Wii Sports Resort is far meatier than the original Wii Sports.. The whole point of Wii Sports Resort is to demonstrate the wonderfully accurate Wii Motion Plus attachment, and it does this extremely well.
The first game mode we jumped into was the Sword Fighting mode that we loved last year. In this improved version, Casamassina got his rear end handed to him in a quick three point match against yours truly. The sword control is absolutely spot on, but it requires a calibration at the start of every bout: the game prompts gamers to click the A button, which means you're pointing directly at the screen and "resetting" the zero point of the Wii Motion Plus peripheral. But once calibrated it recognizes precise swipes in every conceivable direction, and the two player battle absolutely blows the pants off the Boxing fight in the original Wii Sports. There are different modes in this option, including a mode where you challenge another person to slash at objects at a specific direction, noted by an arrow overlay.
Then we jumped into Frisbee mode. We skipped the dog catch mode in favor of the full Frisbee Golf option. We love the Disc Mode in the upcoming Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2010, but it's clear that the version in Wii Sports Resort is much tighter with better disk handling and more attention paid to the physics of the throw. You can play a short three hole game or take part in a whole 18 hole course, with multiple courses available to take part in.
Table tennis is clearly Wii Sports Resort's version of Wii Sports Tennis, and it's just as fun and addictive in its smaller scale. Your character runs to the ball automatically, and you can forehand and backhand the ball with swings from the remote. It's true 1:1 control, and you will have to swing at the ball on the proper side of your body if you want to land the perfect shot. You can apply english to your shots for top spin...Wii Motion Plus is that accurate.
Wakeboarding is surprisingly fun as well: hold the Wii Remote in its classic orientation as you're pulled through the lagoon, swinging yourself back and forth along the boat's wake to gain air and perform tricks for points. It's fast and frantic, but the Wii Motion Plus gives players incredibly tight control over their position behind the boat.
Of course, the more games you have, the greater the odds for a dud. And in this case, it's cycling. You ride your bike around the island against 30 other cyclists, pedalling by thrusting the Wii Remote and Nunchuk up and down alternately. If you waggle too fast you'll wear out your character, but you'll also go faster if you draft behind other racers as well as get caught in a tailwind. Steering is handled through tilt of the Wii Remote. Did not like this mode all that much.
But the rest of the package is pretty top notch, and well worth the $50 price tag especially when you consider that it will include Wii Motion Plus in the box along with the game. Watch for a release in July.
