Them's fighting words
A games programmer recently spouted off about the Wii's technical limitations on Telltale Games official message board in an attempt to defend the company's position on its recent WiiWare release, Tales of Monkey Island: Episode 1, IGN reports.
When a poster began a new thread to complain about the poor framerate in the game, a programmer by the handle "Yare" stepped in. He defended the company (sort of), saying "... The Wii is just not a powerful console. An iPhone is much more powerful than a Wii, even."
At first, the post may have seemed to be conjecture, which resulted in other posters responding with the notion that he was using "strong words." Yare didn't back down, saying "And I stand by them. The Wii and DS are extremely underpowered and their popularity doesn't remove the hardware limitations."
While we can't confirm whether the iPhone would be considered more powerful than the Wii, the two systems differ so much that game development rarely overlaps them. Seeing as other WiiWare games have had little trouble running in the past, more investigation would be needed to see what the trouble is with the game, and how it stacks up to the iPhone.
Which brings up the point that WiiWare isn't representative of the entire Wii platform. And since Telltale is well-versed in the downloadable side of the Nintendo system, I'm sure this wasn't considered.
Has anyone picked up Tales of Monkey Island: Episode 1 on WiiWare yet? Let us know if you're experiencing a noticeable framerate drop!
There was something downright magical about Wii Sports. Can Nintendo recreate that same feeling from gamers?
Just as Wii Sports served as an introduction to the Wii, Wii Sports Resort serves as an introduction to Wii MotionPlus. Nintendo constructed a game full of several sport-themed mini games, all aimed at teaching and showing off what Nintendo’s newest peripheral can do. Wii MotionPlus is a peripheral released by Nintendo to fulfill promises made back at launch, of truly realistic motion detecting (For more info, check out our MotionPlus FAQ or our hands-on video).
A Wii MotionPlus Adapter.
Wii MotionPlus works great in this title. Every game controls very well, and the Wii is coming closer and closer to making all of our movements appear on screen with increasing accuracy. Many games really showcase this, such as Swordplay and Frisbee, as precise movements are needed to succeed in these games.
There are ten new mini games in Wii Sports Resort, which ultimately leads to an even better variety than was present in Wii Sports. Two games also make a reappearance from Wii Sports, Golf and Bowling, totaling twelve playable games in Resort. The entire listing of games includes Swordplay, Wakeboarding, Frisbee, Archery, Basketball, Table Tennis, Golf, Bowling, Power Cruising, Canoeing, Cycling, and Air Sports.
Basketball is one of the twelve games you'll find in Wii Sports Resort.
All of the games take place on an island called Wuhu Island, which also happens to be the same island where Wii Fit takes place. The Island and everything on it has a charming, almost cute, graphical appeal to it, the exact style found in Wii Sports. Menus and other interfaces are streamlined and easily accessible, making it easy to jump into a game.
Who wouldn't want to vacation here?
When it comes down to the games, there are those that are fun, and those that feel less so. All of the games work and the controls are responsive, but some games are missing a certain special ingredient to keep you interested. I found that I had varying degrees of fun with each game, and was at least entertained while playing every one. Of the games, there were those that I spent a lot of time with, and those that were fun only with others and/or in smaller doses.
Of the games that were most interesting were the Swordplay, Wakeboarding, Frisbee, Archery, Table Tennis, Golf, and Bowling games. These were fun enough that I could play them by myself or with friends, and not get tired of them too easily.
Swordplay is a nicely controlled, and nicely designed game. There are three modes that unlock as you play, including Duel, Speed Slice, and Showdown modes. Duel mode is a traditional one-on-one fight between you and an opponent. The player uses the Wii Remote as a sword, and has you slicing and chopping in different directions to knock the opponent off of the platform. Holding B on the remote allows players to block attacks and is crucial in the more advanced fights.
May the best Mii win.....and not fall into the water.
Speed Slice uses the same controls as Duel; only it has two people competing to see who can slice the fastest in a given direction. Showdown mode is the final mode, and has one person traveling around various portions of Wuhu Island, fighting hordes of enemies. This mode is particularly fun and addicting, and works so well, it gets me excited for a full-fledged sword fighting game, such as Red Steel 2.
Wakeboarding is probably the most fun of the water sports present in Wii Sports Resort. Players use the Wii remote as a handle, and lean it left and right to cut in the water, before flicking it upwards to perform tricks off of the wake of the boat. This seems like a really simple, and almost boring game at first, but after unlocking the harder difficulties, it becomes more challenging and fun.
Grabbing big air off the boat's wake is key in Wakeboarding.
Frisbee is similar to the other games in that it has the addictive qualities, and also the entertainment, however it requires a bit of conditioning to really get used to the game. Having played a lot of Ultimate Frisbee myself, I was especially excited to try out this game. The game has two modes, Frisbee Dog and Frisbee Golf. Frisbee Dog takes you to the beach, and has you throwing to a location where the Dog will catch the Frisbee. Frisbee Golf uses the courses from the Golf mode, and instead has players attempting to throw into a glowing zone that is equivalent to a golf hole.
Both games control the same way, where players flick their wrist as if they were throwing a Frisbee. There are two different throwing options, one where the player can have the game decide when to release the Frisbee, and another where players hold down B on the remote, and let go when they are ready to release the Frisbee. There is something slightly off about this mechanic, as throwing a Frisbee in the game seems more difficult than in real life. However, after a slight adjustment is made, the game becomes immense fun.
After fine-tuning, Frisbee throwing becomes much easier.
Archery was perhaps my favorite of all of the games, and that may be because it feels so real. Minus the actual resistance of a real bow, the game controls like real archery. Players hold the Wii remote in their left hand, and face it up, as it acts like the bow. Players use the Nunchuk in their right hand, and while holding Z, pull back as if it was an arrow on the bowstring.
It also gave me feelings similar to those I got from the Showdown mode in Swordplay. I would sometimes pretend to be Link on the back of Epona, firing arrows at enemies and thinking how awesome that would be. Unfortunately, Resort only allows you to shoot at targets, but that doesn’t damper the fun.
Archery works and feels great.
Table Tennis may perhaps be considered a reappearance along with Bowling and Golf, however this is so vastly improved over the version found in Wii Play, it is a brand new game. Playing is much more precise, and allows for much more heated games, as actual ping-pong skill factors into the equation. The controls are rather self-explanatory, as players snap the wrist, while treating the remote as a paddle. Spin can also be applied by different degrees of wrist action. There are two modes of play, including traditional 1 versus 1 and a return challenge, where players attempt to return as many serves as possible.
Ah....much better.
Golf and Bowling make fun reappearances. Golf has the largest improvement, as 4 new courses were added, as well as multiple new clubs. No longer do players have only four clubs in their bag, but the full set including a range of irons and drivers. Golf also benefits the most from the new controls. Not only do players now have to be conscious of how hard they are hitting the ball, but with MotionPlus, players have to maintain a firm wrist as they swing to avoid hooking or slicing their shots. Bowling benefits as well, as players have a more firm control over the exact amount of spin they put on the ball.
With the new control, it's all in the wrist.
The rest of the games in Resort aren’t bad, but they all had qualities that kept them from being as fun as the others. For example, games like Cycling and Canoeing were slightly entertaining, but almost felt more like chores. Then there were games like Power Cruising, Basketball, and one of the Air Sports modes called Island Flyover, that were bland and unremarkable. Unfortunately, there were also cases where there was a surprising lack of four-player multiplayer. In games like the Dog Fighting portion of Air Sports and the Pick Up game of Basketball, only two people can play, when it would be much more fun for four people. Skydiving is the other mode found under the Air Sports group, and it deserves its own category. While it does not provide much replay value, it serves its purpose as a tutorial and introduction to MotionPlus.
Variety.– If you find there is a game you do not really like, move on and find another. There is a nice assortment to choose from.
Precise Controls. – After a small amount of adaptation to playing with MotionPlus, the controls really begin to grow on the player for most or all of the games, and feel tight and precise.
The Second Coming of Bowling and Golf. – Initially it seems they were brought back to inflate the number of games present in Resort. However, after playing them, it is clear they benefit greatly from the upgrade to MotionPlus
Secrets and Unlockables. – Wii Sports Resort has plenty of unlockables and hidden easter eggs, adding replay value as players try to earn them all.
Fun for All. – Wii Sports Resort can appeal to gamers and "non-gamers" of all ages. I played with a wide audience from five year olds to older folks, from seasoned gamers to those who’ve only played Wii Sports, and all loved playing.
Charm. – This game is irresistibly addicting. Everything has a bright and vibrant feel, from the Miis on down to the various elements of the Island. You can’t help but smile while playing this game.
Four Player Multiplayer is Overrated? – There are a handful of games, such as aerial dog fighting and the basketball pickup game that could benefit by allowing four players to play instead of just two.
Wii Sports Resort may have been a sequel (of sorts) to Wii Sports, but it takes what Wii Sports did so well, and as a true sequel should, takes it one step further. By providing more variety, and improving on existing games, Wii Sports Resort ends up with a whole greater than the sum of its parts. (Not to mention the great price of $50 for the game and a MotionPlus adapter.)
