Wii Sports was, despite its simple nature, one of the most played games on my Wii, if not the overall most-played game on my Wii. As the Wii's pack-in title, Wii Sports was the best example of how motion control can enhance gaming in 2006, and by many measurements, still is in 2009. While plenty of great games have found a home in my Wii (Tiger Woods '09, Super Mario Galaxy, Rock Band 2 being among my favorites), Wii Sports always was the best show-off for just-plain-fun on the Wii.
Wii Sports Resort, a proper sequel, comes along to knock Wii Sports back, and to help show its age, brings along the Wii Motion Plus, a hyper-sensitive accessory that enhances the accuracy of motion and position data reported by the Wii Remote. To be short about this: it works. One-to-one motion control is finally possible on the Wii, and it feels pretty good, but I do have my reservations.
For one - and maybe this is just Nintendo being careful in Wii Sports Resort - there is a need to constantly calibrate the device. Before all of the twelve events in Wii Sports resort, the player is asked to calibrate the Wii Remote by either setting it on a flat, level surface or aiming it at the screen so the sensor bar can do the work. This irritates me, especially because some events - such as swordplay - require fast swipes of the remote and quick button presses, and these motions don't always line up. Wii Motion Plus is accurate for sure, but perhaps a tad bit slow when I wish it were not, and this led to plenty of games that just did not feel quite right.
But without further ado, I will briefly discuss my thoughts about each game in the package.
Swordplay: My favorite game and also the best demonstration of Wii Motion Plus' strengths and weaknesses. Swordplay maps the Wii Remote to a 1:1 sword that follows every twist, thrust, slice, and block that you can manage. This looks and feels great; true motion control. The events are fun, slicing at opponents and blocking in real time with all the proper angles. Skill is involved, and with another human player presents quite a challenge. However, this is the game that demonstrates a weakness of the Wii Motion Plus: it all-too-often becomes disoriented and misaligned, making a quick block difficult when the game thinks your pointing the remote down still but it is really at your side and hasn't caught up yet. This is a rare event, but has still happened enough that I had to mention it, and thus-far hasn't ruined my enjoyment of the coolest sport in the game.
Wakeboarding: Largely forgettable, wakeboarding sees your Mii character gliding left and right on water as you perform stunts while hoping the wake of your boat. Honestly I don't see why this couldn't have been done on the standard Wii Remote: tilt the remote left and right to steer, and shake it to jump on the wave and catch some air, performing a stunt. Nothing more at all.
Frisbee: An oddly-accurate recreation of throwing a frisbee, this sport maps the Wii Remote to your hand holding a frisbee, and tracks every dip and twist of your hand perfectly. Even better, throwing a frisbee feels good, leaving your hands without making you feel cheated. You can angle high and watch the frisbee plop to the ground or aim low and richochet it off the ground. A solid example of what Wii Motion Plus can do without the pitfalls of Swordplay. One of my favorites.
Archery: My second-favorite game to Swordplay, Archery builds a bow and arrow set out of the Wii Remote and Nunchuck. With the remote as your bow handle and the Nunchuck as the string, a scary level of accuracy and tracking is on display here. Once you zero in on your distant target and pull back on the Nunchuck, you can see just how sensitive Wii Motion Plus is as the view shakes by the tiny motion of your hands. Letting an arrow rip and hit your target feels as good as Frisbee or Swordplay. Bravo.
Basketball: Another not-so-hot sport, this is another sport that seems like it could have been done without Wii Motion Plus. Just flick the Wii Remote upwards and watch basketballs lob through a net. I'm far better at 3-pointers here than I am in real life, and it feels much too forced in the game. Pass.
Table Tennis: A semi-sequel to Tennis from Wii Sports, Table Tennis can be either very mindless or very accurate. As long as you time your swings right and position them correctly (left or right side of your body), this is a recreation of Wii Tennis. Greater depth does exists, since Wii Motion Plus also measures the speed and angle of your swing, so lobs, slices, and other advanced moves are available via natural motion control. I haven't really gotten the hang of the finer controls yet, so for my this is just a scaled-down version of Wii Tennis.
Golf: Exactly like Golf from Wii Sports with much more sensitive controls, sometimes for the better (great draws and fades) and sometimes for the worse (too easy to draw and fade), so it can be frustrating for casual players. I prefer the swing mechanics of Tiger Woods '09 over this.
Bowling: Plain and simple, exactly like Bowling from Wii Sports with slightly more sensitive controls. Nothing more and still just as fun. I'll take it.
Power Cruising: Power cruising really wants to be Wave Race Wii. With great wave physics and classic slalom gameplay, it's off to a solid start. However, the motion controls really do not do the sport justice. Using a Wii Remote and Nunchuck held in front of you as if they were handlebars, you manuever the watercraft by learning into turns and twisting the Wii Remote for a speed boost. While serviceable for short play sessions, I would hope this sketchy control style is never adopted for a full-fledged game.
Canoeing: This should have been in Wii Fit. Seriously. Canoeing is a major workout, involving thrusting the Wii Remote from side to side as you guide a canoe down a short course. Quite realistic in terms of effort and accurate, and while not necessarily fun, it does provide a satisfying experience and workout. I play it on occasion, but not necessarily as a recommendation.
Cycling: Stupid, stupid, stupid. "Peddle" up and down by shaking the Wii Remote and Nunchuck, then learn with them to turn. Manage stamina, rendered as three on-screen hearts. Not quite an involving game, nor fun to play for me. What the hell, Nintendo?
Air Sports: One of my favorite games solely because it brings back extremely fond memories of Pilotwings 64, one of my all-time favorite games. Indeed, flying around the island in Wii Sports Resort is so similar to Pilotwings that I am now longing for a proper Pilotwings sequel. I have not had a chance to play the two-player "battle" mode that involves popping an opponent balloons, but the challenge sounds reasonable enough and the mechanic is simple enough for anyone to pick up. Love it.
And there you have it - my take on Wii Sports Resort. While not perfect by any means, this is definitely a worthy follow-up to Wii Sports, and I feel every Wii own should pick this up. Wii Motion Plus is positively the future of the Wii, and this game teases the future very well.
B3 out.
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