friends around.

In multi-player mode things can get really competitive and the game becomes addictive. You become determined not to lose to each other and, if you do, you demand a re-match straight away. It's the kind of game where you agree to "just have a couple of goes" and an hour later you are still battling it out. It's just a shame that the game only records the victor of an individual game - it doesn't keep a cumulative victory total for each player. This would have added another competitive edge to the game, particularly if the results were stored even if you switched the console off. It's a shame this feature wasn't included, as it would have added an extra competitive edge.

Let's take a quick look at the individual events

Tennis
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The easiest game to just pick up and play, but one of the more disappointing ones. You can only play doubles and, once you've mastered how to hit the ball, there is not much depth or variety. Even on the higher difficulty settings, the computer is easy to beat, whilst matches against a human player often descend into long, dull rallies.

Ten Pin Bowling
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This one takes a few goes to master the controls, but is great fun once you have. Initially, it can be a little tricky getting the timing right, resulting in a some frustration. However, the fact that you hold the remote exactly as you would a bowling ball really adds to this event and feels like the real thing. Younger children may struggle to learn the controls, though, and find it a bit frustrating. This is one of the events which is great fun against other human players and really brings out the competitive edge in people.

Boxing
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This is my favourite event and one I feel works best as a one player game, as you make your way up the ranks of fighters Holding the Wiimote in one hand and the Nunchuk in the other, you jab your hands to try and hit your opponent. It's incredibly simple to master, yet totally immersive. You really feel like you are in the ring and it won't be long before you're bobbing and ducking, throwing punches like a real boxer. It can be quite cathartic, too, a good way to relieve stress after a hard day at work. It's also good exercise and you'll really feel like you've had a good workout after half an hour of this event!

Baseball
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Your attitude to this one could depend on how much you like baseball. It's a rather simplistic interpretation of the sport and I find it OK for a few goes, but it soon becomes repetitive. The timing on the batting is initially tricky to master, requiring you to time the swing of your Wiimote to make sure you hit the ball: swing too early or too late and you miss. The first few times you play, it's an exercise in frustration. However, once you've mastered it you'll be able to hit a home run pretty much every time, removing any sense of challenge.

Golf
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Whereas the other sports on this package are a reasonable (if easy) interpretation of the game, golf relies on a large element of luck and is horrible to play. It's virtually impossible to judge how hard you are hitting the ball, making it all too easy to whack the ball miles past the hole. I've only played this a couple of times and don't really have any incentive to go back and play it again.

(There is also a prototype version of Wii Fit, which tests your hand-eye co-ordination and then tells you your "Wii Sports Age" based on the results, but I've never used this)

So, there you go. Two great events (bowling and boxing), two so-so events (tennis and baseball) and one rubbish (golf). Wii Sports is not a game you're going to play that often, or for very long. But if you've got some spare remotes and a few friends, it's a good laugh - particularly if alcohol has been imbibed before playing!

Best of all, since this came bundled with the Wii, it's pretty much free for everyone. If you didn't get it with your console, you can pick it up dirt cheap, as there are loads of second hand copies going spare.

© Copyright SWSt 2009

Summary: It's free, so you can't really complain!