Experience the joy of canoeing with your friends at home with Wii Sports Resort
It’s the end of July and Wii Sports Resort has finally come out. This sequel to Wii Sports follows in the footsteps of its older brother by representing real life activities, such as canoeing and archery, in a casual sense that allows everyone, whether it be your grandpa or your younger cousin, to get in on the fun. The difference this time around is the inclusion of the Wii Motion Plus, which creates a closer 1:1 experience with the Wiimote. To give my readers a better idea of what to expect from each activity found in Wii Sports Resort, I will be discussing the pros and cons of the activities over the next week and a half. With each update I will talk about 2 of the 12 activities for a total of 6 different updates.
Today I will cover Archery and Canoeing.
Archery
Archery, like its name might suggest is an activity in which you shoot arrows from your bow into a target and try to get as close to the center of the target, the bullseye, as possible. There are nine different colored rings on each target in addition to the bullseye in the dead center. Depending on where your arrow hits the target dictates the amount of points you’ll be awarded for your shot; 1 point for the outermost ring and 10 for the bullseye. There are three difficulty levels, Beginner, Intermediate and Expert, with four stages for each level. Up to four players can take turns shooting the three arrows they are given for each stage to try to get as many points as possible.
The controls for Archery are peculiar in that you hold the Wiimote and the Nunchuk in the opposite hands that you are used to holding them in. People who are right-handed will hold the Wiimote in their left hand while the Nunchuk will be held in the right, both will be held upright facing towards you. The Wiimote represents the bow while the Nunchuk represents the arrow. To start the shooting process, hold down the A-button to set your stance. After getting into the desired stance continue to hold the A-button as you press and hold the Z-button on the Nunchuk and start pulling back. After you’ve pulled the arrow as far back as it goes a circle reticule will appear on the screen and decrease in size the longer you hold the arrow. The smaller the circle is the stronger your shot. Finally to aim, just move the Wiimote. Once you’ve got enough power and are happy with where you are aiming release the Z-button to shoot.
In the Beginner stages the targets are relatively easy to hit. Once you get to Intermediate and Expert though the targets begin to move left and right via a pulley system. In addition to the targets moving there are also other obstacles set up in the way of the target, usually boards that you must wait for the target to get past before you can shoot. Wind is also a factor on all difficulty levels and will affect how your arrow flies so you must adjust your shot to account for this.
My Impression of Archery
Archery is a great game with a bit of a learning curve. Figuring out how your arrow will fly on each stage takes a few guess, check and revise scenarios, but is rewarding once you figure out how to do so. Hitting a bullseye is extremely satisfying and feels like an achievement each time. The stamps to earn in Archery are also a great incentive to keep playing since most gamers will likely be determined to get them all, as I was. Earning these stamps is by no means an easy feat and will take multiple playthroughs. Whether you’re going after the stamp for hitting three consecutive bullseyes in a row or finding and hitting each of the cleverly hidden targets in each stage you’ll be playing Archery for many hours. Whether you choose to experience Archery alone or with others, I can honestly say that it will be one of your favorite games in Wii Sports Resort. Definitely worth playing.
Canoeing
There are two modes in Canoeing, Speed Challenge and VS. Speed Challenge has you racing the clock as you row your way through each of the three courses offered, trying to reach a certain distance before the time limit is up. Each time you finish a course by reaching the required distance you will be given a harder challenge the next time you play that course to reach a farther distance. Speed Challenge can be played with 1-4 players all in the same canoe working together to achieve this goal. VS is a competition between two players in separate canoes to see who can reach five checkpoints before their opponent can.
To control Canoeing all you need is the Wiimote to serve as your paddle. Hold the remote upright facing towards you and do a rowing motion to move forward. Depending on which side of your body you row, your in-game Mii will do the same. You must alternate which side you row on in order to go straight. If you want to turn left row more on your right side, if you want to turn right row more on your left. The farther you row away from your body the more your canoe will turn so to stay on a straighter course keep the Wiimote closer to your body as you row.
As you’re going through each stage you will be met with obstacles that will either slow you down, lilly pads and tall grass, or divert your path as you row, falling rocks and water fountains. The key is to avoid these objects and take the quickest route possible to reach each required distance and continue adding steeper goals for yourself.
My Impression of Canoeing
Canoeing is not a bad game but had some control issues I had to work out. Even though I was rowing on the left side of my body, a few times the Motionplus picked up my movements as if they were on the right. This was frustrating since when it happened it caused me to hit into obstacles I was trying to avoid. This resulted in me not reaching the required distances in some levels. I fixed this problem by doing larger motions with the Wiimote and ended up doing a lot better after that. There were a few occurrences where it happened once in a while, but a lot less than before. Besides the minor control issue canoeing was pretty fun and I found myself playing some courses over again and over again to try to reach the new distances that I was challenged by the game to reach. Adding more players to the mix makes the game a whole lot more hectic and can be fun with a few close friends. There’s also a fun stamp to earn by reuniting ten lost ducklings with their mother in the practice area which had me busy for a good 10-15 minutes. Overall Canoeing was a fun experience.
For a video of Archery go here
For a video of VS Canoeing go here
If you liked this article check out my impressions of:
Wii Sports Resort Cycling and Bowling
Wii Sports Resort Air Sports and Table Tennis
Wii Sports Resort Basketball and Power Cruising
Wii Sports Resort Swordplay and Wakeboarding
Wii Sports Resort Frisbee and Golf
Be sure to check out for my next update in a few days for my impressions of two more activities in Wii Sports Resort.
Comments