Wii Sports (Wii) (gamespy)

- gamespy -

Remember the good old days, when you could buy a gaming system and you'd get a great free game with it? Whether it was Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt with the original Nintendo Entertainment System, Tetris and the Game Boy, or the Super Mario All-Stars bundle for the SNES, Nintendo has had great success packaging games with their systems. Retailers have tried doing the same with other platform releases, but who wants to buy five launch titles on an unproven platform when you're sure to get stuck with a couple stinkers? Nintendo is making sure that you have something fun to take home and play this weekend with your new Wii, even if you don't get a chance to pick up a copy of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. That game is Wii Sports, and it sets out to provide Wii owners with plenty of fun ways to get acquainted with the system.

The collection includes tennis, golf, baseball, bowling and boxing. The driving force behind the games' playability lies in their use of the Wii Remote's motion sensor capabilities. You'll import created avatars using the system's Mii manager, and playing the games as simplified versions of your own likeness (or that of a Hollywood celebrity) is great fun. Since other Mii characters on your Wii will appear in the game, in your batting lineups and at the bowling alley, for instance, you may consider making a few extras. We went ahead and made faithful recreations of Walter and The Jesus from The Big Lebowski for our GameSpy bowling team.

For the most part, controlling your Mii athletes is great fun. Swinging your tennis racquet is as easy as swinging the remote left and right for backhands and forehands, and simply swinging up and down to serve. The baseball game is a simplified version of the national pastime, as you only control batting and pitching, while the AI controls the little Mii fielders and baserunners. There are mini-games you can play in each sport as well, like batting practice, putting challenges, and even a bowling game that tasks you with making tricky shots around barriers in the lane, forcing you to become adept at putting just the right amount of spin on the ball.

The simplified controls may bother hardcore sports enthusiasts, but that's obviously not the target audience for this release. The casual gamer, or the non-gamer, won't want to be bothered with managing pitching rotations, or putting topspin on the ball when on the tennis courts. In tennis, for instance, the players automatically move towards the ball, keeping the essence of tennis intact, and challenging you to only time your backhand or forehand. The golf game boils down to just selecting your club, taking slope and wind speed into account when you line up your shots, and simply giving the controller the appropriate swing. It's not as feature-rich as other golf games, but it works well and remains plenty of fun.

Bowling was an instant hit when we began playing Wii Sports here at the GameSpy offices, as it showed some of the best control and instant playability in the package. The tilt and motion sensor capabilities of the controllers really shined here, as you can add spin on the ball, control its trajectory and speed, and basically bowl some very satisfying frames, especially with friends. Some players tended to naturally put spin on the ball, be it to the right or left, but you can compensate for this by moving your Mii ahead of time.

The boxing game is the most difficult part of the Wii Sports package to evaluate. It can be the most fun you'll have with the Wii Sports collection, but it's also the sloppiest in execution. It's the only game in the collection to make use of the nunchuk attachment, as the remote and nunchuk control your right and left hands. To guard, you simply place the controllers in front of your face or body, and you tilt them in the appropriate direction to bob and weave. Throwing punches to the face and body is as simple as jabbing straight ahead with the controllers, and you can even throw out a variety of hooks and uppercuts. The problem lies in how the motion sensor detects the positioning of your remotes, and how inaccurate your punches can become once your hands start flying. Basically, boxing matches can degrade into players wildly swinging their hands about as they try to throw punches that constantly miss their mark. You'll try to throw hooks and uppercuts, and instead you'll continue to toss out jabs, unless a lucky punch is recognized. You'll have similar trouble playing the boxing training games, where you have to hit your trainer's mitts, or work the punching bag. Still, regardless of the inaccuracy issues, it remains one of the most fun games in the collection and one that will be a hit at parties.

Much like what Nintendo offered up in Brain Age, Wii Sports has a Wii Fitness mode, where you can test yourself at a variety of sports. You're evaluated on your performance and given a fitness age based on your speed, stamina and balance. There's a monthly calendar that will plot your progress, and with time, you can strive to reach that optimal fitness age. Maybe Chuck Norris should be called in to endorse the Wii, since thirty minutes of boxing, golf and tennis every day could work wonders for improving the fitness level of your average gamer.

Wii Sports is at its best in a group setting, where the familiarity that everyone has with these games makes them incredibly easy to pick up and play. It's a game you can play with your friends and family, and it perfectly highlights the direction that Nintendo is taking with the platform. It's not the best-looking game on the system, and it's definitely not the deepest, but it may well be the most fun. You're not forking over any money for Wii Sports, so consider it the best money you won't spend this year.