Actually, 'Wii Music' isn't that bad

Winda Benedetti Citizen Gamer • E-mail

You’ve got to love a game that lets you play “La Bamba” with a bagpipe, a jaw harp, a sitar and not one, but two cowbells.

OK. Maybe you don’t have to LOVE the game, but you have to appreciate it on some level …  some very strange and twisted level. (No, seriously, you have not heard “La Bamba” until you’ve heard it played with a bagpipe and two cowbells … at triple the usual speed.)

But let me get this off my chest: How does a company with as much gaming savvy as Nintendo has make a music game that doesn’t have, oh, compelling music right out of the box?

I mean, what the eff? Shove “Wii Music” into your Wii game console and you’re greeted with “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” “Do-Re-Mi” and “Yankee Doodle.”

Yankee. Freakin’. Doodle.

And “La Bamba” is an unlockable song. Yes, you actually have to achieve this song, and by the time you do get to some interesting music, all the “Twinkle, Twinkle” you’ve had to listen to will have seriously tempted you to put an electric drill to your ear just to make the pain go away.

Ahem. OK, that said, let me move on. “Wii Music” is not as bad as you … and you … and you … and, oh yeah, me … thought it was going to be. Despite much speculation to the contrary, it doesn’t seem to be the epic gaming stink bomb that just about everyone predicted.

“Wii Music” hits store shelves today with many a skeptical, jaded and mocking eye pointed in its direction. And really, it’s Nintendo’s fault. Videos and advertisements pushing “Wii Music” have made it look, well, ridiculous (see above photo) not to mention booooring. I mean, how excited can you get about the game after watching this demonstration video, or this one?

It’s enough to make you run screaming to the nearest closet overstuffed with plastic “Rock Band” peripherals.

Nintendo Despite this screenshot, most of the music that comes with "Wii Music" does not, in fact, rock.

But this is important: “Wii Music” is not a Nintendo-ized version of “Rock Band” or “Guitar Hero.” Yes, it’s a music game and yes it is so very, very Nintendo, but you might actually, just maybe, have some fun with this game if you approach it without expecting the kind of competitive rhythm gameplay that the aforementioned hits have burned into our collective pop culture psyche.

And while there is much that’s ridiculous about “Wii Music,” the ridiculousness is, oddly enough, pretty fun. Oh yeah, and there’s actually a lot that works in this surprisingly deep game.

The thing is, “Wii Music” is all about creation, not competition. Think of it as a sandbox full to the brim with musical instruments. You can play these instruments all by yourself, or you can invite your friends over and make some music together. And more than that, “Wii Music” will record your performances so that you can watch them and – here’s the interesting part – alter them to suit your whims. But more on that later.

Like any music game, “Wii Music” gives you songs to play, but unlike a host of “Guitar Hero” knockoffs, this game doesn’t require you to play these songs the way they were meant to be played, giving you points as you strike the correct note or slapping your hand when you fail to hit the beat.

Instead, “Wii Music” encourages you to see how you can change up the songs by playing them with different instruments, a different beat or a different musical style (e.g., rock, classical, reggae, etc.)

Quick facts Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Nintendo Price: $49.99 Platform: Wii ESRB rating: Everyone

If you play your instruments in the rhythm they’re meant to be played – ticked out for you via bouncy characters on the screen – a song like, say, “La Bamba” will sound like you expect it to. But if you start strumming your guitar twice as fast, the game automatically adds notes that fit perfectly into the tune but give it a different flair. Improvise your own drum flourishes or pluck the bass at your own tempo and the song changes even more.

As for playing the instruments themselves, there are no additional peripherals needed here. Using the Wii Remote – and, optionally, the Nunchuk – playing the instruments is fairly intuitive: You swing the Remote and Nunchuk downward to beat a drum, you strum the Remote sideways to strum a guitar, you press the Remote's buttons to play a horn, you swish it side to side to play a violin. The swinging and swishing and button pressing actually works quite well and you can elicit a variety of sounds from each instrument.

No, it’s not as immersive as, say, holding a fake plastic guitar in your hands. But I, for one, am fresh out of storage space for these things. If you are a fan of peripherals, you can buy the Wii Balance Board and use it along with the Remote and Nunchuk to play the drums. Simply tap the board with your feet to strike the kick drum and high hat. It makes for some pretty realistic drumming (you know, for a game).

And “Wii Music” certainly puts a vast array of instruments at your fingertips. In addition to the usual drums, bass and guitar, you can also play the dulcimer, shamisen and the taiko drum. More bizarrely, you can “play” a dog, a cat and a cheerleader – the latter of which shouts "go!" "cool!" and "pretty!" to the tune of the song you’re playing. And just to prove that they’re not total dorks, Nintendo included a beatboxer, a rapper and DJ turntables.

It’s a lot to absorb at first, but “Wii Music” is full of tutorials, so much so that the game feels like an interactive music lesson. While it does get to be a bit much at times – I was having flashbacks to the forced piano lessons of my childhood – this game really could teach players something about music, and that's an admirable quality in a music game.

That said, it took me an hour of learning the ins and outs of “Wii Music” to understand why it was actually, you know, fun.

MORE FROM CITIZEN GAMER

Citizen Gamer Section Front

Game programming made easy Ready to unleash your inner creative genius? Motion controls move games into the future Citizen Gamer: Are you good? Or are you eeeevil ? 7 iPhone games worth paying for Is the Nintendo DSi gimmicky ... or gaming gold? Games for toddlers? Readers say yes — mostly How young is too young for video games? The undead have invaded our games — again Take heart: There's still hope for gamer movies Citizen Gamer Section Front   Add Citizen Gamer headlines to your news reader: