Motion in the ocean
Written By Ben Salter
Bundling the original Wii Sports with the console was an ingenious idea. The little tech demo that could went on the play a large role in setting up the Wii to become the dominant force in the home console market. Wii Sports is the reason ‘non-gamers’ flocked to the Wii, and went out and purchased their own console. The astonishing Wii sales did not begin through advertising, or the media, but through word of mouth. Typical non-gamers would play Wii Sports with a friend and immediately jump on board the bandwagon. For the more hardcore gamers among us Wii Sports was cast aside much sooner; however, it was still instrumental in our decision to purchase Nintendo’s console as it showed off the future of motion control gaming. A sequel was well and truly overdue, but once again it is more of a demonstration of Nintendo’s new controller. This time it shows us what Wii MotionPlus is all about, and offers a little something for anyone looking to expand upon the Wii Sports Experience.
Wii Sports Resort is another tech demo and tutorial, this time for Wii MotionPlus, as the original Wii Sports was for the Wii Remote. It does this job to perfection, and introduces new audiences to the 1:1 motion device from the get go as a generic Mii jumps from a plane and gracefully lands on the island of the Resort. During the skydive you gain an understanding of the controls as your Mii moves as if it were in the palm of your hand, literally. From this movement it becomes clear that Nintendo are on a winner here. The controls are so simple, so easy to pick up and yet so fantastic, at least initially. After extended play the reliability of MotionPlus must be questioned and you’ll constantly have to put it down to let it recalibrate itself. It’s annoying, people are right to question it, but is that really a big issue? After all we’re used to waiting in online game lobbies, or on loading screens, what’s the difference if the controller is out of your hand for a second or two?
Wii Sports Resort offers 12 new sports – although 2 return from the original title in golf and bowling – both of which have been enhanced by MotionPlus. The new entries include swordplay, wakeboarding, Frisbee, archery, basketball, table tennis, power cruising, canoeing, cycling and air sports. As you would expect they range from being fantastic additions, to fun games and sports you won’t return to. Each game has more to it than meets the eye, including different types of games and levels of difficulty. Basketball, for example, offers a 3-point contest as well as a simple 3-on-3 game.
Swordplay is first on the list, and the first any Star Wars fan is going to launch into. While it lacks the depth we really want to see in a game that focuses on sword combat surely it must have opened LucasArts’ eyes to the possibility. Taking a red or blue sword-like object (this is Nintendo after all, no real swords) you bash your opponent until they fall off the stage into the sea of shame that waits below. An unlockable game is more entertaining and has you fighting off a horde of opponents. It also introduces a more defensive element as you hold B and angle your sword to deflect enemy blows. The combo system is fantastic and the whole thing has a distinct gladiator feel to it, opening up another possibility thanks to the advancements of Wii MotionPlus. Your movements are mapped as close to 1:1 as we could ever need. It’s almost impossible to predict and defend against a real life opponent, but the AI is generous enough to give you time to see which direction an immanent attack is coming from to get into a defensive position.
Table Tennis is a fantastic mini-game, and will be host to many tense rallies in the foreseeable future. Like Swordplay, MotionPlus greatly increases the control you have over the ball. The angle of your bat and direction of the swing will affect the spin and area the balls lands, as it would in a real game. It’s superior in every way to the game that we saw in Wii Play, and the increased accuracy gives you greater control than any game in the original title. Archery is up there as one of the top titles, and is another I hope to see implemented further into specific games (or even Zelda). You hold the Wii Remote in your left hand facing you as a bow, and the Nunchuck in your right as the ready-to-fire arrow. The Wii Remote’s IR pointer is so accurate that using motion control to aim a projectile weapon sounds like a foreign concept. It introduces a new difficulty level as aiming has become a lot harder, and more reminiscent of the real life experience. Be warned there’s a rather larger learning curve, and the highest difficulty mode requires intense concentration, much more so than any of the 5 original sports. That is what makes it so great, it is a replica of the real life experience and requires skill, not just random waggling.
Bowling and golf both perform admirably, but that’s hardly surprisingly consider they were fan favourites in the original title. Bowling is almost exactly the same with some slight accuracy improvements. Golf, once again is similar, but is actually harder than the original game and taken a turn for the worst. If the angle, or line, of your swing changes (as many newer Wii gamers tend to do) you are penalised and miss hit the ball. It takes a little bit of practice and may disorientate players of the original golf in Wii Sports. It is just a minigame, but after playing Tiger Woods 10 the putting in this is terrible. If you’re primarily after a golf game I would strongly recommend you look there, or even at the original Wii Sports as there is nothing to suggest MotionPlus has made it any better; it’s much harder, but if anything that has just made it worse than the original game. The return of both games leaves us wondering why tennis didn’t make a comeback. MotionPlus has given us two of the best tennis games in existence and it was the favourite with many fans the first time around. Why not give it a second run?
Frisbee is an example of a game that is fun, but a little too frustrating for Wii Sports. Once you get past the initial learning curve the movement of the Frisbee is almost a perfect recreation of real life. In the same way as real Frisbee throwing it does require practice and concentration. Initially I wasn’t a huge fan, but with time I grew to really enjoy both the dog catch and Frisbee golf game modes. I loved the latter in Tiger Woods 10 and it’s debatable which game has the better version. Either way once you perfect your throw there’s heaps of fun to be had here.
Next on our trip round the resort we get to the games you’ll enjoy, but forget about when the initial interest has packed up and left. Wakeboarding is a great game to introduce people to Wii Sports Resort as it is simple, but in turn becomes stale very quickly. You hold the Wii Remote on its side and move from side to side attempting to get some air from the wake produced by the boat. There’s no skill involved in performing midair tricks, it all comes down to having the Wii Remote on the right angle to stick the landing. Air Sports is in the same boat. Sky driving is a great welcome to the island, and flying around shooting opponents and collecting balloons offers a watered-down experience of Pilotwings or even Lylat Wars (and I mean very watered-down). The controls feel a little awkward as it has you using the Wii remote as if you were playing with a model aeroplane – in much the same way would have when you were 5, only this time the imaginary world created by your mind isn’t there. While these offer some fun, they don’t have the same depth to get you to come back and play again and again that is present in the standout games.
Basketball and cycling are both great ideas in theory, but don’t translate as well in practice. Basketball sees you using your Wii Remote to shoot as many hoops as possible within a time limit, or play a 3-on-3 game once it’s unlocked. Like Wii Sports Tennis you focus on executing your shot and let the AI control the movement of your Miis. I can see why people will enjoy this, and granted it does grow on you with time. However, I found it to be frustrating as it really does require you to move as if you were playing an actual game. Most motion games are about pretending your controller is something else, but it’s really hard to aim at something that you are imagining is above your screen, rather than on it (even though you can see it one screen, which becomes disorientating, you question where you are shooting at times). Cycling was another attempt that didn’t quite work out. You alternate moving the Wii Remote and Nunchuck up and down as if they were peddles and move them left or right to steer. I’m sure both of these games will attract a following, they just didn’t work as well as Nintendo may have planned.
Finally we get to the games that were cast aside, both of which come from the remaining selection of water sports. Canoeing and power cruising are both plagued by control issues and show the limitations of Wii MotionPlus. Similarly, boxing in Wii Sports displayed the weakness of the original Wii Remote. Canoeing has you holding your Wii Remote like a paddle and alternating strokes from side to side. I found too often that MotionPlus was unable to gauge which side I was intending to paddle on and would randomly choose one. Power cruising has you holding the Wii Remote and Nunchuck as the handlebars on a jet ski. Holding down the B-button as a throttle and tilting the Wii Remote forward for a speed boost once again sounds great on paper but doesn't work anywhere near as well. When trying to boost the jet skit will often turn right, as you’ve moved the device in your right hand. Wii Sports showed off what the Wii could and couldn’t do, it only seems fair that Wii Sports Resort does the same for MotionPlus.
There’s stacks to unlock, offering a reason to go through each sport multiple times to give it a fair go, but at the end of the day you are constantly being rewarded with the same things. Beyond a few variations of a sport it is harder difficulties, or slightly altered corses. Sure, it's worth your while to go through and unlock everything but once you've played each sport there isn't too much more to do by yourself. This presents a shallow compilation of mini-games for the single player. It's certainly a title that caters for a quick multiplayer match and offers little for the lone gamer.
The presentation has gone up a notch since the original game. While there’s some rough looking edges here and there, it’s vibrant and full of colour, exactly how Wii Sports should be. The sound follows suit and is complete with an upbeat soundtrack that’ll probably be drowned out by the trash talk when you get some serious multiplayer happening.
The Final Verdict
Like its predecessor Wii Sports Resort is a fantastic multiplayer game, and is a must own for any social Wii gamer. It’s a good follow up to the original game, but not quite the sequel that we were hoping for. While a little more depth would have been nice a majority of the Mini-games are great and are sure to have you entertained for hours, pending that you can get some friends to come and play with you! The MotionPlus controls for the most part are excellent and present a bright future for motion in Wii games.
Gameplay
8.0/10
Most of the games are good, but swordplay, archery, Frisbee and table tennis are the real standouts.
Graphics
8.0/10
Colourful and vibrant, but simplistic graphics, the way Wii Sports should be.
Sound
7.5/10
A great upbeat soundtrack.
Value
7.5/10
The hardest value score I have ever had to give. It’s going to be a great social Wii game when anyone, gamer or not, visits for years to come. However, a little more content would have been nice, perhaps an online mode or something for the single players.
Overall
7.8/10