The game begins by allowing you to select or create an avatar, although unfortunately your Mii isn't selectable in-game. The avatars presented are fine, but it's a shame that for convenience's sake you're not able to just plonk your pre-made Miis into the game for some immediate mini-game action. Once you're all set up, you'll be taken to the main menu, which literally has your avatar walking the globe in search of mini-games. There are thirty-six in total, and all are based on real world records. One small note about the main menu interface is that it isn't entirely intuitive. The top of the screen is dominated by a large icon, while the globe which you traverse sits in the bottom half, although it's also covered up by a stream of record-breaking facts coming from a professor character. It's not that hard to get used to, but it just makes the presentation of the game seem much busier than it needs to be.
World's fingeriest fingers?
As far as the mini-games go, there certainly is a lot of variety. With the whole of the Guinness World Records to draw upon, the challenges presented are certainly unique, such as growing a man's fingernails by following a dotted line with the Wii Remote, to eating cockroaches by physically shaking the Wii Remote and Nunchuck to simulate chewing. Along with the weirder challenges there are some more normal ones, such as trying to get the highest BMX jump or walking a certain distance on a tightrope. Completing these mini-games and setting records within them earns you coins, which can then be spent on unlocking further mini-games or for more items to customise your character's appearance.
On the whole, a lot of these mini-games are quite fun. Of course, the target audience for the title is young kids, who should delight in the grosser games such as feeding a giant mouth live cockroaches, or throwing plungers. As far as gameplay goes, a lot of the games boil down to simply shaking the Wii Remote and Nunchuck as fast as possible, which isn't necessarily a terrible game mechanic, but a tired one. Some of the other mini-games also seem either overly responsive, or not responsive enough, such as one which requires you to tear apart phone-books that is actually quite hard to get right. However, there are some jewels amongst the collection, such as an Asteroids/Geometry Wars clone disguised as the record for 'highest video-game score' which is actually quite a lot of fun and almost good enough to be a WiiWare title in it's own right (a cheap one, mind you). The only thing that brings it down is a lack of Nunchuck support, which means that you have to point in the direction you want your ship to go, rather than using the analogue stick, which while less inventive would definitely be more intuitive.
Guinness World Records also supports Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, although playing with online competitors isn't on the cards. Rather, appropriately enough, you can view a table of records showing the world record for a specific mini-game, as well as the national and regional records specific to your location. In terms of local multiplayer, the game supports up to four record-breaking hopefuls, and it's here where we usually find the most enjoyment in a mini-game collection. Sadly, this game dampens the experience somewhat, by forcing players to tackle the mini-game challenges one at a time, trying to get the best record score, rather than playing simultaneously.
No, I don't know what record this is for either.
Visually, Guinness World Records is quite strong, with a very vibrant and attractive cartoony appearance. The avatars are nicely rendered, although we noticed that there was disturbingly very little difference between the male and female gender settings on the avatar we created. The sound is unfortunately a little repetitive, but doesn't grate as much as you might think. Interestingly, the oft-ignored Wii Remote speaker is used quite extensively in several mini-games, which is a nice surprise.
Unfortunately, ultimately Guinness World Records: The Videogame is bringing thirty-six mini-games to a Nintendo Wii party, which is already overflowing with an endless array of collections with 'inventive' Wii Remote uses. This certainly isn't the worst mini-game collection out there, far from it, and there is a spot of fun to be had with the title, if only in trying some of its weirder records. Holding the game down are some control issues and design decisions (especially in the multiplayer) which make this game not quite the party game it thinks it is. However, considering the license, we're not sure exactly what other direction the game could have gone, so we could be justified in giving the game the record for 'best home console videogame adaptation of a long-running series of record books'. Now, if only there was another contender in the category...
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