Post by Pilgrim John on Mar 7, 2007 17:14:21 GMT -5
WII PLAY
For Nintendo Wii
Genre: Alternate
1-2 players
Developer: Nintendo/Publisher: Nintendo
Rated: E (Cartoon Violence)
****Review by Pilgrim John
The day the Wii launched, there were two games that you were inevitably going to get: Twilight Princess and Wii Sports. Not that Wii Sports was some “gotta-have” launch title, but it was the first game in two gamer generations that came free with the system. That sure sounded sweet, but as one could expect, it ended up being just a collection of cheap demos, some of which weren’t any fun at all.
But enough about Wii Sports. Instead, we’re going to look at its successor, Wii Play. It takes various activities—none of which includes sports, by the way—and throws them all into one big compilation. The big draw? It comes with a free Wiimote. That makes the deal sound that much sweeter, doesn’t it? But do free goods govern whether a game is good or not? Is this game really worth a free $40 controller?
Let’s find out.
GRAPHICS:
You know something, these Miis are cute on such a level, it really should be against the law. Get ready to see them a lot, too, since they are what the game is centered around, graphically.
Much like the Miis themselves, the graphics are super-cutesy, and not all that detailed. That’s not a complaint, people: it’s actually more of a plus due to that a more “wow, this is so realistic” graphic engine would just make the Miis’ participations in each event… well, more than a little silly. Kind of like seeing a circus clown juggling Coke bottles on a World War II battlefield.
Thank goodness for cheap graphics. You’ll never hear me say that again. (At least not until the next Mii-based game comes out.)
GAMEPLAY:
The real meat of this game lies not on its cutesy, cheap graphics. It lies where it always ought to lie: the gameplay.
Allow me to walk you through each play mode, which unlock gradually as you play through it.
1. Shooting Range – by far, my favorite of the bunch. It is a fusion of two NES classics: Hogan’s Alley and Duck Hunt. I think you know what to do here: shoot, shoot, shoot! Be careful, as some targets detract points rather than give you points. The downside to this one is that it’s only a measly five levels long, the final one tasking you with rescuing your Miis from being abducted by aliens. Cute.
2. Find Mii – A minigame inspired by Where’s Waldo (And unfortunately, every bit as fun), Find Mii has you searching for various Miis: two tins in a crowd, odd man out, or the Mii you’re currently using. Trust me when I say this: it is uninteresting. Sad, but true.
3. Table Tennis – Easily the worst of the multiple minigames, Table Tennis is precisely what it sounds like. It’s just you, the ball, your opponent, and limited appeal.
4. Pose Mii – After forcing you through two mediocre gameplay styles, Wii Play will throw something far more inventive at you: in this game, you have to use the A and B buttons to change your Mii’s pose. Then, you guide the Mii into a bubble that has an indention similar to your Mii’s current pose. You must pop each bubble by sticking your Mii into it correctly, and you have to do it before the bubble falls offscreen. This proves to actually be much more fun than I’m letting on here, and is certainly worth a few revisists.
5. Laser Hockey – Pretty much similar to Table Tennis, but a few things are different, the most obvious being the presentation: the paddles and playing field are neon doodles. It plays much like Pong, except now you can twist your Wiimote to knock the ball in any direction you so prefer. This game opens a can of worms marked ‘strategy’ on this age-old classic.
6. Billiards – Another classic pastime joins this roster, and plays pretty much the same way it is in real life. That is, except for one glaring detractor: ball physics. How come when I don’t even hit the ball very hard, it still goes flying? Why does my white ball chase the base it knocked into a hole and give me a Foul? You’re better off playing the Billiards minigame from the Super Monkey Ball series.
7. Fishing – Pretty much the easiest in the game. I’ll start with the bad news so I won’t come off sounding sour: When you play with a friend and he catches a fish, it automatically interrupts the game to celebrate. What this means is that, even if you’re concentrating on netting the Big One, if your opponent catches a fish, it’ll throw you off and give your opponent an unfair advantage. The good news is: there is no good news. This one’s rather tasteless, as it doesn’t even remotely aim for recapturing the art of fishing. I know Wii Play is aiming for simplicity, but there’s a difference between simplicity and boredom, and unfortunately, Fishing fits the bill of the latter rather than the former.
8. Charge! – Watch out, cowpoke! Prove your worth as a cattle rustler by riding down a road on the back of an angry bull, plowing through all the scarecrows in sight. As hilarious as this is to watch and play, it suffers much from that which beleaguers most of the game: not enough on its bones: there’s only one track, and that track isn’t too cleverly comprised, not to mention that the tilting controls seem a little off at times. While it’s fun the first couple of times, you’ll find yourself sticking to Pose Mii or Shooting Range.
9. Tanks! – One of the only two games in Wii Play that doesn’t feature Miis (The other being Laser Hockey), Tanks! is almost as cool as… riding around in a tank. You go around, shooting down your other opponents, whom have various abilities, and that’s it. Simple. It’s also the only minigame in which the Nunchuck is applicable (but not necessary), and is actually deeper than it sounds. Definitely one of the better games in the collection.
I’ll just skip over Storyline and Music/Sound, since there pretty much isn’t any worthwhile music, and definitely no storyline. Let’s move on to our final analysis…
OVERALL:
Wii Play offers some interesting minigames that range from clever to piss-poor, but that shouldn’t scare you off. After all, you needed that second Wiimote so you could enjoy other multiplayer games anyway.
GOOD:
*Tanks!
*Shooting Gallery
*Laser Hockey
*Pose Mii
*Comes with a free Wiimote!
BAD:
*Fishing
*Charge!
*Billiards
*Find Mii
*Table Tennis
OVERALL SCORE: 6.0/10
Come for the free Wiimote, stay for decent minigames!
For Nintendo Wii
Genre: Alternate
1-2 players
Developer: Nintendo/Publisher: Nintendo
Rated: E (Cartoon Violence)
****Review by Pilgrim John
The day the Wii launched, there were two games that you were inevitably going to get: Twilight Princess and Wii Sports. Not that Wii Sports was some “gotta-have” launch title, but it was the first game in two gamer generations that came free with the system. That sure sounded sweet, but as one could expect, it ended up being just a collection of cheap demos, some of which weren’t any fun at all.
But enough about Wii Sports. Instead, we’re going to look at its successor, Wii Play. It takes various activities—none of which includes sports, by the way—and throws them all into one big compilation. The big draw? It comes with a free Wiimote. That makes the deal sound that much sweeter, doesn’t it? But do free goods govern whether a game is good or not? Is this game really worth a free $40 controller?
Let’s find out.
GRAPHICS:
You know something, these Miis are cute on such a level, it really should be against the law. Get ready to see them a lot, too, since they are what the game is centered around, graphically.
Much like the Miis themselves, the graphics are super-cutesy, and not all that detailed. That’s not a complaint, people: it’s actually more of a plus due to that a more “wow, this is so realistic” graphic engine would just make the Miis’ participations in each event… well, more than a little silly. Kind of like seeing a circus clown juggling Coke bottles on a World War II battlefield.
Thank goodness for cheap graphics. You’ll never hear me say that again. (At least not until the next Mii-based game comes out.)
GAMEPLAY:
The real meat of this game lies not on its cutesy, cheap graphics. It lies where it always ought to lie: the gameplay.
Allow me to walk you through each play mode, which unlock gradually as you play through it.
1. Shooting Range – by far, my favorite of the bunch. It is a fusion of two NES classics: Hogan’s Alley and Duck Hunt. I think you know what to do here: shoot, shoot, shoot! Be careful, as some targets detract points rather than give you points. The downside to this one is that it’s only a measly five levels long, the final one tasking you with rescuing your Miis from being abducted by aliens. Cute.
2. Find Mii – A minigame inspired by Where’s Waldo (And unfortunately, every bit as fun), Find Mii has you searching for various Miis: two tins in a crowd, odd man out, or the Mii you’re currently using. Trust me when I say this: it is uninteresting. Sad, but true.
3. Table Tennis – Easily the worst of the multiple minigames, Table Tennis is precisely what it sounds like. It’s just you, the ball, your opponent, and limited appeal.
4. Pose Mii – After forcing you through two mediocre gameplay styles, Wii Play will throw something far more inventive at you: in this game, you have to use the A and B buttons to change your Mii’s pose. Then, you guide the Mii into a bubble that has an indention similar to your Mii’s current pose. You must pop each bubble by sticking your Mii into it correctly, and you have to do it before the bubble falls offscreen. This proves to actually be much more fun than I’m letting on here, and is certainly worth a few revisists.
5. Laser Hockey – Pretty much similar to Table Tennis, but a few things are different, the most obvious being the presentation: the paddles and playing field are neon doodles. It plays much like Pong, except now you can twist your Wiimote to knock the ball in any direction you so prefer. This game opens a can of worms marked ‘strategy’ on this age-old classic.
6. Billiards – Another classic pastime joins this roster, and plays pretty much the same way it is in real life. That is, except for one glaring detractor: ball physics. How come when I don’t even hit the ball very hard, it still goes flying? Why does my white ball chase the base it knocked into a hole and give me a Foul? You’re better off playing the Billiards minigame from the Super Monkey Ball series.
7. Fishing – Pretty much the easiest in the game. I’ll start with the bad news so I won’t come off sounding sour: When you play with a friend and he catches a fish, it automatically interrupts the game to celebrate. What this means is that, even if you’re concentrating on netting the Big One, if your opponent catches a fish, it’ll throw you off and give your opponent an unfair advantage. The good news is: there is no good news. This one’s rather tasteless, as it doesn’t even remotely aim for recapturing the art of fishing. I know Wii Play is aiming for simplicity, but there’s a difference between simplicity and boredom, and unfortunately, Fishing fits the bill of the latter rather than the former.
8. Charge! – Watch out, cowpoke! Prove your worth as a cattle rustler by riding down a road on the back of an angry bull, plowing through all the scarecrows in sight. As hilarious as this is to watch and play, it suffers much from that which beleaguers most of the game: not enough on its bones: there’s only one track, and that track isn’t too cleverly comprised, not to mention that the tilting controls seem a little off at times. While it’s fun the first couple of times, you’ll find yourself sticking to Pose Mii or Shooting Range.
9. Tanks! – One of the only two games in Wii Play that doesn’t feature Miis (The other being Laser Hockey), Tanks! is almost as cool as… riding around in a tank. You go around, shooting down your other opponents, whom have various abilities, and that’s it. Simple. It’s also the only minigame in which the Nunchuck is applicable (but not necessary), and is actually deeper than it sounds. Definitely one of the better games in the collection.
I’ll just skip over Storyline and Music/Sound, since there pretty much isn’t any worthwhile music, and definitely no storyline. Let’s move on to our final analysis…
OVERALL:
Wii Play offers some interesting minigames that range from clever to piss-poor, but that shouldn’t scare you off. After all, you needed that second Wiimote so you could enjoy other multiplayer games anyway.
GOOD:
*Tanks!
*Shooting Gallery
*Laser Hockey
*Pose Mii
*Comes with a free Wiimote!
BAD:
*Fishing
*Charge!
*Billiards
*Find Mii
*Table Tennis
OVERALL SCORE: 6.0/10
Come for the free Wiimote, stay for decent minigames!
