"I agree with them that cycling is an abortion"

Except that term means something is cancelled before completion, and the fact that it's in the game means it's not one.

... hm, should i buy this early and collect an extra 10 club coins? xD

Very nice score, but I wholeheartedly disagree with him on the Kendo part. Sure, if BOTH players are endlessly waggling nothing great will happen, just like if two people run up and shoot one another in an FPS. Strategy is the key.

I played the swordfighting at E3, and blocking is essential. If you parry a vertical attack horizontally, your opponent will be dazed for several seconds until you hit them. However, if you parry a vertical attack vertically, you'll likely miss their blade and they'll still hit you. It's quite rewarding.

I really want to play this - if only spending money wasn't like the unicorn...

Are GT reviews trustworthy?

Maybe you should wait for GiantBomb's review before you make your decision...

It is just so hard to make a decision of what game to buy without some professional help

More so than any other site.

Thanks for clearing that up. I know you can waggle through some of the early stages but that's because the CPU doesn't block. I got the impression that two good players would actually have more of a block-fest than waggle-fest. I find that successful blocks are just as rewarding as successful hits.

Gametrailers reviews are usually pretty good -- better than GiantBomb to my taste. As usual, I am more interest in the text than the actual score value. However, I notice they seem to not like kendo, which is IGN's favourite mode. Also, Craign Harris at IGN goes further saying this is a very tactical game:

"I've seen some reviews that claim that there's very little depth in this mode and, like many Wii classic motion games, the strategy of random waggle seems to work best. I wholly disagree, and I actually commend Nintendo for putting a good amount of strategy into such a simple design. The game not only encourages defensive play but almost requires it: if a striking player hits your sword in defense it'll open him up for attack. And you can't just block willy-nilly, either: a vertical block can be bypassed with a vertical strike, so it's important to read how your opponent is holding his sword in the defensive position."

It seems to me that Gametrailers' reviewer never got to play this game mode right. We've seen this before with the original Wii Sports. Many people though it to be shallow due to the scarce of modes available, not realizing how depth motion controls can offer.

Let's hope some of these games are, in fact, precursors to full fledged titles as they suggest in the review. (Starfox, Zelda, Pilotwings, Waverace)

Sorry, I guess the crossed out professional wasn't enough to convey my sarcasm.  GiantBomb's reviews suck.