Scoreboard reads: Fresh Prince of Bel-Air 1, Dude Lebowski 0

The Charge:
Does solid tech a good game make?

Opening Statement:

When the Nintendo Wii launched in 2005 to a shockingly positive reception, its bundled pack-in title, Wii Sports played a huge part in its success, eventually going on to outsell the original Super Mario Bros., becoming the best-selling pack-in title of all time with near 50 Million titles moved.  Just to help drill that little statistic home…that’s more than six times what Halo 3 sold, ten times that of the last console Zelda title.  Think whatever you will of its status as a legitimate ‘video game’, it’s hard to argue that Wii Sports was anything other than a perfect way to introduce that particular system to the world.  Now, as Nintendo are finally prepared to actually deliver on their bold claims of what the Wii will be capable with its new (fully realized) Motion Plus controls, what better way to usher in success than with the sequel to the best selling piece of bundled game software in history?  But does Wii Sports Resort deliver as actual entertainment, or are Nintendo fans in for yet another long wait filled with toys instead of games?

Oh you'd better BELIEVE that's a paddlin'.

Facts of the Case:
Twelve basic types of mini game fill a bright and sunny island resort of Wuhu, populated with  Nintendo Miis, those cheerful little desktop avatars that populate the Wii itself.  Only bowling and Golf have made a return from the original Wii Sports, but rest assured, there’s plenty here to keep Grandma, or your neighbours up the street waggling their Wiimotes for months to come.

The Evidence:
Swordfighting and archery, these were the two events that commanded the majority of my time spent with Wii Sports Resort.  Both take the Motion Plus 1:1 control ratio implement it in ways that while base and simple, feel innovative because they’ve never been played by common gamers with this level of precision before.  I literally had to attack and defend from all angles to try and get around some higher level opponents in the sword duels.  I was completely captivated, and we’re talking about a piece of shovelware here where you play with characters that look like those old Beyond the Mind’s Eye CG videos that were all the rage in the early 90s.  Gone are the wild waggles and wrist twitches of Wii Sports, replaced with lifelike sword swings, and realistic spins on your bowling throw.  It’s a thrilling experience, even if the game itself is something that can be enjoyed to its entirety in less than an hour.  I can’t help however, feeling a pang of indelible excitement when I think how the motion plus could be used in titles like the upcoming Red Steel 2.

The Italians call it 'La Posta di Falcone', never use a low guard.

Rebuttal Witness:
While the controls feel nothing short of perfect, I find myself, especially at this stage of the Wii’s life cycle; still unable to muster any additional excitement outside of the initial feeling of above discussed elation.  Wii Sports Resort is good Shovelware, VERY good shovelware indeed, but its still a collection of minigames designed for the Minesweeper demographic.  I’ve read countless reviews raving about how good this title is, all of which seem to be missing the point that they’re raving about a game’s control scheme instead of the game that is attached to it.  It’s like Pilotwings for the SNES in 1991, a tech demo designed to show off that system’s scaling and rotation capabilities.  There are those out there who remember it fondly, buried under a glossy layer of nostalgia; but I highly doubt any gamer who plugged more than a few months into a Super Nintendo would rank the game over Super Castlevania IV or Contra III, two titles which achieved similar results while featuring actual game play.  The Wii’s primary demographic will have a ball throwing twists onto their bowling tosses, or drawing back on the nunchuck like an actual bowstring during archery (where was this for Twilight Princess?), but anyone with more than a year’s worth of investment in gaming will probably tire fast.

About as much fun as Geena Davis in the Olympics

It’s a great party game though, and I’m sure that after a couple glasses of wine over at Russ and Lisa’s magnificent grownup house, my friends and I will all have a laugh as we stumble over the coffee table trying to have a simple sword fight.  All of the mini games feel great (due in most part to the rock solid control scheme), though the skydiving portion is really more of a tutorial on how to handle Motion Plus’s 1:1 sensitivity.  And I have an inkling that the puppy compatriot in the Frisbee game will be just as notorious as that snickering mongrel from Duck Hunt.

Man's best friend? Or has the Gamer's Bane bore his seed?

Closing Statement:

I don’t mean to be as hard on the Wii as I come off as, I really don’t.  My fiancée and I purchased one during its first week of sales during the Holiday season of ’05.  But I just hardly ever play it, and I’m both baffled and disgusted by the system’s rampant success when their only seems to be a title that can capture attention for longer than 20 minutes at a time every  7-8 months.  I wasn’t a huge fan of Wii Fit because I play video games to relax, I go to the gym to exercise.  I doubt Wii Sports resort is going to last long on my shelf because I already own a Frisbee.  Funny story about that Frisbee…it has a PlayStation 3 logo on it (no, its not Eye of Judgement). 

You know what was more awesome than this? Wesley Snipes in Drop Zone.

Wii Sports Resort is about as harmless entertainment as I’ve come to expect from Nintendo at this point.  Its a great party game, and the technology could be put to amazing use in some upcoming games, but outside of a laugh at your once a month gatherings, there are better games to spend your cash on.  Buy it if you must for the Motion Plus device, but save the disc for the Asperschlagers.

The Verdict:

Remember the Nintendo Power Glove?  How about the Sega Activator?  Wiki those items someday if you’re bored.  Leave me some feedback in the columns below.  Tell me if you think the Motion Plus controls are destined for greatness, are a repeat of the Expansion Pak for the N64, or will be joining the above noted peripherals on the island of lost toys.

Platform: Nintendo Wii
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: July 26th 2009
Rated: E for Everyone.

(Why is this “first impressions” of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 for the Wii and not a review? Because this is a massive game and I’ve barely scratched the surface.)

Tiger Woods 10 is the latest in EA Sports’ yearly refresh of perhaps the most unfairly maligned professional sport. As much as people like to complain about golf on television, though, they seem to love playing it. With the addition of support for the new Wii Motion Plus peripheral, Tiger Woods gives those of us who don’t particularly care for fresh air and walking slowly the chance to hit the links in the most realistic video game golf experience yet.

The last golf game I bought was Mario Golf for the Nintendo 64, used, for a few bucks, a good five years after it came out. The last actual game of golf I played was a couple of summers back at a local backwoods course with my wife’s father and my brother-in-law. I enjoy golf, but I’m not all that into it. I’m also not all that good at it—something the new Tiger Woods game was more than happy to point out when I chose to use the “Advanced” Motion Plus control options.

He is Tiger, hear him roar!

The skeptics can remain skeptical if they wish, but my short time with Wii Motion Plus has made me a believer, in the potential at least. In Tiger Woods 10, the newly elongated controller tracks the exact twist and movement of the remote in your hand and translates it to your golfer onscreen. Meaning, if you don’t keep the remote straight through your swing, you’re in danger of hooking or slicing the ball. Once you get the hang of how the game wants you to swing, though, the feeling of actually playing a round of golf is palpable, if not completely authentic. I say “how the game wants you to swing” because there’s a definite learning curve involved in balancing the “gaminess” of Woods with the simulation aspects.

Besides tracking the twists and turns of the remote, Motion Plus also accurately tracks your backswing and follow-through, which translates to the power of your swing in the game. An onscreen target (which you zoom to by double-tapping the A button) shows the general area your shot should land, given the chosen club and how far away you are. It also shows the power percentage you need to swing the club to get in the target. Pull back halfway for a 50% shot, or all the way back to really let the ball fly. Of course, things like wind speed and direction, elevation, and whether or not you’re stuck in a sandtrap affect how much you’ll need to add to or subtract from your swing to get the ball where you want it to go.

If, like me, your swing could use some work, Tiger Woods has the tendency to pop up a message mid-hole and offer to let you try one of the easier difficulty settings. As in, “Hey, you kinda suck. Why don’t I ratchet it down for you a bit before you hurl that $40 controller through your $1500 TV?” My words, not theirs, but if your pride lets you take the helpful hint, give either “Standard” (which is more forgiving than “Advanced,” allowing you to add draw and fade manually and correcting minor mis-hits) or “All-Play” (which makes things a lot easier and adds an arrowed line to show exactly where your shot or putt will go, provided you hit it with the right amount of force). Even the easiest setting provides the feeling of playing golf, though you may feel ashamed when the announcer praises your sixth dotted line-assisted birdie in a row.

Not-so-compact disc golf

In all, it’s basic golf. The joy of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 is in the Wii Motion Plus control (it’s certainly not in the graphics, not even “for a Wii game”). The longevity, however, lies in the nearly countless options, game types, activities, mini-games, and rule sets you can choose from. If you just want to jump in and play 18 holes, you can do that. If you want to create a character and work your way up through the ranks of the PGA tour, kiss the next six months goodbye. If you want to get the family involved in some 2 to 4-player mini-games, they’re in there, too. So is the much-touted disc golf option, which is front and center on the main option screen, can be played on all 27 courses, and is tons of fun. And when you’re tired of challenging people you live with, you can take the game online, courtesy of EA’s online service (no friend codes needed), and join tournaments against other Woods owners, or play in simulated matches with actual PGA golfers, trying to best their scores in real-life tournaments. (I haven’t yet offered myself over to EA’s marketing department for an online account, so I can’t tell you about the experience first-hand, but I’m looking forward to giving it a try.)

I picked up this game over the weekend and, for as much as I’ve played, have barely scratched the surface of what it has to offer. One of the reasons I got it was so that we would have a second Motion Plus to play Wii Sports Resort when it comes out next month, but I have a feeling that when my wife is tired of canoeing and shooting arrows with me, instead of turning off the Wii I’ll pop in Tiger Woods and play a quick 18… or 36.