Review by: Danielle Riendeau

You know how the entire existence of Nintendo’s Wii Remote is an exercise in simplicity? How Nintendo decided to appeal to the masses by stripping down the barrier of complicated input devices, and made something that looks harmless and familiar? Well, Let’s Tap takes that philosophy all the way down to its roots – here is a game that takes one very simple action (tapping) and builds a whole world of fun around it.

In order to play any of the individual games, you first place your Wiimote on a box. You then tap your fingers in accordance with the game rules. It’s literally that simple. However, there’s a great deal of variety and depth under the neon-colored hood, so don’t write it off. It’s a little party in a box, and a shockingly fun single player experience that feels like nothing else on the Wii right now.

The game is organized a bit like Wii Music (but in a good way), as there are five game types available, and each offers its own unique set of challenges. If it helps, think of it as a collection of polished, retro-fantastic WiiWare games strung together on a particularly funky beat. It’s also key to note that all modes are multiplayer ready – and that everything is more fun with a friend.

First, we have a fairly traditional music game in Rhythm Tap. You match your taps to the music and the scrolling icons on the screen (think Donkey Konga or Guitar Hero done sideways) – and there are signals for light, medium and hard taps. It’s actually quite challenging, as even the beginner songs require some finesse and good timing to score well on.

Next is the Silent Block mode, which is a bit like Jenga in its first iteration and Jenga meets block puzzle in Alchemy mode. You tap to select a block in a tall, precarious stack, choose your angle to pull it out, and tap until that sucker falls, leaving your tower (hopefully) intact. In Alchemy, you’re still pulling blocks off of a tower; only this time you’re attempting to match groups of three or more and scoring big on the combos. It’s maddeningly addictive – and surprisingly fun with a friend.

Tap Runner and Bubble Voyager are more like platformers, where you tap in time to control your character. Tap Runner in particular is all about timing your taps to run and jump through a sort of whacked out obstacle course. Bubble Voyager tasks you with keeping your little character alive as he floats (on bubble power, no less) through an auto-scrolling minefield.