Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort (Solus)

The 2 fantastic games included in this pack are completely enjoyable, and provide hours and hours of fun for all the family.

If you need something to distract your family and friends (especially at Christmas, etc) these games are the perfect option, and if you add to them the likes of Mario Kart and Family Ski And Snowboard, you can keep everyone occupied and happy for the entire day.

Should we be unfortunate enough to have a soggy summer then games like this will keep the children occupied for several hours.

I have thoroughly enjoyed playing these games, both on my own and with family and friends. Of course if you are going to have friends over you will need to ensure that you have enough wii-motes (and batteries) for the players.

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Wii SPORTS - before the motion plus

Wii Sports was the best seller of their time (which was only a couple of years ago), but it has disappeared behind the wonderful Wii Sports Resort.

Wii Sports contains 5 different sports: Golf, Tennis, Bowling, Baseball and Boxing.

It was originally meant to be a Mario and friends game but the "mini Wii" characters which users created themselves proved extremely popular in trials and Mario was dropped.

The game made headlines because of the number of accidents and injuries which it caused. The games can cause stress to wrist, shoulder, and elbow, but there are "take a break" suggestions every few games, and if you are starting to feel the strain then go get a drink, or pass the Wii remote to someone else.

TENNIS - Play as pairs (controlling both players on your side of the court if you are playing alone). Controlling the balls and where it lands is a problem, but it is great fun when played with family and friends.

BASEBALL - Bat and pitch alternately. If you can score highly enough then the other team can invoke the "mercy rule" and surrender to your superior skill.

BOWLING - 10 rounds/ends try to score higher than the others. Multiple consecutive strikes give you little reward, and if you throw the ball backwards you can make everyone watching jump.

GOLF - Levels are beginner, intermediate, and professional and these are played as 3 hole games. You can also play a 9 hole game. Every shot is lined up for you so it is the strength of the shot that is the skill.

BOXING - The only game that requires the nunchuk. You thrust the wii remote and the nunchuk forward to punch the opposition. Rotating the wii remote allows you to move from side to side and to dodge. I found this the most tedious game to play, especially having played the Wii Fit Plus boxing.

There are 2 further options: TRAINING and WII FITNESS.

TRAINING - You start with the 5 basic games, and you can then add two more games to each of these as you progress and meet the requirements. These are fun and work wonders for the concentration, but can get a little annoying when you have a roll on and then you miss or the ball goes out of play.

Wii FITNESS - gives you a fitness age based on three factors - speed, stamina and balance - with a small graphic showing the levels of levels. One problem is that these calculations are not explained and there is no suggestion given for how to improve your standing.

I hadn't played this for a couple of months and I thought it might pale in comparison to Wii Sports Resort, but Wii Sports is, however, a great set of companion games to both Wii Sports Resort and Wii Fit Plus; and as with Wii Sports Resort, Mario games, Big Brain Academy, etc, it is great fun when played with friends and family.

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Wii SPORTS RESORT - fabulous island fun

There are 12 games in this package (many of which have sub games). They are:

AIR SPORTS

- sky diving - link up with as many of the other skydivers and have your picture taken for extra points, or you can just skydive down and look at the island

- island flyover - pilot your own plane round the island and collect the 80 "i" tokens and unlock extras

- dog fight - the one problem with this game is that one person cannot play against an AI opponent, two people have to play - it is a shame as the game is great fun

ARCHERY - hit the targets as close to the bull as you can - can you spot and hit the hidden targets

BASKET BALL

- 3 point game - play alone or against friends - score as many baskets as you can
- pickup game - play a game of 3 on 3 basket ball

BOWLING - use the "motion plus" to add spin

- 10 pin - try to get as many strikes as you can to rack up the perfect score
- 100 pin - try to knock all the 100 pins down with one ball (I've fluked it once)
- spin control - dodge the obstacles on the course

CANOEING- use the Wii remote to paddle your canoe - yes it is as boring as it sounds

- speed challenge
- verses - even the competition side of this game is extremely dull

CYCLING - use the remote to peddle your canoe ... oops sorry, your bicycle round the island

- road race
- verses - as with the canoeing even competition can't make this any less tedious

FRISBEE - use the wii remote to angle your frisbee

- dog frisbee - hit the target and have your Wii pooch fetch your frisbee back
- frisbee golf - play the Wuhu Island golf course with your frisbee

GOLF - play a number of holes on the islands golf course

POWER CRUISING- use the Wii remote and nunchuk as handle bars to control the movement of your jet ski

- slalom course
- verses

SWORD PLAY - your wii remote is your sword

- duel - fight others
- speed slicing - beat your opponent to the cut
- showdown - use your skill to beat others

TABLE TENNIS - angle the Wii remote to add spin to the ball when you return it

- match - play against a Wii opponent or a friend
- return challenge - how many balls can you return before you miss

WAKEBOARDING - use your skill to perform stunts

The solo play allows you to hone your skills for those days when you take on your family and friends.

The games on Sports Resort require the "motion plus" - so you will require Wii-motes with the motion plus included, or a Wii "motion plus" (Motion Plus Accessory (Wii)) attached to their Wii remote. In fact, this was the first game I owned which required the "motion plus".

The "Motion Plus" means that rather than just hitting a ball in such as table tennis you can angle the Wii remote to put more spin on the ball and give it a different bounce and angle. This new power comes into its own in the ballgames such as bowling and table tennis, and is especially useful in frisbee and the air sports games.

Frisbee dog is a family favourite, which is made even more fun when you realise that there is music coming out of the dog's bottom. Archery and basketball are also favourites for multiple players. Unfortunately, cycling, canoeing, power cruising and to a lesser extent of wake boarding are particularly boring - even as team sports. Golf was tedious but golf frisbee is great fun.

My personal favourite for solo play is the air sports game "island flyover", although bowling, frisbee, and archery also see a lot of use.

As you progress in each game you can earn "stamps" which are the Wii sports resort equivalent of trophies. Some of these stamps are easier to achieve than others, but the desire to achieve these stamps was what drove me on to collect the full 80 token on the air sports "island flyover" at all three times a day, and kept me repeatedly trying for a strike in the hundred pin game in bowling, and keeps me trying for a 10 strike run in the bowling 10 pin game, and so on.

I use Wii sports resort when I need a break from one of the long story based games such as Tomb Raider and Resident Evil, but if you need something to keep people occupied at a party, at Christmas, on an anniversary, or at a birthday party; are just an excuse to have people come over and visit then Wii Sports Resort is just what you need.

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I can recommend these games as fun for all the family, even the older members of the family can get into the swing of things because they are not required to do any jumping about.