Okay, I really bought Wii Play for USD $49.99 and it came with an additional controller making the entire game pack-in really worth roughly USD $10.00 given the USD $39.99 price tag on a Wiimote. Good deal.
Why do I underscore the cost of this game? Because the game isn't a console "killer app" by the typical sense of the word. Wii Sports, bundled with North American Wii consoles is definitely more on par with "killer app" status given the sales figures and addiction to the simple little title.
For the cost of USD $10.00 this title is definitely something to look at. There are many areas where Wii Play shines and other areas that are simply amusing value-add features.
Game Selection
There are a total of nine mini-games packed into this one release:- Find the Mii (where's Waldo style)
- Wii Pool (9-ball)
- Tank (like Combat on the 2600)
- Shooting Range (duck hunt on crack)
- Table Tennis (opposite of Wii Tennis in control scheme)
- Fishing (very basic)
- Laser Hockey (aka air hockey with bright colors)
- Pose Mii (puzzle/action game)
- Charge! (race a cow through a pasture)
There are nine total mini-games and you're bound to find one or two that you love, a few that you enjoy and a couple you can live without. Everyone will be different based on taste.
Each game has two modes of play: single-player and local two-player. Wii Play, unlike Wii Sports, is restricted to one or two players (not three or four). You'll find some games are time based but become points based when playing with a friend.
I found the Tank game extremely addicting. Although, every time you lose you must start back on stage one (no continues) it still continues to challenge me and make me come back for more, just as the original Atari Combat game did. Nine Ball pool is a great multi-player game with very good use of the Wii controller. I do find, sometimes, I screw up a shot because I'm not paying attention and the Wii controller looses focus on the screen (i.e I point it down or somewhere away from the virtual "table").
Two player Charge! with my wife is enjoying. She likes the game, probably because she's constantly winning. We also have a good time with Laser Hockey smashing the "puck" back and forth to score 8-points before the other person.
A few of the titles, for instance, Table Tennis and Find The Mii are just not my style. Table tennis, unlike Wii Tennis (which I love) requires you to move the paddle and return the ping-pong ball in "rallies." If you miss once, the game is done (unless playing two player).
I was hoping Table Tennis would be more like Wii Tennis in style and control. You do not really control the hit itself, just move the paddle back and forth. My top rally record is eight returns while Sgreth (one of our members) rallies 100+ and makes me look like a pre-schooler.
Find the Mii is fun for about three minutes and I'm ready to go play Tank again. The premise of the mini-game is to find two Mii's that look alike (a Mii is a cartoon version of yourself or whomever else you created on your console or a selection of pre-generated ones for the game). The first few levels are easy, but before long you'll be hunting for look alikes in a crowd, on escalators in the dark and all types of odd scenarios.
Fishing, Shooting Range, and Pose Mii are entertaining but do not seem to hold my attention for long. Pose Mii is probably the best of the three because of the pure challenge factor and difficulty in the game. You try to pose your Mii in three different shapes to match falling bubbles by selecting the shape and turning your Wii controller to patch the angles of the Mii's silhouettes in the bubbles.
If that makes any sense at all, you're probably going to enjoy the Pose Mii. You really need to see a video to understand the nature of the game. It's innovative, no doubt, it's engaging but it's just not my style of game. A Tetris player may find it extremely fun; I'm not a big Tetris fan.
Graphics and Sound
If you've played Wii Sports you'll know exactly how well they did the graphics and sound. They're not attempting to create a huge block buster graphical hit, they're creating a list of mini-games with the intent on "teaching" you how to utilize the controller - just as Wii Sports did.The sound is on par with Wii Sports. I did enjoy Shooting Range paying homage to Duck Hunt with the original dog sounds, duck sounds and level completion music.
Overall
Totally worth the money if you're looking to get another controller. Totally worth the cash if you love Wii Sports and casual mini-games. Equipping your Wii with Wii Sports and Wii Play will generate huge interest at parties and family events.I did find the games do not engage me as much as Wii Sports. They definitely require less energy being expended. Where you may sweat playing Wii Boxing or get some tennis elbow from Wii Tennis you'll find yourself relaxing for a game of Wii Pool or Wii Fishing.
Regardless, this game is a hot seller. Finding copies can be hard but we're betting this has something to do with the pack-in controller given the rarity of those as well. In the end, it's hard to pass up a USD $10.00 game when its on par with the price of downloadable content on XBLA or Wii Virtual console.
