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Wii Play

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Wii Play
File:Wii Play.jpg
Developer(s)Nintendo
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Platform(s)Wii
ReleaseJapan December 2, 2006
Australia December 7, 2006
European Union December 8, 2006
United States February 12, 2007
Genre(s)Minigames
Mode(s)Single player, multiplayer

Wii Play (はじめてのWii, Hajimete no Wii, My First Wii) is a video game for the Wii. It is the counterpart to Wii Sports and Wii Music. It features minigames that use characters in the Mii Channel. Several of the games featured are from E3 2006 demos such as the Duck Hunt-styled shooting demo and Table Tennis, as well as all new mini-games.

A Wii Remote (without the nunchuk attachment) comes bundled with the game in Japan, Australia, Europe and North America.

History

E3 2006: Nintendo

A beta version of the game was first playable alongside Wii Sports at E3 2006. However, the games were not put together in a pack-in, they were separated games meant to be tech demos. A notable example was Shooting, which spectators thought was a full-fledged Duck Hunt sequel.[1] Nintendo had yet to announce that the tech demos would be compiled together into a full game.

Nintendo World September 14, 2006 Event

The game was revealed together for the first time on the Nintendo World event in New York. It is here where Mii Channel functionality was confirmed to be included in the game. Also included updated versions of the games playable at E3, now closer to their finalized form. [2]

Use of Miis

Just like Wii Sports, Wii Play uses the Wii's Mii Channel, which allows the user to create a customized avatar that can be imported into games that support the feature. Miis created on one Wii can also be transferred onto the internal memory of a Wii Remote to use on another Wii with different save data. Miis that are placed in "Parade" mode can travel through Nintendo Wi Fi connection and appear as audience members in games like Wii Sports on other consoles. In Wii Play, your Mii will appear on various games from the collection, especially Pose Mii and Find Mii.

Games

Wii Play consists of 9 mini games. All games are designed for 2 players, but can be played one player also with an AI second player if necessary. No nunchuks are required for any of the games; however, players can use a Nunchuk as a substitute for the D-Pad for the Tanks game if they wish.

When Wii Play is first played, only one game is available. After completing each game (regardless of success) another game is unlocked and becomes available, until all nine games are available. In single player, points are earned in each game and the top 5 highest scores are stored. Getting high enough scores in single player awards the player bronze, silver, gold and platinum medals for that game. It also puts a message on the Wii Message Board saying which game and medal were unlocked, and gives a short tip for that game.

The Games

  • Table Tennis - This game is basically a game of Pong, rallying back and forth by moving the Wii remote. The Mii characters are supported, and are represented by the audience. As the game progresses, the audience grows larger. The player controls the position of their paddle with the Wii remote pointer, no swing or hit motion is used though ball direction can be altered slightly by moving the remote left or right while hitting the ball. Bottom spin can also be added by swinging the remote down quickly before hitting the ball.
File:Wii Play Screenshot 2.jpg
Table Tennis
  • Laser Hockey - Played like air hockey, this is a two player game where the players move the Wii remote to deflect shots and try to score in the opponents goal. Aiming with the Wii remote moves the rectangular paddle around the field, while twisting the Wii remote can angle the paddle to deflect shots in any direction. According to developers, the physics engine used to calculate the velocity and position of the shots is extremely advanced, with Shigeru Miyamoto even stating that it rivaled the Havok physics engine in its realism.
  • Fishing - Players use the Wii remote as a fishing rod, to hook specific paper fish and then yank upwards to grab them. The Wii remote pointer is used to move the rod around, downward and upward motions sink/raise the fishing hook in and out of the water. Different points are added and subtracted depending on the fish caught. A display at the top of the screen shows which fish gives bonus points if caught, and changes every 30 seconds or so.
  • Find Mii - Crowds of Mii characters will gather on the screen (standing, swimming, walking and doing other things) and the player is given certain details to look for among them. The player then must pick out the proper Miis that matches the objective. The objectives range from picking two or three Miis that are identical, to picking the fastest Mii, or the odd Miis out (doing things that other Miis aren't).
  • Pose Mii - This game can be extremely frantic and difficult. A player must move his Mii to falling bubbles using the Wii remote pointer. The player must also rotate his Mii to the correct angle of the bubble by rotating the Wii remote. In addition to this, as the game progresses, the poses inside the bubbles change, and the player must select the correct pose (out of 3 total) by cycling through them with the A and B buttons. When a Mii is correctly posed in a bubble, it bursts. If a bubbles is not burst and it eventually falls to the floor, the game is over. In the two player game, each player has different coloured bubbles, but they may pop each other`s bubbles for extra points.
  • Shooting - Players go through various rounds of shooting balloons, targets, clay pigeons, cans and UFOs. There are targets that have the faces of the player's Mii's which give points when the opponent's Mii is shot. Ducks drawn in the style of the ducks from Duck Hunt also occasionally fly by.
  • Billiards - Players play 9 Ball Billiards like traditional pool games. Players line up their shot in both an overhead 2D and behind-the-ball style 3D viewpoints. They may aim for contact on the cue ball at any point to add spin or bounce or a weird angle. They pull the cue stick (Wii remote) backwards, then hit it forward to launch the ball.
  • Charge! - The player rides a cow by holding the Wii Remote sideways, and topples scarecrows to score points. The Wii Remote is also tilted forward to increase speed, and backward to decrease speed. The player must also jump barriers by jolting the Wii remote upwards as if jumping.
  • Tanks! - This game uses the Wii Remote D-pad (or nunchuk attachment) to move a tank about the screen. The Wii Remote pointer aims on a target and the B button fires shells. Shells can rebound off walls once. There are also mines that can be placed that destroy all tanks within a certain radius. The point of the game is to destroy enemy tanks while avoiding being destroyed yourself.

Reception

Critical reaction to the game has been average, with the game receiving an aggregate score of 58% on Metacritic.[1] The reviewers at Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the game varying scores of 6.0, 4.5 and 5.0, stating that whilst "anybody can play it, including grandma", "You'll probably be bored in minutes".[2] games TM gave the game a more scathing reaction, scoring it 3/10 stating that "Even the games that do work break down due to a combination of being extremely bland or too repetitive", and even that the strongest game, Shooting, "loses its charm as soon as you realise the targets follow a similar path every time you play".[3] IGN Australia were more positive in their reaction, awarding the game 8.3/10, saying that it was "effectively being sold at AU$10 on top of the cost of a wiimote" and that "as a training game, it succeeds completely".[4]

References

  1. ^ Metacritic staff. "Wii Play reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2007-01-19.
  2. ^ Demian Linn, Dan Hsu, Jenn Frank (February 2007). "Wii Play review". Electronic Gaming Monthly (212): 86.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ games TM staff (December 2006). "Wii Play review". games TM (51): 136.
  4. ^ Patrick Kolan (2006-12-01). "Wii Play Australian review". IGN Australia. Retrieved 2007-01-19.
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