Wii Play Motion is, at it’s best, a fun diversion for small parties or a group of friends who have tired of racing, brawling and 2D platforming on the Wii. At worst, it’s a minor disaster. Which end it leans to for you depends on your patience and your company.
We’re a little late in this review, and I considered not doing it at all. Epic Mickey is a unique title that, for all of it’s ambitions, does little to impress me.
There’s something to be said for the current state of gaming that something like our current subject, Kirby’s Epic Yarn, can elicit such a positive response from the press and gamers alike. It’s not hard, it’s not violent, it’s not dark, and it’s certainly not mature. In fact, it’s easy, friendly, bright, and cute almost to a fault. So why is it that gamers, who we are told are beyond the cute and childish games of yore and want serious, mature themes these days, can still enjoys titles like this one? Because above all, it fills that primal need we started this hobby for – it’s fun.
I loved Super Mario Galaxy. I in fact loved it so much that it received e-AAGH.net’s Game of the Year award in 2007. When a sequel was announced – the first time a console Mario title had a follow up since the NES days – I was excited. As time wore on, though, and we heard next to nothing of it’s development, my excitement wore down. The hype brewed back up prior to release, but when other reviewers were throwing 10/10s at it, I was hopeful and skeptical at the same time. Really? A game that was that good back in 2007 got a sequel and it’s even better? How? I was to find out when I got my hands on it that the hype is for real – even if perfect scores aren’t a perfect fit.
When I reviewed New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo DS, I loved it and went lengths to explain how much I liked it. In that light, since this is the evolution of that concept, I’m not going to go in depth about the base concept or Nintendo going back to basics here. Instead, let’s cover what makes this a great game.
Wii Sports Resort is to the Wii Motion Plus accessory what Wii Sports was the original Wii Remote: it’s a tech demo that sells what the item can do, while proving entertaining at the same time. While Wii Sports Resort comes off a little shallow due to heightened expectations, it’s still a fun game to get out when non-gamers or even casual gamers come around.
The first thing Beta and I noticed upon picking up Dokapon Kingdom was that it billed itself as the Friendship Killer. I can say, with wholehearted honesty, that yes, Dokapon Kingdom can be a friendship killer. But, in spite of that, it is a greatly fun game. Just don’t play it with anyone with high blood pressure or a bad temper.
I originally played Animal Crossing on the Gamecube when a local Blockbuster got a copy a week before the official release. I fell in love with the game right away, and played the heck out of it. Beta, too, enjoyed it immensely. That said, neither of us were highly enamored by the recycled content of AC: Wild World on the DS. It was too much of the same with little innovation. After playing the original for a couple years, you have to forgive us for wanting a few changeups here and there to keep things fresh. Now that City Folk is upon us, is it a new game, or the original again with a city tacked on? Unfortunately, it’s the latter.