Austin360 blogs > Digital Savant > Archives > 2006 > November > 15 > Entry
More Wii impressions: “Wii Sports”
“Wii Sports,” a bundle of games that will come packaged with every Wii system, will be one of those rare titles that’ll appeal to jaded, hard-core gamers as well as people who rarely, if ever, pick up a game controller.
It includes cartoony versions of baseball, bowling, boxing, tennis and golf and each of the games is controlled by the “Wiimote” in an approximation of the actual sport. For bowling, you swing the Wiimote like you would a bowling ball, holding the “B” button trigger and releasing it when you want to let go of the ball. (Beware: Nintendo is serious when they tell you to wear the goofy wrist-strap when you play. I found that out the hard way when I accidentally threw the Wiimote and watched it slide across the floor and under the TV.)
For Tennis, you swing your Wiimote like a racket, including backhands, and twist the device to put back- or top-spin on the ball.
Nice, huh?
You can use any character you’ve created from your “Mii” library of avatars (I imagine you can also use ones created by friends if they bring a Mii stored on their own controller). If you have enough controllers, you can play from 1-4 players on some games (tennis, golf, bowling) or 1-2 players (boxing, baseball).
My wife liked tennis (although she got a little bit bored with the repetitiveness of playing backcourt: The game controls the player movement and all you do is swing). Much better for her was boxing, which uses the Wiimote and the detachable “Nunchuck.”
Skeptical at first, she raised her hands and began punching at the air with the two sensor-enabled controllers. Soon, her diminutive opponent was on the canvas, nursing a bruised head.
Minutes later, she was swinging wildly, throwing a blinding fury of punches without bothering to block or move around. She crept closer and closer to the TV. Her months of “Body Combat” training at the gym were paying off in brutal virtual pugilism.
“Watch out! You’re gonna punch the TV!” I cried. “But I gotta beat this guy up!” she yelled back.
In short: good times. After a few sweaty matches (I think her record is currently 6-0-0), we moved on to golf.
Like tennis, the game can get repetitive, but the Wiimote can sense even minute degrees of movement. When putting, the Wii can tell the difference between a tiny, tiny swing and a shot that’ll send your ball way past its intended target.
Put together, the games are nick package. And training and fitness modes add several more mini-games that make fun use of the system.
Next update: “The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.” Is it just me, or is this game boring?
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