Wii Sports Review

Legions of gaming fans were happy to see Nintendo returning to its old ways when finding Wii Sports packaged in with their newly acquired Wii console. Not only is the sports title a great introduction in using the Wii-mote, but is also a somewhat addictive title to boot. Though simplistic in design and execution, does Wii Sports have what it takes to become a flagship Nintendo game? Yes and no.

Almost seen as a throwback to the days when Nintendo marketed its’ Power Pad back in the 80’s, what immediately sets Wii Sports apart from any other game on the planet is its functionality. This is definitely not a game that can be played sitting down (well, it can, but it really defeats the purpose). The five sports included are all made to mimic actions made as if playing the game on a baseball field or bowling alley. If nothing else, Nintendo should receive points for trying to get gamers off of the couch.

The games themselves are all merely shallow recreations of what the sport should be played like. Though I use the word ‘shallow’, it should be noted that this was Nintendo’s design all along, creating a game that gamers old and new can quickly become accustomed too and also casting light on what games could be like further down the line. For example, in Baseball, you swing your Wii-mote like a bat and pitch when on defense. In Tennis, you control the swing of the racket instead of the player itself. It’s somewhat of a hassle to older gamers looking for more realism, but it’s also fun when gathering a group to face each other.

Areas like graphics and sound are almost pointless to grade in a title such as this one, as Wii Sports is more of a tutorial in Wii-gaming than anything else. The graphics are bright and simple, just like the Mii characters, without a lot of detail. It’s clearly not on the same level of something that you might find on the PS3 or Xbox platform, but it’s not atrocious looking, either.

Completion of each sport allows either the accumulation or the retraction of points assigned to your Mii character for a total skill level. As you progress through any given sport, the computer opponents also rise in said skill level, usually around 100 points higher than your own. If you should make it past 1000 points, your character is deemed a Pro and given such status. It’s a nice incentive for old gamers to latch on to who quickly become familiar with playing Wii Sports.

Here’s a quick rundown of what gamers can expect from each title:

Boxing:

What could’ve been the best title out of the five is nearly the worst thanks to unfocused controls. Using the Wii-mote in one hand and the Nunchuk attachment in the other, players jab and uppercut their way to victory through three rounds or a knockout (whichever comes first). You can manipulate your boxer from right to left to dodge punches, but returning those blows don’t always register on screen. It’s hard to position exactly where you want to throw a punch and most often I usually resort to throwing a barrage of punches and hoping one of them lands. Even when holding up my guard evenly always translates on screen with one of the boxer’s arms lower than the other. After the initial thrill of boxing wears off, you probably won’t touch this game for a while.


Golf:

Golf poses similar problems that are found in Boxing, though for different reasons. At the start you can select a preset amount of holes you would like to play through or swing your way through a nine-hole game. Players can control the direction and speed of their swing, mimicking a full golf swing by holding the Wii-mote like a golf club. Unfortunately, getting the correct speed for your swing does not exactly translate well on screen. If you swing too hard, the speed meter climbs into the red, affecting the ball by radically changing courses. Though avoidable, it happens far too often and it becomes frustrating if you keep overreaching your swing. If you can practice enough to be successful, however, more power to you.


Baseball

The control of Baseball isn’t so much a problem in Wii Sports. Players hold the Wii-mote like a bat and swing away. Had the rest of the game not been reduced to simply swinging and pitching, which is pretty much the only thing you can do in a full nine-inning game, baseball might come off better. During the game even if you make a hit, it’s an automatic out if any basemen or the pitcher get to it. If you hit it into the outfield, you may get a single or a double, but I’ve yet to see a triple (or a hit a homerun, for that matter). Offensively, you don’t get to control runners since that’s determined by how far the ball reaches into the outfield. Defensively, you’re limited to pitching…that’s it. The kind of pitch thrown depends on whatever button you’re pushing, not by how the Wii-mote interacts with the game. It borders on bland, but a couple of the mini games try to make up for it.

Tennis

One of the more addictive of the sports games is Tennis. Though you never control the player on screen (the Mii’s automatically move towards wherever the ball is being hit to), you do control the racket and how early or late you swing will have a direct impact on where the ball travels to on the other side. It took me more than a few games to become familiar with the setup but after a while I was beginning to build up my score to a level where the computer opponents increased in difficulty. Serving at a precise time can also garner a power serve, similar to Mario Tennis. My only problem with Tennis stems a few missed swings that occur every once in a while. A minor complaint, though.


Bowling

Probably my favorite out of the five offerings, bowling comes very close to having the least flaws coupled with an experience that best simulates the sport being copied on screen. Bowling with the Wii-mote is precisely how one would bowl at an alley…minus the ball and shoes that have been worn by thousands of other bowlers who just might have foot fungus. Though you don’t have to mimic every aspect of how you’re throwing the ball, I’ve already noticed that I began to take 1-2 small steps toward the T.V. before releasing the B button. With the Wii-mote in hand, the B button is pressed to advance the player closer to the lane while bowling with whichever hand preference you have. Also, you can put a spin on the ball to create a unique bowling experience. Despite my acclaim for bowling, I've begun to notice that whenever I try to bowl straight down the lane, it always ends up curving left, despite however straight I try to keep the Wii-mote, though I suspect left handed bowlers might have the same complaint in reverse. However, it’s not an issue that completely hinders the game itself, still making it more fun than a couple of the other sport offerings.

In addition to the five main games each sport comes equipped with three mini-games to help foster practice. The mini games range from helpful to annoying. For example, those who want to hone their golf skills might try the putting challenge or work on controlling the speed of the club. The same can be done for baseball as you learn to control the swing and where the ball will be hit. Boxing, I found to be mostly pointless as training with the bag doesn’t really help you or your character and since the controls are already dubious to begin with, it might be the sport to avoid altogether (unless you’re not having the same problems I had). Once again, bowling comes through with the best challenges with one mini-game in particular that has about 10 stages in which the number of bowling pins increases after each stage. The final level has over 90 pins to knock down and it’s kind of enjoyable to map out the physics of trying to knock down every single pin.

One other feature that shows a similarity to Nintendo DS titles like Brain Age is the Fitness Test. Once a day the fitness test is available for every Mii character created and is comprised of three different mini-games that grades in areas like stamina. A fitness age is then comprised based on your results, with age 20 being the best you can hope to receive. Though it’s certainly a welcome feature, I have to seriously doubt the accuracy of what they’re testing, because some of the results seem suspect to error of the game and not the player. However, I could just be bitter for getting ranked at age 40 the first time I tried it.

Rating Wii Sports effectively is a hard task considering the two markets it’s going after. Old gamers might become quickly bored with the lack of depth between each game, despite the inclusion of mini-games that help train where practice is needed. For new gamers, old and young, Wii Sports is the perfect title to become familiar with the Wii-mote and the system in general. Hopefully, future sports titles can draw on the strengths this title has to offer, while providing enough features to sustain the interest of hardcore sports fans. However, as it’s being packaged with the system for free, it’s hard to complain despite the present flaws.

Final Score: 7 out of 10