Impressions: Wii Sports Resort (Part the First!)

by Cory Birdsong on

Wii Sports Resort is my unexpected top game of today! Kevin, Travis and I waited way too long to get in some waggle with it – in addition to the normal line we got cut by some fancy real media types, which took their time taking turns with the basketball game (basically a free throw mode.) However, the Nintendo rep was cool and let us have ample playtime. Also, Travis got interviewed by a Japanese television program mid-skydive. Enough about all that, though; on to the game.

Kevin and I started out with a round of Frisbee disc golf. The Motion Plus add-on adds quite a bit of heft to the remote, making it far less awkward to hold with both hands. It looks like it comes in the Wii condom, but it wasn’t molded into it physically, so it can probably be removed.

Disc golf on Wii Sports Resort uses the same courses as the proper golf mode. There are two 18-hole courses in the game, one set on the island, and one based on the classic Wii Sports golf courses. I guess they added another 9 holes with the classic setting. We pick a three hole game on the resort course and head in.

Weirdly, getting into the goal on Disc Golf is way easier than the basket present in real disc golf. Instead of a basket, there is a large column of light. It is a far more casual-friendly goal for the player, as the putting portion of any golf game is definitely the most frustrating and demeaning for the player. (Kevin and I experienced this firsthand later on Tiger Woods 10.)

It was because of this that my first toss in the game was a “hole” in one. (It still said it was a hole in one despite the lack of hole.) I have played a fair amount of real-life disc golf, and my frisbee tossing skills seemed to transfer into the game pretty well. The motion controls are excellent, and definitely capture the feel of tossing a frisbee. I now can’t wait to get my own copy at the end of July.

UPDATE! Skydiving. I forgot about this because it is basically a completely unexciting tutorial/demo for Motion Plus’ new abilities. Disappointing, but it succeeds at its purpose, at least. Unfortunately, I regret to report that open the parachute is completely automatic – there will be no hilarious Crank 2 action in Wii Sports Resort.