Since it was released as a launch title in Australia, the collection of mini games known as Wii Play has been a hotly anticipated title, if only for the extra controller that it is packed with. Delays of the game to other areas of the globe, (rumored to be because of shortages of Wii Remotes) have only increased the demand for the game here in the US. For those of us who have had trouble finding extra Wii remotes, it is a nice bonus to get an extra controller along with an interesting collection of minigames.
Wii Play isn’t a particularly deep collection of games; nor does it involve quite the workout that Wii Sports does. The nine minigames that make up the Wii Play lineup are a little hit or miss, but all of them use the Wii Remote (only Tanks! uses the Wii Remote and Nunchuck) in unique ways. Each minigame supports multiplayer vs. mode and are unlocked in order the first time the game is played. The game takes full advantage of the Miis that are stored on the Wii, both as selectable player avatars, and as participants in the background and foreground of the various games (and menus). Although their simplistic graphic design won’t fit into many hyper real or cutting edge games, the Miis are cute additions to the uniqueness of the Wii System. Everyone’s well crafted look-alikes or monstrosities are well integrated into Wii Play; a trend I hope continues to stay on the rise.
In this game, the player controls a targeting cursor to aim at various targets, pressing A or B to fire. There is an unlimited supply of ammo, so it is easy to fire away relentlessly to try to get a high score. Fans looking for a Duck Hunt type experience may be a bit disappointed, but there are some nice touches that hearken back to the old school game. The grassland setting of Duck Hunt is similar to Shooting Range, and the ducks that pop up for extra points should seem familiar to fans of the 8- bit days of yore. If only they would somehow let us shoot that snickering know-it-all dog for extra points! There are a variety of targets to keep things interesting, including a final round where the player must save their Miis from alien abduction. Over all, it is a pretty fun to get in a little Wii target practice.
Table Tennis is a straightforward volleying game as opposed to a full fledged table tennis game. In multiplayer the players take turns serving but that is about as complex as it gets compared to a real Table Tennis. Just move the cursor around the table to volley the ball back to the opponent, no swinging of the remote necessary. While it is not quite as compelling to me as Wii Sports Tennis, it does differentiate itself from that game fairly well.
Pose Mii is one of the most unique games in the set, but also one of the least appealing to me. The object is to put the player’s Mii into one of three poses by selecting them with the A or B button and then line up the pose with a silhouette inside bubbles that fall from the sky. Using the Mii is interesting, but it is too bad that the posing couldn’t have been done with the player mimicking the poses instead.
This is by far my favorite multiplayer game in the collection. The bright neon hockey field is looks a bit like pong, but the game plays most like arcade air hockey. The player controls a paddle, striking the circular puck as in air hockey, but in addition to the familiar Pong type controls, the paddle can be rotated by turning the remote adding direction and spin to the puck. This game is tons of fun (especially for air hockey fans) and is something I would have paid to get from the Virtual Console if it wasn’t in this collection.
Billiards is the game that most left me wanting more. The interface really shows off the Wii Remote’s capabilities and made me wish I could play a full on Wii Billiards game immediately. The game is a basic nine ball setup where the player is trying to hit the balls in order from lowest to highest, after breaking the diamond shape grouping on the first turn. The interface is where Billiards really shines. Moving the Wii Remote left and right changes where the ball is heading, while placing the cursor on the cue ball and holding B determines where the pool cue will hit the ball. Where the player selects to hit the cue ball selects where to put English on the cue ball, just like real pool. You can even jump a ball by hitting the cue ball from the top. This is the closest to playing pool that I’ve felt with any interface, and it has me psyched for a full on Billiards game at some point. This minigame is the future of digital pool!
This was another weak game for me. After playing other fishing games and having done a fair amount of fishing in Zelda for the Wii, it just didn’t feel very satisfying. The game consists of dangling the fishing rod in the water and waiting for fish to tap on your hook and then whipping the controller back to reel it in. Overall this game seemed as shallow as the fish pond it is played in. This minigame might be fun for a bit, but that fun is easily spoiled if you’ve played any more advanced fishing sims.
A neat and rather surreal entry to the lineup, Charge is a cute racing game that puts the player’s Mii atop a cow on race track in what appears to be a world made up of yarn and fabric. Basically a steering wheel challenge, the player steers the cow by rotating the controller left and right. Speed is controlled by rotating the controller forward or backward to speed up or brake. Jumping obstacles (something not in most racing games) is accomplished by quickly moving the controller up. Charge is a fun diversion, but it is not a huge challenge. Again, it does show some neat racing features of the Wii Remote, but if anyone has played games like Excite Truck, there is a “been there, done that” feeling to the game (with the exception of the weird woven landscape and characters of course).
Tanks! is another favorite of mine in the compilation, as it hearkens back to Combat on the Atari 2600. It has been updated to use the Wii Remote, and is the only game in Wii Play to use the Remote and Nunchuck together. The player controls their tank with the Nunchuck joystick and points the turret of their tank with the Wii Remote. Each tank can shoot shells that bounce of the walls and lay mines behind them, and players must dodge their bullets as well as their opponents in addition to staying clear of any explosions caused by mines. It is a fun and addictive multiplayer game that often feels way too short. The nostalgia factor helps a lot, but the control scheme and 3-D level layout gives it enough of a unique enough to not feel like it is just a remake.
In addition to the multiplayer games, the Wii Play developers added bronze, silver, and gold medals that can be won by scoring high enough in single player mode in each minigame. High scores are posted to the Wii message board on the players console for bragging rights. This adds some much needed replayability to the single player game, even if it is just for bragging rights.
In many ways Wii Play feels like a tech demo or a glimpse into the future of Wii gameplay types, but for me it worth the extra ten bucks in addition to an extra (often hard to find) controller. I still prefer Wii Sports as a work out, as well as my primary multiplayer game on the Wii at this time, but I can see firing up more than a few matches of Laser Hockey and Billiards for sure. Fans looking for deep gameplay may be disappointed, but for casual gamers looking for a diversion Wii Play is definitely worth the time, and absolutely worth the price!
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