June 2, 2009 - For bad or good, a majority of Wii
owners buy a system for one game: Wii Sports. That compilation of six
motion controlled sports has been the reason (and the bane) of the
system's success, and if my hands-on with its spiritual successor is
any indication, those owners finally have a reason to push eject on
their system.
We've already had a hands-on with Wii Sports Resort
at last year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, but that was with a
version that was only half-cooked. The version at E3 is pretty much all
ready to go with a dozen games of all different styles of sports, and
many of the designs have multiple options. If anything, Wii Sports
Resort is far meatier than the original Wii Sports.
The game features the same simplistic visual style and
presentation, with a menu system that makes it easy to jump in and out
of each experience. The game selection screen is pointer controlled and
offers an extra menu option to see and select the most popular game
mode on the system, as well as offer a "Recommended" choice, but we're
not sure how that comes into play.
The whole point of Wii Sports Resort is to demonstrate the wonderfully accurate Wii Motion Plus attachment, and it does this
extremely well.
The first game mode we jumped into was the Sword Fighting mode that
we loved last year. In this improved version, Casamassina got his rear
end handed to him in a quick three point match against yours truly. The
sword control is absolutely spot on, but it requires a calibration at
the start of every bout: the game prompts gamers to click the A button,
which means you're pointing directly at the screen and "resetting" the
zero point of the Wii Motion Plus peripheral. But once calibrated it
recognizes precise swipes in every conceivable direction, and the two
player battle absolutely blows the pants off the Boxing fight in the
original Wii Sports. There are different modes in this option,
including a mode where you challenge another person to slash at objects
at a specific direction, noted by an arrow overlay.
Then we jumped into Frisbee mode. We skipped the dog catch mode in
favor of the full Frisbee Golf option. We love the Disc Mode in the
upcoming Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2010, but it's clear that the version in
Wii Sports Resort is much tighter with better disk handling and more
attention paid to the physics of the throw. You can play a short three
hole game or take part in a whole 18 hole course, with multiple courses
available to take part in.
Archery was next, a really unique mode that takes a bit to get used
to because it requires players to put the Wii Remote in their less
dominant hand. After pointing the remote straight up, pushing the A
button resets the Wii Motion Plus device to the zero point, and holding
the Z trigger on the Nunchuk and pulling it back like a string on the
bow brings up a tighter view of the target. You can move the Wii Remote
up, down, left and right, and the aim adjusts with pinpoint precision
in 3D space. It's not easy to land the arrow on the target as you have
to keep your arm completely still and take into account wind speed and
direction.
Table tennis is clearly Wii Sports Resort's version of Wii Sports
Tennis, and it's just as fun and addictive in its smaller scale. Your
character runs to the ball automatically, and you can forehand and
backhand the ball with swings from the remote. It's true 1:1 control,
and you will have to swing at the ball on the proper side of your body
if you want to land the perfect shot. You can apply english to your
shots for top spin...Wii Motion Plus is that accurate.
Remember the airplane demo when the Wii was first revealed back in
2006? It's back: Wii Sports Resort incorporates a mode where you can
fly a plane all over the island of Wii Sports Resort in a sightseeing
challenge. Just like in the original Airplane demo, you hold the Wii
Remote like a paper airplane and twist to turn left and right in the
air, tipping the remote up and down to raise and lower the nose to
adjust altitude. It makes us want Pilotwings all that much more.
Wii Sports Resort also features two repeat performances from Wii
Sports: Bowling and Golf. These games have been given the full Wii
Motion Plus treatment. Bowling looks and plays just like the original,
but you now have even more precision over your roll of the ball. The
game also gives gamers complete access to the mini-games, including the
100-pin challenge without the need for unlocking it. There is a change:
each throw is an attempt at knocking over all 100 pins, so you can end
up with a 3000 score. Golf is beefier with more holes to play and a
tighter way to swing your club for accurate drives and putts.
Wakeboarding is surprisingly fun as well: hold the Wii Remote in
its classic orientation as you're pulled through the lagoon, swinging
yourself back and forth along the boat's wake to gain air and perform
tricks for points. It's fast and frantic, but the Wii Motion Plus gives
players incredibly tight control over their position behind the boat.
Last year we saw and played the Jet Ski mode called "Power
Cruising," and it's back in the final game. Hold the Nunchuk in one
hand, the Wii Remote in the other, hold the A or B button to throttle
up and steer the craft with tilts from both controllers as if you were
holding the handle bars. To speed up, "rev" the Wii Remote and you'll
get an extra jolt. The mode I played was a slalom course where you have
to cruise under arches as a digital readout counts down. You earn the
points on the readout as you drive underneath. Some arches have a
second, smaller arch that rewards double the points.
Of course, the more games you have, the greater the odds for a dud.
And in this case, it's cycling. You ride your bike around the island
against 30 other cyclists, pedalling by thrusting the Wii Remote and
Nunchuk up and down alternately. If you waggle too fast you'll wear out
your character, but you'll also go faster if you draft behind other
racers as well as get caught in a tailwind. Steering is handled through
tilt of the Wii Remote. Did not like this mode all that much.
But the rest of the package is pretty top notch, and well worth the
$50 price tag especially when you consider that it will include Wii
Motion Plus in the box along with the game. Watch for a release in
July.
em:
http://wii.ign.com/articles/990/990213p1.html
