5 / 10
26 Jan 2007 at 15:13
Review by: MilkyMalky
I’m always wary of games that come bundled with something, it either makes the game a lot more expensive than they usually would be or it means that the game itself doesn’t have much substance to it. With Wii Play, you get an extra Wii Remote – which has an RRP of £30. So with this game having an RRP of £35, you certainly do begin to wonder what you are going to get for £5 that’s going to be worth playing.
So let’s investigate.
=GAME=
The game comprises of 9 unlockable minigames to play using your Miis. Each game is a two-player game. These games can range from a cross between Duck Hunt & Point Blank where you have to aim a target at the screen, to a fishing game, to billiards, to a game with racing cows!
I wont spoil the minigames too much, as I will leave that up to you to unlock them, which as you will see is not much of a hardship.
You start with only this first minigame unlocked, but by playing the game once, you unlock a new one. By playing that one at least once, unlocks the next one, and so on until all 9 have been unlocked. So no learning curve or challenge required really, just instantly accessible minigames right from the off. This does really beg the question as to why they were locked in the first instance, but nevertheless at least it means that anybody who plays this game will be able to appreciate all the minigames on offer.
=EVALUATION=
Well considering that the =GAME= section wasn’t very long, that should give a decent indication of what to expect here. There is no in-depth single or multiplayer action here, essentially its just a group of party games for two people to get stuck into. Each minigame played unlocks the next one, and that’s all there is to it.
The visuals and sound on offer here are probably the worst I have experienced on the Wii, but that’s not to say that they are competent and do the job. Its just that a bit more effort could have been put into their implementation. However when you consider that its just a load of minigames – does there really need to be epics of sound and visual quality? The answer is no, there doesn’t and so that’s probably why there are omitted. These games are supposed to be quirky and accessible and that’s exactly what they are.
The accessibility of these games again reinforces Nintendo’s ideals of everyone playing the Wii together, and this is certainly evident in Wii Play, however what this game lacks is any sustenance that will keep gamers coming back for more. The real key to Wii being a success is if it makes games that appeal to new gamers as well as providing interest to veteran gamers at the same time. This really isn’t the case with Wii Play and is what sets it alone from more competent outings from the likes of Wii Sports. Wii Sports encouraged a challenging element for veteran gamers, but also maintained the ‘pick-up-and-play’ element for casual and new gamers.
What you will find with this game is that you will play it a few times, but then find yourselves preferring multiplayer blasts on other outings from the likes of Wii Sports or Wario Ware: Smooth Moves.
But again what you have to remember with this whole package is that the game only cost you £5. And also when you consider that you can get Wii Play even cheaper than £35 in some stores (at time of writing on GT, it had it in one shop for £30!) then this starts to look more and more like a bargain. After all £5 wouldn’t even buy you a cinema ticket these days, and that’s only 2 hours of entertainment.
But what you also have to bear in mind is that undoubtedly you get what you pay for. This game is only £5 in essence and so only delivers a sub par game that if it cost much more would be considered a total rip off. It would struggle to get more than 1 or 2 stars out of 10 if it was a £34.99 game on its own.
Having said that I would encourage people to buy this game – but only if you want another Wii Remote - as for pretty much the same price as a controller you get a quirky little game as well, which adds to your collection of minigames to be played on the Wii. And some of them like the Air Hockey game can be quite entertaining.
But remember an epic this is not, and there is a reason it is priced how it is.
VISUALS: 5/10
SOUND: 5/10
USE OF WII TECHNOLOGY: 7/10
LONGEVITY: 4/10
ENTERTAINMENT: 5/10
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