Shooting down UFOs, whacking pesky garden moles, making the largest ice cream cones ever, and being a ghostbuster is just a small sampling of the 12 games packed into Nintendo’s Wii Play Motion.
The sequel to Wii Play offers gamers a few games that will remind them of past mini-games and brand new games featuring new motion techniques thanks to the Wii MotionPlus that comes bundled with a controller.
When you first start you only have the option for four games: Cone Zone, Veggie Garden, Skip Skimmer and Pose MiiPlus. Cone Zone is where you have to either try to keep your ice cream cone standing after several scoops or you have to make the best ice cream swirl with the Wii Remote. Fun in multiplayer, but gets old quick in single mode.
Veggie Garden is where you use your Wii Remote as a mallet and whack moles on the head who try to steal your vegetables. Think of the carnival game Whack-A-Mole, except the stages keep the action fresh and on your toes since the moles become smarter over time. Skip Skimmer is where you pick up a stone and skim it across a lake. Depending on the type of rock shape you get will depend on the type of response you get from the rock. A rock in the shape of a chicken will give you a chicken sound. Pose MiiPlus takes the original mini-game from the first game and allows you to twist your Mii in new and crazy rotations. Again, a lot of fun with two players, but not a long-lasting effect with one-player.
As long as you play all four games you unlock four more games: Trigger Twist, Jump Park, Teeter Targets and Spooky Search. After you play those games you unlock four more games: Wind Runner, Treasure Twirl, Flutter Fly and Star Shuttle. Trigger Twist is an expanded version of the Shooting Range from the last game and is definitely a must play. This time around you can expand your screen to the left and right to get find more targets. Ducks from Duck Hunt are back and are joined by an army of UFOs trying to kidnap your Miis.
Spooky Search is quite possibly the most innovative mini-game in the entire bunch. With your Miis guiding your direction you have to point your Wii Remote off screen and wait until you heard the correct sound to order to detect a ghost. When you hear the sound, immediately press B and bring the ghost to the centre in order to contain it like a ghostbuster. With the time limit and the increasing difficulty to hold the ghosts, the game becomes more enjoyable as the difficulty increases. Treasure Twirl is another innovative play as you must hunt for treasure under water. To do so your Wii Remote becomes a fishing rod as you must reel in or reel out your Mii in the water.
Overall, Wii Play Motion delivers more of the same enjoyment and takes advantage of the Wii MotionPlus movements. While some games do feel like they were slightly updated others feel vastly improved and more exciting than the original ones. If you have played the original this game is worth getting, but like the original the true value comes in multiplayer as single player can get old quickly.
Wii Play Motion
Rated E for Everyone
Developed by Nintendo
$49.99
Released on Jun. 13, 2011