Wii Sports features a series of simple mini-games that play more like tech demos than anything else. On the show floor it was split into Baseball, Airplane, Golf, and Tennis. All of the games were very simple in terms of graphics, with people looking like they stepped out of a Playmobil box and environments looking clean and cartoony.

Baseball was by far the most fun, allowing you to take part in a home-run derby by holding the Wii Remote like a baseball bat. A pitcher then served you a ball right down the middle, and it was up to you to knock it out of the park. Control was excellent, perfectly recreating the feeling of standing in the batter's box. I couldn't help but get into an actual batting stance and start using some correct hitting technique to improve my results. I also experimented with swinging faster or slower, and was able to actually pull the ball to right field (I bat left) by changing what I was doing physically. Judging by how well this simple baseball game played, I can't wait to see what EA Sports or 2K Sports does with their baseball franchises on Wii.

Airplane definitely reminded me of Pilotwings, with the player taking control of a Bi-Plane and flying through rings in the air. In this one you treated the Wii remote like you would a paper airplane, dipping its nose forward to go down and lifting it up to go upwards. You could a barrel roll by gesturing to the side a couple of times, and get a speed boost by punching forward. It was fun and relaxing, and my first thought was, "My girlfriend would love this game". Then again, my girlfriend likes Tekken, so what do I know? Regardless, This game also made me wonder about would could be done with Pilotwings on Wii, and the answer is: A LOT. I was really impressed with the way that Wii picked up movement in 3-D space.

Golf was fun but a bit more diffcult. It had two parts: A "One-On Challenge" that had you driving a golf ball to see if you could make it to the green in one shot, and a "One-In Challenge" that had you putting from three different places on the green. You held your Wii Remote like a golf club and swung appropriately. I don't know if it was where I was standing or what, but I could never get the controller to really sync up properly with my on-screen club. I couldn't seem to find a good "starting point", so I'd swing and get a delayed on-screen reaction. Putting was the same way, with me swinging (likely with too much force, now that I think about it) and then my putting occuring on screen a second later. After I was finished I saw some people taking perfect swings (I even saw a guy get a hole in one), so I think it was my technique. Despite my struggles, Golf on Wii looks very promising indeed.

Tennis was great as well. I had a problem pulling off backhands (likely a result of me not tilting the controller properly), but forehands were a breeze. This was literally a pick-up-and-play game, with you playing a doubles game against computer competition. To serve the ball you flicked the controller upwards (as if you were throwing a ball into the air), and then hit it by swinging the Wii remote as it came down. Crushing the ball across the court was extremely satisfying, and as I got more practice I was able to guide the ball to exactly where I wanted it to go. Your player automatically moved to where the ball was, so no use of the analog stick was necessary.

Like I find myself saying over and over again, I'm very impressed with how games play with the Wii remote. There are a few glitches here and there, along with the need to learn control technique, but overall Wii sports plays like a dream. I can only wonder what's going to be done with hockey. If the fun factor of Wii Sports is any indication, Nintendo's console may wind up being the sports console of choice in the next generation.