Wednesday 15 November 2006
Wii has party games down to a fine art and the damn thing's not even out yet. Between Rayman, Wii Sports and Banana Blitz, your choices for loud, obnoxious shouting matches and 'accidental' throwing of the controller are plentiful.
We recently had the chance to sit four editors down with a copy of Banana Blitz and its 50 multiplayer minigames. The results were exactly what you'd want out of a Wii party game - tons of flailing arms and no shortage of questionable language. To get the full effect, check out our custom video on the movies tab above.
With 50 games to test and only so many hours in the day, we settled mini tour of the more interesting events. Most of the games allow four players and use both the remote and Nunchuck, whereas a few trim the playable slots down to two and others utilise only the remote. In order to keep everyone happy, we stuck with the four-player sort.
Above: The floaty nature of a flying car makes it hard to stop and change direction in the bumper car game
Up first is Monkey Snowboarding, a no-frills race down packed powder. Using only the remote, you weave your way down the hill, avoiding each other and flicking up to jump. All it is really good for is getting people used to Wii's controls and, for that, we give Snowboarding a pass. Within seconds, those who had yet to test out the remote were gliding down the mountain without incident.
Next on the roster is a bumper car mash-up with hovercraft. You control your floating vehicle like you would a tank - pitching the remote forward controls the right engine while the Nunchuck handles the left. To move forward, both pieces have to be pushed ahead.
The goal here is to bump into a glowing bulb on the back of your opponent's hovercraft, something easier said than done - the floaty nature of a flying car makes it hard to stop and change direction. But, if nothing else, the control mechanic here works great and makes us wonder about a possible Virtual On game for Wii.
