Neighborhood Games has an inviting
premise: Play all sorts of fun backyard games, like Lawn Darts, Bocce,
Basketball, Horseshoes, and others with the Wii-mote. On further investigation,
the games appear to be well-designed and inviting. Ultimately, though, the
unpredictable control system detracts significantly from the overall experience.
Players can choose to play
single-player or multi-player modes. In the single-player mode, players
undertake a campaign mode. In campaign mode, there are initially five types of
games available: Lawn Darts, Shuffleboard, Basketball, Bocce and Horseshoes.
Once players have beaten these first games on the easy difficulty level, the
next game in the category will become unlocked, as well as the other difficulty
settings for the initial game. Clothing and accessories for the avatars are also
unlocked.
Each player gets their own avatar, a
cute girl or guy with an oversized head. These avatars can be customized with
clothes and hair. All of the games are located in an outdoor location, and they
all are attractively designed. Everything is brightly colored, and there are
background things in motion, like plants and animals, that lend appeal. Kids
will love the way the games and characters look. They won’t love the way the
games play, though.
Most of the games require the same
type of motion control with the Wii-mote, an underhanded forward swing/thrust
with the “B” button depressed. Basketball uses an overhand motion with the “B”
button. This motion is easy (except for the annoying choice of having the “-“
button for the camera zoom feature, just where it’s natural to have one’s
thumb). It’s not even that the control motion itself is badly designed; it’s
that it’s schizoid in nature. Using the same motion results in wildly differing
results, with hardly any clues to figure out the best method for success. For
example, in Lawn Darts, the same amount of force seems to have different effects
on the distances achieved.
Of the initial games, Basketball
fares the worst. It is almost impossible to get the ball in the basket, no
matter how the player moves the Wii-mote. Our family finally gave up on
Basketball in the campaign mode, because it required players to keep playing
until either they or the computer player reached 21 (when we played, we always
lost, even in easy mode), which took forever.
Bocce is the most fun, with the most
responsive and predictable controls. Logic seemed to play a part, in that more
thrust with the WiiMote made the ball go further, and less thrust meant the ball
went a shorter distance. We got a kick out of slamming the other player’s balls
out of the way.
It’s more fun to play in multiplayer
mode, because everyone is on the same ground with the controls, and it’s always
more fun to play with real people. And, all of the games are available for play,
including more arcade types such as RC Trucks, RC Planes, Tennis and Golf,
amongst others.
We were a little disappointed with
Neighborhood Games, as we thought it looked pretty cool when we first got it,
but then we had to contend with the quirky controls. It’s a shame, because this
is a game that kids will want to play and could have enjoyed tremendously, if
the controls were not so frustrating. Neighborhood Games is still a somewhat
entertaining and fun game compilation, but could have been much better.
Gameplay: 6.0
The game is fun enough in the design of the games themselves, but the
unpredictable controls can make many of the mini-games frustrating to play.
Basketball is almost impossible. My husband didn’t make any baskets the first
time he played, and I only made one.
Graphics: 8.0
All the visuals look great and are sure to appeal to kids. The games are drawn
in a way that is really inviting and appealing.
Sound: 8.0
The sound effects are good and definitely lend to the sense of being outdoors.
Difficulty: Medium
The games have three difficulty levels, which is good for families with
differing ages and skills. The game is more difficult overall than it should be
because of flaky controls.
Concept: 6.0
The concept isn’t new for the Wii, but the presentation is adequate. The games
are designed with fun in mind, but the bad controls detract from the total
package.
Multiplayer: 7.0
Multiplayer is much more fun than single-player and has all the games available
for play.
Overall: 6.0
A good idea for the Wii, and one that should have worked better than it did. The
control system really should have been tested more before the final release. It
is a shame, because there are lots of varied and attractive games included in
this compilation. Best for families with older children that don’t frustrate
easily.
