Simplicity. That is the name of the game when you are trying to display the ingenuity of a new product. In this case, the name of the game is Wii Sports and it takes the concept of simplicity and transforms it into a solid title that shows off exactly what the Wii does, while maintaining a certain fun factor that will make it a party favorite for the duration of the Wii's life.
Wii Sports is basically a collection of 5 sports: bowling, baseball, golf, tennis and boxing. None of these are particularly deep; however, they do provide great fun. While some are easily more enjoyable than others, it really comes down to preference. For this particular review, we will go over each sport one at a time.
Bowling
Bowling is probably the one most people would enjoy as it is probably the most balanced game in terms of accessibility. Not too technical, but not too simple. At first, the game will let your Mii (discussed later) pick where to start from left to right and then pick the angle at which you are going to bowl. After this, it's all in the wrist. Raise the Wiimote, hold the B button (trigger on the Wii), and, well do just as you would do in bowling, releasing the B button to let go of the ball. To add a little more depth to the game, you can even put a little to the ball by twisting your wrist. Another great thing about bowling is that it can be played by four players with only one remote, each taking turns.
Baseball
In this sport, the game is cut down to hitting and pitching. For hitting you have to swing the remote with the right timing to get a hit. All the same rules apply, strikes, balls and outs, however, because there is no fielding or base running, unless you hit a homerun, your hit is essentially decided when the opposing fielder has gotten to the ball. Hit a weak grounder and the second baseman gets to it before you are close to first? That's an out. This type of system seems lame, but it works for simplicity's sake.
The pitching side is a little deeper. Obviously, to throw, just do a throwing motion with the Wiimote in hand. Holding down different buttons will give you different types of pitches other than the fastball. A for a splitter, B for screwball and both for a splitter. Using the d-pad will give direction to the ball relative to the strike zone.
There are 3 innings to a game which seems to be the right amount to keep the novelty from wearing off, although the having the mercy rule for a lopsided game is too much. Some of us aren't quitters. Overall, baseball is pretty solid, although hitting is pretty tough to pull off until you get used to it. There are also some issues with the Wiimote registering a really hard throw. Trying to pitch any faster than around 95 mph will result in a 64 mph fastball and most likely, a sore arm the next day.
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