The Wii has party games down to a science 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 ourcustom movie.
With 50 games to test and only so many hours in the day, we settled on a best-out-of-nine tour of the more interesting events. Most of the games allow four players and use both the remote and Nunchuk, but a few trim the playable slots down to two and others utilize only the remote. In order to keep everyone happy, we stuck with the four-player sort.
Up first was 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 was really good for was 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 was a bumper car mash up with hovercrafts. You control your floating vehicle like you would a tank - pitching the remote forward controls the right engine while the Nunchuk handles the right. To move forward, both pieces have to be pushed ahead. The goal here was 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.
