Wii Sports Resort Review:

I've been an owner of the Wii video game console for over a year now and our family does enjoy the games. We just bought the new Wii Sports Resort game and have been using it daily for about a week now. The 12 new games are swordplay, wakeboarding, archery, frisbee, basketball, power cruising, cycling, golf, table tennis, bowling, canoeing, and air sports. I would say that there are 10 new games since the golf and bowling were already available on Wii Sports and although they have slight changes are not that different than the original versions. The other 10 games are challenging enough and make the package worth the $46.99 that we paid on Amazon. Several of the games require using both the Wii Remote and the Nunchuk so it takes some time to become proficient at the movements necessary to do well. I struggled with the Power Cruising game for a while as I tried to figure out the slight movements to get the jet ski to move through the water cleanly and be able to still steer the darn thing. My 4 year old son was able to master the Cycling game rather quickly as he used both the Nunchuk and Wii Remote to pedal his bike around the course.

In order to get better sensors on your hand movements, Nintendo has supplied a Wii MotionPlus sensor that plugs into the bottom of the Wii Remote. I bought an additional one for $19.99 on Amazon so that we could do 2 player games on the new Sports Resort game. The sensor is easy to use and it does seem like the motions are better recognized by the console. As we mentioned above, you will need the Wii Nunchuk Controller for games like Archery, Power Cruising, and Cycling. The games are good for 1 to 4 players and so far our family has had a blast learning the new ones and competing against ourselves or the competition provided by the computer. The big question with any Wii game is - Is it worth the money? At $46.99 for the Wii Sports Resort it's borderline. The good news is that there are 10 brand new games that should provide plenty of entertainment value with kids and adults alike. I have found that at a party or neighborhood get together that the Wii keeps the little kids occupied for hours. In my opinion any entertainment like that is well worth it. The one thing I can't stand with the Wii games are all the accessory items you need to buy beyond the game itself. Again, the Wii MotionPlus sensor is needed to play these games and it runs $19.99 for 1. That's roughly $40 to cover both your Wii Remotes so you are looking at potentially spending almost $100 to be able to play Wii Sports Resort. Add on more $$$ if you don't already own a pair of the Nunchuks for your remotes. Hopefully Wii will solve the whole motion sensor issue and stop having us buy add-ons for the remotes. You can see all the top selling Wii games and accessories online here.

Wii Sports Resort Games:
The first game that jumps into my mind is the wakeboarding game on Sports Resort. You hold the remote like you would a rope when you water ski and then proceed to carve up the water and do tricks in the air to earn points. My kids love playing this one and it's fun to see the maneuvers they pull off. Swordplay - another new one with the potential to be fun when competing against friends. There are 3 modes - duel, speed slice, or showdown. Duel with 2 players is great and the one we prefer over the other variations. Archery - this one requires the use of the Nunchuk to imitate pulling back on the bow string. Aim your shots carefully and release the arrow to the target. It takes a little getting used to the Nunchuk and Remote combination but my daughter has improved her aim immensely in just over a week. Frisbee - or Disc Dog as we have heard it referred to. The Frisbee dog is a fun game although learning to throw the frisbee via the motion of the remote is not easy. Once you get the hang of throwing the frisbee then your dog will have a chance to catch it in air for points. Frisbee golf is another variation and worth a look as well. Basketball - probably not the best game of the bunch, but may give you some value. Choose from either a pickup game or do the 3 point contest. It took me a while to learn how to shoot the ball with the remote in my hand and actually hit a bucket. Perhaps start with the 3 pointer contest to learn how to shoot and then move up to actual play. Power Cruising - another that requires the Nunchuk and Remote to be used simultaneously and can be difficult for little ones. I enjoyed the slalom course but it did take a while to learn how to accelerate and still be able to steer the darn jet ski. The 2 players versus action is fun although controlling the jet ski machine is tough. Cycling - this can be a real workout as you have to pedal with your arms. Using both the Nunchuk and Wii Remote the bicyclist pedals along the course passing the competition. My son likes this game since it is similar to the Mario Kart we also have. Golf and Bowling are just updates to the previous versions on Wii Sports and not much different. You have water hazards on the golf holes and other minor changes. Table Tennis - one of my favorites, although it can get a little boring after a while. Similar in concept to the Wii Tennis game with serving and hitting the ping pong ball. Canoeing - my daughter likes this one and again it requires some skill to use the remote properly to simulate the action of a paddle going through the water. The Speed Challenge is a good starting point in the game and once you get better to the VS option. Lastly, you have Air Sports - which includes skydiving, dogfight, and island flyover. Skydiving is a blast to try but again a little boring after a few attempts.

Other Wii Games:

The biggest complaint so far with the Wii gaming console is that there are not enough games to be played. I must admit the release for new games is few and far between as most go unnoticed since they are not very good. We have bought Mario Kart, Wii Fit, Wii Sing It, and now Sports Resort. We are up to about $500+ invested in the gaming system so we will stick with it for now. I'm hoping that more advanced games come along so that as my kids grow up a bit they will continue to use the Wii and not want to change to the Xbox or PS3 consoles. The latest new game is Punchout which is a copy of the arcade video game we all loved to play back in the late 1980's and early 1990's. For an entire listing of the latest Wii games go to Amazon.com here.

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