Nintendo’s new-generation home console, Wii, has been on the market just a few short months, and already, it has garnered a reputation for being the video game console for the casuals – the non-gamers. The system launched in North America with pack-in success Wii Sports, which quickly made Nintendo’s new console the talk of the town throughout holiday ‘06. Meanwhile, in Europe, the Big N packed Wii consoles with a different title: Wii Play.

Finally, the company has brought Wii Play to North American Wii owners. If you aren’t familiar with what Wii Play is all about, don’t fret. The game is a compilation of nine different mini-games, each taking unique advantage of the Wii remote. While Wii Sports came with every Wii sold in the United States for free, Wii Play will run you $49.99, but it also comes with a Wii controller – a $39.99 value by itself. So, essentially, you are paying ten smackers for this game.

The question, of course, is is it worth it? We can answer that up front: as a game, it’s not. However, if you are in the market for a new Wii remote, we highly recommend picking up Wii Play, as it comes with one along with an at-times-fun mini-games compilation.

For those looking for more information about Wii Play and why we’ve given the suggestion we have, keep reading. We’ve written a review that’s a little different than your traditional review, but it’s been tailored just for you. Below, you’ll find our critique of each of the nine mini-games in Wii Play, along with either a thumbs up or thumbs down rating in regards to whether or not we like it.

Shooting Range
Shoot Range plays similarly to Duck Hunt of yesteryear. If you grew up with the NES and that title, then you’re going to feel the nostalgia the second you play this. The main difference between Nintendo’s twenty-year-old duck-hunting shooter and Wii Play’s Shooting Range is cosmetic, for the most part. You spend most your time shooting down Frisbees, balloon, targets and so forth here, although the game challenges you to shoot down other objects the further into it you get. For example, towards the end of each round, UFOs will begin trying to abduct your Mii characters, and you must shoot them down to keep them from escaping with your Mii.

Playing this by yourself isn’t nearly as fun as playing with a friend. There’s a certain level of competiveness involved, and it makes Shooting Range pretty fun at times. Also, unlike Duck Hunt on NES, you are not pointing at the screen itself when shooting at targets but at the sensor bar, so the experience is perceptibly different.

The verdict? Thumbs up.

Find Mii
Do you remember ‘Where’s Waldo?” If you do, then you’re already familiar with what Find Mii is all about. Like the Martin Handford books that you grew up with, you’re challenged to find specific Miis in this mini-game. For example, some mini-games require you to find three of the same Miis. One calls on you to click on the Mii that looks like your very own Mii. Another asks you to spot the fastest moving Mii on screen.

Like most mini-games in Wii Play, Find Mii is considerably more entertaining when played with two people. The screen is often populated by gobs of Miis, creating a cluttered field of characters to sort through. The game quickly snowballs into frantic fun, as you rush to beat your opponent to finding the specified Miis. By itself, it is pretty boring, unfortunately. As a multiplayer game, however, it is fun despite its simplistic design.

The verdict? Thumbs up.


Table Tennis
We knew we liked Table Tennis the moment we played it at the Electronic Entertainment Expo. in 2006. The name is indicative of what the gameplay is like. You play a game of table tennis – also known as ping pong – from an overhead perspective. With the Wii remote, you move your paddle back and forth by pointing. The result is a game of pong, really. Even decades after Atari’s video game by the same name, the concept can be fun, apparently.

While it’s infinitely more fun to play with a friend, Table Tennis is still fairly enjoyable by yourself, playing against a CPU.

The bottom line is this is a fun mini-game and one of our favorites in Wii Play. However, it is unfortunate that its lasting appeal will probably be curt for many.

The verdict? Thumbs up.