For every sport, it’s important to note that the best way to control them is by physically standing and performing the full movements of the respective sport. It not only feels more comfortable, but raises the height of satisfaction when your efforts are accurately represented on-screen. So, assume all controls are being explained in relation to the expected positions one would take when playing the actual sports.
Tennis is a two-on-two affair, with four players competing simultaeneously, or one player per side. All sports are played featuring Nintendo’s flagship customisable Mii characters, which can be created and saved in the Wii main menu. To begin, one player must serve by bringing the Remote up to launch the ball, and smashing forward to serve. Each subsequent hit is then based on the Wii Remote’s movements. The characters actually move independently, and the responsibility is on the player to play the best shot appropriate for the situation. Forehands, backhands, and lobs are all easy to pull of, simply by swinging the Wii Remote to correspond with the ball’s placement on screen. It’s possible to add topspin by rotating the Wii Remote as you swing, but this is easier said than done, and isn’t always the best shot to play. Matches are best out of one, three or five games. Tennis is fun, and even more so with some friends, but the evident lack of depth and total control won’t keep the matches particularly fresh.
Match Point FTW.
Out of the entire selection, the most in-depth and technically impressive sport is Bowling. The Wii Remote works flawlessly, picking up the speed, accuracy and spin of each bowl. It’s helpful to take some time adjusting yourself into the correct hand and feet positions, but as soon as that’s taken care of, it’s bowling time. The Wii Remote is raised to lift up the Mii’s hands, then you begin the shot by holding down B. As the Mii steps forward, simply swing your arm back and bowl the Wii Remote forward while releasing B. Spin can be put on the ball by rotating the Remote just on release, and it makes a noticeable difference every time. Speed can be adjusting by swinging harder, and the D-pad can be used to move the Mii left and right to any desired starting position. You’ll quickly develop your individual bowling style, and smile every time it works just the way you want. It’s very easy to imagine a group of friends getting together with Bowling, and it’s probably the best and most intuitive re-creation of the sport ever made. For a free game, that is saying something.
Boxing is a bit of a mess. This is largely due to the unresponsive controls, and on-screen confusion. Like many other boxing games, your Mii character is directly in front of you, facing forward to the opponent. Your Mii is also transparent, so that the opponent can be seen. The main problem is the large boxing gloves and Mii character style sometimes make it difficult to see whose hands are going where, and which movements are actually attacks. The Nunchuk is used, and punches can be delivered with each hand. Jabs work well, by quickly pushing either hand forward, but bigger swings don’t register as readily. You’ll sometimes swing back for a low, heavy body shot, only to find it simply didn’t register. The controls can be held up to your face to block, and you are able to tilt your entire body around to dodge. This all works fine, but the actual punching is a bit fiddly. It ends up being a nice diversion, but the madcap arm-waving won’t be desirable for long.
Fore!
Golf is a highly enjoyable activity, due to the long, fully developed courses and very accurate swing detection. A power meter is displayed in the corner, and before taking any shot you can practice to your heart’s content. The Mii actually starts out away from the ball where practice swings are taken, and the A button must be held down to move in and hit the ball. All the staples of true golf are replicated – wind direction and speed, the slope of the green, grass length. To take the shot, a mini-map will display a blue line pointing towards the hole, which is intersected with white dots. For maximum accuracy, the number of white dots must be measured against those on the power bar, and your shot speed will fill the power bar to a certain dot height. So, some practice shots are taken to determine how hard the swing must be to get the correct distance, and then it’s time for the real thing. Difficulty levels of the courses range from beginner to expert, and all provide a very dynamic and realistic representation of an actual course. Golf can’t be expected to be a long-term activity with only one player, but bring some more players in and the possibilities are endless.
Baseball is a hit-and-miss affair. Literally. Most of the game is automated, and the only control concerns the swing timing and pitch speed. One player will pitch by throwing the Wii Remote forward, and curve can be added by holding the A button. The batter holds the Wii Remote like they would a normal bat, and must time their swing perfectly to get any decent shot. You’ll find that there are one too many foul balls, and where the ball actually travels seems quite random. To top it off, the bouncing, legless Mi characters out on the field are a little too good, streaking across the field and catching any close-range ball easily. This leads to a low-scoring, sometimes frustrating game.
Smacked right out of the park.
Two other options are available – a Training mode and Wii Fitness. They are exactly what their names imply; Training is practice at any game, and Wii Fitness provides a scheduled routine for players to complete every morning. The Fitness activities are all based on the five Sports, only requiring a tad more movement and longevity. It’s a nice addition, and your Wii Fitness Age can be worked on and improved, much like the Brain Age status from the DS title.
Those are the games, and they all play at least reasonably well - but Wii Sports has been criticised from its inception regarding the lack of quality graphics. Claiming that the poor graphics detriment the gameplay is simply not true, as the Mii characters are cute, smooth and look great. It’s a simple game to complement the simple and clean Wii interface, which is exactly what Nintendo wanted. The outdoor Golf courses are the real treat, with smooth flowing rivers and clear, clean grass. Everything works exactly the way it was intended to from a technical standpoint, and credit must be given to the developers for reaching such a clear goal.
Wii Sports does exactly what it sets out to do, and does it well. True, some of the games are more fun than others, but they all serve a valid purpose of training with the Wii Remote, and provide fun while doing it. It’s hard to see anyone spending more time with Wii Sports than with any other launch title, but the multiplayer really is fantastic when played with the equally excellent games (again, the standouts are Bowling and Golf). It’s all fun and games - and if you have a Wii console, you already have Wii Sports, so enjoy it!
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