Wii Sports

In this day and age of gaming, every game tries to be so detailed and realistic. But along with the launch of the Nintendo Wii, Wii Sports proved that sometimes there is just nothing more fun then a simple formula.

Also in these days, consoles being shipped with games is virtually a thing of the past. By including Wii Sports packaged along with the Wii console, Nintendo introduced users to the possibilities of their motion sensing controls, and for free. That fact alone earns Wii Sports points with me, and it's hard to complain much about something that they didn't have to include.

Wii Sports features five playable games: Tennis, Baseball, Bowling, Golf, and Boxing. All of these games were designed to be as simple as possible to allow the game to appeal to a wider audience. While this may sound like it doesn't turn out as a good experience, but the simplicity simply works. Besides, did you really expect to be playing a super realistic game of baseball?

Out of the five sports, the favorite is often Tennis. While playing Tennis, you hold the Wiimote as if you were really holding a racquet. You swing the Wiimote when the ball comes to one of your Miis (matches are always doubles), and the character will respond on screen, and hit the ball hard or slow depending on how hard you moved the controller. The Mii's movements on the court are completely controlled by the computer. This works fairly well and can be a lot of fun. One issue I have is that even if you seem to time the swing perfectly, sometimes the Mii will just miss the ball which can get annoying.

The next game, Baseball, seems to be a hit or miss with people. You control only the Batter and Pitcher in a 3 inning game, baserunning and fielding are automatically controlled like player movements in Tennis. Batting works as you would expect, with you holding the Wiimote like a bat and swinging when the time is right. With pitching you can hold down certain buttons to do certain pitches, then make a throwing motion to throw the pitch. This works pretty nicely, but I was frustrated sometimes when facing harder opponents because the batters and pitchers were sometimes just too good.

 

 

Bowling is a favorite among the most casual of players, because it is so simple. Actually since the sport is so simple to begin with, this is actually a realistic representation of the game. The controls work by setting up where you want to roll, holding down the B button and then making a rolling motion with the Wiimote. It also works well, but Bowling just may not have enough action for some players. Another thing I have against it is that after you figure out a trick, it can be pretty easy to get a strike nearly everytime.

 

Golf is another hit or miss. Personally this is my least favorite sport on the Wii Sports disc. Once again with the controls, you hold the Wiimote like a golf club and try to time the swing right. If you can master the timing and don't find golf to be a bore, you may find this game enjoyable.

If I had to describe the Boxing game in one word, that word would be: sloppy. This is the only game to make use of the Wii's Nunchuk. You hold the Wiimote and Nunchuk in both hands, and use punching, dodging, and blocking motions. You have no control of your boxer's footwork, which is a big part of real life boxing. Dodging and blocking is too ineffective to rely on, so it ends up just being a game of swinging your arms as fast as you can and hoping to get lucky and get a win. There have been fights when the gameplay system felt right and the match turned out to be a lot of fun, but these experiences were rare.

There is also a training mode included in Wii Sports. This has minigames for each of the sports, with things like Home Run Contests, Returing Serves, Hitting Targets (golf), Punching Bag Combos, and Bowling Challenges. I think there are three minigames per sport, which are each fun in their own right and help add to the game's depth.

The difficulty of Wii Sports is judged by a points system for each sport. Winning a game will usually increase your ranking for that sport, while losing will decrease it. The higher your ranking, the more challenging your opponents will be (with the exception of Bowling and Golf, in which case the ranking is just there for show). This system works, but it has some flaws that could've been worked out.

This game definitely won't be setting any highs for what graphics ont he console should be like, but that's not to say they're terrible. It has a very simple and clean looking design. Nothing is very detailed but it the artistic design makes this not so noticable. The graphics actually fit Wii Sports pretty well.

 

 

Wii Sports isn't a deep game, graphically stunning game, or anything like that. But it ends up being a near perfect example of what a pack in game should be. It does a great job of showcasing what the Wii Motion Controls can do, and it is appealing to all kinds of gamers. As simple as it is, it remains one of the most fun experiences you can have on the Nintendo Wii.

 

Score: 8.3