Nintendo Wii

We Ski for the Nintendo Wii is a skiing game (I version with skiing and snowboarding is coming out in March 2009, I think).  I rented it mostly because it is a Wii balance board compatible game and I thought it would be fun to do something besides Wii Fit with the balance board.  The controls (at least when you use the balance board) are not too hard to get used to with you mostly leaning right and left to stear.  It does sometimes get confusing and the responsiveness of the turns and such can be frustrating.  However, being a game released around the same time as the balance board came out for places outside of Japan it is some what understandable that it jumped the gun at trying to be a balance board compatible game and did not really develop the integration fully.

The game certainly can be interesting with you skiing around and doing different challenges, but it really leaves a lot to be desired.  The graphics are kind of blah.  Sure I usually do not care too much about graphics, but I do when there is not anything to look at and all you are doing is standing there leaning left and right going down a path.  Basically the graphic quality is something that I could care less about and actually is not even that bad for this game.  This particular type of game really needs more interesting environments to make it not get boring so quickly.  It seems a rather slow and relaxing paced game for the most part and without interesting graphics that aspect of it becomes boring.  There are some more fast paced racing and beat the clock challenges, but for the most part you are still moving rather slowly on the paths.

Overall I would not really even recommend this as a rent worthy game.  I do think the new version coming out next month has potential, but I certainly do not expect it to really impress me.  For now the short ski aspects of Wii Fit are much more enertaining and in the right amount of shortness to not make it boring.

I usually am not into golf games and the only one I have enjoyed is Mario Golf for Nintendo 64.  I never planned to try out Carnival Games: Minigolf, but I ended up playing it with a kid I babysit and was pleasantly surprised with it.

The gameplay does not have much overall depth, as there are only three holes in nine different areas. Just beating the holes is not the only goal, though.  As you play the holes you try to collect coins and then use them in the different prize shops to buy items such as balls and outfits.

The most interesting thing about the game is the unique holes.  Many of the holes have special shortcuts including ones that lead to mini games.  If you beat the mini game, then it usually leads to you getting a hole in one.

Overall I still would not buy the game for myself, but it definitely is not an entirely bust of a game.  For one the graphics are decent and the scenery of the different courses is quite good.  Secondly the gameplay is fun, however, I think it lacks some depth.  Basically it boils down to being a worthwhile game to at least try, but I would not recommend anything except renting it.

I have now had Wii Fit for a week.  I got it late last Friday night, but because I was doing a craft show I did not get around to trying it until Monday.  Since then I have played it every day.  So far I like it.  It really helps give some structure to exercise, although it is somewhat limited in the amount of exercises.  It is also fun to play certain parts, such as the Penguin Slide in which you tilt back and forth to help the penguin eat fish.

I find it interesting that it places so much focus on balance.  I never really thought about someone being fit because they have a good center of balance, but I guess you are technically healthier if you are balanced and do not find yourself falling over all the time.  Getting a 20 fit age on Wii Fit is nowhere near as hard as in Wii Sports or at least it is not to me, as I got 20 on Day 4 and it took me over a year before I got a 20 on Wii Sports.

Overall I really think that Wii Fit is going to continue to be a good way to get me to do exercise regularly and be able to keep track of my progress.   I am most interested, though, in trying the balance board out with the real video games that utilize it, such as We Ski.

Baseball is one of the few sports games I enjoy trying out as video games (the only other sport games I routinely like to try are bowling games).  A few months ago I tried Backyard Baseball and was disappointed in its Wii controls not being too realistic.  I have had MLB Power Pros sitting in my Game Queue a while in hopes that it would prove more realistic and thus more entertaining.  This week I finally got it to try.

Just at first glimpse I rate this as better than Backyard Baseball in that the graphics are much more interesting, although not exactly realistic looking, as the characters are more Mii-ish, although the different fields are pretty realistic.  Plus, at least the characters are real Major League players.

You can play this game using a variety of game control configurations.  You can use just the Wii remote, the Wii remote with a nunchuck, a Wii classic controller, or a Gamecube Controller.  I personally tried only using the Wii remote with nunchuck.  Others may find a different configuration is more natural for them and that is what I like about the options just as I like these options being available for Mario Kart Wii.

There are a variety of modes to play in from Exhibition to Working your way up to the majors to Home Run derby to Season play.  Other modes include MLB life, League, Practice, and Wii Remote.  Basically the whole variety of play modes helps gives this game enjoyable depth without having to achieve certain things to get to the depth.  I will admit, though, that many modes are a little confusing at first.

Overall this game did impress me as a great baseball game for the Wii, but it is not that great if you want realistic feeling controls.  At least it does not try to be realistic and you do use just buttons when you have the nunchuck connected.  Also, I believe the controls work a little like the Wii Sports version if you choose to play with just the Wii remote, but then you do not quite get as much control over the game action.  Basically I do recommend this if you are looking for a decent Wii baseball game as far as depth goes and actually feeling like your in control of your team and you are really playing actual baseball.

I do not like football, but I do tend to enjoy the Backyard series of sports games.  I did not purposely try Backyard Football out because well why would I play a video game of a sport I think is boring.  After being disappointed by the lack of sensible Wii controls for Backyard Baseball I really did not expect Backyard Football would be any good.

Last weekend I ended up trying it out with the kid I babysit.  I was surprised to find that it was not that bad to play.  It was actually a little fun, however, I would never play it again unless he wants to play it again because there more interesting games that I would rather play on the Wii, such as Fishing Master, which we moved on to playing and I am almost addicted enough to it that I want to buy it for myself.

As my brother pointed out to me when I told him I thought the controls were decent for the Wii, they really are not too realistic.  Sure you do throw the ball flicking the Wii remote similar to a football, but you do not run down the field by alternating the nunchuck and Wii remote, which has come to be the simulation of active running in Wii games.  What my brother pointed out as most unrealistic is that you do not like raise your arms to catch the ball on passes, although I think you can do that to do an interception, however I am not positive and either way you do not have to do that to complete passes or make interceptions.

Overall I think Backyard Football  lives up to my expectations of the Backyard Sports series, unlike Backyard Baseball for the Wii.  However, unless you are into football games it is not a must try.

I grew up going fishing a lot and I still enjoy going fishing, but it is not something I get the opportunity to do much in real life.  Doing it on the Wii, though, can be almost as fun.  Actually, sometimes it is better than real fishing because at least you always catch something in the game.  I know there are several fishing games out there on the Wii, but so far I have only tried Fishing Master.

I have heard some peoples say fishing on the Wii does not work out well with the controls, but I think they were not playing Fishing Master.  I at least think the controls in Fishing Master are pretty realistic and not too hard to get used to.  You cast by holding down the B button and moving the  Wii remote in a casting motion and then releasing the B button to cast.   You reel in the line by moving the nunchuck in a clockwise motion very much like how you reel in a reel fishing line.

Catching and landing the fish can take some practice, but even these movements are at least pretty realistic.  When the fish bites you move the Wii remote up to hook it.  You then start reeling it in.  When the arrows come on the screen move the Wii remote in the direction it says.  This is the part that takes the most practice and you may lose some fish before you get the hang of it.  The last thing you do it land the fish when you have it reeled in near you.  You land by just flicking the Wii remote up.

I mostly have just played for the fun of fishing, but there is the objective of competing in fishing competitions (all set in Japan) with the ultimate goal of becoming Fishing Master.  Overall I think it is a great game if you are into fishing.  If you do not like real fishing, then you may not like this game, but it is not as boring as some think real fishing is because in the video game there is always biting action and you are always aiming at fish to catch.  The graphics are good quality, but they are not all that interesting overall.

I am kind of disappointed to see that Beijing 2008 the Game was only released for PC, Xbox 360, and PS3, but at least there is Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games available for the Wii and I have been able to enjoy it for months already.  My brother and I fell in love with the game the first time we tried it and soon purchased the rental game.  It has turned out to be a fun multiplayer game that we continue to still play occasionally.  The only other game we have so far found better in amount of multiplayer game time is Wii Sports.

The game has a decent variety of events, although having played the DS version I find this version is a little lacking in Dream events, but hey it did come out first.   The different events mostly use just the Wii remote while some have the option of more easy controls with the nunchuck.  Several of them get you moving in similar actions as if really playing the events, such as the swimming strokes being relatively close to really swimming.  Other events are not exactly realistic controls, such as the trampoline, but not bad considering the Wiis capabilities not even including the Wii balance board at that time.

Overall this game only shines as a multiplayer game.  While I personally rate it as a top Wii game for having good graphics and game depth, I will admit that it is not much fun if you always are just playing by yourself against the computer characters.  Get at least one other person to play with or even better a group of friends and/or family and this can be a lot of fun.  With the 2008 Olympics coming soon this is a great time to try it out if you have not already.

I have been a fan of the Backyard sports series since I first played Backyard Soccer on my computer about 8 years ago.  Around the same time I started playing the Backyard Baseball version.  I have not played the Backyard sports in a while because I have not been much into computer gaming since I got my Gamecube.  When I noticed this came out as a Wii game I figured I might as well try it out.

Now I am not into team sports video games usually, but there is something about the simplicity of the Backyard ones that make me like them.  The Backyard Baseball for the Wii is not as simple as playing a computer version, but it is not as complex as the MLB games on systems like the PS2 that just plain confuse me with all the buttons.  I do not know if this is unique to the Wii version because the Wii does not have many buttons or is really a Backyard Baseball thing, but I like it this way.

I did enjoy playing the Backyard Baseball game on the Wii for a few other reasons such as the commentary, but in the end it was also a little bit of a disappointment.  For one there is not that many Major League players and many of them start out locked and you have to unlock them somehow.  Also, the Home Run Derby can be a fun multiplayer mode, but it stinks that if you are doing single player you have to end up controlling both contestants instead of there being a computer contestant (or did I miss something that allows this in the several page set up?).  Lastly it does not really taken advantage of the Wii’s unique motion controls.  You just flick to pitch and bat and while pitting can feel kind of realistic the batting does not feel realistic at all because you just flick.

Overall I found it worth trying and a good baseball game for kids, but probably not a game worth owning.  Also, if you are into having decent graphics this game certainly falls below average for a Wii game.

Big Beach Sports is an interesting beach multiplayer game. It features six different sports played in a beach environment. The graphics are not all that great, but the gameplay is at least decent and to me that is more important than amazing graphics. The game does a pretty good job of making use of the Wii remote’s motion sensors allowing you to feel kind of like you are actually playing the games.

Volleyball - You can play quickplay best of 1, 3 or 5 or do a tournament. Controls are Press A and swing your arm with Wii remote forward over your head like doing a real overhead serve, move Wii remote up to do a bump, and swing arm like serving to do a spike. Overall this is pretty straighforward like real volleyball. It is a little frustrating, though, with getting your timing to hit the ball right and I frequently ended up with my players getting hit in the head, but with some practice the timing becomes natural. Against the computer it gets a little dull, but if you got some friends to play with I imagine this could be a fun party game.

Bocce - This game can be done as quickplay, tournament, or party play. Throw order can be done either traditionally (player farthest from jack goes next) or simple (players go in order). Use the arrow keys to aim your shot and to position your player. Press A to toggle between the controls. To throw the ball you do an underarm swing similar to bowling. Overall this is easy to do control wise, although it does take some skill to consistently end up with the one whose ball is closest to the jack.

Football - This is another quickplay or tournament mode game. To start you press A to snap the ball. To throw the ball you swing your arm over your head and down similar to throwing a real football. To knock down a pass you move the Wii remote up. You can intercept the pass if you hold B and do the same movement. To tackle you shake the Wii remote. This game is one of the easiest to play, but it is not all that realistic feeling to play.

Soccer - This can be done as quickplay or tournament. The main controls in this game are to press A to pass to the nearest teammate and press B to pass to the farthest teammate. To shoot a goal you swing the Wii remote side to side. When on defense you can switch the player you are controlling by pressing A. To have your player stay on the ball you hold B and you swing the Wii remote side to side to do a slide tackle. This can be fun if you are into soccer games, but as for realistic feeling this is definitely the worst because you are using your hand to play and you are never the goalie.

Disc Golf - This one has quickplay, tournament, and Party Play modes. In the game you try to get your metal disc/frisbee to the metal basket in as few throws as you can. You aim your throw using the arrow buttons. To throw you position your body with your right shoulder (left if you are set up as lefty) towards the screen and move your arm across your body while holding A from your farthest shoulder to in front of you. Basically you do the motion of throwing a frisbee.

Cricket - This one has quickplay and tournament modes. Personally I did not play enough to understand the game of cricket, but I did at least figure out the controls. When batting you swing like in baseball accept you hold the bat down instead of up. For bowling (i.e. pitching) you press the A button with the Wii remote at your side and then you swing your arm around and down like a windmill to throw the ball. Kind of interesting, but a little confusing for someone who does not know the game like me.

Overall this game is a worthwhile game to play. I like the realistic movements in most of the games. It is also a nice change of pace from playing the Wii Sports games and is not too hard to figure out. It does get kind of boring playing by yourself against the computer players, but if you can get some friends or family to play with you it could be a lot of fun. Lastly, I really love that you can customize your character’s face using the Nintendo DS download play mode and drawing with your stylus on the DS. Not as cool as if you could just use your already created Mii character, but a good alternative.