Game Freaks 365's Wii Review Guide

Game Freaks 365's Wii Review Guide

By Kyle W. Bell

Smashwords Edition 6, December 2012

(Originally Published March 2010)

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Copyright © Kyle Bell 2012

License Notes:

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

Cover design by Angel Cortes cortesangel@live.com

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Table of Contents

Reviews (Alphabetically Ordered)

A-E

F-I

J-M

N-Q

R-S

T-Z

Acknowledgements

About the Author

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Introduction

You earn a check that only gets you by enough to pay your bills. Maybe you struggle to make a car payment. You really want to play the latest video game, perhaps Just Dance 4 or Super Mario Galaxy 2, but your budget does not allow you to buy both. What should you get?

Picking good games can be hard. Avoiding duds can be even more difficult. That's why smart consumers turn to experts on the subject. Game Freaks 365 was founded to help people choose games that are worth their hard earned dollar and bypass games that are better suited for the trash can. Writing about video games is our passion. This guide aims to help the smart consumer pick the best games that the Wii has to offer.

Over 100 reviews from some of the finest games on the Wii are found in Game Freaks 365's Wii Review Guide, including popular titles like Conduit 2, Disney Epic Mickey, Donkey Kong Country Returns, GoldenEye 007, Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Just Dance 4, New Super Mario Bros., Rayman Origins, Resident Evil 4, Rock Band 3, Skylanders Giants, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Super Paper Mario and Wii Sports.

So what are you waiting for? Get reading!

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Please Note: Reviews for multi-platform games may be from other platforms, unless major differences between the versions are present.

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Avatar: The Last Airbender

Developer: THQ Studio Australia

Publisher: THQ

Release Date: November 19, 2006

Available On: GCN, PS2 & Xbox

Avatar: The Last Airbender is a video game on Nintendo's new-generation Wii based off of the popular Nickelodeon cartoon Avatar. The show features an airbender named Aang whose job it is to restore peace to the world. In the game, the Fire Nation attacks his village and takes the Water Tribe's Katara, a friend of Aang. As the airbender, you will use your skills to free Katara and defeat the Fire Nation with your friends.

Much of Avatar: The Last Airbender is of the basic beat-em-up mold. Using the Wii's controller you can make sweeping gestures down, left, right or up to create combo moves. A basic melee attack can be performed with A and a block with Z. In all, the action in Avatar: The Last Airbender is rather simplistic. A child is wholly capable of defeating the computer enemies in this game with relative ease. The challenge comes from knowing where to go and what to do.

You can play as four different characters in Avatar: The Last Airbender, including Aang, Katara, Sokka and Haru. As your characters, you must select missions, following markers on your map. Once a mission is selected, you follow the arrow on the map to where you need to go until it is completed. Once you are finished you can select from more missions. Some are optional side missions that will result in items and experience, but others are mandatory in order to move the story along.

One of the neat things about Avatar: The Last Airbender is its experience system, which you rarely see in games geared towards a younger audience. Every enemy you kill and mission you complete you gain experience points from. The more experience that Aang and the other characters attain, the more moves that you will unlock. You actually start the game with the single A attack, but additional combos are added to your melee arsenal once you earn them through experience. Focus Mode, where you draw on the screen using the Wiimote (think of Okami) will clear the path for you when it is blocked and will open certain locked boxes.

Experience isn't the only surprising inclusion in Avatar. The inventory and management system may actually go over the head of some younger players. Aang and each of his friends can wear three pieces of armor: on their head, torso and feet. They can also equip up to three different types of trinkets to upgrade health, armor, strength, chi (a vital life force that exists in all living things, according to Chinese belief).

The graphics in Avatar: The Last Airbender are an overhead third-person perspective with a camera that moves along with the characters on-screen. The game doesn't come close to pushing the Wii's hardware to the limits, but the cell-shading looks cartoon-like and the environments are all brought to life. The character models don't really match with the cartoon though. On the sound side, I found myself bored multiple times listening to nothing. I didn't realize how important sound is to a game where you run around a lot, but it keeps your mind occupied when you aren't doing much else. Avatar: The Last Airbender lacks very much music and ambient noise, but has decent voice-acting.

If you are a fan of the television show or have a child interested in it, you may want to give this a rent. For whatever reason, THQ left out multi-player. With the four playable characters, you would think that they would want you to play with friends instead of stupid computer players. This omission hurts replay value, but the game is still decent fun while it lasts.

Graphics: 7

Sound: 4

Gameplay: 6

Creativity: 5

Replay Value/Game Length: 5

Final: 5.5 out of 10

Written by Kyle

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AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack

Developer: Harmonix

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Release Date: November 4, 2008

Available On: PS2, PS3 Wii & Xbox 360

The success of Guitar Hero spawned Rock Band. Now the success of both is spawning a dizzying number of downloadable songs and packs for users to rock out to. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith was the first standalone music game with a single band as the main focus. Now it's AC/DC's turn in their Rock Band Track Pack AC/DC Live. Unlike Guitar Hero: Aerosmith you only get 18 songs.

Basically AC/DC Live is a bare basic standalone Rock Band game that does not require either 1 or 2 to play. So technically I guess if you were an AC/DC fan and owned Guitar Hero, you could buy this game without having to buy the full versions of Rock Band 1 or 2. That said, there is a downside. You don't get a tour mode and you can't import these songs to either Rock Band 1 or 2. This means that you will have to play all AC/DC songs all the time or you will have to switch between discs. Below is a song list:

Back in Black

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)

Fire Your Guns

Heatseeker

Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be

Hells Bells

High Voltage

Highway To Hell

Jailbreak

Let There Be Rock

Moneytalks

Shoot to Thrill

T.N.T.

The Jack

Thunderstruck

Whole Lotta Rosie

You Shook Me All Night Long

I was surprised at the quality of the tracks since they used live music instead of recordings from a studio. These are still the same great AC/DC songs that you know and love, only with the added atmosphere of having a crowd. I'm particularly fond of Thunderstuck, Highway to Hell and Back in Black, although there is not a bad song in the entire game. Essentially you are paying for an interactive Greatest Hits of AC/DC.

I would pick up AC/DC Live for the sole fact that I am a big fan of theirs. Obviously if you are not then you probably will not be interested in this game. While the game modes support both single player and multi-player, there is no online multi-player or true story mode. It also is a bummer that you have to switch between Rock Band discs if you want to play non-AC/DC songs. Nonetheless, this is a great compilation of songs that make for a decent AC/DC Rock Band experience.

Graphics: 8

Sound: 10

Gameplay: 8

Creativity: 6

Replay Value/Game Length: 5

Final: 7.4 out of 10

Written by Kyle

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Battle of the Bands

Developer: Planet Moon Studios

Publisher: THQ

Release Date: April 22, 2008

Available On: Wii

There's no doubt that Guitar Hero has been a tremendous success. The now multi-billion dollar franchise has spawned several sequels from Activision, lining their coffers and propelling them to the top of sales charts. It’s not a surprise that other publishers would attempt to cash-in on the idea. Electronic Arts released Rock Band, Disney has announced Ultimate Band and THQ is behind Battle of the Bands.

Unlike Guitar Hero and Rock Band, THQ's Battle of the Bands does not require or come with (nor is it compatible with) any guitars, drums or microphones. Instead, you use your Wii Remote to motion notes as they pass across the screen like they would in the previously mentioned music games, except all you are doing is waving your hand instead of mimicking a guitar solo or drum beats. Talk about starting on a bad note.

On the plus side there are a good number of songs to choose from. THQ touts that Battle of the Bands features 30 hits, 5 music genres and 11 unique bands to choose from. The genres range from Rock, Hip Hop, Country, Marching Band and Latin. A number of good songs make the cut as well. Among them are Feel Good Inc., Black Betty, Blitzkrieg Bop, Photograph, and Spoonman. Unfortunately, none of them are master recordings, but instead recreated by no-names specifically for this game.

As I said earlier, you use hand motions to hit your notes. You do this by waving right, left and down, as well as a jab towards the screen. The gimmick of Battle of the Bands, as the name implies, is that they literally battle each other. This is quite similar to a battle in Guitar Hero where you would launch an attack on your opponent (i.e. flip their notes). You get a number of attacks that, if inflicted, will add to your point total. The goal of the game is to finish a battle with the most points from hitting the notes correctly and scoring off of attacks.

Like the rest of the game, the game modes are relatively limited. You get a short single-player campaign mode with a corny story and no customization. You pick from the 11 bands and go to battle against other bands across the game's 30 songs. There are three difficulty levels and your experience changes slightly depending on the band you choose (such as your attacks, what you look like, etc.). One of the coolest things about Battle of the Bands is that each band has a unique sound to them. This means that when you play Miss Murder, one band might sing it to rock while another might to rap.

Battle of the Bands seems pointless for not having an actual musical instrument. The battle element of Battle of the Bands is hardly compensation for the lack of an instrument to play. The concept of multiple music genres and remixes of classic songs was a good one. Not having the original songs is a bummer and the fact that you are just moving your hand makes it about as entertaining as listening to your iPod and waving your hands around. Kids might like this, but for everyone else, stick to Guitar Hero and Rock Band.

Graphics: 6

Sound: 8

Gameplay: 5

Creativity: 4

Replay Value/Game Length: 6

Final: 5.8 out of 10

Written by Kyle

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The Beatles: Rock Band

Developer: Harmonix

Publisher: MTV Games

Release Date: September 9, 2009

Available On: PS3, Wii and Xbox 360

The single greatest band to ever live. There, I said it. The Beatles are without a doubt, at least in my mind, the pinnacle of music in the modern age. You can say what you want about their talent, status as pop stars or encounters with drugs. There is no denying their impact on not just music but society as a whole. Now nearly 50 years after The Beatles formed as a band their songs have been digitally remastered and made available in the form of a video game for a new generation.

The Rock Band franchise is now in its third year. Not a whole lot has changed to the formula since the first in 2007. The Beatles: Rock Band is still about stringing together combos, scoring as many points as you can on a given song and collecting stars based on your performance. What's different is the band, the story mode and the treasury trove of unlockable content that fans of The Beatles will undoubtedly find pleasure in (such as an edited Christmas album that they released in 1963).

The story mode (which can be played with up to four people) is the heart of the experience, although it is worth noting that the developers made all of the songs unlocked from the start so that people can jump right in to play their favorite songs. The story is told through still photographs and artwork drawn up by the fine folks at Harmonix. It spans the entire career of The Beatles from their start in 1960 through the entire decade.

The order of the songs and where they are played are sequential to The Beatles history. Some of the songs are played on stage, while others are performed in studio. The early works take place at The Cavern Club, followed by an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, opened their second American tour at Shea Stadium and their Japanese debut at Budokan. Their final years were spent at their Abbey Road Studios and the rooftop of the Apple Corps Headquarters is the location of the final chapter of the game.

Aside from the various locations that the band played at, the developers at Harmonix decided to add a little fab flavor. The parts of the game that take place in the studio have dreamscapes, where representative images are shown on the screen while the song is playing. For instance, in Octopus's Garden, The Beatles are seen walking around in an underwater environment. Likewise, I Am the Walrus has a psychedelic feel that I think The Beatles would even admire. The dreamscapes are pure artwork and can be distracting when playing because of how breathtaking they can be. That said, the distraction is welcome, since it is all part of The Beatles experience.

If you are a fan of The Beatles, or at least appreciate their music, there is a good chance that you will enjoy The Beatles: Rock Band. The entire setlist is dedicated exclusively to The Beatles. Only the most obsessed fan would find the $250 Limited Edition set to be a justifiable purchase. Everyone else should be more than happy with the standard version of the game. I highly recommend that you pick up The Beatles: Rock Band. While the 45 song set list is rather short and quick to play through (you could easily beat it in one sitting), the quality of the songs more than makes up for it.

Graphics: 9

Sound: 10

Gameplay: 9.5

Creativity: 7.5

Replay Value/Game Length: 9

Final: 9 out of 10

Written by Kyle

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Big Beach Sports

Developer: HB Studios

Publisher: THQ

Release Date: June 24, 2008

Available On: Wii

There seems to be a Wii game for every sport these days. Whether it is Madden, Tiger Woods, Tony Hawk or Winter Sports, you can pretty much find any sport imaginable to play on the Wii. Of course Nintendo started it all with Wii Sports. The follow-up, Wii Sports Resort, will resemble more like Big Beach Sports than anything else. So, for an early taste of what you are in store for, read on in my review of THQ's latest Wii title.

There are six different sports that you can play in Big Beach Sports. These include Bocce, Disc Golf, Football, Soccer, Cricket and Volleyball. Oddly enough, I have never heard of anyone play a game of soccer or cricket on a beach, but I guess they figured there are not a ton of sports for them to choose from and had to pick some that might fit in. Unfortunately, cricket is not that game. No one in America has any idea of how to play this British pastime. The same can be said with Bocce, which at least you can get the hang of pretty quickly. It involves throwing a small ball and then two people throwing a set of balls to attempt to get closest to it.

I would say that the best ones are the more familiar sports of football and soccer. Football goes by quarters and you don't get first downs. If you fail to score a touchdown, the opposing team gets the ball. There also aren't any field goals or extra points. Instead, if you intercept a ball you get points for that. There is only a quarterback and a receiver on each team. The soccer is more simple as well. They have you playing in almost a hockey rink sized area as opposed to the large soccer field. Nonetheless, it works, at least compared to the other games. I found that Disc Golf was particularly bad and unresponsive. Volleyball was just boring, seemingly involving more luck than skill.

Like almost all games on the system, the advantage of Big Beach Sports on the Wii over other sports games on more traditional consoles is in the controls. Gestures range from pretending to hit in cricket or serving a volleyball to flicking your wrist with a frisbee. These, of course, can be hit and miss. Some are better than others. Add to the fact that you do not control the computer AI on your team and the luck factor that I previously mentioned is amplified in whether your computer ally feels like cooperating with you or not. One wrong step in volleyball can easily cost a point.

The Wii has become a playground for crappy games. THQ's Big Beach Sports is no exception. I could not, in good conscience, recommend this game to anyone. There are far too many flaws, far too few entertaining events and a whole lot of mediocrity. The controls will have you wincing more than once and the graphics will give you nightmares. In fact, if you are crazy enough to get your friends to play this game with you, they probably won't be calling you friend for very long.

Graphics: 4

Sound: 5

Gameplay: 5

Creativity: 5

Replay Value/Game Length: 5

Final: 4.8 out of 10

Written by Kyle

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Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree

Developer: Nintendo

Publisher: Nintendo

Release Date: June 11, 2007

Available On: Wii

When Big Brain Academy came out last summer, it was following in the footsteps of fellow DS brain-teaser, Brain Age. Together the brain games birthed a new handheld trend and made Nintendo’s DS and DS Lite the hottest units on the market. It only seems appropriate that such a phenomenon should appear on Nintendo’s brand-new worldwide hit, Wii. Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree brings more mind-bending games to the table, but is the living room experience the same or better than the handheld one?

Wii Degree is almost identical to Big Brain Academy at heart, but its presentation is different enough to make it feel new and exciting. When you start up the game, you’ll notice that Professor Lobe has returned. You are prompted to enroll yourself and any friends who plan on testing at the Big Brain Academy; by doing so you integrate your Mii as well as a few other details about yourself. From here you can begin practicing the 15 brain games or jump right into a Test, which is essentially an increasingly-difficult practice mode that forces you to play all 15 games without stopping or taking a break. Testing is how you’ll sum yourself up (no pun intended) and see how you rank in the Big Brain Academy. You’ll earn a grade based on how quickly and accurately you finish the test.

All 15 games are more or less entertaining, and are broken up into the same five categories as they were in the original DS game. Computing games (Whack Match, Fast Focus, and Species Spotlight) require you to think and see things very quickly; for example, Fast Focus takes a white screen and gradually the screen fades into the image of an animal. You are given four options and you have to quickly choose the correct animal. Memorization games (Covered Cages, Face Case, and Reverse Retention) could have been renamed Pay-Attention Games, because all three of them ask you to focus sharply. For example, in Covered Cages you’ll see which cages contain birds and then you’ll watch the birdcages swap position. It is your job to choose which of the covered cages contain a bird. On harder difficulties, this gets especially challenging, as the patterns that the cages flip around get much more complex. To make it even more difficult (and increase your score) you can hold a button to speed up the cage-flipping!

Analyze games (Match Blast, Speed Sorting, and Block Spot) allow the player to take in the visuals that he or she sees on the screen, but that doesn’t mean the player can take his or her time! Block Spot is similar to a previous Brain Academy game, but rather than counting the blocks that make up the structure, you choose between four similar shapes on the bottom of the screen and choose which one is identical to the one on the top of the screen. This can be incredibly difficult, as the blocks rotate and change color. My favorite games, Computing games (Balloon Burst, Mallet Math, and Color Count), were actually the ones I had the hardest time with. In Color Count, a basket sits in the middle of the screen and catches blue and red balls that fly from all sides of the screen. It is the player’s job to count how many of each color ball fell into the basket, but since ties are possible, a lot of attention is required. Finally, Visualization games (Art Parts, Train Turn, and Odd One Out) give the player the most time to concentrate, but again, that doesn’t mean one can dilly-dally! In Train Turn the player has to finish a train track so that the train can scoot to safety, but when the difficulty increases, the on-screen grid rotates, making it even more difficult to choose the right turns and track directions.

If I were to individually rate the games, the only ones I never seemed to enjoy were Odd One Out, Match Blast, and Mallet Math. Of course, I got a load of enjoyment out of Covered Cages, Balloon Burst, Color Count, Train Turn, Art Parts...you get the point, I had a lot more fun than anything else. My Test results were similar to my results from Big Brain Academy, so I feel like the Testing accurately represents my actual skill. Since Wii remote control consists almost entirely of pointing and pressing the A button, the control feels spot-on and avoids the undelivered motion-based annoyances of some other Wii titles.

Unfortunately, similar problems that plagued Big Brain Academy make a reappearance in Wii Degree. The visuals are much better than they were in the DS version, with bigger sprites and more little details (like the balloons popping), but they’re still very basic. The lack of widescreen support (and, like in Mario Party 8, the use of annoying borders to compensate) is disappointing. The sound effects are recycled quite a bit, but perhaps the most annoying part of Wii Degree is the use of the Wii remote’s speaker. I was never one to complain about the speaker before, but Wii Degree uses the grainy sound of the speaker a lot. In fact, at the start of every practice, you’ll hear some sort of aural clue that