Wii Sports Resort
Can a return to Wahu Island with a new control system help pave the way for the next generation of video games?
LOOKING to follow on from the success of the best selling Wii game in the consoles history, Wii Sports Resort tries to emulate its predecessor by being bundled with Nintendo’s revolutionary Wii Motion Plus add-on which seeks to increase the accuracy and precision moves the player can perform.
The original Wii Sports which was bundled with a large number of consoles had a huge impact on the video game market but with players fast realising that the Wiimote’s accuracy is somewhat limited, Wii Sports Resort provides and excellent showcase for exactly what the next generation of games could be like.
Design
Sports Resort doesn’t stray too far from Wii Sports’ lead with players able to compete in a number of events against one another or head to head against the computer. This time around there are 12 events for players to participate in with only golf and bowling surviving the cull from Wii Sports. The energetic boxing game from the original is replaced by Swordplay and new events include, table tennis, basketball, Frisbee and power cruising.
All of the sports use the Wiimote in a different way and players get a feel for the controls as immediately as the intro screen when their chosen Mii is seen getting ready to parachute from an aircraft onto the resort island. The thirty second or so drop is an excellent chance for players to see the one-to-one accuracy of the new clip on at the bottom of the controller and it gives you a really good feel for how the new system works.
Although the game features twelve differing events, variations can be unlocked by completing various tasks and playing through all the games. Each game has a differing mode although avid players are more likely to stick with the original mode to improve their skills rather than play on the bonus games which they unlock.
Gameplay
Motion controls bring a new twist to playing on the Wii with an improvement in response times and direct movement by the controller. Plugging Wii Motion Plus into the bottom of the remote and taking part in a few of the events demonstrates the near exact movements which the Wii is now able to read and the days of over struck golf shots or extremely elastic curve on the bowling ball are over.
In the short tutorial based demonstration that is the decent into the sports resort players get a good feel for the new movements which the motion controller picks up and due to the refinements made by Nintendo over Wii Sports, play is not possible unless you attach the bundled accessory.
The games themselves feel just like playing the real games. Golf relies more heavily on the accuracy and precise touch needed on real tee boxes across the world and the introduction of table tennis means that players get to apply such delicate touches as top spin and slice to their shots. Basketball requires players to replicate the movements necessary to shoot a full sized ball into a hoop and swordplay requires the timing and movements of a Jedi master to avoid being pushed off the edge of the platform and into the water.
The newly implemented control system means instant pick up and playability for newbie’s and equally allows players of many of the Wii’s minigame compilation titles to feel right at home despite increased in the accuracy of their movements.
The new controls don’t however mean that Wii Sports Resort is without it’s dud games. Wakeboarding is a good demonstration of the Wii controllers ability to cope with side to side movement but it is fairly simple in it’s makeup as players are only required to drift from left to right jumping the waves in the process and scoring points. It’s fun and simple for younger players but not really challenging enough to be a game you play time after time. Cycling is not only a strange inclusion into the game because of the way in which it is taken part in compared to the rest of the game. Waving ones arms around madly doesn’t have a great deal to do with cycling in the real world and improved sensitivity of the controls aren’t enough to help make turning as simple as it is in Jet Skiing for example.
Every player will have their favourites to choose from with the most likely among the twelve games to be basketball because of it’s challenging play, table tennis because of it’s physics and realistic likeness to the proper game and archery which requires the use of both the nunchuck and the wiimote in tandem to pick back the string in the bow and then let go of the button to fire an arrow towards the target.
Each game, like Wii Sports, has a simple enough tutorial the first time you play the game, and some of the sports automatically begin in ‘practice mode’ which you can skip through once you feel you have perfected everything that is required of you. None of the controls are too difficult to master as Nintendo looked once again to make a game accessible to everyone, but despite it’s simplicity, it is unlikely that once you have mastered each sport you will be stepping away from the game as with different modes to play in each sport and the option of taking on your friends, there is plenty of fun to be had with or without friends.
Presentation
Wii Sports resort goes for the same playful and cartoon style which has served them well in both Wii Fit and Wii Sports. The tried and tested formula gives the game a familiar look with the inclusion of Mii’s giving each event plenty of colour. The vast range of events provides the Wii with a good opportunity to show off it’s perfect 480i graphics and although there is nothing groundbreaking, this doesn’t mean that it isn’t a successful look.
Sound in the game is minimal with the same announcer from Wii Sports doing most of the voice work. Other sound effects are good from water splashing, to crowd cheering to bowling pins falling, it does it’s best to give you an authentic experience of playing each sport.
Overall
Wii Sports Resort capitalises on a fantastic opportunity to show what it’s new controller can do at present and could do in the future. A collection of minigames was probably the safest bet for the company in introducing the world to the new Wii Motion Plus system and with plenty of clear opportunities for expansion in coming titles the company may look back as another successful showcase of exactly what it can do.
Wii Sports Resort doesn’t rock your world, but it certainly does put the fun back into using motion controls to play games. The new inclusion of Frisbee, archery and basketball will be welcomed as will the improvements in golf and bowling. Players young and old will be jumping and dodging all around the room one more when Wii Sports Resort and the motion controller hit stores.
The original Wii Sports which was bundled with a large number of consoles had a huge impact on the video game market but with players fast realising that the Wiimote’s accuracy is somewhat limited, Wii Sports Resort provides and excellent showcase for exactly what the next generation of games could be like.
Design
Sports Resort doesn’t stray too far from Wii Sports’ lead with players able to compete in a number of events against one another or head to head against the computer. This time around there are 12 events for players to participate in with only golf and bowling surviving the cull from Wii Sports. The energetic boxing game from the original is replaced by Swordplay and new events include, table tennis, basketball, Frisbee and power cruising.
All of the sports use the Wiimote in a different way and players get a feel for the controls as immediately as the intro screen when their chosen Mii is seen getting ready to parachute from an aircraft onto the resort island. The thirty second or so drop is an excellent chance for players to see the one-to-one accuracy of the new clip on at the bottom of the controller and it gives you a really good feel for how the new system works.
Although the game features twelve differing events, variations can be unlocked by completing various tasks and playing through all the games. Each game has a differing mode although avid players are more likely to stick with the original mode to improve their skills rather than play on the bonus games which they unlock.
Gameplay
Motion controls bring a new twist to playing on the Wii with an improvement in response times and direct movement by the controller. Plugging Wii Motion Plus into the bottom of the remote and taking part in a few of the events demonstrates the near exact movements which the Wii is now able to read and the days of over struck golf shots or extremely elastic curve on the bowling ball are over.
In the short tutorial based demonstration that is the decent into the sports resort players get a good feel for the new movements which the motion controller picks up and due to the refinements made by Nintendo over Wii Sports, play is not possible unless you attach the bundled accessory.
The games themselves feel just like playing the real games. Golf relies more heavily on the accuracy and precise touch needed on real tee boxes across the world and the introduction of table tennis means that players get to apply such delicate touches as top spin and slice to their shots. Basketball requires players to replicate the movements necessary to shoot a full sized ball into a hoop and swordplay requires the timing and movements of a Jedi master to avoid being pushed off the edge of the platform and into the water.
The newly implemented control system means instant pick up and playability for newbie’s and equally allows players of many of the Wii’s minigame compilation titles to feel right at home despite increased in the accuracy of their movements.
The new controls don’t however mean that Wii Sports Resort is without it’s dud games. Wakeboarding is a good demonstration of the Wii controllers ability to cope with side to side movement but it is fairly simple in it’s makeup as players are only required to drift from left to right jumping the waves in the process and scoring points. It’s fun and simple for younger players but not really challenging enough to be a game you play time after time. Cycling is not only a strange inclusion into the game because of the way in which it is taken part in compared to the rest of the game. Waving ones arms around madly doesn’t have a great deal to do with cycling in the real world and improved sensitivity of the controls aren’t enough to help make turning as simple as it is in Jet Skiing for example.
Every player will have their favourites to choose from with the most likely among the twelve games to be basketball because of it’s challenging play, table tennis because of it’s physics and realistic likeness to the proper game and archery which requires the use of both the nunchuck and the wiimote in tandem to pick back the string in the bow and then let go of the button to fire an arrow towards the target.
Each game, like Wii Sports, has a simple enough tutorial the first time you play the game, and some of the sports automatically begin in ‘practice mode’ which you can skip through once you feel you have perfected everything that is required of you. None of the controls are too difficult to master as Nintendo looked once again to make a game accessible to everyone, but despite it’s simplicity, it is unlikely that once you have mastered each sport you will be stepping away from the game as with different modes to play in each sport and the option of taking on your friends, there is plenty of fun to be had with or without friends.
Presentation
Wii Sports resort goes for the same playful and cartoon style which has served them well in both Wii Fit and Wii Sports. The tried and tested formula gives the game a familiar look with the inclusion of Mii’s giving each event plenty of colour. The vast range of events provides the Wii with a good opportunity to show off it’s perfect 480i graphics and although there is nothing groundbreaking, this doesn’t mean that it isn’t a successful look.
Sound in the game is minimal with the same announcer from Wii Sports doing most of the voice work. Other sound effects are good from water splashing, to crowd cheering to bowling pins falling, it does it’s best to give you an authentic experience of playing each sport.
Overall
Wii Sports Resort capitalises on a fantastic opportunity to show what it’s new controller can do at present and could do in the future. A collection of minigames was probably the safest bet for the company in introducing the world to the new Wii Motion Plus system and with plenty of clear opportunities for expansion in coming titles the company may look back as another successful showcase of exactly what it can do.
Wii Sports Resort doesn’t rock your world, but it certainly does put the fun back into using motion controls to play games. The new inclusion of Frisbee, archery and basketball will be welcomed as will the improvements in golf and bowling. Players young and old will be jumping and dodging all around the room one more when Wii Sports Resort and the motion controller hit stores.