Wii Sports Resort

Reviewed by:
Gerasimos Manolatos

Price: $49.99 (packaged with one Wii Motion Plus add-on)

The Skinny: The spiritual sucessor to the original Wii pack-in game Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort features 12 simple-to-play, hard-to-master games for you and up to three of your friends to engage in friendly competition—and yet another way to make you completely broke.

The Good: This game takes everything you loved about Wii Sports, from the intuitive motion controls to the addictive, come-back-for-more gameplay, and jacks up the fun to, "Oh crap, I forgot to pick up the kids!" levels. Time will fly by as you attempt to set new records, unlock additional modes within each sports venue, and find hidden easter eggs scattered around the fictitious Wuhu Island, where the game is set. There are a few questionable additions, like cycling and canoeing, and there are a couple of repeats—Golf and Bowling make a second appearance with a few twists—but there is something for everybody, especially with game controls so accessible, an eight-year-old or a 28-year-old can play. We'd know—both of them beat us.

The Bad: Too bad you'll have to spend up to $110 to enjoy this game in a party atmosphere. Wii Sports Resort is the first game requiring you to use Wii Motion Plus, an add-on which turns your motion controller into a SUPER MEGAZORD! Actually, not really—it just makes it more accurate, but, unfortunately, you only get one. To get your other controllers up to snuff, you'll have to go out and buy additional units, which at $20 a pop, can make this a painful experience for your wallet. Also, even after calibrating the Wii Motion Plus prior to entering a game, you will be asked incessantly to redo the calibration, a very frustrating thing to be doing when you just want to go in and play a game.



Congratulations, Achiever: Nintendo's underpowered console is hoping to catch up with Xbox Live's Achievements and PS3's Trophies with their new Stamps, which you can earn by accomplishing specific tasks in the game. For example, while you'll want to aim for a bull's eye in Archery mode, look around for conveniently-placed foods like fruit and cakes sprinkled around the area. Hit all of them in one game and you've finally done something with your life.

Buy, Rent, or Disembowel: At 50 dollars for the game and add-on, this package is a steal—we recommend buying at least one more add-on, so you can at least play some of the two-player head-to-head games. Four-player sports can be played with two Wii remotes, so only splurge if you really don't have any use for those 40 dollars in your bank account.

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