Big Beach Sports 2 (Wii) Review
Living with another Wii owner, I have quite a healthy library of games on the shelves that have been accumulating for quite some time now. One of those games is Big Beach Sports, one of the many mini-game compilations available on the Wii aimed at the ‘pick up and play’ market that the console has been associated with. To say that this type of game is oversaturated on the Wii is an understatement, which only reflects the genre’s popularity. However, with the good (Wii Sports) come the bad (BBS); a game that was severely lacking in most areas. Big Beach Sports 2 is, all things considered, an improvement on the original which is most pleasing. And though it still lacks a lot of polish in many areas, I can at the very least appreciate the game on some levels.
BBS2 is a collection of 8 sports adhering to a beach theme. There is a robust variety of sports, including cricket and rugby, which is a massive plus for us Australian gamers. The other games including surfing, disc golf, water rocket (jet ski racing), dune bug racing, and canoe. On paper, this collection of games looks promising and offers some contrasting sports that should appeal to a wide variety of people. These games, however, range quite a bit in terms of quality with most being very average at best. On top of this, there is very limited variety within the actual games themselves, which means even the slightly better games get old fast. Thankfully, the game includes options for up to four players, meaning that with a few other people to play with, there is some fun to be had here.
The game implements very simple controls for all of the games, which works in some circumstances and fails in others. Soccer, for example, is made better by incredibly simple controls that involve passing, shooting, dashing, and tackling. It works very well, and against human components (the AI is terrible), soccer is actually quite entertaining and with the world cup just finishing, having your own mini soccer tournament is one of the positives with BBS2. In other games, such as dune bag racing, the controls are terrible due to having to tilt the Wii-mote to steer, which is over-sensitive. Add to this that there are only three different courses, and it becomes quickly apparent that some of the games here aren’t worth your time. The same applies to Water Rocket – poor controls and a lack of variety makes it a bore-fest not worth playing. Cricket is a massive let down, again due to the same problems with controls and a severe lack of variety. Rugby is one of the better games, along with Soccer as mentioned above, while Canoe, Disc Golf and Surfing sit somewhere in the middle, though this will depend on your own feelings towards these respective sports. Surfing does include Balance Board controls, which actually works quite well.
Visually, the game is an improvement on the original, but this is by no means saying much. As I am still in the midst of playing Super Mario Galaxy 2, it almost seems unfair to pass judgment on this game; but in reality, they are both games on the same console, and SMG2 just shows us what can be done with some effort. With this in mind, BBS2 looks fairly average though there is plenty of colour and it is presented in a very bubbly, child-friendly manner. Sound is also difficult to judge having just listened to the orchestrated brilliance of SMG2, which makes the repetitive, unmemorable tunes in BBS2 even more forgettable, even if they do fit the beach theme well. Really, playing BBS2 after SMG2 is likened to going out for dinner at McDonalds after having a five star meal the night before – it is never going to look good in comparison.
Despite some negatives and a lack of polish, BBS2 is actually fun in places, with Soccer (not including against the computer) being quite good with its very simple approach. Other games vary in terms of quality, with many of them having potential given the right person is playing (i.e., you enjoy that sport). In a saturated market, BBS2 does little to stand out in the crowd, but it is certainly an improvement on the original; and with a cheap RRP, it might be worth a look if you are huge fan of these mini-game compilations. If you didn’t greatly appreciate Wii Sports or Wii Sports Resort, then you’ll be wise to avoid this. However, if you played these games to death and want something that isn’t nearly as good, or as expensive, then BBS2 might be worth your time.
Graphics 5.0
Improvement over the original, but nothing we havent seen 10 years ago.
Gameplay 6.0
8 sports ranging in quality with most being quite average. However, it improves if you have others to play with. There is also a basic character customisation tool! (Yawn)
Sound 5.0
Nothing memorable here, and very repetitive, but fits the beach theme well.
Tilt 5.0
The games really lack variety and depth, so even the better ones will become tiresome after a while.
Value 7.0
I appreciate when a sequel improves on the predecessor, even if it is almost impossible to get much worse.
