Wii Play with Wii Remote Reviews

• 10$ game with 40$ remote.

  
  By AV119IJ0YXS48 on 2007-03-04
  This rating is based on the theory that this is a 10$ game bundled with a remote. Only worth buying because it comes with remote, other than that, it should be in the 15$ bin. I give this a 5 star fun rating because for 10$ (10$ game +40$ remote), you really get your money worth with multiplayer. I am going to review each mini game and then the game as a whole.
  
  The games:
  Shooting: Easily could have just turned this into duckhunt instead of releasing a real duckhunt game later this year. This game is a fun shooter, however the targets (once you played each level a few times) generally appear in the same locations as the previous time you played the level. This game is slightly more fun for a single player competiting for a high score. Playing against a human opponent is more of a battle of who can shoot the targets first, which if you are playing against a new player or some one who is slow with the remote, it's not fun for them. But overall a fun shooter for a single player or 2 skilled players.
  
  Find Mii: This is a really fun game, but only if you have a few miis created on your console. As you progress through the levels it can be very challenging and even though there are only a few objectives, the variety of levels makes the game worth playing. It can be fun for 2 people as well, however you should gain time instead of points in multiplayer. (Single player you gain time instead points) Where you can get to very high levels in single player, (the game only appears to end when you run out of time, I'm not sure if there is a level limit) you can't in multiplayer because you don't gain time. Overall a fun, brain-teasing game.
  
  Pose Mii: The worst game on here. Very boring, repetative, and for the most part: pointless. There are only 3 poses and until higher levels, the Miis are generally standing straight up or slightly angled, so there is not much to do other than move the remote back and forth while bubbles pop. Very boring. It's about the same fun for single and multi.
  
  Ping Pong: This lacks substance but still a decent challenge. I was hoping that you would actually swing the wii mote like a paddle to play this game, but you basically just move it back and forth, it swings for you. As for single player, you just see how many times you can rally against the computer. (no points awarded) Multiplayer is more fun, as you play for points, and can be fun to see how many times you can rally it with eachother as the ball builds speed. Overall fun, but they could have allowed you to actually swing the paddle.
  
  Laser Hockey: This is easily one of the best games on the disc. I prefer the round paddle for added realism and better control. (hold A + B before the start countdown ends) This is a very challenging game and is very fun for multiplayer tournaments. Single player is pretty fun as well but the AI is pretty bad when the puck gets stuck in a corner. Overall a great mutliplayer game, however the puck doesn't move very fast when you "thrust it," instead the puck seems to build speed the more it's rallied off the wall and the opponents paddle.
  
  Cow race: Some what humorous game, but overall not much replayability. Not really a point to playing single player, but can be fun against a human player. Only one course makes this game boring after a few runs, but every once in a while you can have fun with it. The controls are creative and fun when you have a group of people playing.
  
  Fishing: Fun for both single player and multiplayer. Much like the shooting game, fishing for a high score in single player is what holds this game's fun. As for multiplayer, much like shooting again, both players should be evenly skilled, otherwise one player catches all of the fish while the other player gets angry or discouraged. The controls are alright, they could have added some extra features and made it a bit like zelda fishing with the nunchuk reel and what not, but this game is too basic I think to incorperate that. All you really do is hold your rod in a pool of paper fish, and yank to catch when they bite. Overall a fun competition if you have 2 players of equal skill.
  
  Tanks: This is one of the best games on the disc. Single player and multiplayer each hold their own challenge. The levels are the same for both modes, but single player you have lives, and every 5 levels completed, you gain a life. Mutiplayer you work as a team to beat each level while also competing for points by destroying the enemy tanks. (Multiplayer would be way more fun if you got lives like in single player, as the levels are tough and only having one chance before having to start back at level one when you both die at level 17 is very annoying) There are 20 levels to start and then more are unlocked the 2nd time through. (I've heard there are 100 levels) Use the nunchuk to steer if you have serious intentions, as the d-pad only works so long before your thumb feels awkward. Controls are decent and the game overall is extremely fun and challenging for 1 or 2 players.
  
  Billiards: Wii play is worth owning just for this game alone. The physics are quite realistic and the gameplay is nice. Standard 9 ball rules, however to win you are awarded points per ball minus fouls. It would have been better to have whoever sinks the 9 ball legally win, but you can choose to play that way mentally before you start a game and ignore the points in multiplayer. The only problem I have is that I would like to be able to see the ball numbers on the overhead view, instead of having to scroll to each ball to see what ball it is. If you know the standard pool ball colors, I guess it wouldn't matter. Overall very fun competition for multiplayer. It seems like they could have easily included an 8-ball variant as well with this. Oh well.
  
  The game overall:
  Before you critique this game harshly, understand that its sole purpose is to demonstrate the wii mote, like wii sports. That is why it's a ten dollar game bundled with a 40 dollar wii mote. This game will probably never be sold without the remote, and if it is, expect it to be much cheaper. I give it 4 stars, becuase for what it actually is, it has a lot of multiplayer fun packed in it, especially with 9 ball, tanks, and air hockey. If it was 50 dollars and did not come with a wii mote, it would be a 2 star game, or nintendo would have included more mini games and more depth. This game has longevity with multiplayer as air hockey tournaments and billiards never get old, much like real life. As for improvements, I feel that this could easily support 4 players like wii sports. Also, many of the single player elements should have been included in multi, like getting extra lives in tanks, gaining time in find mii, etc. Billiards should have included 9-ball and 8-ball.
  
  Pros+
  Most of the games are decent
  Fun multiplayer with longevity
  In reality, it's only 10$
  Easy but fun controls
  Realistic physics in billiards and air hockey
  Challenging games
  
  Cons-
  Pose Mii is awful
  All games could have supported 4 players
  Shooting, fishing, and cow race lack depth
  Billiards should have 8-ball as well
  Multiplayer modes should have the single player rewards like more lives and time
  
  Conclusion:
  This is a great buy if you need another remote, and want to have some multiplayer games in your library. If you already have 4 remotes, I would wait until this game is sold without the remote in the cheap bin before you pick it up. This has multiplayer longevity, but you probably won't find yourself playing this game alone.
  
  

• Video Game Review of Wii Play

  
  By A1H3SBUUQX9LF8 on 2007-11-10
  Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RMT9J85ESV1BG
  
  

• EXTREME FUN FOR THE CASUAL GAMER

  
  By A32EBQDMOPEJHE on 2007-02-06
  OK, so I am a casual gamer. That is OK. If you like games that are extremely fun for short bursts, like the original wii sports, you'll like this game. It is great. Most of the games are shallow, and suprisingly the tank-like game is one of the best of the bunch. But what is not to love about a decent representation of target shooting, pool, and ping pong. Come on, how deep do these need to be? Listen, my wife has gamed more in the last few weeks with the wii than she has in the last 6 years without it. That says something. Halo three this isn't. A fun game that is approachable by all of your non-gamer friends for an hour of absolute joy, this is.
  
  

• A Nice Remote with some Cheap Games

  
  By A3V6Z4RCDGRC44 on 2007-05-12
  Wii Play is a multi-game arcade set along with a free remote. A better way to look at this is that you get a remote along with a free or perhaps cheap game. The games aren't great, but they're certainly not awful!
  
  We had two Wii remotes and wanted a third one, so we could do party multiplayer. We assumed that the games that came with this would let you have more than 2 people playing. Wrong! These are all only two player games. That really seems a shame for a system that is set up to be a party machine.
  
  The games are all rather straightforward and use the basic Wii remote functions. You can do a target shooting where you shoot at targets, ducks, cans, skeet targets and even space aliens. There's a pattern matching game where you try to figure out which Miis are the same or different. In another game, you rotate and change poses of your Miis to match the shape shown. There's a simple ping-pong, a simple table hockey, a simple pool, a cow race, a fishing game, and then tanks.
  
  I had high hopes for many of these games. I love pool, I enjoy target shooting, and even fishing can be great fun. For whatever reason, they just didn't implement any of the games very well. Fishing in Zelda is FAR more fun than this fishing version. Pool is done much better in many other games. Even the target practice isn't varied enough to be interesting.
  
  The only game that really holds our interest for long periods is the tank game. I *love* the tank game. It can be quite challenging, and is fun to play both alone and with others.
  
  Really, you're not paying much at all for this game set. You're getting a nice remote, and you get the games for free. If you've got very young kids, they might be quite happy with racing cows, knocking over scarecrows, and trying to get the very best cow-racing score they can. In that case, you're all set! You paid very little for a game that fits your needs. For most gamers, though, don't get your hopes up too high. If you go in with low expectations, you might be pleasantly surprised with a game that catches your fancy.
  
  

• Meh... Only worth it if you want the extra Wiimote

  
  By A3E1JXR8IWVG5N on 2007-02-19
  This "game" is barely a game at all, it's more of a tutorial on how to use the Wiimote (included) and Nunchuk (not included). In fact, the first time you play through it, that's exactly what it's like... you can only play one game to start, and playing through it unlocks the next game. Each game teaches an additional skill or feature of using the Wiimote, building on the steps before it, until you've unlocked all the games and explored all the various modes of control.
  
  Unfortunately, there's nothing really fun or compelling about any of the games that would make you want to spend any time playing them. There's just so little replay value as to make the game itself practically worthless. At a retail price of $49.99, it's a good thing they include a Wiimote, because the game itself is not worth the $10 difference between this and the cost of just buying a Wiimote by itself. I had hopes that at least a few of the games would be as compelling as the ones in Wii Sports, but no such luck. Billiards had some promise, but in general the gameplay is so shallow it's almost painfully boring to play. The Tanks game might have a little bit of replay value, but not much. Even as a tutorial this game can be a little boring and pointless at times.
  
  
• Wii Remote + Shareware Quality Game = Overpiced Wii Remote
  By A3S9DOTT4Z8JF9 on 2007-09-18
  I highly advise against buying this. Allow me to expalin...
  
  Let's lay out the facts: A Wii Remote Controller on its own is $39.99. This Wii Remote + Wii Play game is $49.99. In essence, you are paying $39.99 for the Wii Remote and the remaining $10 for the game packed in.
  
  Since you could just buy the remote separately what you really need to know is: "If I want another Wii Remote, should I pay an extra $10 for the Wii Play game?"
  
  The answer is NO.
  
  The Wii Play game is a collection of mini games in the vein of Wii Sports. The catch is that this time the games have far, far less appeal.
  
  While we have logged countless hours on truly fun games like Wii Sports, Rayman Raving Rabbids, and Mario Party 8, it took my wife and I only about 20 minutes to play through the entire Wii Play collection and not a single mini-game left us wanting to play it again. In fact, each game on Wii Play reminded me of cheesy freeware games you can download or play online at "cure for boredom" sites.
  
  If, after reading this, you are still just dying to try it, I say: Borrow it from a friend. No friends have it? Ask yourself why. Then, if you STILL want to play it, go rent it. Spend $5 on a rental and discover for yourself that Wii Play has no "Rii" Play value.
  
  
• Stop hating, just give it a play
  By A31R7X68JLRDKN on 2007-02-17
  OK, we have all heard the negtive reviews for this game and they are just plain silly. If you want more to do, buy Smooth Moves. If you want adventure, buy Twilight Princess. If you want a brand new Wii remote and a nice little set of mini games, then buy Wii Play. I can understand some of the complaints, but to be perfectly honest, I found all of the games in this collection to be at the very least charming. I won't do a play by play of each game here, but the bottom line is this: the game is fun for one player and even more fun for two. I can see putting it down for several weeks and picking it up again to enjoy it once more. Many of the games are simple and intuitive, some are a throwback to the old Atari days and I mean that as a good thing. The billiards game is quite good and probably my favorite. Heck, if you find just one game in here that really grabs you, then it was worth the ten bucks you payed for it. The added bonus is the fact that you finally can get a second Wii remote, something as scarce as the Wii itself. I am very glad to have recieved this game. You should all pick up a copy and Play, Compete, and have some good Fun. It's all about the fun now anyway.
  
  
• Not bad, but only get it if you need another remote.
  By ABMGIZB91P76H on 2007-02-22
  Wii Play, as the description states, is a collection of mini-games bundled with another Wii remote control. For only $10 more than a remote on its own, it is a pretty good deal.
  
  The games are simple, and mostly there to instruct the user on ways in which the remote can be used.
  
  1. Shooting Range: Pretty fun, and shows the potential for future "Duck Hunt" style games, but unfortunately is too short. 2 player on this one is pretty fun.
  2. Billiards: Cool, but the controls are difficult.
  3, Cow Racing (Charge!): Silly, but my 2 year-old son laughs hysterically when me and my wife race against each other, so I guess that's good for $10.
  4. PingPong: Too difficult to control acurately.
  5. Laser hockey: Boring.
  6. Find the Miis: Pretty decent brain-teaser type of game, again more fun with 2 players.
  7. Tanks: Fun, in an atari 2600 "Combat" style. (That's not a bad thing... "Combat" was a sweet game, as anyone over age 35 will recall)
  8. Fishing: Super lame.
  9. Pose Mii: OK. Again, our 2 year-old loves to watch us play it, but otherwise it loses its fun pretty quickly.
  All in all, not a bad use of the $10 extra, but if you don't need any more controllers, it isn't worth getting for just the game. You will likely be able to find this game used pretty soon, at a cheap price.
  
  
• A little fun...but an extra Wii-mote!
  By AQ44PSRF74Q5L on 2007-02-15
  Overview: As others have said - $40 for the Wii-mote and $10 for the game is a reasonable price for what you get here. Frankly, I'm glad WiiSports was the pack-in game - it's infinitely more fun than the collection of demos in WiiPlay.
  
  
  The Games:
  * The Shooting game isn't a bad introduction to pointing and clicking, and is rather challenging.
  * Find Mii is cute, using the Miis from your Wii in the game - a nice touch.
  * Pose Mii isn't as engaging as Find Mii, I found myself intentionally losing just to move on to the next "game".
  * Table Tennis is practically worthless, thankfully Nintendo is releasing a full-fledge ping pong game later on.
  * Laser Hockey is a good representation of Air Hockey and is fun both one and two player.
  * Tanks is an interesting update on Combat from the Atari 2600.
  * Fishing also seems to be a Wii-centric update on a 2600 game, Activision's Fishing Derby. There's no casting involved, just moving the hook to the right place and depth to get the fish you want - not spectacular, but not horrid, might be more fun 2 player.
  * Pool is okay, but would've been infinitely better if played by real 9-ball rules.
  * One game I've found a lot of fun is Charge!, where you ride a cow though scarecrows and jump over fences. Maybe it's just the control scheme, or the fact that a Cow is involved...I don't know - but it is my favourite.
  
  Recommendation: If you need a WiiMote, go ahead and get this package - it's a good deal for a $10 demo disk and a WiiMote, especially because WiiMotes are hard to find. If you don't need another WiiMote, you probably won't find the demos (and that is all they are, tech demos) worth the $50, so it's not the purchase for you.
  
  
• Not worth it unless you NEED another controller
  By A2VY2UP3BRO5DW on 2007-02-15
  This game is fun for about 1 hour. By then you've played all the games 3 times. Tank, pool, and Hockey are the only games with any replay value. The pool controls are very annoying.
  For me it was worth it, because I needed another controller. I'm just glad I had that excuse, because this title is not worth the price without it.
  
  
• Totally worth the price!
  By ATBADDXLX27EW on 2007-02-16
  This game is really a handful of mini games that serve as a primer on the use of the wii remote. They lack the depth and replay factor of the sports title that comes with the wii. They are more involved, however, than the mini games of wario ware. They are right in the middle.
  
  Many reviews seem to think this game is going to serve as a sequel to wii sports. It's nothing like that game, and I think people who are expecting that level of complexity and fun are in for a rude awakening. For example, don't think the table tenis game will be as good as the tenis sports title because it isn't and doesn't try to be. It's a mini game. The laser pong is fun, though, and the duck hunt game is a great blast from the past, as is combat.
  
  Of course the big issue is the extra remote. You get the remote and game together for $50. Is the wiiplay game worth $10? Absolutely! (I mean, it has far more playability than the Xbox 360 burger king games for a similar price point, plus without all the corporate propaganda!)
  
  For all the naysayers talking bad about this game, I think they miss the point of it. This is a great $10 title. If it were packaged at that price as a stand alone without the remote, I'd buy it (and any similar sequels they'd release). At my house, we play the sports title as a party game on the weekends, and this game will serve the same purpose. You and your friends will have fun with 2 person multi here (I know, no 4 player, but come on, ten bucks remember?), or even just passing the remote around and trying some more truly innovative wii gaming here--just wait until you play the cow race mini game with your friends gathere around!
  
  Bottom line is, remotes are harder to come by than Wii's during this initial wii release. If you can get your hands on this, you're silly not to get your hands on the remote. This is a game you should get right now. Don't wait. First, for that remote, and second, in a few months, the novelty of the wii remote will be getting stale, and there will be better games that make use this awesome technology. If you get the game now, though, it'll be great fun while the system is still fresh.
  
  
• A good deal
  By A2K4I7IMWGCG8R on 2007-02-13
  My husband and I bought the Wii Play this evening from Wal-Mart (btw, they had plenty). Overall the nine mini-games are fun, except for ping-pong. It is a failure. Since you do not have a split screen, it is basically impossible to engage in a game similar to tennis (from the wii sports). However, we enjoyed the laser hockey, tanks and pool, so for the price and for the extra remote, this package is worth buying.
  
  
• Review Based on Value
  By A1ETMNKF9HO2TJ on 2007-03-02
  A lot of the reviews for Wii Play are pretty spot on when compared to a regular Wii game, but I don't think it's fair to compare it to a regular game. When you buy Wii Play, you basically get a remote (worth $40) along with the game, so the dispositive question is whether Wii Play is a worthy $10 game.
  
  I would answer that with a resounding YES. It clearly looks and feels like a technical demo for the Nintendo Wii, but again, it's a $10 game. If you're into minigames of the type you'd play in Mario Party or Wario Ware, Wii Play is your cup of tea. You get 9 mini games:
  
  Shooting Range - basically duck hunt. Everybody loves duck hunt, right? It works surprisingly well with the Wii remote. Both single-player and multi-player are pretty fun.
  Find Mii - basically Where's Waldo. There's a clutter of Mii's (people) on screen and you have to find a pair that match, or a particular Mii, etc. 2-player mode basically awards points to the first person who finds the Mii. Also fun in single-player and multi-player modes.
  Ping Pong - control the paddle with the on-screen wii-mote pointer. Not really that fun, you don't actually use any motions like in tennis, you just direct the paddle on-screen to where the ball is. It's actually quite similar to the pong/air hockey game.
  Pong/Air hockey - similar to Ping Pong in concept, you control your paddle on screen with the wii-mote and try to score the puck into your opponent's goal. Not that great single player, but pretty fun multiplayer since it's a little more frantic than ping pong.
  Bubbles - guide shapes into bubbles to pop them. IMO, the worst game of the bunch. It's basically a reflex game, where you take three shapes and try to fit them into slots by directing and rotating with the wii-mote.
  Billiards - Pretty fun single player or multiplayer. A standard pool game.
  Fishing - Similar to the mechanical board game where you try to stick you fishing pole magnet into the fish's mouth. Kinda fun for awhile.
  Cow Racing - Pretty fun, shows off how the wii-mote can be used to drive and steer.
  Tank - Steer a tank around and lay mines or shoot shells. It probably has the least amount of wii-mote interactivity (you point on screen to aim your shots, that's about it, everything else is standard console controls). Lots of people seem to like this one, I didn't so much.
  
  Anyways, bottom line is that it's $10. And it's totally worth the $10.
  
  
• Does not include the Wii NuChuck
  By A1HUYWW1EBMR6N on 2008-08-29
  This review is written for parents who are buying this for their kids:
  
  Please note that this package does not include all the controllers you need to add a second player for most Wii games. The Wii Nunchuck is necessary for roughly 75% of the games available for the Wii. Even one of the games in Wii Play, the Tank game, requires you to have a Wii Nunchuck for all players... which means if you only bought this package in order to add a 2nd player you would still not have all the controllers you need for two people to play it. They probably didn't add the NunChuck to this package because it would've raised the price to $70. Beyond that, I have no complaints about the Wii Play games themselves, they are simple and fun and they make for a nice bonus. However, please be advised that you will need to also buy a Wii NunChuck if you are buying this in order to let your child play most of the games on his Wii with a friend.
  
  If you already knew this... please ask yourself if other Amazon users who may find this review helpful and vote accordingly.
  
  
  
• It's a Wii remote with a pack-in game!
  By A2W95CX94ZZ2NH on 2007-02-13
  Think of it that way. For a $10 premium, you're getting a still-hard-to-find Wii remote, with a collection of games thrown in. Not too shabby. And if only two or three of the games are any good, I'd say it's worth the extra $10.
  
  
• Good Value, Good Fun, but it's still a demo.
  By A24SF5OOLYY0BS on 2007-02-20
  Wii Play Game Review
  
  I think I've played enough of Wii Play to make a fair review (approx 1 hour). And yes, for a single person, this might not be the ideal game... this is definitely a "party demo" - the objective of the game is to show you how to use the Wiimote, and like Wii Sports, it shows a lot of promise of what full-fledged games will offer in the future. And behold, the mini games:
  
  * Shooting Range: This is my favorite. Just shoot what's on the screen, bonuses for killing ducks and yellow targets. It is probably a lot of fun with 2 players. Recommended.
  * Find Mii: This games is a lot as the exercise found on Brain Age. Find similar or dissimilar Miis on a crowd. I'm neutral, don't care much for it.
  * Table Tennis: This game shows promise of what a Table Tennis game could be on the Wii. In it's form, there's no depth, it's just a table-tennis themed Pong game; every 10 hits more people are added to the crowd and the music keeps things tense. I'm neutral just because of the untapped potential.
  * Pose Mii: In this game, bubbles are falling down with your Mii in a different pose, the objective is to change poses and rotate the Wiimote to match the position of the pose in the bubble before it drops down. It's a good time waster, and would have been better if it takes the pictures on your SD card to be used as the background. This one should also be a blast with two players, with good replay value. Recommended.
  * Laser Hockey: This is an air hockey-themed version of Pong. Hmmmm.. don't care much for it. I see head-to-head competition as a plus (unable to test it).
  * Billiards: This game is fun. I enjoy it more than the real deal (but then again, I could care less about real pool); the physics are extremely accurate for this being just a demo. Caveat... pool purists will criticize the game since you can reposition the ball every time there is a foul (U sink or hit the wrong ball). Fun and impressive physics.
  * Fishing: It seems that they threw in this game in less than afternoon (probably borrowed the mechanics from Animal Crossing). Somewhat fun, don't care very much.
  * Charge: Ok... here's the scoop, you're riding a cow and you need to knock down as many scarecrows as possible - now that you've gotten over the silliness, here's the truth.. this is a racing game, you hold the Wiimote as a steering wheel and rotate it forward to accelerate, (I haven't figured out how to make the cow jump yet), but overall it's average. Showcases promise for future games.
  * Tanks!: This game is fun, it's a strategic battlefield game in 2D. Imagine Bomberman with tanks and without mazes. U need the Nunchaku, although you can play with the Wiimote and be frustrated.
  
  You have to beat all games to get into medal mode, then you'll play each game for the medals (bronze, silver, gold).
  
  The bottomline: With a Wii Remote retailing at $40ish, there's no reason why not go for Wii Play and get a free game along with a remote.
  
  
• Atleast the Controller comes with the Game
  By on 2007-02-20
  The controller is the only good part of it becuase I needed another one. The minigames are awfuland get very boring. FIrst of all, you have to go through all the stupid mini games just to unlock each. By finishing it all, you can then go back and play the 1 or 2 mini games that you actually liked but by then you are bored out of your mind and want to go to sleep. The only possibly good game is the tanks game. THe pool is awful and the rest of the games are long and boring. I was looking foward to ping pong and hockey only to find them both boring because the ping pong you just hit it back and forth but the hockey is boring. The fishing is awful. The cow charge was somewhat fun until you don't reach the end because you are supposed to knock down scare crows and reach the barn in the small amount of time. Overally, I would save my money and just buy the remote which you can get
  
  
• Wii Remote with Wii Play instead of vise versa...
  By A1OTDX1VIQ1X4Y on 2007-02-16
  Okay, I think every other review here has made it obvious by now that this game is only worth your money if you're looking to get another Wii Remote. A Wii Remote by itself (and they're still hard to find right now) is $40, so here, you're only paying $10 more for a very mediocre yet sometimes enjoyable game.
  
  Why is it mediocre? Well, there isn't any depth to any of the nine minigames included here. In fact, you'll probably only play most of them only once (like the Find-the-Mii minigame, in which you have to click on the Mii you're using amidst a crowd of other Miis). However, chances are you'll find at least four minigames you really like here which will at least provide you with a few hours of fun. And for ten bucks, can we really ask for much more?
  
  Some of the stronger minigames include: the laser hockey game, which is like a psychedellic update of Pong (it's surprisingly addictive); the billiards game, which features lifelike physics and probably the best controls of all the minigames included here; the table tennis game (ping pong), which is rather difficult, if shallow, and pretty fun once you get the hang of it; and the Tanks! game, in which you use your nunchuck to guide your little toy tank across a 2D board and use the Wii Remote to shoot enemies down before they shoot you.
  
  The shooting target game feels way too short and unfulfilling to be much of any lasting fun; the Pose-Your-Mii game is pretty ridiculous and can go on forever without being amusing at all; and if you have The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, then the included fishing game here is laughable (Twilight Princess features an excellent fishing side-quest, as I'm sure most of you know).
  
  So no, there isn't much to these short little minigames. Most of them are over in a mere few minutes. Yet some of them are decent fun, and you might return to them every now and then. On the same token, most of them aren't worth your time and you probably won't touch them much at all. However, like I mentioned before, this package is really about the included Wii Remote, and the game just serves as a little companion piece. Wii Sports is by far much more fun and has much more depth and replay value, so if you're expecting something along the par of that with this, you'll be sorely disappointed. But if you keep your expectations relatively low, you'll probably find this quick, modest set of nine minigames mildly enjoyable.
  
  For a $10 game, you can't be too harsh. If this game was sold by itself, there's really no way I'd give it anything other than one star; but because it's only ten bucks once you deduct the price of the included, much-coveted Wii Remote, I feel very confident in giving it four stars. If you don't have four Wii Remotes yet, go ahead and pick this one up.
  
  
• Strange time to release this title
  By AW128YSNMLI8Z on 2007-02-18
  I find it odd that Nintendo decided to release this title when they did (almost 3 months after the release of the Wii). To me these aren't really mini games. Well not all of them. Several of the 9 are truly demos and instructional games to help you understand how the Wii remote works. For example, in the manual for the Shooting Range game it says, "This game introduces basic pointing techniques." For each game the manual explains what purpose it serves (i.e. which skill it is going to teach you). Most of the games are very short overall. It's weird that Nintendo would release this long after people with a Wii have gotten used to using the remote, and that they are calling it a real game when it's really not. To me it is a Wii remote that comes with Wii Play and not the other way around.
  
  I suppose this is considered an expansion of Wii Sports, but as you have read in all other reviews it is much simpler. The only similarities are how it starts off. You choose how many players and then which mii(s) you will be playing with. Oh and you can win bronze, silver, and gold medals just like in the training section of Wii Sports.
  
  So I'll break down each game for you and tell you what I think. Here they are in the order that you unlock them when first starting up the game.
  
  Shooting Range-- Not bad. This one isn't really short. I believe there are 5 stages that last for a little while each. It is kinda like Duck Hunt except you don't shoot at just ducks. There are little targets that appear among other things. Occasionally a duck will fly by. It does get pretty challenging at the end. Birds and what not are flying all over the place. I have not tried yet, but you can use two remotes in single player mode. I guess that would make it more fun. The gun shot sound is pretty realstic.
  
  Find Mii-- This game is absolutely stupid and boring. There are several stages. Most of them involve you finding the two miis that look alike in a small group(in the face, they all have different clothes on) and you must do it before your time runs out. Once you have to pick your own mii out in a crowd. It's just, well like I said already: really stupid, repetitive, and boring, but you have to play it in order to unlock the rest so...
  
  Table Tennis-- This game is really simple. There is no swinging motion like in Wii Sports tennis. You simply point the remote where the ball is and it hits it back for you. It gets old really fast. The goal is to return 100 balls. I got bored and lost on purpose before reaching 100 just so I could move on.
  
  Pose Mii-- I'm embarrased for Nintendo. This game is more complicated than Find Mii, but to me it is more stupid. These little bubbles come floating down with little miis inside of them. Your job is to point the remote at them (which is a mii too) and twist it to match the orientation of the mii inside the bubble then it goes away. You can't let any fall down. There are 3 different mii poses that you scroll through using A and B. When the pose in the bubble changes you must change yours to pop it or whatever. It does get challenging as a lot of bubbles come down with different mii poses at the end. Just die on purpose so you can go to the next game. (Apparently it doesn't matter how well you do to unlock the next game so long as you have played it.)
  
  Laser Hockey-- This is a 2-D bird's-eye view of an air hockey table. It's called laser I guess because everything is in bright neon colors. This game is pretty fun. You move your paddle thing around and try to score more than the computer before time runs out. You can twist the remote to aim the little ball. It can get really fast. It does get old after a little bit though.
  
  Billiards-- This is one of the more complicated games. I found it to be entertaining at least for a while. It is short though because you can only play 9-ball. You must point anywhere on the table and hold B to aim. Then point at the cue ball to decide where on the ball to strike. Then hold B and pull back and push foward. It is pretty responsive to how hard you hit the cue ball. The way the balls react is pretty realistic.
  
  Fishing-- It's kind of like fishing with the first rod in Zelda. Sort of. The fish are really dumb looking and are very 2-D. They all look like they are swimming sideways, like a flounder or something. You lower the remote and you can move it around side to side and foward and backward to put it where you want. Jerk it up when you get a nibble. You get a set number of points for catching different kinds of fish. Pretty boring.
  
  Charge!-- It looks like it will be stupid. It is weird. You are riding on the back of a cow. The point is to knock down as many scarecrows as you can as quickly as possible and make it to the finish line. You hold the remote like in Excite Truck. Roll it foward to make the cow run faster or roll it back to slow down. If you jerk the remote up the cow will jump (there are hurdles in your way). This game is weird but it's kinda fun. The course is short though. The time limit is 90 seconds.
  
  Tanks!-- This is my favorie game and really makes the extra 10 bucks for the remote worth it for me. It is a bird's-eye view of a little battlefield with little barriers and walls and what not to hide behind. I don't know how many levels there are because I keep dying after like 7 or 8. This game can be pretty hard. The CPU tanks get fast and have fast flying bullets. You can move around with the D-pad or plug in the nunchuck and use the joystick. A lays mines and B fires. You can bounce a bullet off of a barrier to hit someone around a corner which is fun. Point the remote where you want to shoot.
  
  Note: I have not played any game in multiplayer, so I don't know about that.
  
  So, the conclusion is: buy this if you need a remote. Tanks!, Laser Hockey, Charge!, and Billiards are all pretty fun. And Shooting Range is OK too. The other games are not. But who cares. Now I can play two-player tennis on Wii Sports, which is why I went out and got this anyway.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Game = $10 | Wiimote = $39.99 | Wii Play = $49.99... Why did I expect so much from the game?
  By A2RC94J517UZQE on 2007-03-18
  At first glance, the Wii Play seems extremely appealing as you get a Wii remote AND a game consisting 9 mini games. However, to my disappoint and to many others, the games are just not worth it. I'd sell back my Wii Play with the remote to just get back my money but it's too much of a hassle.
  
  If you want the Wii remote don't buy this. You'll just waste $10 that you can save to buy a good game rather than the 9 mini game junk.
  
  
• If You Need Another Remote Only
  By A2H22I2RWE0HOV on 2007-04-08
  My kids like Wii Play. I, however, think it's kinda bland. Definitely you should only buy this game for the Remote Controller. That's it. If you do that, then the game is really just an extra 10 bucks and that's about what it's worth. There are games like Pool and Ping-Pong and a souped-up version of the old Atari classic Combat (battling tanks) but Wii sports is mainly geared for the inexperienced Wii player and the games are designed to teach you how to use the Remote Controller in all its variations. I like the Pool, but there is no next level and that is annoying. Nine ball gets weary after a while, it would have been nice to unlock another version of Pool. Overall, definitely not as good as the Wii Sports game that comes with the console. Most of the games on Will play are silly. Like I said, if you need another controller, buy Wii Play, otherwise skip it.
  
  Deal With It!
  
  
• The controller is great! The game... well... yeah.
  By AN9J46667D80O on 2007-06-17
  I love my Nintendo Wii. I wrote a review about it right after I got it. It's a wonderfully fun little machine! Now that I've got it online, I've downloaded all sorts of stuff, voted in polls and had a generally grand time! What I lacked was a second controller.
  
  Enter "Wii Play".
  
  Don't buy this game for the game. The game is crap. "Wii Sports" is better and more entertaining and you get that for free. But to make "Wii Sports" even more fun, you need a second player. For that, a second controller is vital. Since you need one anyhow, buy this bundle.
  
  "Wii Play" isn't completely bad. The cow racing, laser hockey, shooting and pool games are basically fun and provide some dandy two-player action. The others are forgettable.
  
  So in short: don't by this game for the game. Certainly don't buy the seprate version of the game. But since you need another controller, buy this bundle. Get the controller. Spend $[...] on a game you might play for a couple hours.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  
• Don't Bother
  By A343WE4UCVYSSV on 2007-09-27
  Go get a controller and save your $10 dollars for something that will provide more than 10 minutes of enjoyment. The games are simplistic and repetitive and, for $10 dollars, you can go buy a used GameCube game to play on the Wii.
  
  
• Wii Play is Barely (and I Mean Barely) Worth Your $10.
  By A39Q5A1DC2J6CO on 2007-02-15
  The only reason you should pick this up is for the remote. If you liked wii sports, you'll like wii play half as much. Most of the games you'll play once and never come back to. The few that you enjoy are too shallow and repetitive to be played for more than five or ten minutes. Basically, the game portion of this package is barely (and I mean barely) worth your ten bucks. If you want dozens of mindless mini-games that make good use of the wii-mote, try picking up Super Monkey Ball, Rayman Raving Rabbids, or Wario Wares. You'll be getting plenty more gaming fun for your dollar.
  
  
• Meh...
  By AVQUIPX9JTGX3 on 2007-02-21
  I would have to agree with most of the reviews here.
  Here's the bottom line.
  If this was a standalone title without the WiiMote and was in the bargain bin for $10, I would have probably given it a shot anyway.
  At that price, I guess you're getting what you pay for.
  The ping pong game had alot of promise, but they spoiled it by not expanding the options. I mean, who cares about returning shots until you miss? That's a game?
  Billiards is alot of fun at first, but again, NO variety!
  One of the reasons Wii Sports is so much fun has to do with variety. If you get sick of the regular games, you have Training Mode, etc.
  Wii Play could have benefited from having more options and depth.
  With MP 8 coming out sometime this year, I needed another WiiMote anyway, so it's not a total loss.
  
  
• It's Basically Another Tech Demo
  By A29BQ6B90Y1R5F on 2007-02-22
  Wii Sports was a marvelous way to show people what the Wii could do. Wii Sports is also a fairly addictive game that just about anyone can pick up and play. Wii Play is somewhat like Wii Sports. It's basically another game to give you a preview of what the Wii can do. Unlike Wii Sports, however, the games aren't nearly as good and they aren't as memorable. Part of what made Wii Sports so great was its simplistic, yet involving, gameplay. Wii Play doesn't make you feel nearly as involved as Wii Sports does. To its credit, however, it does come with a Wii Remote packaged inside, but if you really really loved Wii Sports, you're definitely going to be let down Wii Play.
  
  There are nine games in Wii Play. One is very similar to Duck Hunt in that you have to use the Wii Remote as a gun and shoot things. Fairly simple, but it leaves an empty feeling in you. Another game involves you having to find certain Mii's (imagine Where's Waldo). There's Table Tennis, a game where you pop bubbles, billiards, laser hockey, fishing, some game where you ride a cow and Tanks. With Nine games you're bound to find something good, but Laser Hockey may very well be the best of the lot.
  
  None of the games are really that bad, they're just not as involving or as fun as Wii Sports, nor can they hit that level of addiction that Wii Sports gives you. Which is why I say that if you really do love Wii Sports, then Wii Play is a let down. You get a Wii Remote packed in with the game, though, so it's almost like buying the game itself for ten dollars. Sadly, the Wii Remote alone may be the reason to buy this seeing as how as this review is being written, Wii Remotes in your local retail store are still pretty hard to come by.
  
  None of the games are horrible, but none of them have any lasting appeal. You'll grow bored with most of them after a couple of plays. It's not bad, but we've already been exposed to what the Wii can do, and I don't think most people need a second tutorial.
  
  
• An Underrated Wii Game
  By A2ZGDHLJ85T6AD on 2007-03-07
  This game is a must-buy if you answer yes to two of the following:
  
  1. You don't have much free time.
  2. Have someone to play with that isn't a typical gamer.
  3. You enjoy playing with your Mii's.
  4. You think Wii Sports is great.
  
  
  Every game in Wii Play you can pick up and play with almost no learning curve. It's right up there with Wii sports - though it's a much different experience. You won't be moving around much, but you will have fun. However, if people come over, the first game I'd show them is still Wii Sports - it has much more of an instant appeal and seems more like revolutionary gameplay. But in terms of pure fun and laughs, Wii Play beats Wii Sports.
  
  
  
  
• The remote makes this game worth the $50.
  By ABTXVIP8EBHCT on 2007-05-21
  I had bought a Wii about a month ago as a gift for my two sisters and I. When looking at games, I decided to buy this one simply because it came with an extra remote which is necessary for more than one person to play.
  
  Another review mentioned that it's a $10 game with a $40 remote. This is absolutely true. The games aren't that great but if you play with more than one person, it's much more fun than if you were playing by yourself. The Wii Play absolutely helps in showing the different ways you can use the Wii remote. Here's my review of the games:
  
  Ping Pong: This is probably better played as a single player rather than multiplayer. I say this because it can get hard for the player who is at the top of the screen. Learning how to control the remote can be a challenge. As a single player, it's fun to see how many times you can hit the ping pong ball in a row. (Overall rating: 2/5)
  
  Racing game: Better played with more than one person. My sister and her boyfriend like to race each other. Basically what you have to do is go through a race while knocking down scarecrows and jumping over hurdles. This game is probably the coolest simply because you have to turn the remote on its side to play. (Overall rating: 3/5)
  
  Pose Mii: Another review said that this game is pointless. I absolutely agree with him/her. It's better played with more than one person. What you have to do in this game is line up your Mii so that it matches the diagram on the screen. You then have to keep that pose and line up your Mii to the outline in the falling bubbles on the screen. If the bubble falls, you lose. Like I said, it's better played with more than one person. The bubbles overlap each other and it's fun to try to get past your fellow player's bubble to get your own. (Overall rating: 2/5)
  
  Tanks: This game can be played by yourself or with another person. Either way you play it, it can be fun. Basically you have to shoot the tanks on the screen but it gets harder with every level (more tanks, bigger bombs, etc.). I prefer to play this with another person because I like that you have to play as teammates rather than against each other. (Overall rating: 3/5)
  
  Find Mii: This is the one game that I find the toughest to play. You get a task on the screen (like "Find two identical Miis") and you have to look through the crowd of Miis to complete your task. With each level it gets harder because more and more Miis show up. I haven't played this with another person so I don't know how much fun it would be but I personally can't get past the 6th level myself. (Overall rating: 2/5)
  
  Shooting game: This is probably the best game on the Wii Play in my opinion. You can shoot different things (cans, birds, targets, spaceships, etc.) and each thing you can shoot is fun for different reasons. This is best played with another person although it's also really fun for a single player. It can get tough with two people playing because it's hard to see where your aiming with all the bullets flying everywhere. (Overall rating: 4/5)
  
  Fishing: The one game that I can't figure out. Admittedly, I don't play this game much because no matter how many times I try, I can't get my fishing rod to work correctly. My sister and her boyfriend can't seem to figure this one out either. (Overall rating: 1/5)
  
  Pool: Another game that I really like. Also another game that is fun playing by yourself or with another person. I found it hard at first to get the pool stick to hit the ball correctly (and I'll admit I still sort of do) but it's much more fun than regular pool (mainly because it's easier). (Overall rating: 4/5)
  
  Laser Hockey: A pretty good game to play either by yourself or multiplayer. It can be sort of hard to maneuver the remote but once you get the hang of it, it can be a fun game. (Overall rating: 3/5)
  
  Overall, this game is just ok. However, if you plan on playing the Wii with more than one person, it may be a good idea to get this not only to enjoy the few minigames that are fun, but to also get an extra remote at a cheaper price. I'm assuming that the Wii remote was thrown in because these games are meant to be multiplayer games. I'd only recommend the Wii play to those who are looking to get an extra remote in the future and would like a few extra games to play besides the Wii Sports games that came with the Wii. If you're getting this just for the games, I'd stay away.
  
  
• I Wish There Was More...
  By A25O0GQIBO4VHH on 2007-06-11
  There are a couple great things about Wii Play. The first is the inclusion of a controller. The second is that a couple of the minigames are actually really entertaining, and use the Miis to great effect. That first thing's really important, though, because Wii Play isn't the kind of game you'll play for hours on end. Some of the minigames are really clunky, and others are simply too shallow to be enjoyable for long.
  
  Still, there are two standouts for me. One game, where you try to "Spot the Mii" is a great use of the system, and the more Miis you have, the better it is. The second standout is the shooting game, which is immediately reminiscent of Duck Hunt. Who doesn't love Duck Hunt? (Okay, I'm sure some of the younger set out there don't even *know* Duck Hunt, but I'll skip over that lest I feel too old.)
  
  For a $50 game, Wii Play is a total and complete ripoff. A terrible value. For a $10 game that comes with a $40 controller? Worth every penny.
  
  
• A must for the Wii Family
  By A12E78L9515IF6 on 2007-07-16
  Beside Wii Sports, this is my second favourite game on the Wii. It has several games in it. It is fun to play solo, but more fun to play against an opponent. I love the shooting game, and the "Find the Mii's" game. the ping pong game doesn't have mush sport in it, you just have to move the remote from side to side, and I found that as boring. In the fishing game there are several kind of fish, and you have to learn how to get the fish to bite on your hook and not your opponent; it is fun, and you have to watch out for the easy catch ;) (negative points). I enjoy playing with the Wii sport, but everytime I get tired of it, this game is my second choice.
  
  

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