EA Playground (Wii) Preview
Posted by Ramon Aranda on 09.25.2007
Vitals
Genre
Sports
System
Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii
Release Date
Q0 0000
We go hands on with EA's latest casual title for the little brats in all of us.
After laying low for a few months after the release of the Nintendo Wii, Electronic Arts is finally starting to pump out new titles. In development since last October, EA had been mum about the title until just a few months ago.
I recently got a chance to go hands-on with EA's new casual title which resembles "My Sims" as far as art direction and came away with a smile on my face.
EA Playground is a game for the kid in all of us as you get to revisit the old school yard to partake in a series of games. Players can choose from either multiplayer, quick play, or what EA likes to call "King of the Playground" mode.
I got a chance to play a few games with EA Playground producer Thomas Singleton and the first one we battled on was Dodgeball. In Dodgeball, you have three players on each team and you can switch between characters at any time. As the referee counts down to the start of each round, you can try and get a boost to the line. You use the analog stick to move your player around and press the B-trigger to catch the ball or knock the ball away if you're already holding one. If you're too scared to catch the ball, you can gesture the Wii remote to the left or right to dodge your character out of the way. If you're holding the ball, you simply make a throwing motion to throw the ball to the nearest player. To aim, you simply hold the D-Pad in any direction you want to throw though this particular game doesn't recognize how hard you throw it.
I also got a chance to play Kicks which combines the game of volleyball and soccer to make for a fast paced event. In Kicks, you're basically playing volleyball except you're using your feet to kick the ball around. There is also a goalie that will protect the ball from getting spiked into the net. You can switch between the two players up front or the goalie at any time so you have total control of your team. After getting served in Kicks, we then played a little Handball.
Handball, as you remember from recess is basically a game where you use your hands to knock or throw a tennis ball against a wall and hope you don't get the ball past you. This was the simplest of the three games as you simply swing the remote to hit the ball towards the wall. The more hits in a row you get, the quicker you can fill up your power meter which will allow you to use a super hit to rip the ball with greater strength. We actually had the record of the day by getting the rally up to over 120 hits before I claimed victory. Thomas may have gotten to me early but I proved the better man at the end of the day!
I was told that in "King of the Playground" mode. You go around the playground playing all the different games. As you win you earn marbles which is the currency of the game to purchase new abilities that makes you a stronger force. In the end of course you come face to face with the king of the playground in a gauntlet of games to claim supremacy. As you progress you will unlock all the different games and we were also informed that playing in multiplayer mode, all of the abilities would be unlocked so there won't be any disadvantages.
All in all, I came away impressed with the game and although it's somewhat simplistic, I could see it doing very well. No price point has been determined yet but one would hope that we'd see it for a bargain price.
EA Playground is schedule to hit stores on October 22nd.
