Jenga World Tour

"Defies laws of physics"

For starters, Jenga is an actual game where you build a small tower made of several rectangular blocks, stacked up one atop the other. Each turn, the player(s) must remove one block and place it atop the tower. The game ends when the tower falls. I've never played the real game, but I'm sure this could be fun. However, why this was into a video game is a total mystery. It's very enigmatic, really; why would you buy a Jenga game on the Wii when you can play the real one?

Jenga World Tour has three things over the actual Jenga game. First, the computer builds the tower for you, so all you have to do is remove the blocks. Second, it's the only way you're ever going to play Jenga in the midst of a catapult assault in old England. Third, it defies laws of physics.

Indeed, the actual Jenga doesn't have that, but it's better off that way. Building the tower being part of the Jenga game, what's left of it in the video game? Right, removing blocks. A whole game based on removing blocks from a tower. Should be fun enough to stand alone on its own. Obviously not, so the developers decided to add a few stages that have nothing to do with Jenga. One has you shooting down Ovnis in space with the wiimote, another has you sinking ships with cannonballs, and what not. These stages feel so out of place and are so bad it's laughable. For an instant I wondered if I was still playing Jenga or if I encountered a glitch and unlocked a special stage from the upcoming Parker Brothers' Ultimate Wii (TM).

Aside from a few useless modes that all come back to the same, the main mode, World Tour, allows you to play Jenga around the world, in the comfort of your living room. You'll be able to play Jenga at the tip of a glacier, at the bottom of the sea, in the middle of a raging volcano, in a jungle full of dinosaurs, and even in outer space. What more could you ask for? These levels try to incorporate rules relative to your environment, like blocks being frozen together, too burning hot to touch, or stuck in vines, but these levels also introduce frustrating elements like Pterodactyls stealing your blocks or catapults shooting down your tower. I say it's going a bit far from real Jenga. How far can the game stretch the rules of Jenga ends in something that is just not so fun anymore. If it's a game of concentration and precision, then I'd rather just play in my living room. Forget about volcanoes and Ovnis.

Jenga is a ridiculous video game idea in theory and concept. Even though the Wii allows for pretty much anything, it's impossible to perfectly simulate playing Jenga with the Wiimote. Jenga is about precision, but not the Wiimote. It's not meant for that. Not that kind of precision. When taking off blocks from the tower, often you'll accidentally start pulling the wrong block, or make a slight false movement and destroy the tower. It's just so easy to accidentally make the tower fall in Jenga World Tour that it takes off whatever fun could be. Surprisingly, the hardest part of the game isn't removing the blocks, but the simple act of placing them on top of the tower. The controls are so wonky that you never really know how exactly to tilt the Wiimote to place the block where you want. The game's lack of any strategy or logic makes it feel like it's almost entirely relying on luck.

The computer opponent will sometimes make the tower fall right from the start, other times after 10 minutes you'll still be waiting for it to make a mistake. The difficulty level isn't consistent enough to make the game feel challenging. You'll win out of luck or because the computer plays like a clumz. And of course, other frustrating elements come into play. Often, you'll be left wondering what caused the tower to fall for no apparent reason. And how on earth the computer always takes off blocks out of nowhere like it was nothing. And why the tower doesn't fall even though it's inclined in a way that defies all laws of physics. There is just no way to properly play this game because it doesn't feel realistic enough. When a game's not fair, it's not fun.

Graphics and music aren't even worth commenting, apart from a few entertaining tunes here and there. One thumb half-up for the repetitive voice-acting.

Jenga World Tour isn't atrocious, but it just doesn't work on the Wii. The DS feels more appropriate for something like this, and it should have been the only version. Better yet, Hasbro's actual Jenga game should be the only and only version of it. There are things that even video games just can't reproduce, and Jenga is now one of them. It's not meant to be a video game, so don't waste money on that; buy the real thing.

Reviewer's Score: 2/10, Originally Posted: 01/09/08, Updated 01/16/08

Game Release: Jenga World Tour (US, 12/07/07)