"Innovation. A Wee bit away?"

Ever since Nintendo showed off the motion-sensing capabilities of the Wii at the Tokyo Game Show gamers have all been asking a single question. Wii: Gimmick or innovation? It didn't take very long for Nintendo to provide an answer. During their Press Conference at E3 Nintendo showed of a demo of Wii Sports, a very simplistic game, touted to be the perfect introduction to the motion-sensing capabilities of the Wii. This statement was reinforced when Nintendo later announced that Wii Sports will come free with every console (excluding Japan).

Tennis, Baseball, Bowling, Golf and Boxing make up the five titles included in Wii Sports. The important question is does Wii Sports achieve what it sets out deliver?

The premiere title of Wii Sports is undoubtedly Tennis. The game places players in a Doubles Match of Tennis, choosing to play the best of 1, 3 or 5 sets. One thing you're sure to notice five minutes after booting up the game is the simplicity of controls. This holds true for Tennis as the only task appointed to the player is to swing the controller like one would a tennis racket. Flicking and swinging the controller on a serve will cause the player to throw the ball up and serve it. After that one merely keeps swinging to hit the ball. And unless you're doubles partner is computer- or human-controlled (as in a second player), swinging the remote will cause both players to swing the racket simultaneously.

It's rather simple and somewhat disappointing to have no control over the placement of the athletes. It's up to the computer to decide where your players run bringing in an element of luck into the game. While the computer is usually good at getting the athletes to the right position, there are times when you will not be able to reach the ball. It gets frustrating to lose a close game because of events outside your control.

Granted, while controlling the movements of the players is restrictive (a.k.a. non-existent) the game is competent at recognizing how you hit the ball. For example, the game can recognizes the difference between forehand and backhand shots.

The direction of the ball is determined by the angle the controller is at when contact is made. It's also possible to add spin, slice or lob the ball depending on how it is hit. Swinging the racket at an upwards angle lobs the ball. The opposite will slice the ball. Adding spin to the ball is much harder to achieve though. It seems to be based more on luck than skill as the game doesn't always recognize the motion.

Next in the batting order is Baseball which is somewhat more lackluster than Tennis. The game is played over three innings giving players the opportunity to bat and pitch. Batting is accomplished by swinging the controller. Like Tennis, timing is everything as it controls the direction of the ball. At first batting can be somewhat difficult as the time in which the bat must be swung to make contact is minuscule. The player doesn't have the opportunity to choose how many bases they cover. The game basically decides how far you run based on how long it takes a fielder to get to the ball.

Pitching is executed by holding the controller vertically and slashing down. Pressing buttons will alter the type of pitch (screwball, fastball, etc). The repetitive nature of pitching feels more like a chore than a game. What makes thing worse is the lousy motion-sensing. If players raise the controller up too fast the game misreads the motion and pitches the ball. This may not sound too bad but the speed at which it pitches is slow, usually giving the player an easy hit.

As in Tennis, movement is computer-operated. The computer takes charge of fielding and while the ball usually gets scooped up rather quickly there are times when the fielders chase the ball like headless chickens giving the opponent extra time to cover bases.

The third game included in the package is Bowling, in which a standard 10-pin match is played. For many Bowling is the best the game has to over, namely because it demonstrates the potential of the Wii controller like no other title in the set.

As far as controlling goes, Bowling has the most depth and is the only title in Wii Sports that feels like it has the potential to be a fully-fledged game. Players have control over the position and direction (angle) of the bowler on the lane. To bowl players hold up the ball and press down a button. The controller is then swung like one would normally swing a bowling ball. Releasing the button will let go of the ball.

The speed and style of the swing are all taken into account but what adds most to the experience is adding spin to the ball. The controllers excellent ability to detect spin allows many interesting shots to be executed adding a ton of depth to the experience. It's always fulfilling to pick off tough shots from a heap of different positions and angles.

Up next is Golf. This game certainly has a lot of potential with the Wii controller however some quirks with the motion-sensing stop it from possibly being the best title on the system. Despite its downfall the game can still proves to be a lot of fun and is the most relaxing of the bunch. Matches are played over 3 courses. There are 3 difficulties, each with different courses, making for a total of 9 courses.

The controller is swung like a golf club. A power meter on the side of the screen displays how powerful the shot is as you have an unlimited number of practice swings before hitting the ball. To swing and hit simply press down the A button. A small map on screen shows the direction of the swing (through use of a bar) and location of the hole. One helpful feature is having dots on the map that relates to the dots on the power meter. This feature gives an indication of the power needed to cover the distance.

The game includes a total of four golf clubs, each designed for different uses. The driver and iron are suitable for long-range shots, the wedge is useful for getting the ball onto the green and the putter is used to roll the ball into hole while on the green.

The terrain is of great importance. When on rough terrain (as opposed to the fairway and the green) the accuracy of the clubs decreases after a marked level on the power meter forcing a decision of distance or accuracy. Wind is another factor that adds strategy and depth to the experience. High wind levels and rough terrain don't bode well, especially on a course with water hazards. If you're not careful the ball could go sailing straight into the (not so murky) depths.

Sounds like fun enough, right? It is although nowhere near the level it could've been at. Why? The swinging system is damn near broken. It's unfathomable how Nintendo could have allowed such an unrefined swing system to be packed in a finished game. It's ridiculously tough to get the right power. It feels more luck-based than skill-based. Half the time, executing what feels like exactly the same motion will cause two diversely different power readings.

Rounding up the five games is Boxing. This is the only game in the package to make use of nunchunk attachment. A match consists of 3 two minute rounds, if a player isn't knocked out before the completion of the match the judges will decide a winner.

Despite having possibly the worst control recognition (Golf included) this game can be very enjoyable once get into it. It's the most physically demanding as you'll have to throw punch after punch. The nunchuck is held in the left hand, the controller in the right.

Thankfully spamming punches isn't the key to winning. Most new players can score knockouts quite easily by unleashing an unrelenting barrage of punches. However it's possible to stay out of the way by holding the nunchuck and controller close together and leaning left, right or back which will cause the boxer to follow suit. Also adding to the gameplay is the ability to perform uppercuts and hooks despite being notoriously difficult to pull off.

More often than not, I found the game recognized a right hook as an uppercut with the left hand. While punching recognition isn't perfect, it doesn't stop the game from being an intensive, fast-paced experienced.

An interesting feature added to each of the games is the ability to track the progress of each character. For example, if you win a match of Tennis, the character you played with will get some points. When 1,000 points are reached a Pro status in that mode is earned. Not much happens when Pro is reached (despite some little tweaks in some of the games) although that doesn't stop it from being a target for those perfectionists amongst us to reach. Not that it's particularly difficult to do so, though.

Alongside the five games are the Training and Wii Fitness modes. Training is basically a bunch of mini-games based on the five core games. Each game has medals to earn although the game offers no way to view the medals you've unlocked. The games are somewhat diverse, with one requiring you to knock down as many punching bags as possible in a set time limit while another requires you to volley a tennis ball for as long as possible. Training Mode adds a lot of substance to the game and is something to do when bored from the main titles.

Wii Fitness Test is an interesting concept based on the mini-games (some slightly tweaked) from Training Mode. Basically you play three randomly chosen mini-games in a row. The game will give you a Fitness Age depending on your performance in each mini-game. This isn't very accurate however, your score often depends on how competent you are at the mini-games selected. If you have only a few minutes a day to play the Fitness Test is your best bet.

One highly talked about feature on the Wii is the ability to create cartoonish-looking characters. Each Mii, as they're known as, can be used as a playable character in Wii Sports. While it may seem like a shallow idea on face level, it's a lot of fun to see your creations chill out in the Bowling alley or play alongside you in Baseball. Who wouldn't want to kick ass with Schwarzenegger in Wii Sports Boxing?

One look at the game is enough for someone to realize that it doesn't set out to showcase the graphical capabilities of the Wii. The game looks like it will be more at home on the N64. The graphics are incredibly simple. The game sports a very bright persona with very little noticeable details. The arena for each sport is very basic, Baseball having multi-colored squares for an audience and fielders with no feet. The character models have balls for hands.

All that said however, the clean graphics are far from being bland and perfectly suit the game. A crafty person with a knack for the Mii Channel can create characters with more personality than many a high-polygon model. And those with compatible hardware will be pleased to hear the game features progressive scan and 16:9 for a smoother experience.

Wii Sports isn't very heavy in the sound department. As far as music goes, this game offers little more than simple, yet somewhat catchy, tunes. However the sound effects do set out to portray the small speaker built in to the controller. It's comforting to hear a ball hitting a bat in Baseball or the sound of racket whipping through the air in Tennis, all coming from the controller. It goes a long way in making the controller feel less like an input device and more like a piece of equipment (of the sporting variety). The sound effects suffer from the limitations of the speaker as some effects, especially the short voiceovers, come out somewhat muffled.

Going hand-in-hand with the simple graphics and sound is a solid, yet simple presentation. The game offers slick menus with overly large buttons for easy selection with the pointer functions of the controller. There aren't too many options to fiddle around with however the game does allow southpaws to play left-handed.

Wii Sports can be a great single player experience but the hardcore gamer in us craves for something more meaty. Multiplayer on the other hand will keep players coming back for more. This game excels, like few (if any) before it, in getting the whole family wanting a go. Playing siblings or parents who haven't touched a game in their life is humorous and comical – until you get beaten…

Getting a bunch of friends over and playing Wii Sports for a couple of hours is a great way to pass the time. Two-on-two Tennis is excellent with four people playing simultaneously. Golf and Bowling allow up to four people to play with a single controller however waiting for three other players to have a go can get tedious.

It's a shame the game offers no online play. It's the perfect game for garnering a family-friendly online community that everyone can enjoy.

Wii Sports was never meant to be a strong single player experience. All five games are very simple giving the game a sort of tech-demo feel however that doesn't stop the game from offering a lot of enjoyment. The multiplayer experience is superb and we all know that watching faces light up as they play Tennis is something that will never get old.

Overall the game is great for the more casual gamers to enjoy but too basic for hardcore gamers to play for hours on end. The imperfections in controls can be overlooked by the sheer fun factor of this game. Who can argue with a game that was packed in with the system? Perfect for a quick half-hour or showing off to family and friends.

Score Breakdown:
Gameplay: 8
Graphics: 8
Sound: 7
Interface: 8
Replayability: 9
Overall (not an average): 7.8
Overall Rounded To: 8

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/12/07