Review: Wii Sports (Wii)

Deep in the darkened bowels of Gamestyle Towers, beyond the echoing corridor and boiler room, is the filing hall, which contains records of articles that have been, ever will and never will be seen. One such article was written concerning the project soon to be known as the Wii. In it, an intrepid hack dismissed the very idea of another Nintendo console. The Gamecube was bruised and battered by the bigger boys, so maybe the big N should stick to its handheld systems. And then, with a celestial chorus, came the announcement of the controller.

Flash forward: November 2006. Gamestyle is abroad, and is watching the Wii being played for the first time in the flesh. The queues are busy, filled with kids and a large adult contingent, too. They seem to be having as much fun as Mark Kermode and the Newsnight Review crew did.

A couple of weeks later, Gamestyle unwraps the Wii, and jacks into WiiSports, bundled with every console. This is a purposeful decision. It is not a mere freebie, but a method to train users in the Way of the Wiimote. Wii Sports has five games: Baseball, Tennis, Boxing, Bowling and Golf, in addition to a training mode and a fitness mode.

Gamestyle jumps straight into a tennis match, excited but wary. The Wiimote is strapped on, and swung like the defensive manoeuvres employed to fend off a hive of wasps. Gamestyle loses, and is smiling, and plays on into the night. The next day, Gamestyle leaves the pub with a cast of friends and boots it up for new eyes.

The least favoured is Boxing, due to its physical and masculine nature. It’s a cut above Super Punch-Out, three generations past, with the nunchuk used for the only time alongside the Wiimote. Bouts are a barrage of flailing fists and wires, of Amir Khan-esque bobbing and weaving, of neat one-twos to the head and swerving right hooks landing on the body, leading to dramatic knockdowns. The extra controller requires extra co-ordination, for utmost accuracy and Calzaghe-style dominance. It’s more strenuous than Ready 2 Rumble Boxing, and heartily satisfying when the punches connect.

Apparently Baseball isn’t just a type of hat; it’s a sport so unpopular in Britain that even EA fails to give us a new version each year. Wii Baseball is easily the best videogame version yet for Brits; it's just pitching and swinging. Your Mii stands, legs bent, shoulders poised, as you wave the Wiimote behind your head, and then swing like a pixelated Babe Ruth, as the ball goes flying out of the park. Not always, of course, until you get into the swing of things you’re more likely to have a succession of mistimed foul balls being clipped behind you than Mark McGuire sledges.

Pitching is surprisingly satisfying, as button choices affect the type of delivery- fastball, screwball, splitter- and the batter will be baffled by your powerful balls, or start hitting you around like a Pinata. Fielding is done by the drone AI’s, who will throw to the nearest base for run outs. Despite your lack of overall control, it’s more enjoyable than you could imagine.

Golf is a sport well covered by videogames; the successful Tiger Woods franchise, the tomfoolery of Outlaw Golf and the golf club peripheral-based Data Trak game. The precise nature of the sport is well suited to a normal controller, and it is in this respect that the Wiimote is somewhat disappointing. Short putts require a small input, yet the minimum shot is somewhere above the kneecap. The simplified nature means that shots go astray if the power bar goes above maximum. Nevertheless, this feels great to play, as a proper golf stance with a slightly restrained style, and when putting, attempting to gaze into the middle distance, makes the illusion work.

Tennis is where Gamestyle’s wariness sets in. To explain: Gamestyle used to have a motion-sensitive electronic Tennis game shaped like a foot-high racquet. Sound effects would push the user into performing a backhand, lob or forehand to an imaginary opponent. It was fun, for a while, and this is symbolic of Gamestyle’s wishes for the Wii. It’s fun, sure, but what will it be like in half a year’s time?

For longevity’s sake WiiSports has a ‘Wii Fitness’ mode, where engaging in several events leads you to witness your ‘fitness age’, and aim to better it day-to-day. Gamestyle wonders if people will double this with Eye Toy’s workout, and scrap their gym membership altogether.

The Tennis game is rather odd, with a doubles pairing that you don’t control the movements of but choose your shot by the nearest to the ball. Gamestyle observes the Wiimote being rolled, as if it were a real racquet handle. Later, a maternal figure plays a set. Unlike the last Virtua Tennis session, this time she wins.

Bowling is the star of the night. It helps that four or more people can easily pick up the controller and re-enact the movements that they do at the bowling alley- complete with extravagant foot positioning, if you so wish. It provides the best representation of real-world actions in a virtual environment yet seen- and surely, that is the ultimate goal of the Wii system.

The training modes are a blessing, allowing you to hone your skills and gain the precision needed to win at Wii. Medals are awarded for achievement, and posted on your Wii’s message board. Some are a game into themselves, especially the wonderful bowling ‘power throws’, where the number of pins rises expedientially from 10 to 91.

Nintendo was right to package WiiSports with its new console. Its five games are well-made and enjoyable versions of their requisite real-life events. Its important to note that this is a collection of sports, like the legendary Summer Games, so they are limited versions compared to fully fleshed out titles such as Virtua Tennis etc. Baseball is especially pared-down, with no fielding, statistics or tactics possible. What is important about WiiSports is that you can swing you arms to bat for the first time, or volley, or putt, and this works.

Gamestyle still has concerns over the longevity of what could be a glorified Wiimote training session; but we were surprised at how much fun is here for the short term at least. It’s shallow, yet immensely playable, and a great introduction to this revolutionary system.

Rating: 7 / 10

Words by Chris Faires