Red Letter Day

Friday, February 16, 2007

Wii Play mini-review

Nintendo just shipped Wii Play (warning: web site plays music).

It is a collection of nine mini games which ships with a Wiimote. I didn't need another Wiimote, but a friend of mine needed two, so he was kind enough to sell me just the game from his second Wiimote for ten bucks.

The games basically act as a tutorial for the Wii, and manage to make even Wii Sports seem Zelda-like in depth and complexity in comparison. However, a few of the mini-games are actually quite enjoyable.

Among the nine games, two of them stand out. Surprisingly, the basic "shooting gallery" game is a lot of fun, probably because it is very fast and a simple test of pure reflexes. The final stage, where silly alien flying saucers try to beam up a bunch of frantic Miis in all their comic panicky glory (probably for some ghastly probing with a Wii nunchuck attachment) is brilliantly executed.

The other notable game is pool. The act of lining up and making shots is realistic in a way that only Wii Sports' bowling so far has managed to match. You can easily kill a few hours playing pool either by yourself or better yet against a friend. My only wish is that they included an option for the traditional "solids and stripes" rather then just the simple point-based scoring they do use.

The other seven games are largely forgettable. A modern version of the old Atari "Combat" is mildly fun, but several of the other remaining games are utterly a waste of time, especially a Mii bubble "game" (and I hesitate to call it that) that is about as fun as folding laundry.

I wouldn't waste $60 on Wii Play unless you need the extra controller anyway, but if you can find a copy of just the game on eBay (or from a friend) for a ten-spot, it is worth it.

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