The game comes in a larger than usual box because it comes with a Wii remote cover that looks like Cookie Monster.

Here’s my Wii remotes in both the Cookie Monster and Elmo covers. The covers are a very nice soft material with rubber beads on the back for a good grip.

And here’s my son with them, he likes them quite a bit:

Specifications:

Cookie’s Counting Carnival

Math is fun at the Counting Carnival!

Learn about numbers and counting while playing exciting games with Cookie Monster and Big Bird!

Features:
-Cookie’s Counting Carnival encourages mathematical skills that include number identification, counting, shapes, and pattern recognition through fun and exciting mini-games.
-Journey through the game in the many areas of the carnival such as The Grandstand, Rides, Petting Zoo, Concession Stand and the Arcade.
-Easy to follow audio-visual directions that preschoolers can master on their own.
-Use the second Wii Remote to drop-in and assist your child when needed.
-Game difficulty adapts to your child’s level.
-Customize up to four profiles, set functions including difficulty level and game limits, and review the games and educational content your child has played on the Parent’s Page.
-Wii and Nintendo DS versions include Gameplay Helpers to simplify gameplay for your preschooler.

* The Wii gameplay helper is a soft and fuzzy character cover with special grips that slips over the Wii Remote, minimizing unnecessary buttons and making it easier and more fun to hold and play with.

To play you use the remote sideways as it shows you before the title screen. When you’re playing you tilt the remote left and right and you can jerk the remote upwards to select or your child can jump to do the same thing and make the games a little more fun.

It’s Cookie Monster!

The game has two parts, the story of Visit the Carnival and then Games where you can play all of the games in the carnival individually.

It’s not just Cookie Monster, Big Bird makes quite a few appearances along with a few other minor characters to help you along with the games.

It’s all about counting and numbers and it’s a carnival so you’ll find carnival themed games to play. Mixed in is also matching, pairs, patterns and even shapes.

As I said you can follow along visiting the Carnival in sort of a story mode, or you can go and play all of the games individually.  The games mode is great for kids I think, I let my son play though the Carnival mode and he liked most of it, some more than other and some less. The games mode allows him to go and play only the ones he likes the best.

The control seems responsive enough, my son didn’t have many problems with it except with the jerking the controller up part, it took him a while to figure it out and get it to work correctly.

The graphics are cartoonish  and look pretty good really. The sound is fine, it matches what;’s going on.  I did notice that the voices don’t quite match the mouth movements, but it’s a kids games and my son didn’t notice it.

Here’s my 5 year old son Vincent to tell you more about Cookie’s Counting Carnival:

Conclusion:
As my son says, it’s very fun game, he gives it his seal of approval.

The game is great for young kids, it’s colorful and just a lot of fun I think. The games are fairly easy, but some do require a bit of thinking which helps young children think about what they have to do.

Pros:
+Excellent kids game
+Includes very nice cover
+My son loves it

Cons:
-Remote not quite responsive as I think it should be

Grades:
Overall
Design
Performance

To learn more about our review policy please visit this page HERE.

Review of Cookie’s Counting Carnival for Wii is a post from: Testfreaks | The Blog

This game is special in that it comes with a nice controller cover for your Wii remote. It comes in an oversized box to house the cover.

Here it is again opened up:

Then here’s the game opened:

And finally here’s the Wii remote in the Elmo cover. The cover is furry on the front and it has rubber beads on the back for grip. Overall it seems nicely made.

Here’s a bonus for you, I also got the Cookie Monster game for review which you’ll see soon, so here’s the Elmo Cookie remote covers.

…and here’s my 5yr old son with them, he likes them quite a bit:

Specifications:

Sesame Street Elmo’s A-to-Zoo Adventure

Join Elmo and Zoe on an alphabet adventure at the Sesame Street Zoo!

Play fun mini-games and learn all about the alphabet with Elmo, Zoe and your animal friends.

Features:
* Elmo’s A-to-Zoo Adventure encourages literacy skills, including letter identification, letter sounds, and word families, through engaging and fun mini-games.
* Explore exciting Zoo habitats including the Aquarium, Savanna, Jungle, Forest and the Arctic.
* Easy to follow audio-visual directions that preschoolers can master on their own.
* Use the second Wii Remote to drop-in and assist your child when needed.
* Game difficulty adapts to your child’s level.
* Customize up to four profiles, set functions including difficulty level and game limits, and review the games and educational content your child has played on the Parent’s Page.
* Wii and Nintendo DS versions include Gameplay Helpers to simplify gameplay for your preschooler.
–The Wii gameplay helper is a soft and fuzzy character cover with special grips that slips over the Wii Remote, minimizing unnecessary buttons and making it easier and more fun to hold.

It’s Sesame Street so the logo is there when you turn the game on.

Then you’ll have the main title screen:

After you press 2 to continue you’ll be taken to the main menu which has two choices for Visit the Zoo which is the main game, and then Games which is just the individual games from the Zoo part that you can go back and play if you want.

The main characters are Zoe and Elmo, with others popping up to introduce things.

The game is all about letters, spelling and sounds. There’s plenty of games to play, but when you play the Zoo portion you tour the zoo and follow though the storyline. Here’s a bunch of screen shots:

The Wii mote is used with buttons or motion, and can be used as a sensor to sense when your child jumps for some of the games. You tilt the controller left and right to select things and either lift the controller to select or just press a button. My son truly enjoys playing the game, but some of them can be long and I found he wasn’t too happy about that. Most of the games have three levels and they’re short, but some of them are much longer levels and he’s not exactly the patient type.

The game is very basic really and for an adult it’s easy. My 5yr old needed very little help with the game, he’s not exactly that good at reading yet, but for the most part he did everything by himself.

I do have a quick video of my son giving his opinion of Elmo’s A-to-Zoo Adventure so just let him tell you what he thinks of it.

Conclusion:
Sesame Street Elmo’s A-to-Zoo Adventure is an excellent children’s game I think, at least my son loves it. He’s young, five years old so he really enjoys Sesame Street and Elmo and the characters are there and my son enjoyed playing them on screen and playing with them in the game.

I think it’s a great kids game myself.

Thee are some parts of the game that are a bit long for young children who usually have a shorter attention span than older ones do. My son complained but he still played on as he wanted to see what was next.

Pros:
+Nice cover included
+My son likes it quite a bit
+Decent graphics
+Easy to play

Cons:
-Some games are quite long

Grades:
Overall
Design
Performance

To learn more about our review policy please visit this page HERE.

Review of Sesame Street Elmo’s A-to-Zoo Adventure for Wii is a post from: Testfreaks | The Blog

The Nintendo Wii is a great little console, there’s no doubt about that, with it’s motion sensing abilities and the balance board add-on it’s spawned a rather large collection of fitness type games that work rather well with it. I’m sure everyone knows The Biggest Loser TV show, me personally I’m not into watching those types of shows, I don’t do ‘reality TV’ really, but many people like it or it wouldn’t be so popular right?  Today for review I’ve got the Wii game based on the TV show The Biggest Loser, and it’s actually not bad, think Wii Fit on steroids. The Biggest Loser game is much more than just a bunch of exercises for you to get into shape, though it does have a plethora of them for you to do. The game features the ability to help you lose weight or just get in shape if you need to. In The Biggest Loser you’ll find full menus with directions to make healthy food, everything from snacks and main courses, all the way down to desserts. I’m not fat by any measure, but not being fat doesn’t mean that I’m in shape, after all how much exercise do I get while sitting at a desk most of the day?! So if you’re looking for a decent and fun way to help you get in shape or lose weight you might want to check out The Biggest Loser, even if you don’t like the show, the game will offer something for everyone to help you achieve you fitness and weight goals…

We’ll start with the box shots and then the intro video:

I’ve been playing The Biggest Loser for a while now, and it truly is fun, but I started a new game to show you a few things.. When I played it I just did the quick play option, you don’t have to go through everything like registering, you can just do the exercises basically and that’s what’s really the core part of the game. With The Biggest Loser you can use the Wii Balance Board, but I was surprised to find that you won’t be using it that much, many of the exercises don’t use it. This is on of those games where I needed a lot of screen shots to really show you how the game works, so I’ve got a bunch of those and a couple videos as well.

In the settings you can adjust the volumes and calibrate your balance board.

When you stat a new game you’ll enter your name, select your sex, add you height and then you can use the balance board to get your weight or you can input it yourself.

Once you’ve completed that you can select a character to represent yourself, everyone starts out being overweight, after all this is The Biggest Loser. Then you’ll select who’s going to be your trainer, either Bob Harper or Jillian Michaels, doesn’t look like Jillian at all or Bob for that matter..

The next step is to set your goal, you’ve got three choices: Improve Health, Lose a Little Weight or Lose a Lot of Weight..

Then you’ll need to select your difficulty level, fitness program duration and confirm it..

Specifications:

The Biggest Loser

Based on the highly rated NBC show, The Biggest Loser interactive fitness game features the expertise of personal trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels who help you transform your life through diet and exercise.

Change Your Body, Change Your Life!

Game details

Genre: Life Simulation

JOIN THE BIGGEST LOSER CHALLENGE! – Select from a 4, 8 or 12 week program and compete with contestants from the prior seasons of The Biggest Loser.
A CUSTOMIZED PROGRAM JUST FOR YOU! – Based on your fitness goals, choose one of our Biggest Loser Workout routines, or customize your own. With over 88 exercises, including upper and lower body, core, cardio and yoga, you’ll get a total body workout every time.

YOUR OWN NUTRITION PLAN! – Customize your daily calorie diet based on your specific weight loss goals and track your caloric intake to see if you are on track.

HEALTH AND LIFESTYLE TIPS – Monitor and track your daily calorie intake, receive personal advice and health tips and get valuable access to over 50 healthy recipes from the show’s experts.

Rating: E

Price: $29.99 (Price from Amazon at Time of Review)

Once you’re into to the game you’ll have several choices of things to do and see or learn about. You can choose from Fitness Program, Health & LifeStyle, Exercise Routines, Challenge Events, Single Exercises and then you’ve got Settings.

I want to start with Health & Lifestyle since it’s really not the game part of it, we’ll get into that next since there’s much more to cover there. Under this selection you’ve got three choices: Healthy recipes, Tips and Advice and Calorie Counter.

We’ll start with the Calorie Counter, here you can calculate what your recommended daily calorie intake should be for you goals and it’s based upon not only your goals but your exercise level as well.

The next section would be the Tips and Advice, in here you’ll find many different tips on lifestyle, diet, exercise and just general tips and even videos
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I save the recipe section for the last part of this because I was truly impressed by the amount of content here you’ll find many, many recipes with instructions and nutritional information for every category of eating like main dishes, side dishes, snacks and even desserts.

Ok let’s get into the actual exercise or fitness part of this game.

The exercise routines are broken down into specific parts you can work on like Full Body, Upper Body, Core, Lower Body, Yoga and you can even Customize your own routines if you wish.

The Challenge Events combine two or more of the exercises to do some fun type of event like you might see on the TV show.

You can also just choose from single exercises instead of doing one of the pre-planned routines, this is great for going back and doing something that you might really like or to work on something specific.

As I mentioned a lot of the exercises and games you don’t use the Wi balance Board at all, many of them involve sticking the Wii Remote in your pocket… (Is that a Wii remote in your pocket or are you happy to see me?..sorry couldn’t resists that one, just too easy..)

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Here’s one that you do use the Wii Balance Board with:

The graphics overall aren’t that good really, I’ve seen better on the Wii. A good example of the graphics is that Jillian Michaels doesn’t look nothing like her in real life.

Despite the graphics, The Biggest Loser is a decent game, it has a ton of content and that’s not including the actual exercise part of it.

Another issue with the game is the controls, they’re not exactly the most accurate, the motion sensing is a bit off, but once you’re playing for a while you’ll figure out where the sweet spot is to play correctly.

Conclusion:

For what it is, they’ve done an admirably good job with this game. Yes the graphics and controls aren’t the greatest, but the vast amount of content more than makes up for the few issues with this game. You can easily get in shape, lose weight and have fun doing it all at the same time.

If you like Wii Fit then you’ll love this game really, as I said in the intro it’s like Wii Fit on steroids. It’s what Wii Fit should have been truly, it offers everything to help you get in shape and stay in shape.

it’s one of those I’m sure you’ll get a lot of use from.

Pros:
+Much more than just a fitness game
+Tons of content besides just exercising
+It’s a fun and interesting way to get in shape or lose weight

Cons:
-Not the greatest graphics
-Controls aren’t very accurate

Grades:
Overall
Design
Performance

This product was given to TestFreaks for review by the company for review purposes only, and is not considered by us as payment for the review, we do not, and never will, accept payment from companies to review their products. To learn more about our review policy please visit this page HERE.

The Biggest Loser Nintendo Wii is a post from: Testfreaks | The Blog

Today for review I’ve got another game for the Nintendo Wii, and again it’s from THQ. The game is World of Zoo and it’s a game that is truly aimed at smaller children, it’s a game that fits into a category all by itself really. You might think it’s some Zoo Tycoon type game, but there you would be very mistaken, it’s nothing like it at all. This game is unique and it’s actually a lot of fun to play, it’s one that younger children will just love. In World of Zoo you not only have your own zoo, but you can even create your own customized animals and then play with, take care of them and even pet them. It’s an overly cute game yes, but that’s not a bad thing because it’s aimed at young children and World of Zoo is one of those games that is just perfectly made for children.

As a parent of young children I try not to expose them to violence in gaming and other media, with games I can pretty much control what they play. World of Zoo is pretty much the perfect game for small children. It’s bright and colorful, creative and fun and overall it’s a game that’s easy to play and it even will teach your children a few things about animals courtesy of National Geographic. So read on to learn more about a great kid game…

Of course I’ve got box shots for you:

There’s actually a lot to this game really. One of the things that I found interesting and informative is the tutorials, these are a great way to learn to play the game and to help you know how to take care of the animals in your charge.

It’s called Keeper Training and it can be accessed from the main menu which also has other options like Stats, Awards, Enter Codes and you can even take a look at all of the photos you took of your animals.

Here’s a few of my pictures I took of my animals playing. You can look a them in full size as well which is nice.

When you start the game you’ll have your own Zoo, and other players can have their own Zoos as well which is nice if you’ve got multiple people playing it.

Once you enter your Zoo you’ll only have access to a limited number of animals. The other animals or habitats will have to be unlocked by earning money or tokens.

Once you enter one of them you can go to the exhibit to actually interact with your animals or check out the nursery with all of it’s cute and cuddly baby animals or you can create your own animal.

The animal creator allows you to modify the animals in your exhibit and you can change just about everything about them. This is one the things that children will enjoy very much, creating weird and off animals with wired colors and patterns.

National Geographic plays a part in World of Zoo as well with little details about the animal you’re creating, so you and the kids can actually learn a little while having fun.

Here’s the opening of the game with a little bit past as well:

Specifications:

World of Zoo

What would you do if you had the keys to the zoo?

World of Zoo is the only game that pushes you past the fences and into a world of your own zoo.

Genre:  Life Simulation

What would you do if you had the keys to the zoo?

World of Zoo is the only game that pushes you past the fences and into a world of your own zoo.

Create and customize your zoo experience and develop hands on relationships to earn the trust and love of your animals.

Get up close and personal with the world’s most amazing zoo animals!

Features:

* Build relationships with the world’s most amazing animals through hands on interaction.
* Create and customize your own zoo.
* Create unlimited animals with the Animal Creator.
* Hours of play with mini-games, achievements and unlockables.
* Experience over 90 different animal species.
* Learn about each animal with the National Geographic animal fact cards.
* Play together with friends on the Wii!

Price: $36.99 (price is from Amazon at time of review)

The graphics aren’t bad, but they’re in a style that is very different. They’re cutesy and cartoony yes, but they are very distinct. I like them, they’re bright and colorful so children like them are well.

One of the aspects that is overly cute is the ability to actually pet your animals. The kids think this is just the greatest thing to do, yes it’s bordering on sickeningly cute, but it’s just great really. It allows you to really get a close up look at your animals, and virtually pet them.

Here’s my penguin being petted and then the rest of the video is game play showing feeding, and playing with them:

The music in World of Zoo is very cutesy and comical, and it can get annoying really, but again the kids like it, it’s perfect for them and it does fit in with what you’re doing in the game.

Controls work very well, they’re very responsive and you only use the nunchuk to play.

The main part of the game is taking care and plying with your animals, you’ll do that in the exhibit. While you’re doing this you’ll earn ‘love’ from them and tokens, and as you play you’ll unlock more items to play with them.

The habitats or exhibits differ for each animal as they would in a real zoo, adding a bit more realism to it. Overall they are very nicely done. You can even zoom in to get a closer look at your animals and parts of the exhibit. The animals will talk to you in the form of though bubbles to let you know what they need like food, grooming or a toy to play with. The animals play and have funny expressions, it’s all just really cute and a lot of fun.

Here’s just a few screen captures for you:

and to finish this off here’s another video of my lions:

Conclusion:
If you’re looking for a Zoo Tycoon type of game, this isn’t it, but that’s not a bad thing… World of Zoo has a lot to offer players that differs greatly from Zoo Tycoon, it’s something that is totally different from the Tycoon style game. World of Zoo offers players a chance to actually interact with the animals and care for them. It’s a much more friendly type of game and it’s not focused on making money or trying to build things or business oriented.

There’s no doubt that World of Zoo is aimed at children, but adults might actually like it as well, as long as your a big fan of animals. Children though love it, my kids love this game truly. I have three boys 4, 7 and 8 years of age and my four year thinks it’s the coolest thing ever to play with the animals. The older boys like it as well and think it’s a rather fun game to play, they like taking care of the animals and creating them as well.

I personally found World of Zoo to actually be entertaining, yes it’s a bit childish but it’s something really that’s totally different.  I can’t see myself spending hours and hours playing it like children would, but I did enjoy playing it for this review. If you’ve got children that love animals, especially younger ones, then this is the game you want to get them. I think it’s one of the best games out there for kids really, it offers quite a bit for them to do, and it’s cute and fun and not violent in any way.

Plain and simple this game is not for adults, or even teens, it’s aimed at younger children under the age of 10 really, and for that market this game hits the target right on.

Pros:
+Great game for kids
+Lots of fun
+Innovative and creative
+Easy to play

Cons:
-Overly cute
-Music can get annoying

Grades:
Overall
Design
Performance

This product was given to TestFreaks for review by the company for review purposes only, and is not considered by us as payment for the review, we do not, and never will, accept payment from companies to review their products. To learn more about our review policy please visit this page HERE.

World of Zoo Nintendo Wii is a post from: Testfreaks | The Blog

The Cars series has been around for about three years now, and it’s still alive and kicking and I have to say still doing very well in popularity.  You might think the movie has been milked of all the spin-offs you could get from it, but then something new comes along like what I have today for review, Cars Race O Rama for the Nintendo Wii. This game features a ton of content that will keep the little ones busy for a long time. Yes this is a game that is aimed at children, it’s Cars after all, and it features all of their favorite characters along with 15 new ones as well. If you’ve got kids who are Cars fans then I think they’ll truly enjoy this game and spend a lot of time playing it…

We’ll start off with box shots:

There are two main play choices in Cars Race O Rama, Story Mode and Arcade Mode.

Story Mode is fairly short and a lot of it consists of what you’ll find in the Arcade Mode really, but there are some differences. The arcade mode on the other hand features a ton of stuff to do, and I mean a lot of stuff to keep you occupied for a long time. There are seven modes in the arcade Relay Races, Guido Kart, Mini Games, Missions, Rust Bucket Derby, Monster Truck Races and Circuit races. There’s much more to it than that though because most all of those can be unlocked to add more levels once you complete a level or section.

For each game you can set the difficulty, in one player that is. There are three difficulty settings, Beginner, Average and Professional.

Most of the selections in Arcade only have one main thing to do, but if you go to Minigames you’ll have five more games to choose from. They are Auto Cross, Luigis Tire Find, Mack Track Challenge, Sheriff’s Chase, and Tractor Stampede. All of these can be completed to earn a new level as well.

The bottom line here is that there is a ton of content in this game. Yes a lot of them are very short, but it’s aimed at children who do have short attention spans, so actually they’re just about right in length.

When you first start the game only a few characters are unlocked, you’ll need to play more to unlock the rest of the characters. In most parts of the game you can select who you want to be, and some even let you select different paint jobs as well.

Each game will have an introduction telling you what’s going on and some will have instructions as well to let you know what to do.

Specifications:

Cars Race-O-Rama

In the Cars Race-O-Rama video game, players get to race against new characters through action-packed tracks to win the Race-O-Rama trophy as their own personalized Lightning McQueen. Join Lightning McQueen in Radiator Springs as he prepares his academy of student racers for the Race-O-Rama competition. Lightning finds out that Chick Hicks has his own set of academy student racers who don’t always compete fairly. These student racers are preparing to race in the same competitions in order to propel Chick Hick’s academy to the #1 spot. The races take place at various tracks from the beaches, into the cities and off to the Baja desert. Along the way, racers are upgrading their abilities and customizing their look. The finale consists of a fully modified, ultimate Lightning McQueen racing against a fully modified Chick Hicks for the Race-O-Rama trophy. Let the race begin!

Features:

* New Customization – Customize your world by customizing your cars. Modify paint color, wheels and rims, different hood options, side skirts, rear bumpers and spoilers.

* New Characters – There are over 30 playable characters of which 15 are brand new – Doc Hudson academy of student racers, Chick Hicks academy of student racers, Motor Co Pit Crew, Not Chuck, Guido, Tater, Tater Jr., Bubba, Trophy Girl, Chick Hicks Pit Crew, Doc Hudson Pit Crew, Vin Racer along with major boss characters who are Chick Hick’s protégés; El Machismo, Candice and Stinger.

*New Worlds of Racing – Experience eight racing environments, four of which are completely brand new; Radiator Springs Speedway, Santa Carburera which takes you to the beaches, Motoropolis City where you can experience street racing and Autovia which gives you off road racing in the desert.

*Play With a Friend – Experience the fun as you race against a friend in arcade mode which consists of mini games, lap races, missions and more.

*Dynamic Game Events – Experience the reaction you get based on performing stunts throughout the game from paparazzi taking your picture to the crowds going wild.

*Advanced Competitive AI System – Stay on top of your game as other characters employ cheat mechanisms to get you to loose the race.
*New and Improved Drifting – Take control as you immerse yourself in the game by employing newly designed drifting abilities throughout the various races.

*New Mini Games – Experience new mini games: Mack Track Challenge based off of the Mattel toy, three different games based on Disney Pixar’s Cars Toons episodes (El Materdor, Mater the Greater, & Tokyo Mater), plus many new original games like Photo Op, Auto Cross, Tractor Stampede, and Transporter.

Price: $36.99 (From Amazon at time of review)

When playing Cars Race O Rama, you’ve got two controller choices really. You can use the remote sideways and the nunchuk as well or you can use the steering wheel attachment, I used the steering wheel as it’s a racing game after all. Using the steering wheel makes the game easier and actually more fun.

There’s a ton of content in this game and I can’t cover all of it in this review individually as it would be quite long.

Gameplay in the Story Mode is sort of free roaming based, you can just drive most anywhere to collect bonuses and unlockables like different characters and play different mini-games or races.  Yes a lot of the min i-games you’ll play in the story mode are the same that are available in the arcade mode but there are a few that are specific to the story mode. The story mode is rather short, but again this is game aimed at children who have short attention spans to being with, so it’s just about right for them.

The controls work fairly well in Cars Race O Rama but they take time to get accustomed to. If you recall the movies there was a small focus on drifting, in the game there is as well, but you use the directional pad to drift which is just a bit odd.

The graphics are what we’ve come to expect from the Wii, they’re not hi-resolution or HD. They’re decent for what they are, you can easily tell who’s who and the cars do look rather detailed, just fuzzy details.. Personally I think the graphics are a bit sub-par, but my kids are happy with them and that’s what counts really.

I’ve got a couple movies for you of two of the mini-games.

The first is Tractor Stampede which is basically cow-tipping or tractor tipping:

The second is the Sheriff’s Chase in which you play as the sheriff and chase down speeders. The idea here is to get close to them then a progress bar appears that will let you know when they are caught.

I hate to repeat myself, but it’s annoying me at this point… This game is a kids game, and the reviews I’ve read have not given it good scores, the average is about 6.5 overall and I think it deserves more than that. The reason being that the other reviewers are adults, and not children and they didn’t even get a child’s opinion of the game to factor into their review. How can you review a  game that’s aimed at children without actually letting a child play it or at least have children yourself so you know what to actually look for in a game? Seriously, do you think that adults without children should review kids games?  Should the children that the games are aimed at have some say in the final review score? I think children should play a large part in the game review process. How can an adult, who is ‘mature’, fully comprehend and grasp what is intended to be for children? I’m a parent and I understand that what is fun and what is considered funny to my children is not the same for me, but I do have a sense of what those differences are and what those things are and can be. What I or we as adults might think is fun is not the same as our children. For example this game Cars race O Rama, to me it’s a goofy racer that is a bit fun, but my kids love it, they love everything Cars, they could easily spend days if I let them just playing it. On the other hand, I found it a bit to simplistic for my adult tastes really, a little fun, but honestly it’s a game that I wouldn’t consider playing over and over again like my children would. Cars Race O Rama is a great children’s game, there’s plenty to do to keep them busy for hours and hours, but an adult will be quickly bored with it…
I mean if you read the other reviews of this game with their low scores you might not buy it, but they’re not taking everything into account.Adults, you won’t care for this game too much, but this is a kids game that they will like to play and be happy playing really.

Conclusion:

Cars Race O Rama is not a game for adults obviously, but the little ones out there will like it I’m sure. It’s bright, it’s colorful and it’s fun really. It features all of the characters from the movie and even some new ones to change things around a bit.

Cars Race O Rama has tons of stuff to do that will keep the children busy for a long time and most likely coming back for more. It’s a game that I can safely let my kids play, there’s no blood and violence, just plain old cartoon fun.

If you’re an adult you won’t care for this game too much honestly. The story mode is rather short, and as most all of the mini-games, but they’re supposed to be since children have rather short attention spans.

If you’re children are Cars fans then I can suggest grabbing this game for them as they will like it and have fun playing it, but be prepared to help out the smaller children in some parts of the game.
If you’re looking for a game that gives you a good value for the money then this is one of those, it has a lot of stuff to do and many hours worth of game play for children.

Pros:
+Tons of content for hours and hours worth of play
+New characters and mini games
+Features all of what Cars is known for

Cons:
-Not for adults or older children/teens, very short games
-Graphics are sub-par
-Controls are kind of odd

Grades:
Overall
Design
Performance

This product was given to TestFreaks for review by the company for review purposes only, and is not considered by us as payment for the review, we do not, and never will, accept payment from companies to review their products. To learn more about our review policy please visit this page HERE.

Cars Race-O-Rama Nintendo Wii is a post from: Testfreaks | The Blog

Up on the review block today I’ve got SpongBob Truth or Square for the Nintendo Wii. Yes I already reviewed SpongeBob for the Xbox360, but the Wii version is a bit different. The Wii versions is actually a lot more fun to play since you get to use the Wii controls making it more interactive than just sitting there with a controller in your hand and hitting buttons. It’s the Wii so the graphics aren’t comparable to the Xbox360 version, but it makes up for the graphics in overall fun.

Obligatory box shots here:

You’ll notice that there is a game piece on the front of the case. When you peel it off you’ll find a code your can enter on the Spongebob website, and no I didn’t win anything good.

The story is pretty much exactly the same as the Xbox360 version, but playing it on the Wii actually makes the game a bit more fun. The graphics aren’t comparable of course but they’re not bad for the Wii.

Specifications:

SpongeBob Truth or Square for Nintendo Wii

Hold on to your SquarePants for the ULTIMATE SpongeBob game ever!

SpongeBob SquarePants has gotten himself into quite a predicament. After being entrusted by Mr. Krabs to keep the Krabby Patty formula safe, SpongeBob is overcome with grief for losing the recipe. He then relies on the help of the most unlikely companion, Plankton, who wants the secret Krabby Patty recipe for himself. With the help of his friends, SpongeBob must use Plankton’s memory machine to retrace the happiest moments of his life to find the Krabby Patty formula in time for the Krusty Krab’s Eleventy Seventh anniversary.

New Wacky Morphing Abilities:
-Turn SpongeBob into a Sledgehammer Smash to whack intruders, a WaterBob sponge to spew liquid and stun enemies, or even an Explosive Canon to aim and blast baddies.

Relive Side-Splitting SpongeBob Moments:
-Reminisce through fan’s favorite SpongeBob moments as the game draws upon ‘The 10 Happiest Moments of SpongeBob’s Life’ and hilarious story elements from the animated television series.

Share in the Hilarity with Family and Friends:
-Play as SpongeBob or with a friend playing as Plankton throughout the entire game on both the Wii and Xbox 360 platforms

Experience Exciting New Levels:
-Run, jump and spin through 10 challenging levels. Find familiar faces from the series as these transformed supersized bosses take quite a bit of over-the-top battling to bring them down.

Go Deep into SpongeBob’s Universe:
-Revisit SpongeBob’s most memorable locations, such as downtown Bikini Bottom, the Krusty Krab, Jellyfish Fields, or even Rock Bottom as players experience all of their favorite characters from previous SpongeBob games and the TV Series.

So here’s a video of the first level for you:

I included the opening load screen to show you the long load times, they’re a bit too long in my opinion.

Like the Xbox360 version, the Wii has the same trivia style load screens. The trivia is interesting but due to the long load times I and most kids would rather see something else besides them.

Since it’s the Wii you’ll be using the motion controls of the Wii to do certain moves. This does make the game more interactive and actually a lot more fun than the Xbox version.

You can use the Wii MotionPlus attachment with SpongBob but I saw no difference in game play at all.

While you’re playing SpongeBob Truth or Square you’ll play as SpongeBob in single player mode as you might expect. There’s quite a few cinematics in the game that help tell the story and set up the level you’re about to play. The movies are before the level when you’re in SpongeBobs home and then there’s usually another mini movie after the load before you actually start the level. Kids will like the movies quite a bit as it’s their favorite characters interacting with each other and just being plain goofy.

The graphics are decent for the Wii, they’re what we’ve come to expect at this point, but I have seen better with other Wii titles. SpongeBob can turn himself into things like a spatula, hammer, spinning paddles and a large fan blade type of thing. These are his basic attacks. The Spatula and the spinning paddles or spatulas are his normal attacks, but once he gets a muscular power up his attacks become more powerful and more useful. If SpongeBob needs to cover a larger distance, farther than he can jump, he can use the propeller attack to help him get some more air on his jump making him go a bit farther.

SpongeBob will do a lot of jumping and fighting, there’s actually a lot of violence in the game, but it’s comical so it’s not to bad.

There’s a lot of bonuses in the game as well for you to collect, for example you can find Patrick sleeping in each level, SpongeBob wakes him up and you’ll get a bonus for it, and if you find them all you’ll get a larger bonus.

Since it’s SpongeBob it’s a goofy game. SpongeBob will use his tongue to slide around on Jellyfish jelly, and at some points he’ll use bubble gum to travel around the game.

Overall it’s a great kids game, it’s colorful and fun and it’s SpongeBob with the rest of the cast of Characters.

The majority of the game is very easy, but there are one of two points where even I struggled a bit. Luckily in the game it’s very easy to earn extra lives, at points I had well over 20 lives, and at those points I needed them and used most of them trying to do something hard in the game.

The only real complaint I’ve got about SpongeBob Truth or Square is the camera. There are times in the game where the camera will go behind things and you’ll end up not being able to see what you need to do, you’ll be moving or jumping blindly and hoping you’re hitting the target. It can be very frustrating at times.

From my kids perspective they like the Wii version quite a bit, they’ve played both versions on the Xbox360 and the Wii. They really like the idea that you use the Wii controls for the attacks, they think it’s great to swing the nunchuk and whack the bad guys. The only issue is that they play the Xbox more than the Wii so it took them quite a bit to get accustomed to the controls. The other minor issue is that sine they have it on the Xbox, the Wii version doesn’t offer anything really different in terms of the story, it’s the same game just with different controls.

Conclusion:

SpongeBob Truth of Square for the Nintendo Wii is a fun game and one that is great for kids. They’ll have a lot of fun playing it and they’ll enjoy seeing and playing their favorite cartoon characters.

Since it’s available on multiple platforms I would suggest getting the version for the console that your children like the best, there’s no need to get it for multiple consoles as it’s the same story. Personally I like the Wii version better as the controls do make the game much more fun to play, and my kids seem to enjoy it better than the Xbox360 version.

Pros:
+Decent graphics for the Wii
+Fun game, great for the kids
+Wii controls make the game more fun
+Easy to play

Cons:
-Long load times
-Can be hard at certain points
-Camera can hinder progress at certain points

Grades:
Overall
Design
Performance

This product was given to TestFreaks for review by the company for review purposes only, and is not considered by us as payment for the review, we do not, and never will, accept payment from companies to review their products. To learn more about our review policy please visit this page HERE.

SpongeBob Truth or Square for Nintendo Wii is a post from: Testfreaks | The Blog

I’ve got another kids game today for review, this one is Marvel Super Hero Squad. If you’re an adult, you’ll find this game rather boring as it’s extremely repetitive, but if you’re a young child then you’ll love it, or if you’ve got kids who are fans of the TV series then this game will make them very happy. Marvel Super Hero Squad is available on a few platforms but I’ve got it for review for the Nintendo Wii, meaning that you’ll do more than button mashing, you’ll be using the motion features of the Wii to help you play the game. The graphics are actually decent, the heroes and villains are shrunk down, exaggerated versions of their full sized adult counterparts, if you’ve seen the TV series then you’ll be familiar with them I’m sure.

We’ll start off with box shots:

Then onto the game, here’s the intro video for you, a sort of music video if you will:

Once you’re passed the video you’ll get the title screen and then main menu. The main menu only has four options, two are the main game play modes, Adventure or story mode and Battle or the multiplayer mode.

Under options you’ve got Audio, Controls, Codes and Cheats:

Under Extras you’ll find the things you’ve unlocked like Characters, Arenas and Movies:

Specifications:

Marvel Super Hero Squad

Welcome to Super Hero City! Assemble your squad and fight your way to victory to save the citizens of Super Hero City from the evil schemes of the super villains in this multi-player adventure game inspired by the action-packed animated Marvel TV series.

Fight through campaigns full of adventure or wage an all-out battle in the streets of dynamic environments as you mix and match heroes and villains with their own unique powers and abilities.

Hero up! Pick your battle–fight for good, fight for evil or just fight for fun!

In Adventure Mode:
* One Super Sized story and 6 action-packed campaigns featuring Wolverine, Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, Silver Surfer and Falcon.
* 2 bonus unlockable campaigns featuring Spider-Man and Dr. Doom.
* Race to find Infinity Fractals and gain new and unpredictable super powers.
* Team up with a friend to electrocute enemies, wrap them in webs, and save Super Hero City.
* Unlock characters, costumes, battle arenas, and collectibles.
* Seize your adventure with up to 2 players.

In Battle Mode:
* Go head-to-head with your friends and fight as your favorite Super Hero or Villain.
* Choose from over 20 Marvel characters from the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Avengers series and use their unique super powers to smash, bash, and zap your enemies.
* Create your own combo attacks to takedown the competition with unique character powers.
* Choose a dynamic battle arena and trigger environmental events as you fight.
* Fight the fun fight with up to 4 players: all-in, 2-on-2, or 3-on-1.

When you start in Adventure Modes you’ll be playing one main character then you’ll get to pick your partner from those available.

Then it’s off to complete some quest or mission that usually involves several levels. Most of the game will be spent fighting in an area, basic button mashing stuff here.

They do mix things up a bit and throw in areas where you’ll have to jump from platform to platform to get somewhere.

and there are certain sections, more like interactive cinematics that you’ll need to move the Wii remote in a certain way and hit buttons to complete.

At the end of a lot of the levels you’ll have to defeat a boss, this is done by knocking him out ten times in total.  This is done in an arena style area with limited area to move in.

You’ll find a lot of cut scenes in Marvel Super Heroes that help tell the story, they can be funny, but they can be rather long too..

Most the game will be just button mashing, that’s all there is too it really, and it very repetitive. This isn’t a bad thing for children though, repetition is easy for them, and they’ll quickly figure out what to do and learn the game. Adults though will quickly become bored with all of the repetition, I found myself just playing the game to finish it so I could write the review, pretty much bored overall. My kids though don’t seem to mind at all, they had lots of fun playing Marvel Super Hero Squad. There are special moves you can do with the Wii remote and Nunchuk, but you don’t have to do them at all, you can just keep hitting to get through most anything.

The AI in the game is really dumb, at times they’ll just stand there and let you beat on them, but this is a kids game so it’s not meant to be very hard or challenging. There is an Easy mode that’s on by default, you’ll have to uncheck the box to not play on easy, every level you’ll have to uncheck the box. Easy mode is very easy, and the not easy mode is easy as well.

One of the biggest problems with Marvel Super Hero Squad is the camera, it’s just all kinds of messed up. The camera is not intuitive and it will just go wherever it wants it seems, sometimes obscuring your view. This isn’t too bad in the single player mode but it is in the multiplayer mode.

The voice acting is pretty bad as well, but most games are like that and I don’t know many children that will even pay attention to the voice acting honestly. The voice acting works for what this game is, a kids game, my kids didn’t seem to mind the acting at all, they actually liked the cut scenes very much.

If you’re an adult looking for your Super Hero fix then this isn’t it really, it’s a game aimed at children, and that’s who should be playing it. It’s very easy to play, and everything is cute and funny and it’s very repetitive.

Being aimed at children it works, my kids like this game quite a bit, and have played it often, I’ve never once seem them really get bored with it. There are parts where younger children may have problems, like the sections where you’ve got to move the Wii remote at a certain time, but other than that most any child should have no problem with the game. Even my four year old could handle pushing buttons and beating up the bad guys.

The graphics in Marvel Super Hero Squad are actually quite good, the characters are goofy looking yes, but that’s the way they’re supposed to be.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you can’t review or rate a child’s game like you would an adults game. I’ve seen reviewers giving this game very low scores, but that’s because they’re thinking like adults and most likely don’t even have children in their household. I play these games yes, because I have to to complete the review, but I understand it’s a child’s game and I also let my children play them, I observe them playing and I even ask questions about the game to get their opinions and views to incorporate into the review and the overall rating. You cannot rate a children’s game the way you would an adults game especially without letting a child play it…

here’s a couple game play videos for you to finish this off:

Wolverine and Captain America:

Silver Surfer and Storm:

Conclusion:

Marvel Super Hero Squad is a great children’s game, it’s easy to play, it’s funny and fun, and if your kids are fans of the TV series then I think they’ll enjoy this game very much. For children this is a great super hero type game that they’ll be able to pick up and play easily with little or no help from an adult. Part of the things that make this game bad for adults like repetition and easiness make it that much more enjoyable and accessible to children.

If you’re an adult looking for a new Super Hero type game, then you don’t want this one, it’s not for adults at all, it’s too easy making it rather boring.

Pros:
+Decent graphics
+Great game for kids (easy to play)
+Actually funny in parts
+Great cut scenes
+Multiplayer brawl mode
+Decent story for kids to enjoy
+Great game for fans of the series
+Lots of characters

Cons:
-Bad Voice Acting
-Camera can be annoying
-Very repetitive
-Dumb AI

Grades:
Overall
Design
Performance

Marvel Super Hero Squad for Nintendo Wii is a post from: Testfreaks | The Blog

The Nintendo Wii is the basically the first console that truly allows you to get interactive with your gaming. The Wii really let’s you get into the games and get involved with what’s going on in many ways. The Wii though has many, many titles that are aimed at children, it is, after all, a family type console so that’s to be expected. The problem with children’s games is the reviews you’ll find of them, they don’t take into account who the game is aimed at, they look at it from a gamer stand point, and usually they’re older gamers who are doing the reviews. I’m an avid gamer with three young children, I love my Xbox, but I like my Wii and PC as well for gaming, but I understand that games for children cannot be reviewed the same way as an adult game can. The game I have for review today is Drawn To Life The Next Chapter, it’s a kids game, there’s no doubt about it, but looking around you’ll see it got a relatively low scores, about an average of a 6 out of 10, and I don’t understand that as it’s a pretty good kids game. Then I looked around and started reading these reviews, there’s no children involved in the reviews, only the reviewers themselves and their professional opinions, and I feel that’s a big flaw in their reviewing process. How can you review a children’s game without actually having a child play it? How can you formulate an opinion and score of a game without actually including the target audience in the process of reviewing it? With kids games I play them myself to get my own opinions of them and then I let my kids have them and I watch and observe and even ask them questions about the game, what they think of it, was it too hard etc and then I can give you an honest and thorough review of the game and let you know if it’s worth your money or not.

So today we have Drawn To Life The Next Chapter from THQ and I have to say that I never played the first Drawn To Life game so there’s not going to be any comparisons made in regards to the first game, but I can tell you that I had a lot of fun playing this game and so did my kids. It’s a game that I think a lot of people will like, especially children, Drawn To Life is a game that truly allows you to get involved with the game and actually create the gaming world. The interface does take quite a bit to get accustomed to, drawing with the Wii remote can be hard, but in the end it’s a lot of fun.

So, here’s some box shots for you, THQ not only sent me the game but also a special edition box of branded Crayola Drawn To Life The Next Chapter sidewalk chalk which my children very much appreciated.

Specifications:

Drawn To Life : The Next Chapter

Experience an all-new Drawn to Life adventure in the first Wii game that lets you draw your own hero!  Play as your hero and use the Wii Remote to draw customizable weapons and tools designed to help you stop an evil thief before it’s too late!

* Customize your hero and game universe: Draw your own hero and create over 100 unique items though out the game such as a jet pack, a sword and wings.

* Create without limits: Explore your artistic freedom with robust drawing tools that provide you with many templates, colors, brush types, guides and stamps. You can quickly draw a simple figure or create a masterpiece.

* Action drawing:  Draw objects directly into the game-play to help you advance through the levels.  Special ink powers mean drawing with certain colors gives your creations unique properties.

* Extensive action adventure game-play:  Journey through 4 unique worlds, each with a different style of play including skating and flying.

* Play with Friends: Draw your team’s players, equipment and more as you compete against friends and family in multi-player mini games including Soccer, Hockey & Basketball.

Drawn To Life The Next Chapter is a game where you get to drawn parts of the game. When you first start out you’ll drawn your character, the planet and the moon. You can of course use pre-made versions as well if you’re drawing isn’t up to par, but that’s the fun part of the game, to draw your won stuff, even if they’re goofy looking. When drawing you’ve got a pre-sized canvas to work with, your art should fill the area to work with the game. There are points where if you don’t fill it in you’ll end up with invisible spaces and you character will walk across those invisible spaces like he’s floating. Yes it is hard to draw with the Wii remote, it takes  very steady hand to get anything that looks half decent, but part of this game’s charm is the fun and goofy things that you end up drawing that become part of the game.

The game is meant to be bright and colorful and cute, it is something that is aimed at children, so colors and the cuteness factor play a big part.

Drawn to Life is a side scrolling plat former at it’s heart, and that’s not a bad thing, especially where children are concerned, this way they know which way to go basically. As you’re playing you’ll find dotted line boxes where you can draw things in, essentially you’ll need to create your own path from point A to point B with just a line, or several lines that allow you to get higher up in the level or collect things like coins or bonus items..

At many points in the game an easel will be there indicating a place where you’ll need to draw something, it could be a piece of the background like a flying butterfly, or maybe a platform like a log that you’ll use to get across the water, or it could be a trampoline so you can jump and bounce higher up to reach the next section.

The idea behind the game is that you’re the hero and you need to stop the villain from stealing things in your little town, it’s a basic idea that does sound kind of boring but it’s the getting there that is the fun part.

Here’s a couple game play videos for you, they’re a couple minutes each.

This one here start out with drawing something actually, drawing logs to help you get across the waterfall actually.

This video shows basic gameplay and drawing several platforms to help get through an area:

So I have three boys ages 4, 7 and 8. Obviously the older ones can play the game fine, but my youngest really likes Drawn To Life The Next Chapter even though he can’t play it himself really, he asks me to play so he can watch me play the game. He thinks it’s just great, he’ll sit there and just watch and watch, he just thinks it’s great. My older kids love to play it as well, they think it’s funny to draw goofy looking things and see how they turn out on the screen, and they really like the fact that they’re actually creating part of the game. For the most part they picked it up very quickly and were happily playing and enjoying themselves. After watching me play they just jumped right in really. As you progress in the game the lines that you can draw are physics lines where they’ll fall and move around if you knock into them, that was the only part where they didn’t quite grasp it. Once I showed them though what to do and how it works they were fine with it and were drawing with no problems and continuing on with the game. My kids like this game a lot and to me that’s what counts, they can play it, it’s not violent, and it’s fun and I can let them play without worrying about what their doing or just what it is they’re playing.

To go back the beginning here where I mentioned the other reviewers and their techniques, I disagree with them and most of their scoring really. Yes it’s not an adult game, but it’s not meant to be either, it’s kids game plain and simple and that’s where it shines, it’s bright, colorful and just fun to play. My kids where smiling and laughing and just having a good time playing Drawn To Life The Next Chapter. I even like this game myself honestly, I think it’s great little fun game to play, but my children love it and that’s what counts!

Conclusion:

Drawn to Life The Next Chapter is not a game that many adults will like, but that doesn’t matter too much as it’s aimed at children and not adults.  Don’t get me wrong though, adults can like this game, myself included, but kids will love it, it’s bright, colorful and just plain fun for children. If you’ve got small children then you might want to seriously consider getting this game for them, if they’re anything like mine then they’ll love it.

Pros:
+Great kids game
+Lots of fun
+A truly interactive game where you get to design the game itself

Cons:
-Most older and adult gamers will not care for this title

Grades:
Overall
Design
Performance

Drawn To Life : The Next Chapter Nintendo Wii is a post from: Testfreaks | The Blog

The Nintendo Wii is a game system like no other, it truly put you in the game physically, no other console system can claim that, at least not yet. It allows us to really play games like tennis, and sword fighting and truly get involved with the games and maybe even break a sweat while playing them, with every other console you just sit there with a controller in your hand. The Wii has opened up a whole new set of accessories as well for it, attachments that attempt to make gameplay even more realistic than it is. I know many people feel that there are too many attachments for the Wii, and those people are the ones also that complain the Wii isn’t a real console either, they’re sort of wrong on both counts though. The Wii is a console, and it’s a revolutionary one that allows us a level of interactivity not seen before with our games. As for the accessories and attachments, well yes there are a lot of them out there, maybe a bit too many, but they really do add to the fun and realism of playing games on the Wii. I like my Wii quite a bit, but I like my Xbox360 as well, both have their place, and you really cannot compare them to one another and I don’t know why people try to.

Today for review I’ve got an accessory for the Nintendo Wii from Thrustmaster. There are many companies out there that make attachments for the Wii, but Thrustmaster takes pride in what they do and they make quality products, at least those that I’ve had the experience to own. The product I’ve got for review is a set of tennis rackets, but these rackets are nicely made and they’re compatible with the new Wii Motion Plus accessory. Included with the rackets are also handle inserts and a foam tennis ball to allow you to play tennis in your house without the Wii, a nice little addition.

The Thrustmaster Tennis Duo Pack comes in a big  box, and inside that box is another plastic box along with user manuals.

The Tennis rackets themselves are very nicely made, they’re plastic of course so they are lightweight. One is read in color and the other blue, the rackets actually have ‘strings’ on them, they’re just plastic but they look real. The rackets are padded with a foam on the outside edges as well for protection for people and things around you.

The front of the racket grip is hollow to allow for the Wii remote to fit in while the back has a rubberized grip to make sure you don’t lose it and a cut out spot for the button on the remote.

Included with the rackets are two inserts that fit into the handle which are rubberized as well. The idea of the inserts is that so you can actually play tennis with the included foam tennis ball.

Specifications:

Tennis Duo Pack NW

DUAL RACKET PACK FOR NINTENDO Wii

DUAL RACKET PACK COMPATIBLE WITH ALL TENNIS GAMES FOR NINTENDO WII

TWO PERFECTLY-SIZED RACKETS FEATURING A REALISTIC DESIGN, IN WHICH YOUR WII REMOTES* FIT WITH EASE:
-for a truly immersive experience in the world of tennis

-Stringing outer edge made from “shockproof” foam:
–for extreme protection

-Compatible** with the new Wii MotionPlus* accessory:
–for unrivalled precision

-Also included, for playing “real” tennis games without Wii or Wii remotes:
–1 foam ball (actual size)
–2 grip covers

-Webbed and rubber-lined grip:
–for optimum playing comfort

* *Remote controls sold separately
* ** Can also be used without the MotionPlus device

Price: $19.99

To play any tennis type game you’ll need to put the remote into the racket, it easily pops right in, but it’s held tight so it won’t easily come out while playing.

The bottom of the rackets are open so you can use the new Wii Motion Plus accessory with them.

To test them out I used them with my Wii, while they won’t make you a better player, they will make the games more fun and realistic. They can be used with any type of tennis style game like Table Tennis in Wii Sports Resort or a full blown tennis game like Grand Slam Tennis.

There’s not much really to report as far as testing, they do what they’re supposed to do, they help further simulate playing tennis style games on the Wii. Sure you don’t need them to play, but they make playing more fun and realistic, just make sure you’ve got enough room in your home to swing a racket…

The inclusion of the inserts and the  foam tennis ball are a nice touch you can use them without the Wii to have a little bit of real tennis fun and not break anything.

Conclusion:

The Thrustmaster Tennis Duo Pack is a nicely made product the will add realism and fun to your Nintendo Wii gaming. The rackets themselves are nicely made, they do look real, and they’re padded in case you happen to have an accident while playing.

Pros:
+Inexpensive
+Nicely made
+Includes foam ball to play ‘tennis’
+Works with Wii Motion Plus
+Makes tennis style games more fun and realistic

Cons:
-None really

Grades:
Overall
Design
Performance

Thrustmaster Tennis Duo Pack NW Dual Racket Pack for Nintendo Wii is a post from: Testfreaks | The Blog

Darts is a game that most people think is a kind of game that you play in a bar while you’re drinking to have fun, and for the most part that’s correct, but it is actually an official sport. As with most games in real life they end up as a videogame on one console or numerous ones, and the Wii is a great console for interactive type games with it’s motion sensor.

On the review block today I’ve got PDC World Championship Darts from O-Games. PDC let’s you compete against professional dart throwers on the Wii, and you can actually simulate throwing  a dart with the Wiimote. It’s an interesting concept, and one that doesn’t work too well really. Simulating throwing something with the Wiimote is bound to end up with bad consequences, broken TVs or possibly hurt pets or people. World Championship Darts though is game that does offer quite a bit of features like character creation and editor, real-world tournament locations, actual PDC pros as playable characters, and multi-player mode as well.

Obligatory box shots:

You start PDC World Championship Darts off by watching actual footage of competitions, it’s  a nice touch.

There is a bit more to the game than just career mode, you’ve got Exhibition, Tournament, Career and Party Games modes. With Party Games mode you can play several different games with up to four players. The games you can play are: Standard Rules, Around the Clock, Black and White, Cricket (UK and US), Fives, Twenty-One, Knockout, Odd Man In, Shanghai and Killer.

I like Darts, in my youth I would play quite a bit, and I was very interested in this title actually. I was curious as to how the game was going to work with simulating throwing a dart with the Wiimote as it sounded like fun.

When you start playing you’re greeted with instruction on how to ‘throw’ with the Wiimote, and it’s not as easy as it looks, trust me…

Specifications:

PDC World Championship Darts for Nintendo Wii

* Create your own player mode and play in 7 major tournaments in the PDS
* Features the following PDC Champions: Phil Taylor, Peter Manley, Adrian Lewis, and many more.
* Play in either Quick Match, Custom Tournament, or Party Games Mode

The graphics are decent for the Wii, not wonderful but acceptable. Some of the character models look actually very good, while some just look a bit deformed..

When you’re actually playing you use the Wiimote to aim, then press ‘A’ to lock the target and bring up your arm in a throwing motion, then ‘throw’ the Wiimote forward and let go of the ‘A’ button. It sounds fairly easy but it isn’t, and this is where the game just falls flat. The controls are horrendous honestly, I’ve put in several hours and still cannot get it to work correctly every time.

When you’re getting ready to throw the dart you can also change views, which is interesting, but kind of useless really as the far away view is hard to see and the ‘just dart board’ view doesn’t let you see your character so you can’t tell if your movements are registering really.

While you’re playing single player mode you’ll end up playing your turn and then watching the computer take it’s turn. In the beginning this is interesting but tournaments can last quite a long time, something like 60 rounds, and you can’t skip the computer move. This many rounds means your game will last a long time, while this might seem like a good thing, it’s a whole lot of dart throwing and whole lot of frustration.

The announcer for PDC World Championship Darts is Sid Waddell, and the referee is Bruce Spendly, I’ve never heard of these guys, but supposedly they’re very popular and well known on the PDC circuit. The commentary though is rather bland, you’ll hear the same sayings over and over and over again, and most of it is just calling out the score.

last thing I’ve got for you is a game play video:

In the end this game pretty much falls flat, the graphics are just average, the controls are horrible and the game is just boring really…

Conclusion:

I really don’t have too much more to say about this game really, it just isn’t that good overall, if you’re into darts and have a lot of patience you might want to give this a try, but don’t expect a realistic experience when using the Wiimote as your dart. I found the game to be frustrating and just a bit boring, and I like darts. This is one of those games that will never replace the real thing. I guess if you’re into darts this might be a title you’d like, but if you’re a casual player then I’d stick to the real thing…

Pros:
+Character creator
+Play with real characters
+Can spend hours and hours playing

Cons:
-Controls are horrible
-Very repetitive
-Can be frustrating
-The Throwing motion of the Wiimote can possibly be dangerous
-Boring

Grades:
Overall
Design
Performance

PDC World Championship Darts for Nintendo Wii is a post from: Testfreaks | The Blog

Dead Space is and excellent game, but it started you out sort of in the middle of the story and you’re left wondering how’d you get here. Yes you can watch the additional movie and read the comics to learn more, but a game of the vents would be better, and now we’ve got one that is a Nintendo Wii specific title. When I first heard that Dead Space was coming to the Wii I was a bit apprehensive really as the Wii isn’t known for its graphics capabilities, and I just wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out. Rest assured though, Dead Space Extraction is a game that you won’t want to miss, Visceral and EA have done an excellent job bringing this popular title to the Wii.

Dead Space Extraction is an on rails style shooter that let’s players live through the events that led up to the original Dead Space game. The graphics are just amazing for the Wii, and overall the game is worthy of having the Dead Space name attached to it. I’m sure many fans of the original Dead Space were not sure how this game was going to work out on the Wii, but read on to see sreeenshots and movies and to learn why this is a must have title for any Dead Space fan…

Obligatory box shots to start with:

We’ll start off with the intro movie:

Once the intro is done you’ll be taken to the main menu with a few choices and to create or select your profile.

In the options section you can adjust Gameplay settings, Audio and Video settings and Player Controls including calibrating your Wii Zapper or gun.

The Challenge Mode is just that a challenge where you can go back to areas you’ve visited and fight waves of monsters to survive.

The Bonus Materials section is where you’ll find more about the Dead Space story in the form of a semi-animated comic book videos. As you progress through the game you’ll unlock issues and get to see the entire story unfold.

There are four difficulty levels, Normal, Hard, Expert and Impossible, but only the first two are unlocked when you being the game.

As with the original Dead Space you’ve got several weapons to choose from, but there’s nothing new. Controls for them are of course a bit different in that they utilize the Wiimote capabilities. To access alt-fire for the weapons you turn the remote sideways, and for the saw you push the Wiimote forward to make the blade go forward. You have four weapon slots in the game and when you find something new you’ll be given the option to keep it and swap it out with another weapon or just leave it where you found it. Well let me correct that, you really only have three weapons slots that you can use as you’ll always have the rivet gun with unlimited ammo filling one slot.

To play the game you use both the Wiimote and the Nunchuk. The Nunchuk is used for several things.  You’ll be selecting weapons with the stick, reloading by shaking it, Stasis is activated with the ‘C’ button and your telepathic powers or Kinesis with the ‘Z’ button. Dead Space Extraction uses a times reload system similar to the that of Darkest of Days that I reviewed recently, when you start a reload a bar fills up with a small section that you need to stop in by hitting the trigger, if you hit that spot the weapon reload instantly, if you miss it takes longer.

The Nunhcuk is also used for Melee attacks as well, you point the Wiimote down and swing the Nunchuk to swing your axe. The Nunchuk is also used for defense, if you’re attack at close range or a creature of latched onto you, you’ll need to shake the Nunchuk and press ‘Z’ to get them off of you.The ‘Z’ button is also used to open doors and activate panels or switches as well.

When I played Dead Space Extraction I didn’t use a Wii Zapper I used a pistol attachment which worked wonderfully well to play with. For the most part the only button you use on the Wii Mote is the trigger or ‘B’, but you’ll also use the Wiimote to activate your Glow Worm in certain sections for lighting, you just shake the Wiimote to charge the Glow Worm.

Specifications:

Dead Space Extraction

Dead Space Extraction tells the story of four space colonists stranded on the Aegis VII mining colony in the furthest regions of deep space. The game introduces Lexine, an important new heroine to the Dead Space universe. As the crew fall victim to a mysterious contagion aboard the ship, it quickly becomes clear that protecting Lexine is their only hope for survival. The game features the highly polished, cinematic action experience that the Visceral Games team is known for.

Telling the story of four space colonists trying to escape a mysterious infection, Dead Space Extraction explores the origins of the necromorph invasion that threatens humanity and the universe. At the center of this group is Lexine, an important new heroine being introduced for the first time to the Dead Space storyline. As the crew continues to fight for their lives, it becomes clear that protecting her is their only hope for survival. Luckily, players are armed with an arsenal of weaponry, an easy-to-use control system built from the ground up for the Wii, and can even recruit a friend to play co-operatively, a first for the Dead Space franchise.

Developed at Visceral Games, Dead Space Extraction is rated M for Mature by the ESRB with descriptors of Blood and Gore, Intense Violence and Strong Language and 18+ for PEGI. Dead Space Extraction will be available for MSRP $49.99 on the Wii. For more information about the game, go to the website at http://www.deadspacegame.com or http://info.ea.com.

Dead Space Extraction put you in the shoes of one of four people as you play, you follow their story and see how things unfold. You actually start the game back at the beginning of the events in Dead Space when the marker was first found. You are on the crew that helped unearth it, you get to see the effects of the marker first hand and how things started.

Gameplay is very much different than the original Dead Space it’s first person whereas the original was basically 3rd person. The other major difference is that you cannot roam around freely, it’s a rails style game where you follow a pre-scripted path. There are a few points in the game that you’ll select which way you want to go, but other than that you’re following the set path. There are many points in the game though where you’ll get a few seconds to look around a room or area, the cursor will change to one with arrows on it and a timer.

In this mode you’ll get to look around and collect things with your telepathic abilities. You can open up boxes and lockers and collect what’s in them like ammo, health or audio/text tapes that tell you a bit more of the story.

You’ll also find these things just lying around as you play, but you’ll have to be quick at grabbing them since you really don’t have control over looking around. As you play there are also boxes that can be broken open to find things as well. As I played I found that there’s usually enough ammo floating around to survive, but I did run out a few times. The idea is to pay attention and act fast when you see something lying around, make sure you grab it because most likely you won’t turn to see it again.

This collection system works, but it can be frustrating at times, you’ll see something and try to grab it but miss, only to never look back to get another chance to grab it. There are times though where you’ll see something, but your character will look around the room again later to let you get a chance to grab it, so you really have to pay attention as to what’s going on.

The Kinesis ability is not only for collecting things but can be used to grab and throw objects as well. This can be a great way to conserve ammo if your low on it and sometimes you’ll find explosive canisters that you can toss at enemies, or you can grab and enemies projectile and throw it back at them.

During the game there are also areas where you’ll be traveling in zero gravity, essentially you jump from one point to another and fight in zero gravity.

There’s not much of a puzzle aspect to the game, there are places where you’ll trace a circuit with the Wiimote to accomplish a task like hacking a terminal, activating or deactivating something. Doing it with the Wiimote is fairly easy, not too much skill required really.

I’m truly impressed by the graphics in Dead Space Extraction, Visceral has done an excellent job with them, they really push the Wii to it’s limits of what it can do. It’s the best looking game really that I’ve seen for the Wii honestly.

Take something like fire for example, it took how long for PC games to have realistic looking fire, the Wii has it first try…

The screen captures I’ve got really don’t do the graphics justice, I’ve got an HD recorder that records videos through the component connection, then I grab screens from the videos, so they’re not exactly perfect quality.. but it works for the most part.

As far as being a horror game, it really isn’t, yes it’s dark, very dark, there’s monsters and gore but there aren’t really any jump out of your seat moments like the original Dead Space had. You’re really not going to be scared playing this title, but that’s not a bad thing, the game stands well as it is. It brings us the story of the happenings before the original game, and instead of watching the movie or reading about it you get to experience it and it works well.

The controls of the game work well together, they’ve utilized the motion functions and all most of the buttons. It’s a rails style game, but it offers much more than just moving around shooting things.

I’ve got a final movie for you to end this with, a little over three minutes, basic gameplay stuff, killing monsters etc. You’ll see me get a gun, use the Glow Worm, and torch some monsters, reloading and picking up stuff.

Conclusion:

Dead Space Extraction is a worthy successor or precursor to the original game, it truly shows what the Wii is capable of. It offers a very different experience than the original game, but it works well.

It’s also worthwhile to own as it brings some more adult elements to the Wii library of titles.

When I first started playing Extraction I was a bit let down by the whole being on rails thing, but after a while you get accustomed to it and it works for this game. If you’re a fan of Dead Space then this is a must have for your collection, if you like light gun games as I do then you’ll like Extraction, and if you want to see what the Wii is capable of then you’ll want to grab this title as it really pushes the Wii to the limits of what it can do.

Pros:
+Excellent graphics
+Great game overall
+A must have Wii title

Cons:
-Can be a bit frustrating at times

Grades:
Overall
Design
Performance

Dead Space Extraction is a post from: Testfreaks | The Blog

‘Real’ gamers poke fun at those that play the Nintendo Wii, they say it’s not a real gaming console and that’s it’s just an expensive toy, but it really isn’t, at least I don’t think so. I like my Wii quite a bit, sure it’s not as powerful as my Xbox360, but it’s still fun and it has it’s place. The Wii is great for casual gaming, and the motion part of it really gets you involved in the game. Looking at the selling history of it we can see that someone is buying it for some reason. The Wii sells well I think because it’s like the missing piece of gaming, it’s not for the hardcore gamers out there, it’s more for families and casual gaming, and that is something that we’ve been missing when it comes to the consoles out there now.

Today for review I’ve got Hysteria Hospital: Emergency Ward for the Nintendo Wii for review, it’s from Oxygen games. Hysteria Hospital reminded me of a Sims type of game when I first started playing it, that’s not a bad thing if you like those types of games, but I personally don’t care for them. HH is not a bad game really, but it gets boring very quickly, and it doesn’t really offer much new and exciting, it’s actually kind of boring and repetitive honestly. It is cute and funny at times, the animation is done in a comical way that will put a smile on your face, but that’s not enough to make a good game. So read on to see screen shots and a couple movies…

Obligatory box shots here:

Here’s a video of the opening cinematic for you:

There isn’t much in terms of options at the main menu, the only real option is to change the sound effect and music volume.

Specifications:

Hysteria Hospital: Emergency Ward

A usual day in Hysteria Hospital – another torrent of patients threatens to turn the emergency ward into chaos. Only one person can control the frantic situation – can you keep your patients happy when your ward is overrun?

As a female or male nurse, organize the ward and direct the patients to treat their conditions as quickly as possible. You can design and improve your ward for life-saving efficiency to be the best head nurse in America and save the Hospital from being overrun!

Each of the patients have many humorous conditions, all with cures using the latest, bleeding-edge treatment machines ranging from basic X-Ray’s to steam therapy to the hilarious De-Stress machine.

There are 7 different wards to run, from a local Maryville clinic through to New York Central Hospital; over 60 levels including the ‘Endless’ mode that steadily increases in challenge as you progress.

Can you handle the pressure?!?

The premise behind the game is that you’re a nurse and you need to save people. The view is isometric, or at an angle from the action. It does seem that you are a bit far though from the action, but with this view it allows you to see everything on the screen.

The patients will give you clues as to what they need, instead of talking a picture appears in the bubble over their heads:

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While you’re playing you’ll earn money to purchase upgrades or additional things for your hospital like beds, plants, vending machines and more clinical things.

Before each level begins you’ll be tipped as to what the status of the general population is and what to expect in the next level:

You use the Wii motes for everything, a gloved hand is your cursor, you grab people and drop them where they need to go. This system might work well if it was accurate, but it can be hard to actually do what you need to do, I found it frustrating at times trying to grab someone. You’ll miss the person many times, and since you’re on a time schedule it can be doubly frustrating when you miss.

There are also other tasks as well that you are responsible for, like making the beds, cleaning up a station, getting charts where they need to go and even giving medicine to patients. This sounds easy enough, but as I said the controls are not very accurate, you’ll find yourself clicking multiple times to register the action, it seems there just a very small spot to click on to register the action.

The action can be fast paced at times, as the game progresses you’ll get more and more patients. You also have a quote to fill as well to finish the level. Your hospital might not be equipped to handle everything so at times you may have to toss the people in the ambulance to take to another hospital to be taken care of, the ambulance can also be used to handle patients when you’re overloaded as well. The tasks though are really where the repetition comes in, for each patient you must do certain thing, like take them to be diagnosed, then take them to where they need to go, like the clinic, then take their chart to the clinic, then after they’re done you need to clean up the mess and drop it off at the laundry, you do this every time you’ve got a patient. You can chain tasks together to make your nurse do them in order, but again it can be hard to hit the correct spot on the screen with the Wiimote, and when it’s busy, missing something will cause you lost time.

In the beginning of the game the animations are cute, and can be funny, but after playing for a bit they do get boring, you can only see the same cloud of dust, or person being shocked just so many times before it gets to not be funny anymore. The only real talking in the game comes in the form of the public address system that makes announcements, and there seems to be only about 10 or so of them that just keep repeating over and over, at first they’re funny and cute, but they get annoying after playing for a long time. Considering there are 60 levels, there’s a lot of repetition in this game that you’ll be subjected to.

The graphics overall are not bad, it’s the Wii after all, so don’t expect much of course, but for the Wii they’re decent overall.

The play area can get very crowded, very quickly, if you wish to succeed in the game you’ll need extra beds, extra x-rays stations etc, and there’s only so much screen real estate there. At times you’ll find it hard to actually get the job done because with everything on the screen it can get confusing.

Here’s two more in game videos for you:

Conclusion:
The bottom line here is that you’ll get bored very quickly with this game, it’s a mediocre title at best that can be very frustrating at times. It might be worth grabbing if it’s in the bargain bin, but I wouldn’t pay full price for it.

It does offer a bit of fun, but not much, especially for adults, you’ll get bored quickly. Hysteria Hospital is rated E for everyone so kids can play it, but I don’t think they’ll be able to grasp the concepts, there’s just too many steps to follow and it will get frustrating quickly for both young and old alike.

I’m all for supporting the independent game studios and the smaller ones, but they’ve got to give us good games, many of the smaller studio can do this, but with something like Hysteria Hospital is make it hard to support them.

Pros:
+Cute animations
+Lots of levels

Cons:
-Controls can be difficult
-Very repetitive
-Rather boring really

Grades:
Overall
Design
Performance

Hysteria Hospital: Emergency Ward Nintendo Wii is a post from: Testfreaks | The Blog

The Nintendo Wii has revolutionized the gaming industry, there’s no doubt about that, the other console makers are now trying to catch up with their own motion sensitive hardware like the Wii does. We all enjoy gaming, and the Wii adds much more to the experience, it lets you feel like you’re actually in the game, almost, at least you’re not just sitting there with a controller in your hand, you’ve actually got to get up and do things while using the Wii. The Wii MotionPlus was introduced a little bit ago and made the Wii controller more sensitive to the users movements, this is a good thing, and it really does add to the gaming experience making user movements copied in real time on the screen. Since it’s been released a couple games have come out and we can expect more soon that utilize the new attachment, the latest to be released is Wii Sports Resort from Nintendo itself. The original Wii Sports came bundled with the console and it included a variety of games that basically showed what the console was capable of, Wii Sports Resort though takes things to a new level with more interactive, entertaining and fun games being added to the line up. Wii Sports Resort is Wii Sports 2, but it’s much more than that, it’s more polished, the graphics seem to be improved upon, as much as they can be with the limitations of the console and the games are different, with a resort theme to them. I’ve got screen shots and movies for you of the games and of course my impressions, so read on…

Wii Sports Resort is a bundle, and it sells for about $50 depending where you look, not a bad deal considering you get the MotionPlus attachment, the game and a new cover for your controller.

There are twelve games listed on the main menu, but really there are more because some of them have one or two more games related to them, like Bowling has Standard, 100-Pin and Spin Control games as well.

Here’s a video of the menu:

In Wii Sports Resort you can also calibrate the MotionPlus at any time, all you do is enter the pause menu, click calibrate and set your controller down on a flat surface for a few seconds and it’s done.

Specifications:

Wii Sports Resort

Wii Sports Resort is an immersive, expansive active-play game that includes a dozen fun resort-themed activities. It maintains the wide-ranging appeal that attracted millions to the original Wii Sports. Wii Sports Resort is easy to pick up and play, but comes coupled with deeper levels of play that are sure to challenge even the most experienced gamers. Wii Sports Resort whisks players away to a resort that’s full of action, while introducing an unprecedented experience in physical reality. Wii Sports Resort comes bundled with a Wii MotionPlus accessory to provide players the most realistic, immersive experience possible – the slightest tilt, turn and twist of the Wii Remote controller is recognized. From the moment players skydive onto Wuhu Island,they’re presented with a huge selection of fun activities that everyone can play.

* Wuhu Island has so many things to do, there’s never a dull moment. A dozen activities await visitors: Archery, Frisbee®, Basketball, Cycling, Canoeing, Power Cruising, Table Tennis, Air Sports, Bowling, Swordplay, Golf and Wakeboarding.

* The activities use the precision controls of the Wii MotionPlus accessory to help players come much closer to the physical reality of engaging in the actual sports. Every real-world action, whether it’s a perfect drive on the fairway or a slice off the course, is meant to be faithfully replicated.

* Each activity has multiple fun challenges designed to keep visitors coming back for more. Basketball players might compete in a three-point shootout or jump into a three-on-three pickup game. Archery enthusiasts must aim for the bull’s-eye across ever-increasing distances and obstacles.
* Different activities use the Wii Remote and Nunchuk controllers in different ways. For example, players hold the Wii Remote like a paddle in Canoeing, while in Cycling they use both arms to “pedal” with the two controllers. The Wii MotionPlus accessory picks up every nuance of motion and translates it onto the TV screen.

* Depending on the activity, players can compete solo or against other players. Some activities even let players team up to work cooperatively.

We’ll start with my favorite, I think, and that’s Swordplay. Under Swordplay you’ve got three games actually, Standard Duel, Speed Slice and Showdown.

The regular dual mode is you fighting against an opponent trying to knock each other off of the platform into the water below, basically you can swing the sword and block.

Speed Slice is a lot of fun, you play against an opponent, the referee throws two things up in the air and they land in front of you with a directional arrow on them, you got to slice the object in the direction of the arrow before your opponent.

Showdown is quite a bit of fun as well, there are several stages to this game taking place on different parts of the island, the idea is to hack and slash your way through a whole bunch of characters to reach the end.

Here’s a video of Showdown:

Next up is Archery, for this game you use both the controller and the nunchuk to play. The idea of course is to hit the target, there are three levels beginner, intermediate and expert. Beginner is basic while the other levels add things like moving targets, obstacles and longer distances. Archery is also one of my favorite games as well because I enjoy doing it in real life as well… not quite the same, but it’s fun nonetheless.

Next up is Wakeboarding, keeping with the theme of being a resort island, you’ll find a few water based games, and Wakeboarding in one of the them. It’s interesting, and the idea is to score points for doing tricks and getting a lot of air on the jumps. It’s ok to play, but not one of my favorites.

Keeping with the water theme we have Power Cruising, here you’ll pilot a Sea Doo watercraft, or at least what resembles one. The idea here is to navigate the obstacle course. In Power Cruising you’ll use both controls are well to give you the feeling of the handle bars of the craft. It’s a neat little game, but it can be hard to control the craft, I found myself over steering all of the time, it takes quite a bit to get accustomed to the controls.

The last water based game is Canoeing, or kayaking really. You use the remote like a paddle and paddle the canoe, not hard, just going through the course. With all of the games you can also not play them and just cruise around to explore a bit.

There are three Air Sports as well, two of them can be single player while the third is for two player only. The Island Flyover is just what it sound like, you can fly around the island, but the idea is to collect points of interest as well, and you can get a better view of the island. Controls are easy, just tilt and turn the remote.

The two player game is Dog Fighting, no pictures here sorry, but you’re battling an opponent in the skies.

The last sky based game is Sky Diving, here you jump from a plane and the idea is to form up with your fellow skydivers and get your picture taken, you get points for hooking up with them, the more you catch the more points you get. Here you just tilt and move the controller to control your Mii.

Under Bowling you’ll find three games, the first is essentially the same as the bowling on the original Wii Sports, not much new here.

The second is 100 Pin, and it’s exactly as it sounds, 100 pins are set up and you’ve got to knock down as many as you can, I found this to be actually a lot of fun to play.

Here’s a video of 100-pin:

The last is Spin Control, the idea here is to avoid the obstacles on the lane, they can be stationary or moving so you’ve got to apply spin to the ball to go around them and you’ve got to have good timing as well.

The next is Frisbee, and under that category you’ve got Frisbee Dog and Frisbee Golf. Frisbee Dog is throwing the frisbee to your dog to catch, but things can be added as well for bonuses, like balloons to pop. Controls for this take quite a bit to get accustomed to, they are very sensitive to the slightest movements.

Frisbee Golf is just what it sounds like, on a golf course with a frisbee, but there are no holes just a big target to hit. You’ll also get your choice of frisbees as well, sort of like different clubs for golf.

Then there’s just plain golf, if you’ve played Tiger Woods then this will be something new to you as it quite a bit different than that, very basic, but still quite a bit of fun.

Under Table Tennis you’ll find two different games, regular Table Tennis against an opponent and Return Challenge, they both look the same. Return Challenge though is a test to see how many you balls you can hit back to the server, he just keeps serving them until you miss or hit the ball out of bounds. It’s a fun little game overall..

Here’s a video of Return Challenge:

The next game is Cycling, and well it’s riding a bike around the island. You use both the remote and nunchuk to ‘peddle’ the bike, the faster you peddle the faster you go, but you’ll need to watch the health meter as your Mii can get tired.

Lastly we have Basketball, with two games, 3-Point Contest and Pick Up. 3-Point Contest is what it sounds like, you’ve got to make as many three pointers as you can within the allotted time:

Pick Up is a three on three game of Basketball that’s actually quite fun to play, you can pass, shoot, and block using the remote.

I’ve got videos of every game, but I didn’t include them in the review as it’s quite big enough, but here’s the links to them if you wish to watch and see how they look and play:

Wakeboarding
Frisbee Golf
Frisbee Dog
Golf
Canoeing
Bowling
Basketball 3-Point Contest
Archery
Table Tennis Return Challenge
Table Tennis Match
Swordplay Showdown
Swordplay Duel
Power Cruising
Speed Slicing and Intro
Cycling
Bowling Spin Control
Bowling 100-Pin
Basketball Pickup game
Airsports Skydiving
Airsports Flyover

The games are all great, and a lot of fun, there’s something for everyone in Wii Sports Resort really.

The only irritating thing about this game is the prompts or reminders, there can be several of them at a time and they can be downright annoying.

The MotionPlus really shows what it can do in Wii Sports Resort. I own Tiger Woods as well and to me it really didn’t seem like it added much to the game, but with Resort you can really see and feel the difference.

The graphics are decent, as good as they get for a console of this type and as one would expect. When I first got my Wii I wasn’t sure I liked the comical feel of everything but it sort of grows on you after a while.

Conclusion:
At first I though Wii Sports Resort was just going to be a bunch of games that basically show you what you can do with the new MotionPlus, sort of a collection of mediocre games, nothing special really, but I was pleasantly surprised by what’s there. Wii Sports Resorts is, I feel, a must have title for any Wii owner, it offers not only the MotionPlus but a whole slew of fun and enjoyable games for everyone. Granted not all of the games are great, but depending on what you like to do, you’ll find those games that you play more often than others, there’s certainly something here for everyone to enjoy.

Pros:
+Includes MotionPlus
+Lots of fun games
+Actually a whole lot of fun

Cons:
-Prompts and reminders can get annoying at times

Grades:
Overall
Design
Performance

Wii Sports Resort is a post from: Testfreaks | The Blog