Carnival Games

"Step Right Up, Ring the Bell and Win a Pathetic Game"

Have you ever won anything at a carnival? You know, you were REALLY excited, because you got something cool, and you WON it! But then, you took your prize home and found out it wasn't made well at all.

This game is JUST like that!

Game Play: 2/10
I purchased this game because I wanted something fun to play with other people, kind of like Wii Sports, which is a blast at parties. Unfortunately, this game fails to deliver. The controls are terrible, and involve you doing motions with the Wii remote that slightly resemble what you would actually do if you were playing the game in real life, but only if you were recovering from surgery and tripping on heavy pain medication. For instance, most of the games that require aiming (for instance, the dunking booth), don't actually require you to aim at all. Instead, the cursor moves around in a pattern, and you have to time your fling of the Wii remote to coincide with the cursor being over the target. How lame is that? Why couldn't this incorporate the motion sensitivity of Wii Sports, which actually spins the bowling ball and hooks/slices it depending on which way you move the Wii remote? Some of the games are extremely dumbed down, such as ski ball and shooting gallery, while others were too difficult, and not realistic at all.

Graphics: 3/10
The graphics are absolutely pathetic. I might have said they were good, if this was the year 1997 and the game was on the N64, but this is a decade and two generations of video game consoles later! At least the graphics are colorful and cheery. The ability to somewhat customize the appearance of your character is a nice touch, but why can't I use my Mii instead?

Sound: 2/10
The audio is not exactly a carnival prize, either. The sound effects barely sound like what they should, and the music (which consists of carnival organ fare) is so monotonous and annoying, it makes me want to stab my eardrums out with a Bic pen. Why the heck can't I turn the music off and have just basic sound effects?

I played this game for less than an hour and immediately listed it on an auction site to try to get some of my money back. If you are looking for a party game, this is not the game to get. Perhaps if I were just a kid with a big imagination, I would find this game a bit more enjoyable. Save your win tickets to redeem something other than this cheap carnival prize.

Reviewer's Score: 2/10, Originally Posted: 03/03/08

Game Release: Carnival Games (US, 08/28/07)