Review: Wii Play (Wii)

Every console comes under great scrutiny upon release. Graphics, controllers, size, efficiency and aesthetic beauty (otherwise known as “will it match my home entertainment kit?”) all play a part in the process, bringing out the critic in some and the fanboy in others. The deciding factor in a console’s initial success however, is the quality of the launch line-up. The Wii had precious few first party titles available from day one. Every Wii owner will have the bundled Wii Sports, and most would have bought Twilight Princess at the same time, but those craving another Nintendo-produced title will have to wait for Wario Ware: Smooth Moves and Excite Truck. The only other title available on 8th December was Wii Play, a collection of mini games which comes with a Wii remote.

Nine games are included; Shooting Range, Find Mii, Table Tennis, Pose Mii, Laser Hockey, Billiards, Fishing, Charge! and Tanks. All have been designed with the purpose of showing off the Wii remote’s capabilities, which is a nice idea, perhaps a chance to expand on the Wii owner’s experience with Wii Sports. The opportunity for a variety of simple yet fun games appealed to Gamestyle, along with the hope that we’d go back and play it in short bursts again and again. Sadly, this was not to be.

The first gripe about Wii Play is the lack of choice. Upon reaching the title screen, there was only one game available to play. The other eight titles had to be unlocked by playing through each game. This proves that Nintendo wishes the player to try every game so as to get to grips with the remote’s functions, yet feels constricting on the first play. While this may not seem such a bad idea when playing the entertaining Shooting Range, which is quite a lot of fun to play (especially in multiplayer), the problem becomes evident while playing the second game, Find Mii, which is a simple “match the pairs/find the odd one out” task. This feels like a chore and goes on for far too long, making the player wish for the ability to choose the game they want to play from the off. It's a disappointment which increases with some of the other titles, notably the terrible Pose Mii.

Once every game has been played once, you are free to choose from all nine titles at will. This is where the second complaint rears its head - there’s a good chance you won’t want to replay a lot of these. Only Shooting Range, Laser Hockey, Table Tennis and Billiards have the ability to draw you back in, and their depth is limited. Fishing, Tanks and Charge! are all fun for a while, but there are only so many times you can beat the CPU or your friends, and the medals unlocked by meeting certain criteria will not be locked for long. There’s little reward or incentive to carry on playing - unlike Wii Sports - and Wii Play will most likely only be taken off the shelf to show friends or family the Wii’s motion sensor abilities.

Fortunately, that is one area in which Wii Play succeeds admirably. The control of each game manages to prove how accurate the remotes are; Shooting Range’s crosshairs, Table Tennis’ paddles and Billiards’ cue control all feel natural, and anyone can pick up a remote and play along. Nintendo’s philosophy for the Wii has been backed up, at least.

So it’s not a great compendium, but does come with a remote, so that’s a bonus (especially for multiplayer games of Wii Sports with your non-Wii owning friends). The question remains; “is this actually a game, or a tech demo?”. Wii Play sways more toward a tech demo, demonstrating the capabilities of the hardware well, and perhaps hinting towards the way the controllers will be used in future titles. It’s just a shame Nintendo didn’t sprinkle a little of their magic on this collection. Those wanting multiplayer mini-game madness will have to wait until the release of Wario Ware, which is almost guaranteed to be better than this. At least we hope it will…

Rating: 4 / 10

Words by Dan Gill