Nintendo Wii Game Reviews

Up’s story revolves around Carl and Russell. Carl is an old man who dreams of going to the forest of South America to find a childhood area of adventure and Russell is a wilderness explorer, or boy scout, who stows away with Carl to try and earn his final merit badge. The character’s mode of transportation is Carl’s house. Carl attached hundreds of balloons to the house and the two floated to South America. This is the story that you’d get if you watched the movie, however in Up for the Nintendo Wii the developers butcher this wonderful story. Instead of starting with Carl and Russell floating out of town you’re dropped into an airplane dog fighting scene with Dug, a dog the two meet, and are told to shoot down four planes. Then the game shows you a reel of back-story and cuts to Carl and Russell pulling the house through the forest. By doing this the developers did two things: they confused the player who hasn’t seen the movie and completely cut any emotional ties you have have developed with the characters in Up. Aside for Up’s blatant disregard for it’s story the game has abysmal graphics , terrible controls, and boring gameplay.

The majority of your time will be spent playing as Carl and Russell as they drag Carl’s floating house through the jungle. While playing as Carl and Russell you explore the forest while climbing over and removing obstacles in your path. You can do this either by yourself or with another player in a cooperative mode. The only way to play this game though is Co-op because the computer’s AI is brain dead. If you decide to play single player the computer does a descent job of following you but when you switch to them and then place them somewhere to finish a puzzle most of the time they simple follow you! It’s incredibly frustrating trying to get the computer to do anything in Up. On top of all this the things you have to do are mapped to the face buttons on the Wii remote or assigned to waggle. The waggle you do doesn’t even make sense when you use it. For instance, when you are cutting a rope to drop a rock you must shake the remote left to right, why no forward and backward? It doesn’t make any sense at all.

There are other things wrong with the single player adventure as well. For one thing the game’s camera is horrendous, it does more to obscure your view than it does to help you. You can’t control the camera and some of the standard positions of the camera give you a view only of where you’ve come from and obscure what’s right in front of you. This is downright frustrating as it makes some puzzles just about guesswork. The game world will also just disappear sometimes due to a graphical glitch, so if the camera isn’t obscuring the world it may just disappear all by itself for a few seconds.

What I found to be strange was how Up has you earn bonus content. Rather than finding special items throughout the level that unlocks art and videos you’re stuck collecting coins that unlock cards that tell you have to collect the bonus content. When I finished the first area and I found out that’s what coins did I was floored, why do you have to go through two collection processes just to look at some artwork? This system of unlockable was purely put into the game to artificially extend the gameplay in Up.

From a presentation perspective Up could be a lot worse. The game looks passable but it sounds exactly like the movie. Most of what you’ll hear are quips and sound bytes from the movie. The only problem I found was that in multiple places in game sound bytes come very far after their ques. So you will jump or get hit and a full five seconds later the character will make the sound.

If for some reason you find that Up’s Co-op is not fun or you want to find something else to do with Up you can play through the Multiplayer modes that are offered. All the multiplayer modes involve dogfighting like with Dug at the beginning of the game. The modes are Attack, Pop, and Team. The best one of the three is Team because it allows you to team up to take apart the other team’s dirigible and is fairly entertaining. What Up comes down to though is that it’s a rush job. Up was rushed out the door to meet the movie in theaters and as a result is a mess that barely works the way it should. There are graphical glitches and gameplay problems nearly everywhere. In addition the computer AI couldn’t be more stupid. Avoid Up unless you’re the most diehard fan out there.

Overall: 3.3/10

I couldn’t have reviewed two more different tennis games if I had tried. Top Spin 3 is a game with complicated controls and simple gameplay while Virtua Tennis 2009 is a game with interesting gameplay and simple controls. Unfortunately Virtua Tennis 2009 also doesn’t take very many risks and ends up feeling too much like Virtua Tennis 3 for long time fans of the series to justify picking it up. However Virtua Tennis 2009 is still a fun game to play with a World Tour mode that combines tennis matches with mini games that increase your statistics into an enjoyable mode and also the game has serviceable multiplayer.

In Virtua Tennis 2009, like most sports video games, there are a few different modes for you to participate in the top one being World Tour. There are other modes like Tournament that let you play in a tiered tournament and there is also Court Games that lets you play the World Tour minigames without going into the World Tour mode. However neither of these modes are as full fledged as the actual World Tour mode itself. When you begina World Tour you start out as a rookie and have to build your own character. In the character builder there are a variety of things you can change but rather than having preset designs for the face the developers allow you to simply mold the face in a variety of ways to make a character who suites your purposes. After you create a face and body type by stretching or scrunching the game allows you to choose colors and body type for the player. On the whole the character creation system felt like it had just enough things for you to tweak so you can make a unique character.

Once your character is ready to take the court you are dropped into Virtua Tennis 2009’s world map. Here you can participate in 12 court games like collecting groceries on the court or hitting alien space craft to build up your skills. There are three categories that you can build in: Ground Strokes, Serve and Volley, and Footwork and Technique. Each game has a trick to doing well and follow a steady progression of difficuly that makes you truly earn your stat boosts. Don’t expect to max out your charater quickly in this game. As you earn better skills for your player you can also go train at the club or play in tournaments against other players. As you move through the ranks you slowly rank up from Rookie to Pro. What’s nice about Virtua Tennis 2009 is that the progression of Rookie to Pro really feels like a steady progression rather than a huge leap. Virtua Tennis 2009 does a great job easing the player into more difficult matches.

What makes Virtua Tennis 2009 so good at this progression though is the superb implementation of its controls. In the Xbox 360 version of the game you simply use the A button and analog stick to run around the court and hit the ball. You an also use a variety of lobs and slices with other face buttons but timing is everything and the better your timing in the Xbox 360 version the better you hits are and the more accurate they become. However in the Wii version of the game timing is the key only because of the onscreen bar that is included in play. The bar on the screen has a line that runs across it and you must swing when it is dead center. The closer you are the better your hit is. This works out great for Virtua Tennis 2009 because the game was already fully about timing but does allow you to “cheat” by seeing when the correct time to swing is rather than you having to gauge it yourself. Virtua Tennis 2009 can use Wii Motion Plus but the problem is that Wii Motion it’s not great in this game. It feels like a tacked on gimmick that doesn’t work the way it was intended.

The only area that Virtua Tennis 2009 is really deficient in is the graphics in game. No matter if your talking about the Wii or 360 version, Virtua Tennis 2009 doesn’t hold a candle to it’s competition. The characters look like zombies on the course more than they do a living breathing being and the modeling for the famous players in Virtua Tennis 2009 really aren’t up to the standards set by games like Top Spin 3. The other thing that is weak was the online play in Virtua Tennis 2009. The basic modes abound here, singles and doubles, but why can’t I compete against someone in Virtua Tennis 2009’s mini games or play a doubles mini game? These things seem like they’d be obvious editions to Virtua Tennis 2009’s repertoire. On the whole though there isn’t much to complain about in Virtua Tennis 2009. The game is absolutely solid with the tried and true formula coming through for Sega again. I don’t know if it will continue though. Virtua Tennis as a franchise is long overdue for an overhaul.

Overall: 7.3/10

I won’t lie to you, the reader, I went into this review for NASCAR Kart Racing with every intention of bashing the game and ridiculing it on it’s every fault. At first I thought my fears were justified, but as I played the game I started to see that some effort was put into making it. Yes, it’s a shameless me-to Mario Kart game but not an awful one. You can certainly do worse than NASCAR Kart Racing. The game isn’t good looking, the gameplay has been done before (with some minor exceptions), and the characters along with in game sound effects and music are worse than nails on a chalkboard. However, the gameplay is solid, which is more than you can ask for from most licensed games. Considering how awful licensed gaming can be I appreciate that some effort was put into NASCAR Kart Racing. It’s not going to light the world on fire but it also won’t make you want to jump off a cliff.

To start with the gameplay modes present in this game are very simple. You have Quick Race, Championship, Special Events, and Player Info. The Special Events offer things like Time Trials while the Championship is like Mario Kart’s cup racing. In Championship mode you’ll race against other drivers to win the right to play as them and unlock bonus tracks. Along with being able to unlock drivers and bonus tracks you also unlock Trophies as you go through the game. These Trophies can be for winning an event or grinding up against other cars for a certain amount of time. In all these modes you encounter at least 12 Tracks, 12 Championships, and about 24 Drivers. The Drivers are split into two categories, NASCAR drivers and outsiders. The outsider drivers are based on age-old stereotypes but stand out because of the blandness of the stock NASCAR racers.

When you enter a race, NASCAR Kart Racing starts showing more similarities to Mario Kart, but also differentiates itself a bit. For one thing the items in the game are all Mario Kart items. For instance there is the Free Pass that makes you invincible and shoots you to the front of the pack knocking opponents out of the way, sound like a Bullet Bill to anyone? There’s also four ways to control, the wheel, nunchuck remote combo, classic controller, and GameCube controller lifted from Mario Kart. On the whole it’s nice that the developers left in all these control methods though the motion controls with the wheel are actually very solid and work well even without the wheel. It’s interesting because the developers took the Mario Kart motion controls and turned them down a bit so they’re easier to use and made them better!

Finally, we come to what makes NASCAR Kart Racing different from Mario Kart. The main difference between this game and Mario Kart are the racing mechanics. Sure there are boost pads and power sliding, but there’s also grinding, being ‘in the zone’, and slingshoting. Grinding is when you run into another player’s car, this along with power sliding allow you to fill up your boost meter. You can also partner up with a computer or second player so when you are racing next to that player you get ‘in the zone’ and earn boost. Once you earn enough to boost you can use it you drag your partner with you and you can each boost back and forth performing a slingshot maneuver. This maneuver is crucial to winning races. EA did a nice job with the partner mechanic and you can even drag in a friend to race together which makes being in the zone all the more entertaining. Sadly though I would have liked to see it be more powerful, it’s not powerful because the rubber band physics from Mario Kart are in this game too. No matter how well you race the computers are always close enough to catch up if you make a mistake.

NASCAR Kart Racers includes some very annoying sounds and graphical glitches. For instance, none of the drivers have voices; all they do is make hick sounds with grunts that can barely be considered voices. Their voices reminded me of Timmy from Southpark. If this wasn’t enough none of the music is particularly good and it just attempts fill empty feeling that the game has when you race. You see the game doesn’t feel like it moves very fast and the graphics bleed together. There’s also some trash talk before each race but anyone over five will skip right past it. On the whole the presentation of this game could have done with a complete overhaul. The tracks are unimaginative and shortcuts are painfully obvious.

Not only does NASCAR Kart Racing need a presentation overhaul but it also needs to expand outwards in the replayability department. Yes the game has splitscreen multiplayer but in today’s game market it’s pretty sad that a game doesn’t include some online play. I know that not many people would play the game but it still stands to reason that you should include some kind of online functionality. This quibbles all aside NASCAR Kart Racing was never expected to be a classic and it does an adequate job as a racer. The presentation and replayability are definitely not this game’s strong suite but the core racing works the way it should and can hold your attention for at least thirty minutes at a time. It’s not the second coming of Mario Kart, it’s not even a comparable game, but it is fun albeit in small doses.

Overall: 5.8/10

There’s more than one way to skin a cat, or in Madworld’s case the cat is an enemy and the skinning involves the chainsaw attached to your arm and the implements of death surrounding you in each level. Madworld is all about being over the top. The game is full of hyper-violence, cursing, and gruesome deaths. If you’re faint of heart stay far away from Madworld as decapitations, disembowelments, and dismemberments are the norm. Madworld is a great addition to the Wii’s mature gaming library. There’s nothing like it on the system, not only because of the violence, but also because of the stunning black and white stylized graphics and smart controls implemented in the game. While Madworld will definitely stir up controversy the game stands on it’s own legs as a great game that will weather past the unkind words that it will stir up with concerned parents.

So first things first, the story of Madworld. In Madworld you play as Jack, and Ex-Marine that is dropped into a game show called Deathwatch. Deathwatch has taken over Jefferson Island and released a virus that would kill anyone who won’t kill someone for the vaccine. Your job is to get to the bottom of why Deathwatch is doing what it’s doing and also find out who is running Deathwatch so you can take them down. Jack has a grudge against the guys running Deathwatch and will do anything to get a chance to kill them. On the surface Madworld’s story seems like it’s just an excuse to do violent things but as you move through the game you’ll find that the story is told well and very fleshed out. It should be considering it’s penned by one of the people that wrote for the Final Fantasy series.

The gameplay is a little different than what I was expecting. In my mind I pictured this game like the Devil May Cry series, however it’s much more like Streets of Rage. Madworld is a beat-em up that works based on a 30-minute time limit and a points engine. The environments are full of signposts, barrels, spikes, and meat grinders; that you use to kill our enemies. As you kill enemies you rack up points that unlock more weapons, challenges, and eventually the boss battles. Madworld rewards you for killing enemies in the most sadistic way possible. The better you are at killing the faster you rack up points and unlock boss battles. On the whole the system works really well and changes things up at just the right moment to keep Madworld from becoming stale. The game also encourages that you explore the levels because the more you explore the more implements of death you’ll find to earn parts faster. While it may sound odd these levels have multiple tiers and things for you to do and going back and playing levels you’ll always find something you didn’t know you could do. This offers great replay value and rewards you when you go back into the levels and it takes you half the amount of time it did the first time for you to reach the boss battle.

Not only is the level design and gameplay top notch but the sound surrounding Madworld is some of the best on the Wii. For one thing Platinum games enlisted the voice acting talents of Greg Proops, from “Whose line is it anyway”, and John Dimaggio, who voiced Bender on Futurama. These guys do a fantastic job. They’re funny and there is enough commentator dialogue recorded that not a lot of the jokes repeat. In addition to great announcing there is also an original hip-hop soundtrack recorded for the game. I wasn’t a huge fan of many of the songs but it provides an appropriate background for Madworld. I’d recommended turning down the music though and listening to the announcers personally.

To round out Madworld’s package there are the controls. Madworld uses smart Wii control to utilize the controller for waggle and precise gestures. You punch and grab enemies with the A button, hit B to use your chainsaw and can center the camera with the C button. When you grab an enemy or pull out your chainsaw a quick motion with the Wii remote will toss or cut your enemies in the appropriate direction. The only time that waggle is used is when you are grabbed by enemies and it always finishes with a gesture with either the Wii remote or the nunchuck. What really surprised me was how accurate the gestures were in Madworld. I never missed a gesture because of the Wii controller, only my own mess-ups. The only dark spot in Madworld’s control scheme is the lock on mode and camera. The C button is used to center the camera and is the only way to move it. The game takes full control of the camera and sometimes it doesn’t give you a good view of your surroundings. To compound this problem you have a lock on also assigned to the C button that you have to press and hold to lock onto an enemy. However this lock on is only useful in Boss battles when you’re fighting one enemy at a time.

Sadly, Madworld doesn’t last forever. The game is over in about five to seven hours and only has four areas with three boss battles each. The game does offer a hard mode and some limited multiplayer challenges but once you finish the game you can only replay through the main mode again. While I would have loved for more extras I feel that Madworld has a very rounded out package and isn’t hurt too much by a lack of high replay value. For me the game is close to perfect just as it is. If you’re looking for an intelligent, fun, and adult Wii game you’ve come to the right place. Go out and buy Madworld, you can thank me later.

Overall: 8.7/10