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Thursday 21 February, 2008
GAMEPLAY:
For my second session, I played bowling and boxing. I have also decided that boxing is my favorite Wii Sport of all time! Virtually punching Mii's in the face is the most fabulous way to relieve tension that I can think of. Again, the "virtual reality" is very realistic, which makes the fake punching really cathartic. It was also super fun to taunt my opponent like it was a real boxer. "Yeah, you just try and get up again sucka!" The bowling was a tad more slow paced, and while I don't want to say it was boring, it definitely lacked a lot of the multiplayer competitive spirit that the other sports have. Again, the form is very similar to actual bowling and for this particular game, form is everything. Bowling is one of the sports that would be really good to practice with on your own because it isn't as fun as the others in multiplayer.
I think Wii Sports works very well despite not having any sort of narrative. It's very easy to get into for the first time because there's no story to follow. This was the first game I'd ever played on my Wii and it was a great start for me to get used to the controls of the Wii-mote without having to worry about a complex game. It also allows you to focus more on taunting your friends (which I believe is a necessary part of the gameplay).
DESIGN:
This game is so innovative because it was the first game for the Wii, and considering that the Wii is the first basic "virtual-reality" console, that makes Wii Sports the first basic "virtual-reality" game. Using the Wii-mote to move instead of a controller really gets you moving a lot more than average games do. It also forces you to think spatially in a way you aren't used to in most other games. Also, the fact that it uses Mii's as tiny avatars of yourself, while not the first game to do it, does so in a way that blows it's predecessors out of the proverbial water. It's amazing how much the Mii's actually look ike you considering the ridiculous features they have as options.
However, because all of the creativity went into the mechanic, it left a lot to be desired in the level design and challenges. The levels are different for each sport, but that's where the variety stops. For example, in tennis you use one court over and over again no matter how many times you play. Now, this is fairly realistic, but lacks the fun of a game like Mario Tennis which allows you to play on many different courts, each which affect the playing field differently. Also, the AI of the computer players you go up against is very weak. It isn't hard to beat your opponents over and over and over and over again once you've fairly mastered a sport. They don't seem to increase noticeably in skill level at all, eve if you do. Of course, this just makes the multiplayer far more challenging and interesting.
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