Bring Back That Lovin' (it) Feeling!
I've been lucky enough to obtain Wii Sports Resort a week in advance, so have had a few days to try it out. Here's my first ever review!
One sentence summary (if you're short on time): Resort gives you back 80-90% of that feeling you got when you first played Wii Sports. If you loved Wii Sports, you'll love this.
As ever, two player action is far more fun, so you'll need a second motion plus unit. This does make the package over £50 in these tight economic times, so maybe birthday money should be used!
The Technology
Having tried the Motion Plus unit with Grand Slam Tennis, I was slightly disappointed that it wasn't as good as I'd hoped. However, I'm now putting that down my inability to play tennis, rather than any failing in the device.
For me, the Motion Plus is very good. Good enough that you quickly forget the technology behind it, and take the accuracy for granted.
The Gameplay
So far my children (age 6 & 10) and I have tried:
Swordplay (great!) - The first on the menu, and an obvious one to gain appreciation of the motion plus enhancement. Initially there is a temptation to assume thrashing the Wii remote about is a winning strategy, but the use of blocks by your opponent disorientates your character which can then be counter attacked.
Archery (excellent) - One you get the hang of the controls, they become intuitive, and the satisfaction of hearing the Arrow fly and 'thud' into the target is great.
Frisbee (very good) - For realism, I'd say that my kids actual ability to throw a frisbee properly is reflected in the game version - fairly poor!
Canoeing (fair)
The Aeroplane one (fun)
Bowling is pretty much a clone of the original, though the spin applied to the ball is more accurate.
The Golf is similar enough to the original to be familiar, but has more courses (6 I think), and 18 holes per course. Golf was always my favourite on Wii Sports.
Other Details
As ever, the attention to detail from Nintendo gives the game lots of endearing touches - At the main screen details of who has played the game recently appear, with their respective Mii's sitting or standing together tapping their feet to the music.
'Stamps' are the equivalent of trophies on the PS3, although they are really just for your own satisfaction.
There is a full soundtrack in the style of the original game.
Gripes
If only you could play on-line....
Summary
Once again, the selection of games might not have 30 hours of new content each, but most are more than just technology demonstrations. Resort, like the original has games that you can pick up and play when you have 15 minutes, and just want to have fun rather than intense action. Having said that 2 hours went far too quickly...
I think Golf, Archery, and possibly Frisbee and Swordplay will have us coming back for months to come.
Right now, my 6 year old wants to Swordfight again, and claims he is going to 'Take me down to Chinatown...'
Enjoy!
Great fun for all the family!
I had my Sports Resort on Pre-Order and received it today! Like many people, I loved Wii Sports and it was the first game I tried on the Wii. I wasn't sure how this one would fair in comparison...
Firstly regarding the motion plus accessory; I must admit that on first impressions I didn't think it was THAT great - I couldn't really see the difference in the game and it just made the remote heavier!:( However, when you are playing precision games (like sports - for example golf or bowling in this game), you definitely do notice the difference. In golf for example, the motion plus will detect the tiniest bit of movement when you are moving your golf club - this makes game play all the more realistic which in turn makes it more fun. The set also comes with a new longer remote jacket (I was actually thinking I was going to have to buy one separately!)
Anyway secondly, the game itself is a lot of fun. There are 12 different sports to try out. Three of the 12 sports require the use of the nun chuck which I think is a great improvement - in the first Wii Sports, you only got to use the nunchuck for boxing! Also, this time round you get to use the Wii remote in a lot more ways so you're not just swinging your arm all the time. My favourite games so far have to be Canoeing (it's tricky but v.fun paddling around in the water doing races), Frisbee (looks so simple but takes skill to throw accurately) and Air Sports (you ski-dive out of a plane and try to catch other Mii's to get photographed with them!).
You start out with one type of game per sport but as you progress, new games are unlocked so you can try out different games within the sport and different levels of difficulty. I've only been playing this for a day so no doubt there is lots more to uncover!
There are very few downsides - I was a bit disappointed with the Golf and Bowling as they are pretty much the same as the Wii Sports version. The bowling does however feel different in terms of throwing the ball - it's been harder for me to get strikes so maybe this is the motion plus in action!! I also don't much enjoy table tennis but this is probably just a preference thing!
SUMMARY
Overall, this pack is pretty good value especially if you definitely want to get the motion plus anyway (it costs about £15-£25 to buy it on its own) - I didn't feel like it made too much difference but I am yet to try it out with other games. The Sports Resort game is a lot of fun - really well-designed for the Wii. You're in a sunny sports resort and as a result the games are all bright and fun with lots of sunny music to reinforce the beach atmosphere. The game is also a great one if you want to use the multiplayer option - I think adults and kids will both enjoy it and of course it's a lot of fun competing against each other! You will no doubt have hours of fun with Sports Resort if you enjoyed the original game!
This game makes the Wii feel new again!
WII SPORTS came free with the NINTENDO WII console and is one of the best-selling games of all time, introducing gaming to new audiences young and old, male and female and set new standards to how games are played using the innovative motion sensitive controls of the Wii remote and nunchuck . WII SPORTS RESORT is its sequel, showing off what Nintendo's new WII MOTIONPLUS can do (there is 1 included in the package).
There are 12 sports included in this game, all of which have at least 2 or 3 different ways of playing (for example - bowling now has regular, 100-pin and spin master modes; air sports has flying where you find locations and pop balloons as well as dog fights ;basketball has free-throw challenge and 3-on-3), making this game literally endless fun. The sports included are:
1 Bowling
2 Table Tennis
3 Canoeing
4 Fencing
5 Archery
6 Cycling
7 Golf
8 Frisbee
9 Basketball
10 Air Sports
11 Power Cruising
12 Wakeboarding
If you thought you were good at bowling or golf from the previous game, you'll need to learn it all again on this one as it is so much more accurate than before, making this game so realistic. Each sport is so much fun and with the MOTIONPLUS they all feel as if you are really playing the sport (especially golf, table tennis and Frisbee). As well as having a personal score for your Mii, you now have stamps that record your achievements. You can now also play team games on a lot of the games, making this more competitive on multiplayer.
There are a few things that let this down such as no online play and also having to buy addition MOTIONPLUS units to play multiplayer (without having to share a remote) means that this can get expensive if you want to play with 4 players.
Overall this is probably the best and most enjoyable game I have played on the Wii since the original WII SPORTS and there is just so much to learn and unlock so I can see myself playing this for years to come (I have literally only stopped playing the original - some 2 and a half years since I bought it - now because of this!) so this is money well spent. If you have a Wii then you HAVE to buy this!!
About Wii Sports Resort (Wii) with Wii MotionPlus Accessory detail
- Amazon Sales Rank: #16 in Computer & Video Games
- Brand: Nintendo
- Model: Wiisportsresort
- Published on: 2009-07
- Released on: 2009-07-24
- ESRB Rating: Everyone
- Platform: Nintendo Wii
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 2.33" h x 5.46" w x 7.77" l, .76 pounds
Wii Sports Resort (Wii) with Wii MotionPlus Accessory Description
Wii Sports Resort is a new collection of fun sports games that anyone can pick up and play.
This sequel to the popular Wii Sports makes use of the Wii Motion Plus accessory, which gives players the most responsive and realistic experience possible. The Wii Motion Plus accessory, which is included with Wii Sports Resort, plugs into the base of the Wii Remote controller and, combined with the accelerometer and sensor bar, provides an experience that gives players an even greater sense of immersion.
Just as with Wii Sports, people will love competing against friends and family. As the competition heats up, Wii Sports Resort is as much fun to watch as it is to play. First-time players will find it easy to pick up a Wii Remote and jump into the action.
Wii Sports Resort takes place on the tropical island of Wuhu. This great new game will whisk players away to a resort thats full of action, offering more than 12 sports to participate in from, Archery to Frisbee, basketball, cycling, canoeing, Power Cruising, Table Tennis, Air Sports, Swordplay, Bowling, Golf and wakeboarding.
Wii Sports Resort takes the inclusive fun and intuitive controls of the original Wii Sports to the next level, offering a beach resort environment and many more sports to get to grips all using Wii MotionPlus. Wii Sports resort is easy to pick up and play, but comes coupled with deeper levels of play that are sure to challenge even the most experienced gamer.
The inclusion of Wii motion plus in this game will guarantee, that veteran Wii users and newcomers alike can enjoy unprecedented gaming precision as they cruise on a water scooter, duel with swords, toss a flying disc and much more.
- Wii Sports Resort takes the inclusive fun and intuitive controls of the original Wii Sports to the next level
- A whole new set of entertaining and physically immersive activities includi