Wii Sports Resort - Wii Sports Resort

Needless to say, Wii Sports Resort looks, feels and sounds ridiculously jolly; it's the kind of place where Mii's gather to shoot the breeze in tropical shirts and natty shorts, playing golf and practicing archery against a backdrop of bright blue skies and sparkling seas. Visually speaking there's nothing here that you couldn't have seen on the GameCube five years ago, but what does that matter? People clearly feel comfortable with the Wii Sports/Wii Fit look, and Wii Sports Resort fits right in with the house style.

It's still possible to moan about Nintendo's latest. In fact, the same old criticisms that have been thrown at Wii Sports, Wii Fit and the Wii itself still apply. Sports Resort offers little to those who bought a Wii for a new Metroid, Mario or Zelda and have been smarting at the lack of big franchise titles ever since, and there's no question that many of its pleasures are short-lived, even superficial.

Played on your own, as a single player, you could get all you wanted out of it in the space of a weekend. But then, why would you play it on your own, as a single player? Haven't you got a family to share it with? Some housemates who might want to get involved? A few mates who might come back and play after a night out at the pub? On those terms it's brilliant value, offering both more activities and more enjoyable activities than Wii Sports, and more good, honest living-room fun than most games outside of a SingStar or Guitar Hero. For that reason alone, it's another unmissable Wii game.

Verdict

With MotionPlus and a better all-round games selection, Wii Sports Resort deserves to be the new Wii flagship game. Other games offer more long-term depth or visual splendour, but few can consistently deliver this much fun.