Wii Sports Resorts, quick impressions...

[severdhed]

i picked up wii sports resort yesterday, i havent had too muich time to play with  it yet, but so far it is pretty cool.  here are my impressions so far:

swordplay -   this is pretty cool, sword tracking is spot on with the wiimote.  basically you spar against another play and knock them out of the arena into the water.  it can be fun, unless you are playing againt my wife, who just jumps around like a spastic retard.  there are a few other sword modes i havent tried yet.

wakeboarding - this is OK, you hold teh wiimote sideways like it is a handle on a tow rope and twist it to carve back and forth to hit the waves and fly up into the air to do tricks.  the tricks are all automatic, you basically just have to make sure the board is leve with the water when you land to score points.  it is relatively fun.


Frisbee Dog - this mode is pretty cool, throwing the frisbee feels pretty natural.  you throw it towards a target and a dog catches it, sometimes you are asked to pop a balloon and then hit the target, which makes it much harder.  Overall, i like this game.  upon playing it, you unlock frisbee golf, which i have not tried yet.


Archery - this is by far my favorite activity.  it is just simple target shooting, but when you hold teh wiimote in your left hand vertically, then pull the z trigger on the nunchuck and pull it back like drawing a bow string, move the wiimote to aim, and release the trigger.  it can be challenging, but is always alot of fun...i really hope this gets implemented in the new Zelda game.

Basketball - this is pretty stupid.  basically around the world, you reach down with the wiimote to grab a ball, then jump up and make a shooting motion.  seems very hit or miss, and not much fun

table tennis - this works pretty well, i wish it were regular tennis, but it is still a good bit of fun. 

Golf - similar to wii sports golf, but now it seems harder because if you twist teh controller it will hook or slice, instead of the way it did on wiisports.  it works well once you get the hang of it.  the putting is alot better, it is more sensitive and easier to pull off a good put. plus, there are 9 more holes.

Bowling- not much different here in the regular mode, although the spin controller seems alot better.  there is a mode where every frame has 100 pins, which is pretty fun.  there is also the mode where you have to curve the ball around the barriers in the lane.  this is fun.

powercruising - basic jetski, hold the wiimote and nunchuk like handlebars and steer.  pretty basic...it is OK, but nothing exciting.

canoeing - just like it sounds, you hold teh wiimote like a boat paddle and thrust it back on either side to make your canoe move...it is kinda fun for a while

bicycling - you just use teh wiimote and nunchuck in a peddling motion, not that much fun, and can be tiring after a while.

air sports - you can fly around the island holding the wiimote like a paper airplane, there is also skydiving where you maniplate the wiimote to move your little mii as it falls to the earth, and there is also dogfight, where you fly around the island and shoot at each other, trying to pop the balloons that are attached to your airplane.  this was very boring.


overall, i enjoy this title.  some of the games are pretty stupid, some are pretty fun.  dont expect anythign amazing.  alot of these modes i'll probably never play again, but between bowling, golf, frisbee, table tennis and archery, there is enough to keep me interested.  it is a great way to show off how well the wii motion plus works, and really has me wanting to play red steel 2 and the new zelda.


also, if you are lookign to buy this, you will have to have the wii motion plus accessory for each wiimote you wish to use.  the game comes with 1.  gamestop/eb sells them for $24.99, but walmart and bestbuy  have them for $19.99.

[Bender]

thanks for the review!

I'll probably pick it up this weekend

not really my kinda game, but it is pretty fun when guests who aren't gamers come over

[DaveMMR]

I'll probably have to buy it just for bowling (the original Wii Sports pack-in version is a popular party game here).  Thanks!

[hypernova]

swordplay -   this is pretty cool, sword tracking is spot on with the wiimote.  basically you spar against another play and knock them out of the arena into the water.  it can be fun, unless you are playing againt my wife, who just jumps around like a spastic retard.  there are a few other sword modes i havent tried yet.

I take it that means you're getting your ass handed to you every time?

Archery -...i really hope this gets implemented in the new Zelda game.

Nice thought, but it won't work, as it would require you to switch hands every time you wished to use the bow.  Unless they swapped the controls of each controller, which may or may not be possible, it won't happen.

gamestop/eb sells them for $24.99, but walmart and bestbuy  have them for $19.99.

Probably everyone BUT GameStop/EB sells them for $20.  Paying more than $20 qualifies the purchaser as a fool.

[severdhed]

swordplay -   this is pretty cool, sword tracking is spot on with the wiimote.  basically you spar against another play and knock them out of the arena into the water.  it can be fun, unless you are playing againt my wife, who just jumps around like a spastic retard.  there are a few other sword modes i havent tried yet.

I take it that means you're getting your ass handed to you every time?

Archery -...i really hope this gets implemented in the new Zelda game.

Nice thought, but it won't work, as it would require you to switch hands every time you wished to use the bow.  Unless they swapped the controls of each controller, which may or may not be possible, it won't happen.

gamestop/eb sells them for $24.99, but walmart and bestbuy  have them for $19.99.

Probably everyone BUT GameStop/EB sells them for $20.  Paying more than $20 qualifies the purchaser as a fool.

yeah, i am pretty good at swordplay against my friends, but my wife just doesn't appreciate the art of sword fighting and just shakes the wiimote violently and jumps around...it's quite annoying (although i found out that she doesnt like it when i call her a spastic retard)

i thought about teh hand switching in zelda, but i hope they can works something out...it is really alot of fun.

i did some searching online and i can't find any major retail store that sells it for more than $19.99, other than gamestop...i guess they are just trying to prey on the uninformed.


overall, the game is fun, especially when you have guests over.  just like the original wii sports, i dont see myself playing this game when i'm alone, but for parties and things, you can't beat it.

[Lilwolf]

btw, I got it also... and also have grandslam tennis and TW10 (borrowing from a friend)

GSTennis I didn't like... and I love tennis games... TW10 is SO MUCH better then other tiger woods games... 

and I love the Wii sports so far... all fun... some much better then others.....  gatta go... so I can't type more now

[Bender]

I got TW10 also, and the controls are fantastic, really fun and really feels like your golfing!

[RTSDaddy2]

Sounds to me as if you haven't unlocked the three on three mode in basketball, or haven't tried it.  I concur, the 3 point shoot around is not much, just there to show off the motion plus, I suspect...but 3 on 3 is pretty fun, if you liked Wii Sports Baseball, you can probably get into this.

Just played my first rounds of frisbee golf.  That is just too much fun for me, seriously.  Next to bowling, frisbee (especially with the little Mii dog) is my favorite.

Funniest sport on the disk is Air Sports where you fly the plane.  Ok, so I'll never fly a plane - I suck at it, but if you haven't yet, play it and purposely crash your plane....your Mii will eject and open his / her / its parachute & float safely to the ground.  Did that unintentionally the fisrt time, and fell off the couch laughing.  Forced a crash the second time to seeif I saw what I thought I saw!

New golf game is also great....18 holes instead of just 9, if you want. Wii Motion plus is a golfer's dream.

The new bowling game is better than the first, IMO, if that's possible, with the motion plus.

Kid is REALLY into swordplay.  I thought I was doing good, but she took out the first three opponents with three swift hard blows to their noggins!

[ChadTower]

Sounds like I need to pick this up.  The family will love it.  I just wish I had more time to use the Wii myself.  I haven't touched it in weeks.

[hypernova]

If you play table tennis up to the champion (appr. 1500 points,) she is nearly impossible.  She's practically cheating.  She can basically run, while you always shuffle.  She can return a slam, even when she's DIVING, with speed.  If you do it, the ball ALWAYS pops into the air.  If it's possible for humans to return it with speed, I can't figure out how.  She can hit corners, and will always know when your ball will hit the corner, and be at the right position to react to it.

And the best one?  The ball can sail past her head by two feet after a quick exchange, but she can somehow hit it.  Seriously.  It goes through her head, and must travel about two feet, and she hits it like nothing happened.

Some vid on youtube shows some guy with a horse Mii who can put some real spin on the ball.  I cannot for the life of me put that much spin.  I can put a decent amount of spin on it, but can't figure out how to put any more.  He uses it to beat the champion.

Backhand slams fail unless you wait an obscene amount of time to hit it.  And by that time, the champion is back in position to hit it.

Sometimes, the thing just fails to recognize where you're pointing the paddle.  I have the thing pointing right on my right, and go to slam...failing to realize that my Mii is holding it to do a backhand.  I don't know if that's just me.  I probably need to hold my hands out a little more, but I've read that power doesn't matter, just technique.  Just watch the first point exchange.  This guy can spin it.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bGoea5sLrM[/youtube]
If I could spin it like that, I could easily win.

This person apparently is up to at least 2500 (according to another video he's got.)

[2600]

Kind of off topic:

Horse Mii?  Is that available with a more recent firmware or something? 

Also, anyone know if they have added a red head option for the Mii's yet?

[hypernova]

Kind of off topic:

Horse Mii?  Is that available with a more recent firmware or something? 

Also, anyone know if they have added a red head option for the Mii's yet?

It's a person, just utilized all the available parts to look like a horse.  Some "Mii artists" can make all sorts of crazy things.

Spent some time on the American version last night... don't know if I just suddenly got worse, but it seems a little more unforgiving than the Japanese version.  Since I had already seen the Japanese safety video, I didn't get to see if the American one used the same footage.  Ah well.

I watched it again, but I don't recall if it's the same.  I agree, it seems just a tad harder.
Another thing about table tennis I've noticed on both versions:  Asians play better than other nationalities.  You'll play against one, and have serious trouble or even lose to it, because they play with such speed and quick reactions.  Then you'll get higher, but the opponents will be easier, as long as they're not Asian.  Until you get to Lucia...

[jfunk]

Have to add my $0.02..  My youngest (now 4) used to have the HARDEST time at bowling, because she could never get the timing right to release the ball..  However, with the new bowling (and frisbee), the automatic mode saves us a TON of frustration..  You just hold the B button, and when you swing it will auto-release the ball/frisbee...  You can't imagine how much more fun this makes the game when we're playing as a family    (Although, it seems I'm physically unable to play in automatic mode..  I CAN'T not release the button    )

Oh, and if you get motion sickness, don't give the young ones the control during the 'flight' games...  *hurk*

Anyways, it's a lot of fun so far..  Can't imagine what kind of games we'd be playing if this functionality would've been available in the default controllers from the start...

-Jason

[hypernova]

the automatic mode saves us a TON of frustration..  You just hold the B button, and when you swing it will auto-release the ball/frisbee...  You can't imagine how much more fun this makes the game when we're playing as a family   

I agree entirely on the automatic mode.  Saves children and newcomers alot of trouble!

[hypernova]

Why?  You can't hold onto the ball forever.

[Dizzle]

Anyone else have to reset their sword a lot when playing two players?

Everything tracks perfectly on one player, but when I play my 5 year old daughter, she comes at me like a maniac, I spend all my time blocking, and in the process my calibration seems to get out of whack.  No joke.

I really enjoy the game -- could have done without the cycling, wakeboarding, and canoeing events though.  I like the 3 on 3 basketball a whole lot more than I thought I would.  The frisbee mechanic seems a lot better than the TW10 version.  The two that make it all worth it for me is archery and table tennis.

Hope to see a lot more motion plus games come out.

[severdhed]

i havent noticed the sword callibration issues, but i have only played it a few times.  usually it is just my wife and I playing, and i absolutely hate playing sword fighting with her due to her seizure-like technique.  i could do without quite a few of the games, but the frisbee golf and archery are just too awesome

[hypernova]

i havent noticed the sword callibration issues, but i have only played it a few times.  usually it is just my wife and I playing, and i absolutely hate playing sword fighting with her due to her seizure-like technique.  i could do without quite a few of the games, but the frisbee golf and archery are just too awesome

My daughter and her friend came at me with the crazy nutcase-ken style of swordfighting.  I lost one fight to each before it was rendered completely useless.  You only need to block in two ways.  Overhead, horizontally, and in front of the body, vertically.  Those two complement each other quite well, and if one won't block an attack, the other will.  Usually the block in front of the body stops any maniacal attackers (because they are usually swinging side-to-side,) then it's just a simple counter combo, and they're off the edge.

I notice I need to recalibrate occasionally after a long session.  Or just kind of flail my arms around a bit to get it back to normal.

[RTSDaddy2]

I told you all - these kids understand that swordfighting game!

[hypernova]

Just got finished playing the golf for the first time.  Gotta say, I'm not too happy with it.  I seem to have tons more trouble than I do with TW10.  What's stranger, is that for all full power shots, you still only have to do a half swing or so.  And when I just want full power, it can be hard to find that literal happy medium.

Tiger Woods 10 is better by a landslide.

[severdhed]

i don't think wii sports resort was intended to take on a dedicated golf sim like tiger woods.    It is designed to be a very basic game for people to just pick up and play...people that arent necessarily looking for a golf game. 

apples to oranges

[hypernova]

Yeah, but I vastly prefer the first golf to this "improved" one.

[Dizzle]

I told you all - these kids understand that swordfighting game!

I got beaten in record time today.  I'm having a hard time coming to terms with this, especially since my daughter really doesn't play video games.

Yeah, but I vastly prefer the first golf to this "improved" one.

I haven't tried the new golf yet.  Hopefully, the putting is better on the new one -- because I thought it was absolutely horrid on the first version.  TW10 is definitely the superior golf sim, but we still play the Wii Sports version for quick matches.

[hypernova]

I got beaten in record time today.  I'm having a hard time coming to terms with this, especially since my daughter really doesn't play video games.

I haven't tried the new golf yet.  Hopefully, the putting is better on the new one -- because I thought it was absolutely horrid on the first version.  TW10 is definitely the superior golf sim, but we still play the Wii Sports version for quick matches.

Just follow my instructions for blocking above in swordplay.  If they don't know how to block correctly, it should be you finishing them in two seconds.

Putting I suppose is better.  But I never had a single issue with the last one, as I always thought it performed great.

[patrickl]

I traded in 3 of my old games for Wii Sports Resort. I have to say, it's a lot of fun. Sure one of the best games I have. My 6 year old loves it too. The box says 7+, but I guess that's due to the violence?

The sword games is pathetically easy though. Sometimes you knock them off with 3 swift blows. Just look in which direction they block and swipe them in the unprotected direction. Only after something like 20 straight victories do they start to pose some form of a threat. Biggest problem is the calibration problem. With these high level players you get knocked off pretty quickly too (if you let them hit you), so if the sword doesn't work properly it goes bad quickly.

I like the flyover game too. Been flying all across the island through the tunnels and volcano and such. Found all the info things a bit too easily though. Didn't find the final reward yet though.

It's cute when my kid and the neighbours kid play together. There is a lot of screaming and sometimes crying (from the one who loses), but still. They do have a ot of fun. The only problem really is that they cannot read and the game puts so much instruction in written form. Luckily they remember everything after seeing it only once. They make their way through all the menu's just by remembering which button to press to continue and such.

[hypernova]

Anyone having some SERIOUS issues canoeing?  I'll have the paddle on one side of me, and the game constantly registers it being switched to the opposite side.  It's making canoeing completely unplayable for me.  (Which isn't so bad, because it wasn't that great to begin with, but races with other humans can bring some riotous laughter!)

The sword games is pathetically easy though. Sometimes you knock them off with 3 swift blows. Just look in which direction they block and swipe them in the unprotected direction. Only after something like 20 straight victories do they start to pose some form of a threat. Biggest problem is the calibration problem. With these high level players you get knocked off pretty quickly too (if you let them hit you), so if the sword doesn't work properly it goes bad quickly.

You best learn how to block.  Once you get up past about 12-1300, swordfighting becomes much more difficult.

On most games with "champions" the furthur you progress, the better stats the CPUs have (and not just that silly XXXX number you're given as a "level."  For example:

Table tennis:  CPU can return off balance shots with whatever return they choose, whereas you still pop them up if you are off balance.  (You know it's off balance if a little partial starburst pops on top of the player's head.)  They can move faster.
Swordplay:  When CPU hits you, or blocks your attack, you lose MUCH MORE ground.  You need to hit them twice or thrice to move them the same amount of distance as when they hit you once.
Basketball:  Apparently, according to the game, the champion team is faster.

Those two sports I've played I can say from experience that you're severely handicapped as you progress furthur.  The CPU isn't just getting smarter, the match becomes heavily weighted in their favor.

[patrickl]

The sword games is pathetically easy though. Sometimes you knock them off with 3 swift blows. Just look in which direction they block and swipe them in the unprotected direction. Only after something like 20 straight victories do they start to pose some form of a threat. Biggest problem is the calibration problem. With these high level players you get knocked off pretty quickly too (if you let them hit you), so if the sword doesn't work properly it goes bad quickly.

You best learn how to block.  Once you get up past about 12-1300, swordfighting becomes much more difficult.

On most games with "champions" the furthur you progress, the better stats the CPUs have (and not just that silly XXXX number you're given as a "level."  For example:

Yes of course I mostly block and then attack, but still, the first 20 matches were pathetically easy (as long as the calibration is ok).

[wp34]

We are loving Wii Resort.  My kids and I have played more Wii since purchasing it than we have in months.

We are starting to notice that the controllers need calibrated frequently on some games.  For example I can't get through a game of bowling without calibrating.  This happens with both controllers.

Anyone else having this problem?

[severdhed]

i havent noticed the controller needing calibrated at all when i have played it....thats weird