Wii Sports does a great job of introducing the Wii’s motion-sensitive controls and capturing the essence of the hardware: a fun, easy to use, innovative way to play for gamers of all ages and types. The word spread fast, and as a result of that pack-in game and several other very good Nintendo staples, the Wii is dominating the “next generation” console market. Destineer is trying to build off of this momentum by introducing the “next generation” of Wii Sports - Summer Sports Paradise Island. However, Nintendo is notorious for having lackluster third-party software support. And, unfortunately, Destineer is living up to that reputation.
The overriding concept of the game is that you’re staying at a tropical island resort, and playing these games while on vacation, or something of the like. The tropical island theme is implemented very well with vivid, colorful graphics and vibrant locales, and a steel drum soundtrack that immerses you into the environment. The transitional graphics and cut scenes are right in line with the overall theme, helping to flesh out the concept.
When playing, you can choose from 10 unique characters with which to compete (five girls and five boys). They look like stereotypical spring break vacationers, with different body types, clothes, and styles, but there doesn’t appear to be any difference in their abilities. You do not get to use your Mii’s. After selecting which character you’re using and whom you’re playing against, you go to the map and pick which game you want to play. Points are totaled in accordance with how you place in each game you play, and a cumulative total is kept for each player until you leave the map. You can play one game as many times as you like, or return to the map and choose another. You can’t switch players or your competition without leaving the map, though, meaning scores will be reset if you do.
Seven summertime games have been included: horseshoes, lawn darts, croquet, mini-golf, badminton, volleyball, and basketball. Basketball actually consists of three separate games – H-O-R-S-E, around-the-world, and “hot shot.” There is no one-on-one or two-on-two head-to-head hoops competition. All games are controlled with the wiimote.
The biggest problem with the game is that the controls lack the responsiveness, precision, and ease of use of Wii Sports. It’s not that the games are difficult to control; it’s that the controls lack a natural “feel” in terms of timing and placement. For example, in mini-golf and croquet, you have to hold the wiimote facing outward almost exactly perpendicular to the ground to accurately gauge the power of your swing. If you let your wrists relax even a little bit, you run a high risk of duffing the shot. There’s just not enough “forgiveness” in your backswing.
In all of the basketball games, no matter what angle you are at when facing the basket, you have to point the wiimote directly straight ahead to shoot accurately, as opposed to aiming relative to the basket, which just doesn’t feel right. Also, to shoot, you’re supposed to turn the wiimote upside down and flip it while pressing and releasing the B button, which is awkward. Lastly, the timing requirements on some of your strokes in badminton and hits in volleyball are rigid, meaning a lot of missed shot attempts even though it feels like you swung your wiimote in time. You can adjust to compensate, but acting against your instincts for some of the shots defeats the purpose of having motion-sensitive controls in the first place.
When playing horseshoes, the only factors you have to control are the strength of the toss and the quality of the release. It’s pretty easy to throw every thing straight at the stake. There are two different ways to throw – end over end, or in a rotating motion. The backswing on the toss doesn’t look quite right, especially after watching a computer opponent toss, but if you ignore the animation and concentrate on a fluid movement of the wiimote, it’s pretty easy to compete.
Lawn darts work basically the same way as horseshoes, except that you have to play the wind. And the wind seemingly changes speed and direction after every toss. This added factor definitely makes lawn darts more fun, and of all the games, lawn darts is the one that really feels just about right in terms of control.
