Wii Music

"Would have been a fantastic game....if not for Sebastian Tute"

I've been waiting for Wii Music for what seems like an eternity. It seemed like a cool concept, perfect for the air guitarist in all of us. Unlike games like Guitar Hero, you don't have a Fisher Price replica of the instrument you are playing, instead you use the Wii Remote and Nun-chuck Attachment in various combinations.

Now I'm all for using your imagination, it's one of the reasons I enjoy . Imagination is what keeps our mind going, but it crosses the line when your dad walks in on you flailing your arms around conducting a virtual orchestra, or playing invisible drums. I don't know how I looked, but I felt like a complete idiot, of the Forrest Gump variety. (Play Forest! Play!)

The controls are actually pretty intuitive, contrary to what the game would have you believe. When you start the game for the first time, you get subjected to a 15 minute tutorial with some funky guy who resembles a cross between Albert Einstein and Ludwig Van Beethoven, named Sebastian Tute, and who's constant badgering throughout the game puts our friend, the Microsoft Office paperclip, to shame.

Tute is constantly critiquing you on your performance, deriding you every chance he gets. I suppose this is intended to motivate the player into doing better, but it comes across as kind of cruel. At one point he praised me for my creative interpretation of a piece, telling me that points weren't everything. Then he adds that I should try and do better next time. Great, pat me on the back for my creativity, then tear me down saying that I didn't do well enough. No mixed messages there.

Your set list is kind of short at first, consisting of great masterpieces such as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, which I totally butchered. If you want more though, you have to complete more tutorials with the revered Sebastian Tute. The tutorials get a bit arduous after the first one. I'm not a fan of tutorials that hold your hand, so to speak, as I find them a bit patronizing, and quite useless.

The game, despite it's gaping flaw, is pretty fun. The unlockable songs vary from ancient pop songs, like Every Breath You Take, and seasonal masterpieces, like Oh Christmas Tree, to classical masterpieces like The Blue Danube. Also, hidden away are some classic video game themes, which, to be honest, are the real reason I bough the game.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/17/08

Game Release: Wii Music (US, 10/20/08)