Wii Play Motion (game review)

This game will be the sleeper hit of the summer. I’m calling it right now.

Whenever I have friends over and I fire up the Wii, there are always my go-to games for parties. They include Super Mario Bros, Smash Bros Brawl, Mario Kart, GoldenEye, NBA Jam, or Wii Sports Resort. Never Wii Sports and never Wii Play. I got those on Christmas Day, the same day I got my Wii, but I rarely every play them.

But, unlike Wii Sports, a game that its sequel rendered pointless, Wii Play had me coming back at least for the target practice and that tank game. Wii Play is marketing genious at work. Because it came packaged with a Wiimote, it was basically a way for the consumer to buy a Wiimote and get a disc with a bunch of mini-games on it to show off the motion-sensing tech. And it sold. And sold. And sold. Around 27 million units as a matter of fact.

So, when Nintendo announced that they were releasing a Wiimote that had Wii Motion Plus built into it, I thought surely they would release a sequel to Wii Play as a way to get people to buy that second Wiimote, but instead we got Fling Smash. Never played it, never will. It got panned by the critics and at the time, I didn’t think I’d need much more than the Motion Plus attachments. Wii Sports Resort and Skyward Sword were the only two games I thought I’d ever buy that needed Motion Plus.

But, that all changed with the announcement of Wii U. I had been keeping up with some of the leaked info and early on it was all but officially confirmed by Nintendo that the new console would be fully backwards compatible with the Wii. I immediately thought, “Hmmm, that will most likely mean Nintendo will phase out the Wiimote and just stick with Wiimote Plus.” This thought was further confirmed when it was revealed that Nintendo plans to stick with the Wii-mote as its standard controller beside the new controller. And even if they don’t, having a couple of Wiimotes with Motion Plus built in is something I would want to have for the long run.

So, I preordered Wii Play Motion and got to play it today. Here are my initial thoughts:

Graphics: Vastly improved over Wii Play. Not even a contest. This game actually had background images!  Seriously, though, WPM is closer to Resort in terms of look and feel.

Replayability: Again, much better than the original. With the original, what you saw is what you got with each mini-game. No special modes, no levels, nothing. Just high score setting or versus mode. WPM offers unlockable levels and most games come with more than one mode. I have yet to check these modes out, but when I do, I will post my thoughts on them.

Game Selection: Better than Wii Play, but still has its missteps. Usually, it is at its best when its ripping off other franchises.

1. Cone Zone: MISS.  Nothing more than a tech demo. You balance an ever increasing number of giant ice cream scoops on top of a cone.

2. Veggie Guardin’: MISS. It’s whack-a-mole. Some bait-n-switch tactics but not too much there. Probably much more fun with two players.

3. Skip Skimmer: HIT. Basically, you’re skipping rocks. But, it plays like Frisbee Golf in Sports Resort. Simple, but addictive.

4. Trigger Twist: HIT. I was hoping they would bring back Duck Hunt. I mean Defender. I mean target practice! This time they include an on-rails, dino hunting mode and a ninja, throwing star mode. I do take issue with the slow moving left and right movement of the wii-mote. It moves too dang slow and stiff for my tastes. It wouldn’t be a problem if they would let me manually adjust it, but they won’t!

5. Pose Mii Plus: HIT. Wasn’t that great in the first one, but the upgrade in controls and gameplay will make it a must-play during parties. If you’ve ever seen the TV show, “Hole in the Wall” then you’ll know what this game is like.

6. Jump Park: HIT. It’s Circus Atari. Seriously.  Same exact concept: Bounce a guy around to collect/break things for points. Hight point game that will have some replay.

7. Teeter Targets: HIT. A combination of pinball and Breakout. as you unlock the new games as you play through it the first time, each mini-game gets a bit more difficult. Like this game. Lots of levels and the difficulty curve gets steep the higher you go.

8. Spooky Search: HIT.  Ghostbusters. That’s all this is. You have to capture ghosts and put them in this electronic trap. What is mind-blowing about this game, and what shows off the wii-motion plus in a way you may not  have thought of, is that you search for the ghosts OFF-SCREEN. Using the Wii-mote speaker as an audio tracking device, you wave the wii-mote around until you get close to the ghost and then you zap them with your ray and drag them toward the trap.

The guys over at Terminal Reality, who made the last Ghostbusters game just a few years back, need to take a look at this game in consideration for making a sequel for the Wii U. Actually, now that I think about it, I’d be very surprised if this wasn’t a gameplay feature in the next Luigi’s Mansion. It is truly innovative AND FUN use of motion sensors as well as the speaker on the controller.

9. Wind Runner: HIT. Here you have an umbrella and pair of roller blades. Using gusts of wind, you travel down a racetrack going as fast or jumping as far as you can depending on how you’re holding the umbrella. The physics of being pulled through a track in a race, as opposed to being pushed (like in a car) opens up some unique gameplay challenges. Another party game that I’m sure will get some replay. But, a fun “collect all the gems” single player game as well.

10. Flutter Fly: MISS. Similar to the bubble game in Wii Fit Plus, you have to guide a bunch of balloons through an obstacle course. It’s okay. Won’t keep your interest for too long, though.

11. Treasure Twirl: MISS. Some neat visuals- goes for a glowstick look- but not much else here. You guide a deep-sea scavenger to the bottom of the ocean to collect treasure, all the while avoiding obstacles.

12. Star Shuttle: HIT. Think Pilot Wings in Space.  Still, a simple concept, but a lot of fun messin with some of the low gravity space physics as you guide your ship to the docking bay.

Eight out of twelve ain’t bad at all, considering Wii Play was more of a two out of ten.

The controller itself is a good buy. It delivers as promised- a Wii-mote of the same size and shape with Motion Plus inside. Oh, and I don’t know for sure, but I could have sworn that the in-controller speaker was tweaked a bit. It sounded really good!

Now, here’s why I think it will make up for the Fling Smash flop and turn out to be a sales hit. Not only are the mini-games good, but most of them are FOUR players making it perfect for parties. Nintendo seems to think consumers should be buying four Wii-motion Plus compatible controllers. My gut tells me Nintendo will eventually phase out the old wii-motes and stick with just the Motion Plus ones for the next console. Also, the name “Wii Play” is far more recognizable to both casual and serious gamers than Fling Smash was.

Final Verdict:

Cons:
-1 for stiff controls on some of the mini-games.
-1.5 for a few boring, cookie-cutter mini-games.

Pros:
+2 for a deeper gaming experience with most games.
+2 for better graphics.
+2 for allowing up to four players.
+1.5 for bring back target practice.

Score: 7.5 out of 10 jumping Miis.