Wii Sports (Wii)

Wii Sports is a game that was released along with Nintendo's Wii console, the first in a series of Mii-based games that have been incredibly popular with Wii fans at large. The game consists of five sports: Tennis, Golf, Bowling, Baseball, and Boxing. It also includes training exercises as well as a training program that tracks progress over a set amount of time.

As you can expect, I got this game with my Wii, and playing it was what made me want to buy a Wii in the first place. You see, my grandmother picked one up one day because she thought the family would enjoy it, and my dad and I were the ones who helped install it, and as such, we got to play.

The bowling caught me immediately. It was one of the coolest things I'd ever done, because the game was actually reading my movements. I was totally hooked, and by my next birthday, I had a Wii of my own.

Now, you may find yourself wondering whether or not the game can still be considered good, what with the advent of so many other Wii games after it, including Wii Sports Resort. Well, there's an answer to that: it is still popular. Why? Because it is completely awesome. These are simple, easy-to-understand controls and games, and they will hold your interest continually because they give you such a real experience. I'll review each option in turn, starting with my favorite, Bowling.

The Bowling works exactly like any other bowling game. You get two turns for every frame, during which time you can get a Strike or a Spare, or neither. Your score is tallied up by the end of ten frames, and up to four players can play in a single game. The controls for this are just like really bowling, and they work without a hitcch once you get some practice. You have great options that made the experience really real, like adjusting position and angle, and you can apply as much amount of force as you see fit. And it WORKS! Perfectly! This is by far my favorite game for its perfect mechanics.

Boxing also works fantastically, as it felt like a real experience, especially in the later levels. You can select where to hit, what kind of hit you want to deal, and you can even come back from a knockout. This game works fantastically, it's fun, and a real workout.

Golf is my dad's favorite sport, and with good reason. Every option is calibrated; you can change around your club, practice swing, apply varying amounts of force to the ball, and even try to compensate for wind speed and direction. The music is great, the controls are great, and the courses are positively gorgeous. This is one of the better games, and it kinda got ruined in the sequel, which is a shame.

Baseball is actually a pretty good sport, while it's one of the more complicated ones, and not one of my favorites. You have two teams of nine against each other, and you take turns in the infield and outfield, hitting and pitching. Just like a standrad baseball game. There are a couple of things I thought would have been cool; I would of liked to have the ability to control someone in the outfield and try to work to catch a flyball. It would have lent more control to the game and made it more exciting. All in all, though, this game is good.

Tennis is the only one that drives me crazy. Which is weird, because I love playing Tennis and watching it. In short, Tennis in general is my favorite sport. However, I hate this version of it. The reason is that the controls were so completely off. The thing is, if you hit it with too much force, which is actually how much force you would apply to a tennis ball in real life, the ball will go out and you will lose a point. Which isn't to say that it won't go out anyway, because more often than not, the ball will just decide to go wide and you'll almost inevitably lose unless you decide to play in an incredibly uncomfortable manner. If you can manage this sport, good for you, but it hasn't a ghost of a chance of being as good as Tennis in real life.

The Training exercises are actually one of my favorite features about the game. You can go into the section and play three variations on each sport. For example, Tennis has a target practice mode, Boxing has a punching bag option, Bowling has a 100 Pin Match, Golf has Putting and Getting on the Green, and Baseball has Homerun practice. These minigames are fun, realistic, and help you with the main games, which is great. The only thing I could possibly request from this game is its having a Free Punch mode for the Punching Bag game, because I would have found that really fun and active, as opposed to the timed mode that they have you do.

In the end, this game is one of the best, classic Wii games. If you get an included copy of this, and you lose it, buy a new one. It is outstanding, simple, and fun for the entire family, and you will not find yourself disappointed with it.