shams said: a.l.e.x59 said: 69.1% on Game Rankings. Sorry, I am not allowed to play it. I wont touch anything under 80%. Nope... Well... Maybe I'll let the Mario Party games through... And Sonic 3D Blast... That game was cool... And maybe a few others... Whatever... I don't really care... But nothing else... Well... There was this one other... No, wait, no... Nope... Nothing else... Yeah... Well, look at the time... I best be going... Ha, ha... This is definitive proof to me that the review system has become obsolete and irrelevant. Although *some* people could argue that the game is a 7 - it should be averaging around 8 - 8.5. Too many reviewers play games like M&S with a preconceived idea of it, don't think about the target market, try to rush through it as a single player experience, etc. ... Then again, these are the same people that gave Mario Party 8 a 5 (i.e. IGN). Mario Party 8 is sitting on 64% on gamerankings - and we all know how well that has done. M&S probably deserves to be 5-10% better than MP8, so from that perspective - it makes sense.

Hey, like they say. Good living is the best revenge. From the numbers it seems Mario and Sonic are pulling that off. Videogame reviewers really do seem to lack an ability to look outside themselves and often review games as how they liked it... as opposed to how the people who are meant to see it would like it. I think the problem lies in that they mostly get games they actually like to review, so if they have no "Party Games" guy or "Strategy RPG" guy... these niche genres suffer in the review circles. While "FPS" guy can give like every FPS a great score compared to other games because it's his favorite genre and everyone can afford a FPS guy. They arn't used to being like Movie critics like Ebert. I mean Ebert see's EVERY movie, and he gives it a rating based on how the target audience would like it. He doesn't review for example, Shrek 3 the same as he would review I Am Legend and he doesn't rate that the same way as he would Sweeny Todd. He rates each for the average consumer of that product... while most game reviwers seem to think there is only one kind of person who buys games. Someone just like them.

famousringo said: The reservation I have about this game is the controls. Most reviews claim they're pretty awkward for some of the events. Have they been an issue for any of you who have played it?

The controls were spot on in most of the sports I played. Most of them are simple "timing" events, so they are hard to get wrong (code-wise).

I struggled a little with Table Tennis though - but that was probably my fault. I used to play a LOT of TT (real world) in the past, and tried to play the game exactly as I would a real game of TT. It sort of worked - and sort of didn't. I figure with a little practice, I would be able to nail it. But it was starting to feel remarkably close to the real thing, and that was pretty scary!

Thank you shams for going into detail to explain your decisions. Although I guess it seems you are taking a very expensive approach in getting a big tv and possibly an upscaler despite the fact that in the end you will still be limited by the console. But I wish you the best with that and I hope you can get the most out of it.

cool sounds nice i was planning on getting it but wasnt sure so now i think it should really get it

shams said: famousringo said: The reservation I have about this game is the controls. Most reviews claim they're pretty awkward for some of the events. Have they been an issue for any of you who have played it? The controls were spot on in most of the sports I played. Most of them are simple "timing" events, so they are hard to get wrong (code-wise). I struggled a little with Table Tennis though - but that was probably my fault. I used to play a LOT of TT (real world) in the past, and tried to play the game exactly as I would a real game of TT. It sort of worked - and sort of didn't. I figure with a little practice, I would be able to nail it. But it was starting to feel remarkably close to the real thing, and that was pretty scary!

Okay, M&S is back on my watch list.

 Especially since it's good enough to get somebody new to make their first post about their impressions of the game. Welcome to the 'Chartz, Kreshi. :)

I'll look into picking this game up the next time I want to ratchet up the multiplayer fun on my Wii. I already have 4 x wiimotes and nunchuks, so this game will help justify all that money I spent on controllers. :P

Branko2166 said: Thank you shams for going into detail to explain your decisions. Although I guess it seems you are taking a very expensive approach in getting a big tv and possibly an upscaler despite the fact that in the end you will still be limited by the console. But I wish you the best with that and I hope you can get the most out of it.

The TV was only $1999 AU (6 months ago), which was a real steal. I have no regrets.

My old TV supported HD in some form, but had a messy connection thing going at the back (had to use a certain connection just for 480p and up, and a different one for the others), and because the Wii switches modes - it was unusable.

The new TV also gives me a digital tuner, HD free to air (finally gettting some use in Australia), supports HDMI - and works GREAT with my DVD player (that upsamples to 1080i, and has a USB plus & DIVX support... hmmm). DVDs now look pretty damned cool on it :)

...

So I understand that on the surface it may seem like a waste to get a TV like this for the Wii - trust me, it has been worth every cent, and we certainly are getting the most out of it.

I wish you were here, so I could show you how Excitetruck looks on this beast (its also heaps of fun playing WiiBoxing, Golf & Tennis on a 50'' display!). 

...

(I'll stop bumping this thread now...) 

It does sound like you got that tv for a very good price. I got my 40" Samsung LCD 1080p tv with extended warranty, hdmi cable and power cable with surge protection for just under $3000 Australian :)
However I am still happy with the purchase

 Although it's a shame that Bravia deal wasn't around a bit earlier. You can pick up a w series bravia tv for under 3 grand and get a free ps3.

 

been playing this game today (I bought it for the wife for Xmas) and gotta say it's fantastic, you think it's a very shallow game at first but once you start playing the mission mode and hitting the sweet spots on the events you realise there's a lot of depth to it.

Looking forward to playing through the missions and really hitting the multiplayer mode properly.

I only played it for an hour or so (so we couldn't unlock all events yet), but here's my impressions. Partially I agree with Shams, partially I don't.

Controls / Gameplay:
Mostly great. You need some practice, though - don't expect to win every event the first time you try. But that's a good thing, I think.
- All Running events are a bit simple, of course. But fun.
- Long Jump / Triple Jump feels good, and you need skill.
- Javelin Throw feels very natural, great.
- Trampoline is hectic and funny.
- Swimming is all about consistent timing, not frantic waggling. Cool once you get it.
- Table Tennis is better than Wii Sports Tennis. Seems like you can get really good if you practice a lot.
- The rest I don't remember right now... but I know that I hated Skeet Shooting. The targets are tiny and much too fast. But then, I absolutely suck at FPS's, so...

Graphics are good, but not great, and the music is a bit generic (unlike the impressive title theme). Menus are a bit awkward and not quite as idiot-proof as in an original Nintendo game. So I'd disagree with Shams about the "overall level of polish" - it's not quite up to first party standards.
But the Gameplay was really convincing, which to me is the essential part anyway.

So I'd say 80something. I like it better than Wii Sports, overall. It's not quite as balanced and accessible, but deeper and more substantial.
Annoying: In Germany it's 60€ - one of the most expensive games for the Wii (SMG is 45€, for reference).

Edit: It's cheaper now on Amazon (49€).