'Wii Sports Resort' is a great gaming getaway

Winda Benedetti Citizen Gamer • E-mail

My Wii kept telling me that I might maybe should put down the game controller for a while and step away from the TV. 

"Why not take a break?" the message on the screen asked me. Repeatedly.

Why not take a break? Because I'm having a stupid amount of fun, that's why.

But I don't think my Wii really wanted me to take a break any way. It was just saying that because it felt obligated to ... and, you know, because Nintendo programmed it to do so at regular intervals.

Yeah, Nintendo may pretend like they want us gamers to have a life beyond their little white box, but I'm pretty sure what they really want is for us to keep playing "Wii Sports Resort" long after it's time for us to do things like get some sleep or maybe tend to our deteriorating personal hygiene. After all, I tried to quit "Wii Sports Resort" and yet it kept reeling me back in with its siren song of assorted sporty activities. Archery. Skydiving. Sword fighting. And just when I thought I'd had enough virtual athleticism for one evening, another amusing distraction lured me in.

What's that you say? Play Frisbee catch with an adorable pup? Or how about speed-slice my way through a bizarre assortment of objects using only my trusty blade? Why, don't mind if I do! 

"Wii Sports Resort" — the long-awaited sequel to  the massively popular "Wii Sports" game — launched Sunday. And after spending far too much time playing it, I can say that it's a must-have game for any Wii owner — a charming collection of fun, absorbing , easy-to-jump-into games that just about anyone can play and almost everyone will dig. Yes, even some of you Wii haters out there.

I just wish it hadn't taken Nintendo 2 1/2 years to bring us this game and, more importantly, bring us the Wii MotionPlus device it comes packaged with.

Sports in motion
The original "Wii Sports" game — which came bundled with the Wii when it launched back in 2006 — was a world-wide hit thanks to the deft and adorable way it showed off the new Nintendo machine's gesture-sensing controls. A package of five sports-sim games in one, "Wii Sports" gave Wii owners the chance to box, golf, bowl, play baseball and play tennis by swinging the Wii's Remote and Nunchuk controllers in semi-realistic motions.

Nintendo Playing Frisbee catch with Fido is just one of the many sporting activities available in "Wii Sports Resort." And tossing around the virtual Frisbee will certainly give you a good idea just how impressive the motion-sensing capabilities of the new Wii MotionPlus device are.

In the boxing game, for example, you simply clutch the Remote and Nunchuk in your fists and punch the air. In the tennis game, you swing the Remote like you would a real racket.

Kids and casual gamers immediately adored this game (and the Wii) because the controls made plain ol' good sense (unlike those tricky button combos traditional game controllers require). The game is also a blast to play with friends. I mean, who needs to go to a bowling alley when you can knock down pins with your pals in your own living room? And you don't even have to wear those silly shoes!

As of earlier this year, Nintendo had sold more than 45 million copies of "Wii Sports" worldwide, making it the best-selling game of all time (though the fact that it's sold bundled with the Wii in much of the world has stirred some debate about whether it officially deserves the title ... which it stole from "Super Mario Bros.").

Nintendo The Wii MotionPlus device snaps onto the bottom of the Remote controller and significantly improves the Wii's gesture-sensing abilities.

But as popular as "Wii Sports" and the Wii's motion controls have been, many a seasoned gamer quickly grew weary of them both and more than a wee bit Wii jaded. After all, the Remote and Nunchuk don't capture and replicate your motions exactly. In fact, they can be downright finicky when it comes to reading the swings, sways, stabs and jabs of your arms.

As I discovered while playing the "Wii Sports" boxing game with my niece,  a 6-year-old girl flailing about as if her arms are on fire and with zero forethought or attempt at accuracy will very likely KO you time and time again while you attempt to carefully aim your virtual punches.

Yeah, the Wii has earned its fair share of haters thanks, in part, to the motion controls, which some have felt are frustratingly shallow, gimmicky and, also, make you look like a total dork. They call them "waggle" controls ... and they don't mean it in a nice way.

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