Not a five-star resort but still a great getaway: Infendo reviews Wii Sports 2

archeryIn 2005, Nintendo was sitting on some pretty hot technology. Instead of a joystick for its next console’then named Revolution’the company planned to release a perplexing white TV remote capable of sensing motion. If only Nintendo had an equally smoking game to showcase what the controls could do.

Fast forward to today. That software turned out to be Wii Sports, which has since become a cultural phenomenon and best-selling game of the decade. Now Nintendo is releasing the first sequel to the game in the form of Wii Sports Resort. How does it stack up? It’s not as revolutionary as the original, but there are a half dozen events you’ll keep coming back to, archery primary among them.

The trouble with Wii Sports Resort is that its available options were limited during development, since Nintendo had already used the most logical and appropriate choices for the first game. You know: Tennis, Bowling, Golf, and Baseball (let’s try and forget you-know-who). In that sense, Resort gets the leftovers; the sloppy seconds. That said, more than half of the playable games are still inspired.

To help you navigate the good from the bad, here are the best new events, in order of awesomeness, with comparative commentary on returning events:

Memorable

airsports

  • Archery. Best. Game. On. Disc. Whether playing alone or against a friend, the controls in Archery are phenomenal. A lot of reviewers use the phrase “satisfying controls” when describing modern games. This one really is’the creme de la creme. 12 moving targets, wind factor, and obstacles make the chase for the high score a never ending story.
  • Wakeboarding. Hold the Wii Remote sideways like holding a tow rope. Thrust the controller up for massive air. Elegantly simple. Everlasting enjoyment.
  • Table Tennis. And you thought Bowling controlled well. Wait until you play Table Tennis, which is shockingly faithful to the real thing. Maybe even better than the real thing since you don’t have to chase down balls. Awesome two-player game.
  • Air Sports. A Pilot Wings killer. There I said. Hold the Wii remote like a paper airplane, and trust your basic understanding of flight to move around the island. Oh, and press “a” to shoot. That’s right. Two-player dog fights come standard.
  • Basketball. This game is hard. And I’ve been known to play a little recreational b-ball. Nevertheless, Basketball works, and it feels really good to drown five three pointers in a row, provided you have your jump, trajectory, timing and follow through in sync.

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