Review: Wii Sports Resort

Wii Sports Resort
System: Nintendo Wii
MSRP: $49.99
Release Date: July 26th, 2009

Today, I will be reviewing Wii Sports Resort. Since this title has 12 games and some of those games have different/distinct modes, I will be reviewing each game and assigning a score out 10 for it, which will then lead to my overall Conclusion and Final Score.

Swordplay

This game features Duel, Speed Slice and Showdown. In Duel, you pummel your opponent with your sword trying to knock them back and out of the ring (into the water). You can also block by pressing the B button. Speed Slice has you paired up against an opponent and then a guy throws objects at you. You must cut the object in the direction that an arrow is displayed on them and you must do it before your opponent. Showdown pits you against hoards of Miis as you slice and dice your way to the boss.

Overall, the Swordplay mode is excellent and one of my favorites in this game. Also, recalibration is very simple, just point at the screen and press down on the d-pad.

- 10/10Canoeing

This game is pretty intuitive. You hold your Wiimote like you would a paddle and just plunge it down on the left and right to propel your canoe through the water. The big problem with this game is that it feels more like a tech demo than anything else. After you play it a few times, it gets old. I don’t see many people lining up to play this mode. Yes, there are a few courses, but they are fairly simplistic.

- 6/10Archery

There is only one mode in this game. But, it is very good. Using the Wiimote and Nunchuk you will press the A button to hold up the bow, and then press the Z button to pull back the arrow. While holding Z, the player can move the hand holding the Nunchuk backward to both emulate the real drawing of a bow and to pull back faster. This mode very intuitive and fun.

- 9/10Golf

Golf has returned and it’s better than ever! This is one of my favorite modes to play. Having not gotten a chance to pick up Tiger Woods PGA 10, I was very happy with the overall feel and flow of this game. The gameplay is the same from Wii Sports, but it is a much better and realistic experience, since it now picks up your wrists movements. It also offers 3, 9 and 18 holes of golf.

- 10/10Wakeboarding

There is only one mode in this game and it is fun for a little bit, kind of like Canoeing. You hold the Wiimote sideways like you would holding the handlebar and then tilt it to the right or left to move in that direction. Pulling up will cause you to jump and perform a trick. The more tricks you land, the faster you will go and the bigger the tricks will be. Again, this is basically it. There is just not enough variety to this game.

- 5/10Basketball

This game features 2 modes, 3-Point Contest and 3 on 3. The 3-Point Contest is actually really good. Just sway to the right, hold B to grab the ball, then jump or just swing your arms upward and release B at the height of your shot. This also takes into account the flick of your wrist so you could air ball or over shoot the basket, too.

The second mode, 3 on 3, is pretty awful in my opinion. I loved the 3-Point Contest mode but 3 on 3 is garbage. On offense you will use the A button and the d-pad to pass to a teammate and dribble with the Wiimote. Dribbling is very mute; however, basically the game dribbles for you. If you have an open shot then you would do the same motions and button presses like in 3-Point Contest to shoot. If you miss the shot, the other team gets the ball automatically; there is no rebounding. You can steal the ball on defense by sweeping the Wiimote, but if you try too hard, your player will fall down. You can block the ball by just moving the WIimote upward when someone tries to shoot. If you steal the ball or block a shot, you simply get the ball back at half-court. There is no running or fast breaks in this pickup game, which to me, makes it a bland and pointless mode.

- 6/10Table Tennis

The modes features here are Match and Return Challenge. Return Challenge is simply seeing how many balls you can return without missing. Up to 4 people can play in the Match mode. It’s more intuitive than the Tennis mode found in Wii Sports; however, it’s not exactly 100% accurate. I found myself recalibrating a lot and still had problems swinging and trying to hit the ball. It seems like the game doesn’t really want you to swing left and right, it wants you to pick one way and stay with it.

Table Tennis does pick up the twisting of the wrists quite well, which makes is great for adding spins to the ball. It’s just the rest of the gameplay mechanics that can really make this game annoying.

- 6/10Air Sports

This game features Island Flyover, Skydiving and Dogfight modes. You actually experience the Skydiving mode when you first start the game, too. Your Mii jumps out with other Miis and you can try to hook up with others to score points and that’s about it.

Island Flyover and Dogfight put you in small biplanes and you can fly all over the island. In Island Flyover you can scourer the island to collect 80 points of interest to unlock things. Dogfight pits you against a friend and you try to pop all 3 of one another’s balloons (think Mario Kart Battle Modes) that surround your planes by shooting missiles at one another. You fire missile be pressing the B button and for all the versions you use the Wiimote as your Mii or plane. Keeping it flat will make everything stay even with the ground, tilting up will make everything go upwards, etc.

The Air Sports game is very unique and enjoyable.

- 10/10Frisbee

This game features Frisbee Dog and Frisbee Golf. Frisbee Dog has you tossing Frisbees to your dog towards a marked area. The closer you get, the more points you earn. Frisbee Golf takes place on the same golf course you encounter in the Golf mode of the game. You must toss your Frisbee towards a giant calendar marker within a certain number of throws. You hold B and then release it as you throw the Frisbee.

These modes are fairly intuitive. You can turn your waist, angle your wrists and simulate tossing the Frisbee with the Wiimote. For some reason I had a horrible time with the Frisbee Golf. I was either too short or too long; however, with Frisbee Dog, I was excellent.

- 8/10Power Cruising

This is your Wave Race game featuring and 2 player split-screen race and an up-to-4 player race. This uses the Wiimote and Nunchuk and they mimic the handlebars on a jet ski. You use the B button to accelerate and tilt to turn. The controls seemed to be a little too responsive and the overall races are minimal with a total of 6 similar courses.

- 7/10Bowling

Bowling has returned with the 100-pin bowling, bowling and spin control modes. This is just like the Wii Sports version; however, it plays very different. I loved the Wii Sports version, but this version definitely takes some time to get used to. It seems like the ball acts differently than its predecessor. Overall, it’s still fun, but it does feel like a completely different game, which some may not like.

- 8/10Cycling

Like Canoeing and Wakeboarding, this game has only one mode, and like the others, it’s really just a waste of time. To peddle, you must whip the Wiimote and Nunchuk up and down. The harder or faster you do this, the more quickly you will fatigue and have to coast or draft behind someone else. Also, to steer you just tilt left or right. Basically each race you start in 30/30 place and try to get to 1st before the end of the race. Again, there’s very little depth to this game to make you want to play it multiple times.

- 5/10

Conclusion

Quick note: If you need to recalibrate in any of the games, you can always pause and set the Wiimote down on a flat surface for a few seconds.

The graphics are what you would expect, smooth and colorful in Wii Sports Resort, too. If you liked Wii Sports, then you’ll love this game. If you hated Wii Sports, then this might be a tossup. Remember, a Wii Motion + costs $20 by itself, so Wii Sports Resorts is actually only $30, and for $30, you get a pretty good amount of value out of it. Sure, the games are hit and miss, but there are a few games that are actually really good and will hold your attention for awhile.

Final Score

- 90/120 = 75/100

Order your copy of Wii Sports Resort below!