I go hands-on with Wii Sports Resort

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Earlier this month, I took Wii MotionPlus for a swing with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10. It was then that I realized truly what Wii MotionPlus had to offer. The device worked great with Tiger Woods and I made a bold statement: “Wii MotionPlus is set to truly re-define the way we play games”. The only way to prove that was to use it with another compatible game, one that was designed from the ground up with Wii MotionPlus in mind. And so, I got my hands on a copy of Wii Sports Resort. After a few hours, I’ve explored the many aspects of the game and have a very good sense of how good the game is, as well as how well Wii MotionPlus can enhance gameplay.

To make things easier, I’m going to divide up my impressions. This post will include my general thoughts on the game, but future posts will detail each of the activities. If you have any questions, feel free to post them in the comments and I will try my best to answer them. Anyways, on to my thoughts…

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Time to start out with another bold statement: Every Wii owner should have Wii MotionPlus. It is a very fun game that has things for everyone in it and can even satisfy the hardcore gamer with the sword fighting, among other things. It also comes bundled with Wii MotionPlus, so the price is a bargain. If you enjoyed Wii Sports, you will absolutely love this game. If you hated Wii Sports, then there is a good chance you will enjoy this game. It feels like a Wii Sports-type game (because it is), but the sports in the game are much more fun and engaging than the first. Heck, even two of the sports reappear from the first game.

Don’t get me wrong, this game isn’t perfect. I found some of the sports, like Frisbee, just weren’t that fun for me personally. There is at least one or two sports in here that will appeal to you since there is a wide variety of them in the game. My favorites are Swordplay and Air Sports. Wii MotionPlus makes Swordplay so much fun and challenging at the same time. There is even a mode where you can fight waves of opponents and it made me so much more excited for Red Steel 2. And Air Sports… it’s so simple, yet there is plenty to explore and collect.

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Even Archery is a lot of fun to play. The controls seem very natural and it’s satisfying when you do good in the game. In fact, almost all of the sports feel natural when you are playing them. There are a few times when you do need to calibrate your controls, but they are done in a non-intrusive manner. Before a sword match, you have to press the A button on-screen and your device is calibrated. Hold down A to start when playing Archery and calibration is set. You don’t even know the game is calibrating the device half the time because of the manner it’s done.

And even if that isn’t enough, just press the + button during a sport and lie your Wii Remote face down on a flat surface. In a second or two, the device is calibrated and ready to go. Very simple. I’ve only had to do that a few times since it’s mostly not an issue in the game. The 12 sports in the game are very intuitive and easy to learn. Some of them are more fun than others to me, but that all comes down to personal preference.

After a few hours of gameplay, I would say that this game is a must buy title for any Wii owners. If you don’t have it pre-ordered yet, go do so. I’ll explore each sport in detail over the next week or so, time permitting. Remember, feel free to post questions and I will answer them in the comments area.



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  • CrisisCore

    So swordplay is just what a hardcore gamer would buy this for? Seems like a lot of money to throw down the drain just to play one or two sports.

    Are there really only 12 sports? Is this a game you can see yourself playing 6-8 months from now?

  • DarkWish

    No, not just Swordplay. I just said that one since that’s what I spent the most time on. Now I can say that the hardcore gamer will enjoy Archery and Air Sports as well, probably even more too.

    Yes, there are 12 sports. However, each sport has two or three modes within it. For example, Air Sports has Skydiving in it, as well as a mode where you can fly around in a plane and collect things. Swordplay has a mode where you cut up things thrown at you, as well as a mode where you fight off waves of enemies. And in some of those modes, there are multiple levels. In Swordplay, in the mode where you fight multiple enemies, there are 12 levels to play in.

    And yes, I can see myself playing this game months from now. The thing that made Wii Sports get boring was that there were other games that released that were just better than Wii Sports since it was more of a tech demo than a full game. Even though there are other Wii MotionPlus titles coming in the future, I can still see myself playing Wii Sports Resort because it is a full game. There are many achievements, many different things to do, etc. that have great replay value. It’s not just a tech demo for Wii MotionPlus.

  • skunkchop

    Great preview/review!
    Thanks for the information, I MIGHT be getting this game.