Wacky World Of Sports [Wii] Review

12 Oct 2009 at 12:47:34 by
Systems used to review this title: (WII)

We've all heard of extreme ironing, furniture racing and lawnmower racing, but very few people actually follow these sports and tournaments. This, however, doesn't mean that games like these don't appeal; it's just a matter of finding out who, other than the competitors partaking in the real world events, would be interested in flinging cheese or launching tuna across a field. And you'd be right in thinking this selection of games would appeal to kids more than anyone else, and being on the Wii platform, it makes sense.

The problem is that the game isn't deep enough to capture the imagination of its proposed audience, the kids. Equally, it wouldn't be too hard for kids to go out and actually fling tuna across a field, or build a racing settee (which would actually just be some kind of sofa on casters at the top of a hill). Although there is a range of wacky sports to choose from, it becomes tedious and tired, and all the games seem to merge into one. Taking that into consideration, and bearing in mind that most of the mini games compiled here are done better by other titles, it's very hard to get excited about any of them.

Let's take, for example, lawn mower racing. You'd expect some mucky, slippery field heaving with lawn mowers. Instead you have a top-down view which makes it difficult to see your character. Combined with the terrible steering controls, this game would have better been done in a kart style. But furniture racing already does that, and to have another mini-game which does the same, Sega must have thought was a bad idea. Unfortunately, neither one of these modes has a patch on Mario Kart, and that's what I'd be playing given the choice.

Ice golf is another game mode which falls foul of this rule too. The game sees you trying to smack a golf ball into a hole, as you would do. However, this again isn't as well done as something like Wii Sports golf, which I think is a fair comparison, and I'd much rather sink hours playing that than having to play a limited number of environments on Wacky World of Sports.

In total there are ten events, including the aforementioned five.  Furniture racing, tuna tossing, cheese rolling, lawn mower racing, ice golf, mud sliding, fierljeppen, extreme ironing, log cutting and card boxing. From the events, the only ones that I would (and did) play again and again was mud sliding and cheese rolling. Both of these were fun enough to play by yourself, and it was compelling to see if you could beat your own high score. Everything else, and I mean everything else, I only played when I had to...which wasn't much as once you've unlocked the event, it's there for you to use either in multiplayer or in the single player career mode.

The career mode isn't particularly engaging though, and once you've chosen your character from a list of typically Sega-like characters, you travel the world in a bid to compete in different disciplines, such as outdoor, household, and the like. In these categories you have to defeat other entrants in order to take on the uber master of all in the final round. It's not hard to progress, and it's not even hard to defeat the boss.

As you can see, the combination of very few original game types and the niggling that someone else has done a better game elsewhere is the downfall of this title. It's hard to even write about it because the experience doesn't offer much in the way of discussion. Yes, it's aimed at kids, and yes, kids will probably enjoy it, but it won't stop them from adapting what they've learnt here to the real world, and let's face it, it's so much more fun in the real world.

Although the game is cheaper than most other titles out there, I don't think it's worth investing in. It's bare, it fails to exploit the bizarre world of extreme sports and fails to deliver a compelling and original gaming experience. Because all the events happen as mini-games, it's very hard to relate to the character you're playing, especially as there is no real story to speak of. It's strange, because this game feels like it should have been out in the 90s and certainly not out know.

It's a shame because, treated right, this could have been the start of a franchise which may have been quite successful, and successful across a wide audience.  And the commentator is a really annoying twat.  I think he wants to be Mario, but I had to mute the TV before I flung my Wiimote at him.

As a result, the best advise is to steer clear.

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