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Wii-Sports Resort Tips Wii MotionPlus Guide

13/05/2011 Family Family Gamer Guide
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Wii-Sports Resort Tips Nintendo Wii

Wii-Sports Resort Tips

Format:
Nintendo Wii

Genre:
Sporting

Further reading:
Cycling
Table Tennis
Island Flyover
Golf
Wake Boarding
Frisbee
Sword Fighting
Jet Ski
Bowling
Archery
Basketball

Buy/Support:
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Other GamePeople columnists have reviewed this from their perspective - huh?:
Family Gamer (Wii)
Fitness Gamer (Wii)
Returning Gamer (Wii)
Bike Gamer (Wii)


Wii-Sports Resort is still the most captivating experience on the Wii, and for good reason. Nothing better demonstrates the Wii's ability to entertain a wide range of gamers. With the MotionPlus Wii-mote attachment it offers divinely nuanced controls to create the King of motion controls. It'll be interesting to see how Kinect's energetic or Move's depth-aware motions compare to MotionPlus' fidelity.

Wii-Sports Resort takes the athletic action to an island location as it aims to do for the enhanced Wii-mote what Wii-Sports did for the Wii at launch - entertain an even wider audience. Additionally, more accurate controls should satisfy expert gamers who have long questioned the accuracy of the Wii's controllers.

It's one of those type of game genres...

Sports games recreate a wide variety of real life competitive games. Depending on the sport, these have either an action or strategy focus. Popular sports games are often released on an annual basis, each year the game receives new player rosters and general game improvements.

But why is it any better than the others...

Wii-Sports Resort continues the tradition set by its predecessor of enabling gamers of all ages to play sports games without complex controls and button presses. Even though the original Wii-Sports was a big success, it at times struggled to keep track of your exact movements. Wii-Sports Resort with MotionPlus, provides much more accurate controls. This is seen in the one-to-one relationship between the player and the on screen character. This means players to replicate real world motions to perform in the various sporting activities.

This game complements the activities in the original Wii-Sports game with a range of games. Frisbee requires that you precisely match angle and momentum to throw a disc towards a target so your Nintendogs-like pooch can catch and return it. Jet Skiing is more familiar in video games, although here you use the MotionPlus enabled Wii-Mote and Nun-chuck as the handle bars, controlling both throttle and direction. Fencing shows off the new Wii-Mote's accuracy as you face up against other opponents, or the sword play mini games.

The only down side is the cost of getting set-up with the controllers, something you don't have to worry about at a casino online. To play two players you need two MotionPlus add-ons, Wii-motes and Nun-chucks for some games. To play four players you are look at around GBP200 just for the controllers, excluding the console itself and the game. Although a 360/PS3 would be cheaper, they don't offer this one-to-one sporting experience. At least not until the PlayStation Eye or 360 Natal comes to fruition.

Wii-Sports Resort Tips

Cycling

Race in tandem or against other players to work your way through the field of competitors. Ensure you don't use up all your hearts as this causes you to stop to regain breathe.

Table Tennis

Here the focus is on precision rather than strength. Work to move your opponent to one side of the table to enable a quick cross-court winner.

Technique is key to develop good shots and opportunities to win.

Preparation: Firstly you need to ensure that you prepare for your shot early. Do this by bringing your racket back to a central/neutral position while the ball is on the opponents side of the net, this avoids triggering a shot when you draw your hand back to strike.

Contact: Secondly you need to ensure that you strike the ball with a sharp flicked action. Hitting early or late controls the return angle of your shot, getting in early often creates a sharp angle and opens opportunities to win the point in following shots. Returning smashes it is essential to try and hit the shot earlier than you think. Also, apply some spin (as described next) when returning a smash can get you out of jail.

Spin: Thirdly you need to learn how to apply spin comfortably. Light spin can be achieved with the angle and follow through of the bat and ball as in real life. Heavy spin can be applied by twisting your wrist anti-clockwise (topspin) or clockwise (backspin) just as you hit the ball. These techniques can be used to apply the following spin:

Island Flyover

The key to the flying is to manage your height and speed, loose too much of either and you need to recover quickly.

Golf

Golf relies upon you getting a feel for Driving, Chipping and Putting. Practice taking shots beforehand to achieve the correct power and direction.

Wake Boarding

The key here is to land a series of 10 jumps in a row. Each successful jump provides more speed and enables more complex stunts.

Frisbee

The key to this event is combining the angle with the trajectory. The pace of the swing has less of an effect.

Sword Fighting

The key here is to find a balance between defence and offence. You need to quickly switch between the two. You can also use horizontal blows to out manoeuvre your opponent and gain the advantage.

Jet Ski

The key here is a controlled use of power. Remember to use both Nun-chuck and Wii-mote to steer and turn early rather than late as the craft has a tendency to under-steer.

Bowling

The key here is a combination of speed and angle at the point of impact. As in real world bowling you need to hit to the left or right of the front pin. This is best achieved by a ball thrown at speed curling in towards the pack.

Archery

The key here is adjusting for the effect of gravity and wind on the arrow. The further away from the target the higher you need to aim and the more effect the wind will have.

Basketball

The key here is timing your jump and release to utilising the height of your leap.

So what experience should I play this game for...

Standing in your lounge deftly landing the perfect Frisbee catch continues the magic that Wii-Sports started two years ago. Wii-Sports Resort takes that seed of enjoyment and expands upon it. MotionPlus makes the events feel all the more direct and tangible. No buttons to release, no complex waggling, just simple one-to-one motion controls.

And when can I take a break...

As was true of the first Wii-Sports, you need quite a bit of space to play these games with other players. In particular you should watch out for lampshades and coffee tables when going for more exuberant Frisbee throwing. Each game should last around 10 minutes and as such can easily fit into a spare half hour. Players who want a longer experience can work on their ranking with repeat plays.

This is a great game for who...

The design of the game, the controls and the visuals make this an extremely easy game to pick up my pretty much any ability or age group. Being sports focused there are no themes to mention, , though there are some interesting themes on the internet such as those at tasty online bingo or at various arcade sites for those who enjoy themes.. It does include fencing, which is a contact sport, but as elsewhere it sticks to its cartoon style.

While expert players tired of the original Wii-Sport's simplicity, with the MotionPlus controls they should find a more nuanced and challenging experience here. The greater accuracy of the controls enables the game to detect more moves and tricks from advanced players.

Written by Andy Robertson

You can support Andy by buying Wii-Sports Resort Tips



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Andy Robertson writes the Family Gamer column.

"Videogame reviews for the whole family, not just the kids. I dig out videogame experiences to intrigue and interest grownups and children. This is post-hardcore gaming where accessibility, emotion and storytelling are as important as realism, explosions and bravado."


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