Reviews// Wii Sports Resort

By Doctor Dee
Wi Sports brought the SPOnG office to a standstill when it arrived. And it helped keep it near to that status for several months. There is every chance that Wii Sports Resort will have the same effect. And as the senior member of staff here, I'm not sure how happy I am about that. On the one hand, it's a welcome distraction from the high pressure world of real-time cloud based publishing out of the box, 24-7. On the other hand, will someone around here please do some bloody work!

There is no rocket science involved in Wii Sports Resort. They've simply taken a few of the games from Wii Sports, added a few more games, and wrapped them all in a lovely holiday location/theme. The location theme is entirely irrelevant, because like us you'll simply select the sport of your choice and play it until your fingers bleed.

Wii Sports Resort is (of course) Wii Motion Plus compatible. So the golf game is harder, but more fun. New holes need learning, but the ability to draw and fade shots makes taking drives a more skillful undertaking. Putting is improved, but the strength of shots is still disappointingly random - or at least it seems that way. More practise needed, I think!

Frisbee Golf is a ton of fun. It's golf, but instead of the whole swinging a stick thing, you throw a Frisbee. There are three different discs, the ones that fly furthest can be most difficult to control. Other than that, it's exactly as much fun and as frustrating as "real" golf.

Bowling is the mini-game most obviously improved by inclusion of the MotionPlus. Where curving the ball by spin was a deliciously approximate affair in Wii Sports, in Sports Resort, it has become considerably more precise. This makes getting spares a much more predictable matter, and greatly improves the enjoyment of the game, for this player at the very least.

Other games include Wakeboarding, which is fun, and more closely represents the sport than any other Wakeboarding themed video game I've ever played.

All in all, Wii Sports Resort is exactly what you expect from a Wii Sports game. A mixed bag, all are OK, some are incredible. Many are bound to demand considerable re-investigation, in a close-knit competitive environment over the coming months. If you have a Wii, you'd be a fool not to buy this.

Overall Conclusion
Let's face it, Wii Sports was getting a tad tired for those of us who have owned it for more than a few months. The fun of the Wii and sports, however, should not be dismissed. Fun is important right now. Therefore WSR and the Motion Plus are simple but welcome additions to the Wii's line-up. Gripes? Some things are too long – the basketball for example is, I'm sure, a huge draw in the USA... but unlike the table tennis or even the archery, it drags. There are still some control faux-pas, sword-play being the biggest let down. Overall, however, I'd pay money for a Motion Plus and WSR. In this case, I just didn't have to as we were sent this review copy.

SPOnG Score: 90%