Review | Synopsis | Packaging / Advertising | Cast
Review by
Matthew C.
2009.07.27
(This review refers to the
Wii
version/release.)
Wii Sports Resort is addicting, shallow yet surprisingly deep, and fun for years. Like the original,
Wii Sports Resort is easy to pick up and play, but mastery will take quite some time. When
Wii Sports was released I described it as "fun to pick up and play. It can even liven up family get-togethers." While the same is definitely true of this "sequel",
Wii Sports Resort adds so much to the experience.
The first
Wii Sports game has five sports games.
Wii Sports Resort has 12 different sports activities! While the two most fun sports return (Bowling and Golf) in this iteration, the complete line-up is below. Every activity uses (or has been adapted to use) the
Wii MotionPlus accessory. Each "sport" accurately simulates the real-life motions (except for cycling).
- Swordplay
- Duel - One-on-one sword fighting anyone?
- Speed Slice - Compete in slicing objects faster
- Showdown - Like a cross between the "duel" mode and an on-rails shooter
- Wakeboarding - Jump back-and-forth over the boat's wake and land properly (It's harder than it sounds!)
- Frisbee®
- Frisbee® Dog - Surprisingly fun...throw to targets and a pet dog
- Frisbee® Golf - You either play golf with a Frisbee® or defend the front porch with a shotgun from rampaging grandmas...I forget which.
- Archery - Similar to its appearance in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
- Basketball
- 3-point Contest - Just like in the NBA
- Pickup Game - Three players on each team, half court rules
- Table Tennis (Ping Pong) - Last seen in Wii Play, THIS version is similar to the regular "Tennis" game in Wii Sports.
- Golf - Last seen in Wii Sports, this version includes nine additional holes (for a total of 18) and something that I haven't unlocked.
- Bowling - Last seen in Wii Sports, this version is generally harder. The pins seem heavier for some reason.
- Standard Game - Same as before
- 100-Pin Game - Same as before
- Spin Control - Even harder than before
- Power Cruising (JetSki) - It's similar to WaveRace, but slalom-only
- Slalom Course
- VS - Two player split-screen slolam
- Canoeing
- Speed Challenge - Race with one or two people in one boat
- VS - Two player split-screen race (each person in their own boat)
- Cycling - Alternate raising/lowering the Wiimote and Nunchuk to simulate pedaling
- Road Race - Race with one or two people on one bike
- VS - Two player split-screen race (each person on their own bike)
- Air Sports
- Skydiving - Single player, free-fall only
- Island Flyover - Single player, "paper airplane"-like exploration
- Dogfight - Like the "Balloon battle" in Mario Kart with only two players.
Bundled with the required
Wii MotionPlus accessory, this is a quality package. With all of the activities in
Wii Sports Resort, this is easily fun for years and WELL WORTH THE PURCHASE PRICE.
The original
Wii Sports was an incredibly fun "tech demo".
Wii Sports Resort is similar in that it's incredibly fun, addicting, and one of the best reasons to own a Wii!
2009.07.30
OK, I tried curbing my enthusiasm and mellowing my "fanboy-ish" behavior, but
Wii Sports Resort is flippin' awesome. Every evening after
work I play
Wii Sports Resort. Almost every time that I fire it up, I end up playing something different. With all the sports
included, that's not hard to do! This morning I played some "Swordplay - Showdown" before work and it's fantastic. It's almost like the
Star Wars
light saber game that everyone immediately imagined when the Wii was first announced. (As I described it earlier, the "Showdown" mode of the
"Swordplay" game is a cross between the "duel" mode and an on-rails shooter.)
All week I've been playing the "non-game" of "Island Flyover". It's pretty much like flying a paper airplane all over Wuhu Island. You're job is
to find various points of interest (and you can unlock a few other things). There are 80 points on the island to find. And you can eventually unlock three different
times of day to fly. That's a total of 240 points of interest to visit! (It's the same 80 each time of day.) And then there are all those white balloons to track down...
"Wakeboarding" is another of my favorites. It's simple to do, but surprisingly hard to succeed in.
The 3-on-3 game in "Basketball - Pickup Game" is really great fun. The controls are really simple, yet it's fun as heck. I normally don't like sports video
games like this because there are always too many buttons to remember. This time the button presses and motions are simple and easy. Hey look, I'm actually doing well!
I thought that since bowling and golf were returning that I'd end up playing THOSE, but I barely touch them!
Elvis, I know it's not the PS3 with Blu-Ray graphics, but even graphic-whores have to admit
Wii Sports Resort is awesome fun!
2009.08.05
Come on LucasArts! Just take the "Showdown" mode of "Swordplay" and re-skin the enemies with Stormtroopers, Jedi, and Sith! (Well, give the stormtroopers
guns instead of swords.) Gamers could walk through familiar locales, training facilities, and more. The Star Wars game
Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast was awesome. They could
just re-do it for the Wii!
2009.08.06
I just read that
Wii Sports Resort has already
sold over 500,000 units in North America. That means that there are at least 1,000,000 (one million) Wii MotionPlus accessories in homes across the country. Already. Wow. (After only two, arguably three, games.)
If you found the original
Wii Sports at all interesting, buy
Wii Sports Resort.
Wii Sports Resort is bigger, better, faster, and more...which in America is king.
Hail to the king, baby.
2009.08.13
"Island Flyover" is a great...activity. Those final white balloons are so hard to track down! Damn those things. (I'm down to 3-0-0.)
Final Thought:
Incredibly fun, easy, addicting
(if applicable/available)
Format:
Wii
Plot Synopsis/Description:
Wii Sports Resort is set in a beach resort on an island called Wuhu Island where twelve different sports are available to play. Like the original, the sports are each played by holding the Wii Remote (and in some cases, the Nunchuk) in a manner similar to the actual sport being replicated. For example, in Archery, the player holds the Wii Remote vertically to hold the bow, and pulls back the Nunchuk to pull back the bow's string. The new feature that Wii Sports Resort brings is Wii MotionPlus compatibility, which enables 1:1 control and allows the games to be played with greater accuracy. For example, in Wii Sports Tennis, the player's shots were all determined by which direction the Wii Remote is swung like a racket. Wii Sports Resort offers a new variation, Table Tennis (previously featured in Wii Play), where the player has greater control over adding spin to the ball by twisting the Wii Remote while swinging. Wii MotionPlus is required for all Wii Remotes being used with Wii Sports Resort.
Cast:
Nintendo
From The Packaging / Advertising:
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