101-in-1 Sports Party Megamix (Wii) - Review by Chris

Introduction

It's well known that there is hardly a shortage of mini-game collection titles on the Wii, with every big release seemingly bookended by one of these titles. As such, new titles are being driven to up their game and increase the quality and quantity of content in the hope of getting consumers' attention. Nordcurrent, who have already released mini-game titles on the Wii, are back again with a new entry in their 101 in 1 series, this time focusing on providing 101 sports based mini-games for you to indulge in. Yet, while it certainly has the quantity nailed down, does it have the quality to make it a worthwhile venture for gamers?

Gameplay

101 in 1 Sports Party Megamix is, as the name would suggest, another mini-game collection to the Wii's already stuffed library in this particular genre. It's main hook is that while other titles may provide a smaller number of mini-games for you to come back to with a handful of unlocks, here you are presented with 101 sports based mini-games which you'll unlock progressively as you continue to play, thus continually adding to the library of mini-games you'll have available to play either on your own in single player or together with up to 3 friends in 4 player multiplayer.

The list of sporting style mini-games you'll participate in is vast in its breadth, with more common place sporting style mini-games such as archery, go karting and boxing being accompanied by more far out sports such as parkour, kendo, horse riding and many others which you would classify as game show challenges rather than sports have made the list of games included for play. If you can think of a sport, it's in here in some form. It therefore creates a wide variety of varying gameplay types which should be able to keep your attention for a considerable period of time both in the single player environment and when you add some friends into the fold for some multiplayer. But just like many of other mini-game collections on the market, you'll have to take your good with your bad and here, we have a case of quantity over quality as many of the games you'll encounter are either simply dull or frustrating in the way in which you are supposed to play them making them almost unplayable, mainly because the controls or the gameplay simply don't come together as they should do or simply because the game doesn't translate at all to being a game.

You'll start with a total of 10 mini-games available to play as soon as you put the disc in your console but if you want to unlock more and have a bigger library of games available for play in multiplayer, you'll have to take to the single player Career mode and singlehandedly play through each mini-game to unlock 2 new ones. As such, dependent on what types of sport you're into or how forgiving you are with flaws in this kind of game, the experience will either drag almost from the get go or hit a snag further down the line as you encounter mini-games which frustrate in their working making you want to stop playing altogether. There are, like all mini-game collections, some gems but again, you'll have to dig through the rest of the content to find the ones which you'll find particularly fun and even these, like all of the games, are very basic in their premise.

The game doesn't quite hit a note in the single player, although there is some fun to be had. Of course, these kind of games take a step in the right direction with multiplayer and here, up to 4 players can take part in a series of 5 mini-games, chosen from the ones you have unlocked so far in the single player, and the winner is decided based on the number of points accumulated during play. It does act as a more enjoyable experience with multiple people playing the games but again, the rather basic design of the mini-games and the trial and error you'll need to go through to pick a series of 5 games that everyone will enjoy mean that the immediacy of the multiplayer fun is halted slightly.

Controls

The Wii-mote and Nunchuk are your methods of controlling the numerous mini-games, some opting to use only the Wii-mote and others making use of both. It's a largely motion based set up, with almost all games requiring some basic level of motion input for the games to be play, although there are some which stick squarely to the more traditional button based setting. The motion gestures needed to complete the game are a mixture of pure waggle, where you simply have to shake the Wii-mote on its own or with the Nunchuk aimlessly to complete the task, and pointer

functionalities, simply having you point at the screen and pressing a button. Neither is as smoothly implemented as they need to be, with the IR pointer working better than the actual gestures which can be slightly hit or miss on occasion. The lack of feedback from using either of these, and just in general when it comes to the controls, is the main issue in making you feel integral to what is really happening on the screen and in many of the games.

Graphics

Making use of some bright colours and some good design work, the game manages to pull off a visual presentation that, while being far from pushing what the console can do, is of a good standard considering the budget price tag of the title. There is a huge variety in the locations used for each of the mini-games, with the developers clearly having flexed some artist muscle here in giving each place a distinct and well designed look that is ever so slightly let down by some average texture work in places as well as the very occasional spot of frame rate dips. Character models, of which there are only 6 to choose from in the game, carry a basic cel-shaded look and while they're far from being the best available on the console, they are animated extremely well throughout all of the events you'll play.

Sound

A very basic package of audio work accompanies the gameplay, providing little to really delight in. It's there simply to help in creating an atmosphere for the game in general but more importantly the individual mini-games, but never really achieves this as it's very unnoticeable in its nature. It's not a drawback for the game, as it's clearly not the main focal point,

Final comments

101 in 1 Sports Party Megamix is a prime example of quantity over quality, with many duff and awful mini-games that it calls its own, but there is no denying that there's plenty here to keep you entertained for a considerable period of time. It's just whether you're willing to wade through the dregs to find the minimal number of worthwhile mini-games, which otherwise brings it closer in lines with other mini-game collections on the console in terms of content worth playing, and even then, they've been done elsewhere to a higher standard and with much more serviceable controls.

Pro: Large collection of mini-games to play, presentation is amiable
Con: Many of the mini-games are just dull and don't work well, controls aren't as functional as they could be, multiplayer should but doesn't make the game any more fun
Final score: 4.8

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