EA releases titles to capitalize on Wii success

When the Nintendo Gamecube settled into third place during the previous console generation, many publishers shifted their efforts to the vastly more popular — and profitable — PlayStation 2 and Xbox. But the surprise success of the Wii, which just crossed the five million sales mark (faster than any other console in video game history), has publishers scrambling to get their games back on Nintendo's mass-market machine.

Unfortunately, this has led to a lot of catalog mining. Previous-gen PS2 and Xbox games like Ubisoft’s "Blazing Angels" and "Prince of Persia" were gussied up with Wii Remote controls and then shoved out the door to capitalize on the system’s momentum.

After Ubisoft, Electronic Arts is the next major third-party developer to redirect resources to the Wii. Not only has the gaming giant set up Wii-dedicated development teams, but within the last month, EA has released no fewer than three Wii titles: "SSX Blur," "The Godfather: Blackhand Edition," and "Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07."

All three $50 games are based on previous PS2 releases, but feature varying degrees of new Wii-centric features. While "Tiger Woods" is pretty much just the PS2 game with the golf swing mapped to the Wii Remote, "SSX Blur" shares only the architecture of previous releases in the franchise — the art style and controls are brand new. Guess which one is better?

Go swinging with 'Tiger Woods'
If the golf segment of the pack-in "Wii Sports" is an appetizer, EA's "Tiger Woods" is the main course. This is a full-featured golf game with multiple real world courses and play options, such as a quick game or the ability to wade into tournaments. The bad news first: "Tiger Woods" is not an attractive game compared to other Wii efforts, even though the game was upgraded with widescreen and progressive scan support. The colors are muted and polygon edges are harsh. If you are a graphics snob, "Tiger" bites. "Wii Sports" is actually a cleaner-looking golf game, in spite of its decidedly more simplistic graphics.

The good news, however, is the control. "Tiger" is a huge first step toward realizing the full potential of the Wii's innovative motion controls. There is something inherently cool about performing an actual swing in your living room and seeing Tiger himself do it on-screen.

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You must learn to swing straight though, because the sensitive controls draw you no quarter. If you finish your drive with a sloppy angle off to the side, the ball will hook. Slicing and hooking are legit golf strategies, but when the controls are too quick to punish you for slight inaccuracies, the game crosses the line between "real" and "really frustrating."

'SSX Blur' goes a step further
"SSX Blur" is the newest entry in EA's long-standing snowboarding franchise. The original "SSX" was the most noteworthy of the PS2's launch library, and while "Blur" doesn't rock socks in the same way, it's still an attractive addition to the Wii's collection.

EA deserves points for not taking the easy way out and just letting you steer the snowboard by tilting the Wii Remote like many other Wii racing games. Instead, you use the Nunchuk attachment to carve the mountainsides and perform tricks with the Wii Remote.

Mastering this scheme takes effort, and that may freeze out the casual crowd the Wii often courts. However, the hardcore crowd will appreciate that more complex controls actually allow for some amazing mountain performances. To pull of the game's toughest tricks — called Ubers — you must draw increasingly complex patterns in the air. These aren't easy to do when your boarder is rocketing downhill at 70mph, but there is a sense of accomplishment involved that is rewarding.

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