This is what I think of when I think of the Wii and Wii Sports. Wuhu Island. An amazing expansion and re-imagining of Wii Sports, creating a world of its own for the Miis to not just golf and bowl, but swordfight, fly planes, shoot targets, cycle, basket, wakeboard, canoe, many other water sports, golf but with frisbee, golf but with frisbee and dog, and tennis but with table.
(They forgot how to baseball and boxing but that's okay).
Most played game for us by far was Table Tennis. Might sound like an ad, but using the MotionPlus to put all sorts of gnarly spin on the ball was exhilarating, and gave it a lot more nuance. That was the only sport I hit rank 2500 on. Still trying to get the stamp for not hitting the guy's face in Return Challenge though.
My favorite game, though, was the Island Flyover. I'm still impressed with how much detail they were able to give to the supposed life of this resort, with 80 collectible points (iPoints) to find all over the island and its neighboring islands, and with 240 different flavor texts for those points in the three times of day. The only thing I wish this game could've added was an endless mode, but still, flying around the island and seeing how everything was connected was amazing. From the town, with the bowling alley and basketball court, to the swordfighting stadium, and up the mountain to the canoeing lake, Island Flyover really made what would've been a mini-game package into a cohesive story. Well not too much story, but flavor enough to let you imagine a story.
All the other games were extremely solid too. A good amount of single player, two player, and multiplayer options as well. And having multiple modes within each sport helped with the variety as well. Sometimes I'm not feeling a pickup game, but could go for the 3-point contest. The VS. modes in Canoeing, Cycling, and Power Cruising did fall short, though, it's basically who can reach the end the fastest, and was limited to only two players. Otherwise, they all were pretty fun.
The stamps were the perfect sort of collectible to add. Some would be skill-driven when completing the sport, some would be fun Easter eggs, and other would be just random stuff. Standouts are having to pop every white balloon in Island Flyover (which I guess I somehow did, although I did put in over 100 hours into probably just that), and all the hidden targets in Archery - which are kind of ridiculous, but thank goodness for online guides to find those.
Beautiful game. Always wishing we could get another game that returned to Wuhu Island, or at least just one with the same amount of heart and spirit. Seeing Nintendo Switch Sports come out with its Spocco Square (and disclaimer, I didn't end up getting this game) with only six sports felt so lifeless. At the very least, bring back the Wuhu Mountain Loop track from MK7 please!
Sincerely, a Wuhu Island Balloonatic
(They forgot how to baseball and boxing but that's okay).
Most played game for us by far was Table Tennis. Might sound like an ad, but using the MotionPlus to put all sorts of gnarly spin on the ball was exhilarating, and gave it a lot more nuance. That was the only sport I hit rank 2500 on. Still trying to get the stamp for not hitting the guy's face in Return Challenge though.
My favorite game, though, was the Island Flyover. I'm still impressed with how much detail they were able to give to the supposed life of this resort, with 80 collectible points (iPoints) to find all over the island and its neighboring islands, and with 240 different flavor texts for those points in the three times of day. The only thing I wish this game could've added was an endless mode, but still, flying around the island and seeing how everything was connected was amazing. From the town, with the bowling alley and basketball court, to the swordfighting stadium, and up the mountain to the canoeing lake, Island Flyover really made what would've been a mini-game package into a cohesive story. Well not too much story, but flavor enough to let you imagine a story.
All the other games were extremely solid too. A good amount of single player, two player, and multiplayer options as well. And having multiple modes within each sport helped with the variety as well. Sometimes I'm not feeling a pickup game, but could go for the 3-point contest. The VS. modes in Canoeing, Cycling, and Power Cruising did fall short, though, it's basically who can reach the end the fastest, and was limited to only two players. Otherwise, they all were pretty fun.
The stamps were the perfect sort of collectible to add. Some would be skill-driven when completing the sport, some would be fun Easter eggs, and other would be just random stuff. Standouts are having to pop every white balloon in Island Flyover (which I guess I somehow did, although I did put in over 100 hours into probably just that), and all the hidden targets in Archery - which are kind of ridiculous, but thank goodness for online guides to find those.
Beautiful game. Always wishing we could get another game that returned to Wuhu Island, or at least just one with the same amount of heart and spirit. Seeing Nintendo Switch Sports come out with its Spocco Square (and disclaimer, I didn't end up getting this game) with only six sports felt so lifeless. At the very least, bring back the Wuhu Mountain Loop track from MK7 please!
Sincerely, a Wuhu Island Balloonatic