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Wii

North America

Wii Sports Resort

by Jonathan Metts - July 19, 2008, 11:18 pm EDT
Total comments: 13

Get even more exercise from your Wii.

I'm not the biggest fan of Wii Sports, but I do think it was a smart pack-in and is a fun game when friends or family come over to visit. Many of my gripes about the game relate to the controls, especially for golf and tennis. I always liked baseball the best because of the really cool 1:1 motion for batting. There's a bit of lag, but it's amazing to see the bat on screen mimic your exact movements.

By using the Wii MotionPlus accessory, Wii Sports Resort aims to improve that experience and offer it in many more games. For that reason, I'm already pretty excited about this title, more than I ever was for the original Wii Sports. There isn't much to say about the overall presentation – it looks like the last game, but more colorful and with a new beach resort setting. Some of the menus and camera fly-bys show the whole tropical island in the background, and it looks surprisingly great. Unfortunately, the water does not look so good, and despite the relative unimportance of graphics in a game like this, I do hope Nintendo will polish up the water graphics since the game will feature so much H2O.

The first game I played was kendo sword-fighting. I was impressed by the demos I had seen, but nothing could prepare me for how great this game feels when the controller is actually in your hand. During the little warm-up period where you can slice up logs and pencils, I did everything I could to try breaking the 1:1 experience, but the game kept up with every single movement. I pulled off swirling Zorro slashes, quick shavings off the side of the target, and huge broadsword swings right down the middle. In every case, the target was sliced up in the exact manner I desired. Although the game is obviously reading your body movements, the experience is so intuitive that it feels more like the game is reading your mind.

The duel itself was still fun, but not as sublime as the practice sequence. That's partly because of the slight disconnect between your controller and the on-screen action. You're no longer slicing through a soft object but beating on another character, yet the feedback is the same. I think a stronger rumble setting in the Remote would help here; maybe that's an extra feature that Nintendo can add to the MotionPlus. While the blocking feature and extreme accuracy might lead you to believe that the duels are slow, strategic affairs, the sad truth is that swinging wildly seemed to be the most effective tactic at E3. After winning my best-of-three match, I was shocked at the burning sensation in my right forearm and bicep. I definitely could not have played another duel right away, at least not without switching to the other arm a la Inigo Montoya. The amount of effort required in this simple mini-game really makes me question the practicality of a full-length action or adventure game with 1:1 sword controls. Maybe Koji Igarashi was right all along…

The next game I played was Disc Dog. This mode is highly similar the disc mini-game in Nintendogs, as you simply throw the disc and hope the dog gets to it in time. The real trick is throwing it so that your dog will catch it in the high-scoring target zone. Throwing the disc is unusual in that it requires no button presses at all; the accelerometers sense when you have built up enough speed for throwing. The 1:1 motion sensing is again very impressive here, and I had a lot of fun trying to make throws forehanded and behind my back, both of which are fully supported. Perhaps the best part of this game is how the physics mimic real Frisbee behavior. You can catch an updraft, hook and slice, etc. I think an expert disc thrower could pull off some amazing tricks without any coaching on the controls. However, I'm not sure that the present format of this game will hold up for any length of time. As with the bowling in Wii Sports, it's just the same motion over and over, and I started to get bored with it even before the demo ended.

I was least impressed with the Wave Race-like mode, for a few reasons. The previously mentioned water is prominent here, making the visuals rather distractingly bad. The slalom gates were so close together that I couldn't build up any real speed without missing gates, which was annoying for a fan of Wave Race 64 and Blue Storm. And finally, the controls just didn't feel right. Steering was a bit less accurate than I expected, and it felt weird to hold the Remote and Nunchuk up in the air the whole time. Oddly enough, I started wishing for some kind of plastic handlebar attachment that could lock the two controllers together. It sounds like Katsuya Eguchi (who directed Wave Race 64 and is producing Wii Sports Resort) wants to add a lot of depth and longevity to this mode, so I still have hopes that the controls will be tightened up and the level designs opened up for a more relaxed, fun experience.

It's hard to say how Resort will turn out from having played it in such a fractured manner, but if Nintendo's designers can come up with several more events that feel as tight as kendo and Disc Dog, they should more than justify the necessity of the new MotionPlus accessory. If the power ski game really does get tightened up and fleshed out into more than a simple mini-game, it alone could attract Wave Race fans disappointed in Nintendo's neglect of the series over the past several years.

Talkback

I think it's hilarious that everyone complained that the Wii remote couldn't give them 1:1 sword fighting and now that it can everyone is going to complain that their arm hurts. I'd guess that the solution to it is to rest your elbow on something while playing a game that uses it extensively. It may not be as fun, but it's probably significantly more fun than the Nintendonitis 2.0 you'll develop from full arm swinging.

MarioJuly 20, 2008

Quote:

I'd guess that the solution to it is to rest your elbow on something while playing a game that uses it extensively.

The solution is to not be weak.

No, the caveat to MotionPlus is that you can't cheat the controls like you can with the original Wii Remote.  For swinging the sword in Resort, you not only have to make a large enough motion for a full swing but also have to use enough force for the accelerometers to register your movement as an attack.  In that way, it's similar to throwing the disc in the other mode.

Let me try to say this in a modest way... my arms are in good shape.  I don't think anyone will be immune to the MotionPlus burn.

NWR_KarlKarl Castaneda, Contributing EditorJuly 20, 2008

You guys haven't seen Jonny. I once saw him crack steel by flexing.

On the subject of Wii elbow or what have you, I remember my arm feeling kind of wobbly the first morning after playing Wii Sports all day. I think it has something to do with not only exerting force, but having to stop that force via your own strength, since you're not actually making contact with anything. I imagine this wouldn't be any better.

blackfootstepsJuly 20, 2008

Quote from: Jonnyboy117

The previously mentioned water is prominent here, making the visuals rather distractingly bad. 

I swear someone in initial impressions said that the water looked fantastic. A pity, because the water in WR64 and Blue Storm was such a great asset.

PaleMike Gamin, Contributing EditorJuly 20, 2008

yeah it's weird... With the original wave races and Mario Sunshine, it's obvious Nintendo can do beautiful water... Strange that that's a problem here.

I am optimistic that they'll fix the water, because of that good track record.

D_AverageJuly 20, 2008

If Nintendo changes "Disc Dog" to "Disc Golf" by release, this will be a day one purchase for sure!

CericJuly 20, 2008

Disc Golf sounds like it be a perfect addition.  Unlockable as the advanced mode like if it was WiiFit.

MarioJuly 20, 2008

Maybe this add-on could have made Big Beach Sports good.

... nah.

I look forward to more gaming related physical conditions then, like calloused palms after furious Jungle Beat beating off sessions. Beats an 'achievement'.

D_AverageJuly 20, 2008

Quote from: Ceric

Disc Golf sounds like it be a perfect addition.  Unlockable as the advanced mode like if it was WiiFit.

Disc golf is in WiiFit??

CericJuly 20, 2008

Quote from: D_Average

Quote from: Ceric

Disc Golf sounds like it be a perfect addition.  Unlockable as the advanced mode like if it was WiiFit.

Disc golf is in WiiFit??

There's no disc golf in WiiFit.  I just meant how you unlock more advanced modes of things.

D_AverageJuly 20, 2008

Quote from: Ceric

Quote from: D_Average

Quote from: Ceric

Disc Golf sounds like it be a perfect addition.  Unlockable as the advanced mode like if it was WiiFit.

Disc golf is in WiiFit??

There's no disc golf in WiiFit.  I just meant how you unlock more advanced modes of things.

Ahh....gotcha!

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Wii Sports Resort Box Art

Genre Sports
Developer Nintendo
Players1 - 4

Worldwide Releases

na: Wii Sports Resort
Release Jul 26, 2009
PublisherNintendo
RatingEveryone
jpn: Wii Sports Resort
Release Jun 25, 2009
PublisherNintendo
RatingAll Ages
eu: Wii Sports Resort
Release Jul 24, 2009
PublisherNintendo
Rating7+
aus: Wii Sports Resort
Release Jul 23, 2009
PublisherNintendo
RatingGeneral
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