Wii Sports Resort (Wii) Preview
Posted by Jacob Lopez on 07.31.2008
E3 Hands-on: My E3 impressions were slowed by a hurricane that knocked my little town right on its butt. The good news is, the electricity is back and so is Jay. It’s time to take a look at the next entry in the Wii Sports franchise, Wii Sports Resort!
Wii Sports Resort is the sequel to the game that helped propel the Wii into its pop culture phenomenon status. Resort is still very early in development, and Ninty is aiming for a total of ten games for the package. Nintendo was able to show us 3 of the games that will be featured in this title, and thanks to Wii Motion Plus, things seem to be going pretty well for Eguchi and Co.
Disc Dog:
The puppy who ran along side our Miis in Wii Fit is back for some more quality time
Remember the dog from the Wii Fit jogging exercise? He's back, and this time he's playing some Frisb-uh, I mean flying disc. It is similar to having the flying disc toy in Nintendogs, you throw the disc and the dog runs out to fetch it. As simple as it sounds there is actually a lot more to it than would seem. Thanks to the new peripheral, which adds lots of versatility, things will get a bit more interesting that what we would have thought possible just a week ago.
The 1:1 control really comes through as you hold the disc in preparation for a throw. Every tilt and movement is picked up in real time. You really have to hold it to know how cool it feels.
Sword Play:
During Nintendo's Press Conference this game taught us why they call him 'the Regginator'
So far, Sword Play is the best example just how accurate Wii Motion Plus is. Since the game is not fully dependent on the Wii Remote's built-in accelerometers the controls will actually take a round or two to get used to. You will quickly learn that with Sword Play, flicking the Wii Remote with your wrist is useless; you will have to follow all the way through with your swing.
Playing a few good rounds of this game actually feels like more of a workout than any of the Wii's previous titles, even Wii Fit. So far, Sword Play is my favorite game in the package. It is everything that Wii Sports boxing was meant to be, but does it 10 times better.
Something really cool happens if you make it to the tie-breaker/sudden-death mode, but I won't spoil it for you.
Power Cruising:
Intuitive controls make this game immediately accessible.
It also soothes some hunger pains for a Wave Race on the Wii
In approximately two minutes Reggie proved his masculinity during Nintendo's presser (this was before erasing any doubt in our minds by finishing off Cammie Dunaway in a round of Sword Play). He did it with a Wii Remote in one hand and the Nunchuck in the other, and the game was called Power Cruising.
In approximately two minutes, I picked up a controller and learned a game called Power Cruising. The controls are simple enough, hold the Wii Remote and ‘Chuck as if they are the handlebars on your Wave Runner. The Wii Remote acts as the throttle, and you have to give it a twist to control your speed. While checking out the game, the Nintendo rep taught us a cool trick. If you catch enough air you can actually pull a 360º spin by holding the A-button and physically spinning your body in a full circle. I imagine there will be a few more little extras thrown in to reward those who like to experiment a bit.
All in all, even at its current stage of development, Wii Sports Resort is feeling more complete than the first game. It could be that many of us felt that Wii Sports was more of a ‘demo' showcasing the Wii Remote's motion sensing abilities. Either way, it was a smart move to pack the game in with the console. It gave us all a first feel at what the Wii controls were capable of. My personal favorite was baseball because it gave us the closest feeling to 1:1 control at the time, and worked better than the boxing. This time, the add-on's controls totally blow the old scheme out of the water.
Speaking of water, after some Power Cruising, I am totally craving some Wave Race action with some Wii Motion Plus Controls.
