Wii Impressions: Wii Sports (and Play)

The first out-of-box experience and indeed the first true benchmark any western end-user will have of the Wii will to a large extent be Sports. On the one hand it is delicious that a game company for the first time in ages have bundled a complete (more or less, at least) game with the console at launch. I still reminisce about the Master System/Mark III having Alex Kidd built into it, a wonderful concept indeed. This would of course be for nothing if the game was utter rubbish, so for me a pressing issue was whether the title would be worth my time, or any one else´s for that matter. I have never been a huge fan of sports games so my wish was that this would engage me despite this historical handicap.

From the amount I had time to play (remember, this was moderated by both the lust to play other and grander games and the need others felt to partake in this new and fascinating console experiment) my opinion is mostly that this is as good a bundled game as one could hope for. It serves as fairly entertaining in single player, massively more entertaining in multiplayer and a very efficient and understandable demonstration of the Wii´s potential and remarkability. What follows is a breakdown of my feelings about the five individual games. I have only touched slightly upon training mode so I won´t be commenting on this aspect, and seeing as we were limited to a couple of Wii-mote/nunchuck combos the amount of players was regrettably maxed at two. I will also add notes here and there on whether it works well in a more party fueled atmosphere as I imagine quite a few players dusting this title off after a few drinks.

Tennis: At first deceptively simple, it shows a greater sophistication after playing for a while. Variations on a simple theme can mean the difference between trouncing your foe and slamming the ball straight out of court. The game can of course be played sitting down and flicking your wrist but it is all the more rewarding if you stand up and throw your arm at the screen for each serve (the importance of a firm grip and a tightened strap need hardly be emphasized). It serves as a nice time killer in single player.. for a while, then you just start yearning for Zelda or some other more engrossing game. In dual player it is however quite gripping, making friendly rivalries heated as you are either elated by your triumphs or infuriated at your unsuccessful backhand lashes. Despite it´s seemingly basic mechanics it remains engrossing when more players are involved and is great fun after you´ve had a few pints. The ease of understanding the controls also makes it very simple for fresh players and non-gamers to jump in and have a go without much confusion. It is probably wise to keep safety in mind, especially in a alcohol-fueled setting, as the danger of flying controllers is imminent and a damaged TV is never a comforting sight the morning after.

Baseball: Sorry, I hated this. I could never get the hang of batting and pitching was just a little boring. I didn´t get around to testing it in multiplayer mode but I imagine it might have been a bit more fun. Not disappointing since I had little or no anticipation for it, but still alarmingly weak next to the other four games.

Golf: This is the one both my co-players and I spent most time with and frankly the most amusing among the games. While a little simple in many ways it relieves the slight boredom you can get from a lot of golf games by introducing the physical element into the mix. It is fairly good fun in single player but the feeling of cameraderie and cooperation (in terms of tips and opinionating) we got from playing in two-player far outstripped the competitive nature of the other games. While seemingly simplistic at first the courses reveal more of their potential as you increase difficulty, with wind and green topography playing an increasing role in your path toward success or failure. The temptation toward taking extreme shortcuts can often be quite tempered by bad experiences with the former and the hope for a birdie might be crushed by a a slight miscalcutalion of the path between the putted ball and the hole. My worst complaint about this title was that it made me long for a more advanced and elaborate golf game wth far more courses and a greater selection of clubs. This games slow pace is however not suited for party situations as you will have other participants looking up the number of your local taxi service before long.

Bowling: This was about as entertaining in single as in multi, meaning it was OK in both cases. The thrill of a perfectly placed ball was not without significance but the feeling waned far too quickly and I felt stuck with a game that might be more fun if it didn´t last so damn long. What was probably most positive about it was the feeling of connectedness the controls gave you, giving the almost genuine feeling of tossing a ball across a lane toward the pins. This game was not at all suited for drinking type evenings as patience runs dry after a short while. The danger of flying wii-motes is also quite formidable here.

Boxing: A bit loose around the edges but still a thrill, this is probably the most ambiguous of the titles. Single player is not much fun, but it gets much better when two players compete. Whereas the controls often feel flimsy and almost random, both the competitive feeling and the sheer exhaustion you get from a properly aggressive match are well worth any struggles. Some amount of calculation and precision will always be rewarded but I often felt like I had little control over where the blows landed once thrown. It is hands down the game that doles out the greatest amount of exercise and really good fun after a unit or two but don´t count on winning more than a couple of matches in a row if you are in the normative physical form to be found among gamers.

And as a side-note:

Wii Play: A collection of more or less successful minigames bundled with the extra controller. A couple of them are fun, especially the laser pong and the duck-hunt-alike, but most are too simple to serve as anything other than inferior tech demo´s (at least in comparison to Sports). If you aren´t anticipating any company while playing this is hardly reason enought to invest in an extra wii-mote.