Say Hello to Interactivity!

Wii Sports getting a Wii bit old (just like Wii jokes? Then Hudson games has you covered!

In a crowded world of sports games, we have all seen the latest and greatest Madden of our times or new MLB game etc, but what makes us really get into sports games, even if you aren’t a sports fan, in general, it's how involved you get in the game.

Now I don’t need to lecture you what the Wii is all about and how games operate, but what I can tell you is that there are games that ordinarily would not get any fame at all for being cool, or could can barely be played on the literal playing field, but right now that is all gone.

I call these games “theoretical games”. In theory, these particular games would be a lot of fun to play, but they aren’t. Instead you seem them only in the Olympics and wonder, “who the hell plays this game?” Rockstar did it with table tennis on the 360, but Hudson Games is getting you on a couple new levels with their new game called DECA SPORTA. The approach mainly focuses on Olympic styled games as I noted a bit earlier, and really goes all out to make them fun and exciting.

The entire selection of new interactive Wii Games include:
Soccer
Super Cross
Curling (yes, Curling)
Snowboard Cross
Basketball
Kart race
Beach Volleyball
Figure Skating
Archery
Badminton

The three available games for demo purposes was Snowboard Cross, Archery and Badminton.

Snowboard Cross
The beautiful thing about this and most games not just on DECA SPORTA but the Wii in general is the ease of use and sometimes lack of any button completely to play. The majority of this game has you going from simple wrist turns as your man on the snowboard attempts to glide to the finish time as soon as possible.

Along the way you’ll pass through other snowboarders on a very white and clear course. There are a couple bumps in your path which you can maneuver through as you continue riding. I had challenged “Executive Director” Stu Grubbs to a game. Needless to say he was promptly destroyed as he fell down several times on the slopes, carving in way too hard in the snow. Oh well.

Archery
Very straightforward and simple, you align yourself from about 250 yards with your characters bow and arrow and press down the trigger button to align a shot. This is easily the worst game imaginable if you have shaky hands because you simply have no special trick to use but hold your hands straight and fire off an arrow. You have move towards the target as if you’re the arrow and tear through the target earning points as you get closer and closer to the bullseye.

My experience playing one of the booth babes was quite cool. She apparently won quite a bit playing dozens and dozens of people daily, but representing DPAD and GotFrag, I had to bring my A game. After a few 7 rounds I had destroyed her, 60-42. I felt good.

Badminton
This game I was able to play twice. I played two very cute booth babes and my results varied. This game is very simple. If you have played Wii Tennis, then you can understand the concept quite easily. If you have ever looked at Badminton before then you can understand the concept of the game is incredibly simple and pretty much exactly like tennis except tennis is actually a sport.

For this game simply swing your arm towards the screen and that is it. I did notice with Wii Tennis you tended to have by far less control where your shots went and you simply smashed at the ball and hoped it stayed in the court and that’s pretty much it. In this scenario you were able to move your hand a bit more in particular directions to get your little Badminton “shuttlecock” (piece used to play, yes that’s the spelling) to stay in the court. From what I noticed it does not appear that you can hit the ball out, so volleys can last for a while if your automated character and your timing both worked at the same time.

You also can get a hold of a power shot. As your piece returns to the court from a high hit, it’ll very briefly highlight red. If you strike as it turns red you’ll smash the shuttlecock very hard and pretty much get the point if your opponent isn’t very close.

My first game, I trounced the woman I was playing, so much for beating everyone.
My second game was interesting, I started dominating early and had match point, but this gal was ferocious and battled back to tie. On our deuce we held a rally for literally 60+ hits, and I eventually took the point for the lead. She, however bounced back and eventually won the match. So much for being hospitable.

That’s a wrap
Although the games appeared cheesy, they were very simple and very fun. Sometimes the best thing is always the most simple.