Wii Sports(Wii) Review - Australian Nintendo Wii U, 3DS Reviews

Wii Sports is a complicated game to review; you see everyone who buys a Wii gets it. So why does it need to be reviewed? You’re getting something for nothing- does it matter if it’s any good? Well yes- and no, but put that aside we’ll review the game anyway. Wii Sports is bundled with the Wii for a reason, it’s not enough for a full game, but at the same time it offers everybody an easy way to get into Wii. Everyone knows how to play at least one of the sports featured on game disk. Beyond the fun of the 5 games, there is an extensive training mode and a daily fitness age similar to the DS game of Brain Training, although not quite as extensive. Before I detail each of the games, lets go over the nitty-gritty, the graphics and the sound. Yeah I know what your thinking- he is going to rag on the Wii Sports graphics for being simple and plain- they are, but hey- that’s what Nintendo were going for. Wii Sports can be enjoyed by the average gamer- it’s not aimed for us, the more Informed Gamer. The simple Mii presentation on Wii Sports works quite well for what it is- it's nothing great and its not complicated. The GUI of the game is also big and simple again too, picking your Mii’s to play and your playing order is all done before the game, so if you’re a left, make sure you pick the same Mii. Apart from the Mii’s, the game's worlds are quite nice too, with the tennis court and gold course looking mighty fine- again nothing too spectacular, but gets the job done. The sound is also a low key affair, with simple tunes on the menus, when you win or lose, but it's not much more than that, and again it doesn't break any ground, but doesn't do anything wrong. The sound effects in the game also serve their purpose right, with a corresponding sound coming out of the speaker when you hit a tennis ball, drive a golfball or punch your Friend, Cousin, Brother, Mother or Father in the face during boxing. Very satisfying. So what games are included in the Wii sports package? First up is Tennis, which is good enough to make Maria Sharapova grunt for joy, next up is Golf, then Boxing, Bowling and finally Baseball. I’ll run through the basics of each one.

Tennis

Let's get this out the way first I suck at Sport in General, so I can't tell you if playing Wii Tennis is playing the real thing. What I can tell you, however, is that Wii Tennis is a hell of a lot of fun. It’s not a simple back and forward Pong game either, serving must be done as if you’re really serving and when the ball comes back, you must react with either a hit on the left or right of your Mii, or it will simply miss it. That’s another thing- you don’t actually control where you run your Mii’s, the CPU will do it for you. This takes out one action of the game and allows you to completely concentrate on hitting the ball. Even though you wont have to run around, you’ll still need a fair amount of room to play doubles, 4 people takes up even more space. The game doesn’t use the sensor bar, so you don’t need to be in view of the bar which is good. Just don’t wack your fellow Wii game player in the head.

Bowling

Bowling is your normal 10 pin Bowling game, except without the expensive food and the disgusting Bowling Alley shoes. Bowling is simple- pull the Wiimote up to your chest, hold the trigger, swing back, and swing the controller forward, releasing the trigger to let go of the ball. Like Tennis, if you do it wonky, the ball will come out spinning or curving in a certain direction. Bowling also is one of the Wii Sports games to use buttons, before you take your swing you can choose where you Mii bowls from and then you can also select an angle for it to go down. Wii Sports can be played with 4 players with one controller too if you use the swap around method, great if you don’t own four controllers yet.

Golf

Hurrah! Finally a game I actually know how to play, Golf is a great sport, Just don’t do it as a class at school, but enough about that- time to look at the game on hand. Firstly Golf doesn’t work the way you think it would, it measures how hard your hitting, not by your back swing and then follow. Through moving the controller really quick from one point to another, it will warrant the same result as doing the full swing action, luckily you have to hit a before you step up to your ball so you can practice your hit.

Baseball

Probably the weakest game of the lot, you either can play as the Pitcher or the Batter. There is nothing wrong with the Batting, you swing, it hits. That is fine, it’s the pitching and fielding that is a a bit crazy. For one, the AI seems to catch everything. Pitching on the other hand is not making the usual Baseball motion, but a simple chuck will do fine. Maybe its because Baseball isn't big in Australia that I don’t like/get it, but there is nothing inherently wrong with it, it just doesn't stand out from the pack.

Boxing

Ah Boxing. The art of bashing people up to prove ones cajones are bigger than another's, or so I’ve heard. Wii Boxing is the only Wii Sports game to make use of the Nunchuck. It’s a single player affair if you don’t have a second nunchuck, however the single player is nothing the sneeze at, with the AI giving a good fight. Multiplayer with a friend is where it really shines, as its easier to predict a humans move and if they start using one move too much, you know how to counter it. Boxing is played simple, smash each others life gauge until they fall to the floor, the game is also the most intense physically as your standing there jabbing and swinging at the TV. The ability to lean, block is also there with the accelerometer being put to its full use. So while Baseball, for example, isn't the best game, All the elements of it and the other sports games are used in a Brain Training-esque mode. Everyday you can test your Fitness Age in the Wii Fitness mode. You play one of 3 mini games from the sports range and out of that, it calculates your Fitness Age - Very similar to Brain Training and a reason to come back to the game. 20 of course, is the lowest age. So Wii Sports is a game you're going to buy whether you like it or not, but it’s a great pack-in game. And it’s the best way to get your parents or mates accustomed to the Wii. Oh - it’s a load of fun to play. A true party game.

Graphics	Gameplay	Sound	Value	Tilt	Overall
6.0	7.0	7.0	9.9	9.9	8.0

Tennis

Bowling

Golf

Baseball

Boxing

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