As a pack-in title, the simple and accessible Wii Sports has a lot to live up to. This will be the first experience for many people on Nintendo's new hardware, and as such, it performs admirably. The five sports games have their quirks, but as an introduction to the company's new means of video game playing, it fits right in.
Tennis, Bowling, Baseball, Boxing, and Golf are included on this disc. Each is a far cry from what from typical modern sports titles include. There are no career modes, seasons, online play, or stat building. This is a compilation comprised of get in/get out titles meant to entertain in a group setting and as rapidly as possible.
As such, the simplified settings and controls make sense. Graphically the games can be considered laughable, though with some fun animations and quirky style, they can win even a jaded gamer over in due time. The simple menu makes selection easy, and if you haven't mastered the nuances of the Wii Remote, the combination of the d-pad and A button will work as well.
The games themselves vary on level of enjoyment. Tennis is made purely for four players. AI players stand around, and hardly ever swinging at the ball. Playing solo reveals frustrating controls that seem to miss the ball at random. In a multi-player environment, you can always blame someone else. Also, since the players move on their own with no player interaction required, it's easily the most limited of the lot.
Baseball is equally as simple. Batting and pitching are the only required actions. Fielding is handled entirely by the AI, and base running is dependent on how far the ball is hit, not how fast you can swing the Wii Remote back and forth (or one of many easily imaginable control set ups). Batting is nothing more than holding the controller like a bat and swinging. Flicking the wrist can also do the job.
Pitching uses a simple flicking motion, and holding the button combinations down during the throw creates different off speed tosses. You hardly feel like you're throwing a ball, yet it still manages to be enjoyable on a basic level.
Boxing uses the technology best, the two hands of the player's in perfect sync with the on screen avatar, blocking and weaving as needed. Punching is performed as most of the actions are on this disc: flicking the controller forward. Simple additions like counter punching adds an extra level of skill to master.
Article comments