by N Rumas - 06.23.07

Hear ye, hear ye: While the common consensus seems to be that Wii Play is nothing more a throwaway novelty, I say it’s brilliant, one of the most fun titles Wii has to offer.
Recently, I went out to Seoul’s Yongsan Market and was finally able to track down US copies of Wii Play and SSX Blur after a good deal of searching. Took them home, popped Play into my Wii, and long story short, I’ve been hopelessly addicted ever since, as has my wife.
This represents the second time (after my beloved GT Pro Series) that I’ve fallen head over heels in love with a much-maligned Wii title. I’m crazy about every single ‘game’, and I find myself playing them over, and over, and over again. I thought this would quickly fade, but it hasn’t. If I was to give Wii Play a score out of 10, an 8 would be a given, and I might even go as high as 9. No joke.
While I could ramble on and on about each of the title’s nine attractions, I’ll spare you that and just talk about its much-criticized game of pool for a minute. In short, I think it rules. I may actually enjoy it more than anything in Wii Sports, and that’s saying a lot. Once you get the simple motion controls down pat, it’s precise, intuitive, and loads of addictive fun.
If you haven’t given Wii Play a go, I’d strongly recommend that you do. Get it without a second’s hesitation if you need another Wiimote, but in the case that you don’t, save some cash and buy used. If you’re anything like me, you’ll have a total blast with it.











How long have you had the game? Give it a week and you’ll be using it as a drink coaster.
Hurricane_mario - 06.23.07 10:04 pm
LOL.
I still love the duck hunt clone and air hockey the most.
But finding the Mii game is also pretty cool.
But Wii Sports gets like 10x more play time in my house.
Edgar - 06.23.07 10:27 pm
I definitely agree with you here, Rumas. I thought much of the criticism of the game was completely unfounded. Sure, it’s a minigame collection, but it’s a damn fun one. My friend and I have put more hours into Tanks than just about any other game on the Wii. Pool is alot of fun. I’m even starting to enjoy the fishing game alot. The shooting/Duck Hunt game is pretty good. Actually, the only one I really don’t like is that damn “Twist the Mii to match the pose” thing…it just feels so…I dunno, forced. I can’t get into it. The other 8 though, are definitely alot of fun.
PixelHustler - 06.23.07 10:28 pm
The laser hockey (air hockey) has a lot of depth to its controls (e.g., given where on the paddle you hit the puck, etc).
Pakl - 06.23.07 10:30 pm
I’ve been interesed in this for awhile now, mainly for the tank game and the remote. The tank game looks really similar to a old windows 3.x game that me and my friends used to play all the time.
pete - 06.23.07 10:30 pm
The shooting game is awesome, and was the only reason I bothered putting that disc in for a while. But then I got WarioWare and Super Paper Mario, both of which have very similar shooting galleries.
Wii Play is the only one with ducks, tho.
Kyattsuai - 06.23.07 10:33 pm
this game sucks. ive only played it probably 3 times since i bought it and i didn’t have fun once.
Dave_C - 06.23.07 10:38 pm
Shooting Gallery: This one is really fun.
Pool: This one is too limited. I want 8 ball. Also, once my shot location is chosen I shouldn’t have to worry about keeping the Wiimote aimed at the screen, especially when there is no reticle that lets me know it is aimed at the screen. Many times I’ll pull back and go forward and it won’t register because it doesn’t believe I’m pointed at the screen.
Pose Mii: Vomit
Find Mii: Vomit v. 2.0
Tanks: Pretty fun.
Ping Pong: This is lame, if we are just going to move a paddle back and forth for the ball to bounce off of, at least give us a breakout clone or something
Air Hockey: I like this one.
Cow racing: This one is a hilarious good time
I forget what the other games are.
7.5/10
Anyone else confused as to why EB sells this game for 30 dollars used considering it is a 10 dollar game? Luckily, I got it for free as I had a 10 dollar coupon I used online to get the Wiimote with the game.
TheBrain - 06.23.07 11:06 pm
Tanks with 2 people is incredibly fun, but everything else sucks.
rbelmont000 - 06.23.07 11:37 pm
I dig the shooting game, but the rest quickly loses its novelty. I’d give it a 6 at most. Though, since I needed another wiimote, I don’t regret the purchase at all.
Greg - 06.23.07 11:48 pm
the game isn’t bad at all, nothing amazing.
worth getting if you need an extra controller
TakaM - 06.24.07 12:15 am
a 9? nar. only lasted me 4 hours. I’m glad it only cost me $10.
bluebright - 06.24.07 12:16 am
I was originally trying to get a gold medal in every minigame. Then I learned there was a platinum medal. Then I gave up.
luke314pi - 06.24.07 12:16 am
Hehe, I like the pose game, but I got so good at it after playing a bit by myself that no one wants to multiplay it with me anymore. =(
fuu - 06.24.07 1:23 am
Putting a score on this game almost seems pointless. I mean, I can’t even imagine putting a score on Wii Sports. I’ve play Wii Sports more than Twilight Princess. Come to think of it, I’ve played Wii Sports longer than most other games I’ve played recently. I’m at a point with videogames, at least right now, that all I want is something simple and fun. I don’t care about the storyline, the graphics, etc. etc… I mean, if the graphics and story are good, that’s great… But ultimately, just give me something that’s fun. And something that others can easily join in too. I’ve tried Wii Play, and I liked it. It’s really that simple. Once I get the cash, the bundle is mine. In my household, I need like ten remotes. Peace.
Matthew - 06.24.07 1:24 am
It’s fun enough for the price, I think, considering it comes with a Wiimote. I mean, it’s nothing groundbreaking, but I definitely got some fun out of it (especially the air hockey and shooting gallery).
9th Sage - 06.24.07 4:12 am
Oops, and the Tank Game. I played this constantly for at least a few weeks, so that counts for something.
9th Sage - 06.24.07 4:14 am
I enjoyed the tank game most of all - the others I think I just played so I could open up the next one.
BTW Rumas, which market in Yongsan did you get this from? I’m heading to Seoul tomorrow morning, and I have half a day off that I’d like to turn into a shopping experience if possible.
martapp - 06.24.07 4:51 am
Wii Play is a lot of fun, but most of these games should have been 4 player and Nintendo really have no excuse about that on a lot of these games.
Jamie - 06.24.07 4:57 am
Tanks needs a sequel.
Fank - 06.24.07 7:08 am
Air Hockey is PERFECT. Spot on, simple, well-judged graphics, appropriate sounds, addictive as a two-player game can be, competitive in the right company, and simple to pick up.
PERFECT.
Sadat - 06.24.07 7:24 am
I was addicted to pool for a while, it made a good timewaster while waiting for test renders back when i was stuck under a mountain of assignments. Havent touched it for ages but i can see why some people- especially new gamers- would enjoy it.
ALH - 06.24.07 8:02 am
This game has to have the most mixed views from me, on one hand, most of the game ideas are pretty cool, and they can be quite fun, but too many of them rely simply on pointing the Wii remote at the screen, even when attempting to give a 3D feel, you are forced to keep it pointed at the screen. This makes sense for games that just require pointing, and possibly even for the odd feeling ping pong, but it makes the fishing minigame almost impossible to play unless there is something I am missing about it. The Tank minigame is my personal favorite, but it suffers slightly when you lack a second nun chuck attachment for player two. In all, it feels like if they didn’t force you to point at the screen even while trying to move in 3D, it would of been a favorite of mine. However, forcing that on most every game makes it feel more like a tech demo to me.
Matthew(Someguy) - 06.24.07 8:41 am
1/10, no joke, I hated it so much. Glad you got some use out of it, but now I just get angry every time I look at it.
Qbert - 06.24.07 9:15 am
Wow you have issues.
Fank - 06.24.07 9:52 am
You get angry when you look at a game?
As a pack in to a controller, it’s great. Every time I show the Wii to a new person, this is the game way play first.
I would feel bad if I paid $50 for this game alone.. but not that bad. I get a lot of play out of this one still.
Vinnk - 06.24.07 11:17 am
Tanks needs a version where you can shoot the other player… or preferably the other 3 players. Didn’t enjoy Play myself.
siro - 06.24.07 12:22 pm
I played it at a friend’s house and it was ok. It was a game on my to get list during the “launch period” but it got delayed and I lost interest in buying it. The last time it got delayed, I said to hell with it and just picked up my 4th controller instead.
Marco - 06.24.07 2:31 pm
Um, my best friend refuses to play Wii Play with me ever since the first game we played, in which I shot her tank. You certainly can PK in Wii Play.
I never play it by myself, but when I’m using the Wii like I used game consoles in the days before Pac-Man, as a game to play with others and not a tarted-up solitaire game, it’s the first thing I pull out.
But yeah, we usually end up spending more time on Wii Sports. I’d have paid $20 without the pack-in Wiimote so I’d still call it a bargain at $10, especially considering that wiimotes simply couldn’t be had otherwise for a few weeks after it was released.
raindog - 06.24.07 6:39 pm
I’m recently converted to the WiiPlay fever. I bought the game when it came out, and got a big meh.. but it was a HUGE hit at a recent party, and I have to say, with a bunch of friends, the game is crazy crazy fun.
raith - 06.24.07 6:50 pm
You know one of the things I think works with pool? It helps if you use it closer to the screen. If you think about it, it has to determine the distance from the screen, so it probably does that by checking the distance between the two IR points…you can get better action if your close cause the back and forth stuff will register more.
Ronnie76er - 06.24.07 11:56 pm
I’ll agree with 8/10 factoring in the $10 price tag. My Wii play gets decent gametime, and the incorporation of the Miis gives it some meat.
BudDud - 06.25.07 5:07 am