So, here we are again with Wii Sports Resort – and, just like its predecessor, it's a proof of concept, of sorts. As before, the game takes familiar sports, distils them down to their most entertaining parts and pairs them up with intuitive, accessible motion controls. Only this time the focus is on highlighting the boost in precision and responsiveness afforded by Nintendo's latest peripheral, Wii Motion Plus. Of course, the majority of the population probably doesn't give two hoots about the new technology – all they want to know is how this sequel shapes up. Good news then, because Wii Sports Resort is a hugely expanded, endlessly more entertaining game all round.
Resort's most obvious upgrade is the bump from the original game's five sports to the 12 available here. Combining obvious candidates with some slightly more obscure offerings, you can't accuse it of lacking diversity - and, as odd as some inclusions might seem, each sport has a core premise that's strong enough to justify its place in the line-up. While some, such as Swordplay, Archery, Air Sports and Table Tennis are immediately compelling - reflecting a fairly literal real-world to in-game control system that makes them gratifying from the get-go - other offerings aren't quite as impressive at first glance. The likes of Wakeboarding, Power Cruising, Cycling and Canoeing appear disappointingly slight while Frisbee and Basketball are uncharacteristically fussy. Others, like Bowling and Golf, are simply overly familiar.
If it seems underwhelming, you can blame Resort's sometimes overbearing emphasis on accessibility here. Rather than chucking its mainstream audience in at the deep end, Nintendo has opted to ease in the casual crowd by largely restricting opening events to their blandest, most basic form. They might get the job done as far as introducing fundamentals goes, but they're generally uninspiring in their initial simplicity and it takes a little persistence to unlock Resort's meatier offerings.
The good news is that once you're over that initial hurdle there's plenty to get stuck into, with most sports featuring a plethora of different game modes. It's here that Nintendo's development magic shines, as Resort introduces a stream of refreshingly inventive variants on each sport's core mechanics. It might simply be a case of ramping up the difficulty by adding stronger wind, higher waves and tighter time limits, for instance. Often though, modes offer more significant deviations that really exploit each individual activity's strengths.
Basic Frisbee, for example, ingeniously transplants itself onto the golf course while Swordplay canters between speed-recognition object-hacking and a more traditional level-based Adventure mode that sees you fighting through progressively more difficult hordes. Air Sports, meanwhile, nabs the best bits of Pilotwings to deliver motion-controlled plane-flying and parachuting that's so well implemented it'll likely have you yearning for a proper Wii update to Nintendo's beloved series. In fact, whether it's the game-like structure of Swordplay Adventure or Wave Race-style Power Cruising, it's hard not to be impressed by the solid Motion Plus foundations Resort lays down - and it's easy to imagine we'll be seeing them again in a more evolved form at a later date.
It's this level of giddy creativity that makes the game such a constantly engaging experience and, reassuringly, Nintendo has really concentrated its efforts on delivering a sequel that's compelling whether you're playing on your own or with friends. Although there's still a focus on multiplayer gaming, each sport in Resort introduces modes designed specifically for the solo player. While the best of these are the ones with more substance - the brilliant Air Sports mode that sees you hunting down landmarks on Wuhu Island being a particular highlight - even Resort's more superficial offerings, such as Wake Boarding and Cycling, contain enough core sophistication to encourage compulsive score-bettering as you hone your techniques.
Alongside solo-specific modes, Resort also introduces a 'Stamp' system, designed to encourage replay by setting increasingly bizarre objectives. Rather than limiting goals to specific progress milestones, objectives are impressively imaginative, playing to each sport's strengths. You're encouraged to look at each mode in new ways - whether that means exploiting the physics engine to perform some superhuman task or working against the rules to effectively break the game. Unfortunately, beyond personal accomplishment, success doesn't offer much in the way of reward. Achievements are posted on the Wii's message board, but that's it. Even a simple online leader board would have provided a more compelling reason to stick with the game's increasingly obtuse demands.
While Nintendo has delivered a substantially more involved single-player game in this sequel, it's unsurprisingly the multiplayer elements that stand out most. Like its predecessor, Resort offers a brilliantly tactile, raucous party experience that works because everyone can get involved. It's hugely accessible yet, thanks to Motion Plus, there's a depth of precision to controls that, unlike Wii Sports, actually makes skill a significant factor in the outcome of events. That gives the entire game a hugely compulsive competitive edge in multiplayer and sports that seemed lacking as solo endeavours frequently take on a whole new lease of life with friends. Take Canoeing, for instance: in single-player it's an exhausting test of solitary arm-waving prowess. In a group though, those same basic mechanics transform into a hilariously manic battle for paddling supremacy.
Other multiplayer stand-outs include Swordplay, typifying Nintendo's development approach to Resort. Experienced players can enjoy a game where victory demands fast reactions and technical precision while beginners will likely have just as much fun waving their arms around in carefree revelry. From our thoroughly non-scientific field experiments, Bowling, Table Tennis and Archery - with their streamlined control schemes - proved the biggest crowd pleasers in a party environment while the likes of Frisbee and Basketball sat on the shelf thanks to overly finicky controls. Indeed, some sports are too idiosyncratic for their own good with many advanced techniques lacking logical Motion Plus functionality.
In fact, if you're approaching Wii Sports Resort for its technology rather than its entertainment value, you might be underwhelmed. Although Swordplay, Frisbee and Air Sports are incredibly impressive in their use of responsive, accurate 1:1 control – and old favourites like Bowling get a new lease of life with more realistic spin - most of the time Motion Plus is employed in incredibly subtle ways. It's not infallible either and controls still exhibit the occasional disappointing glitch that breaks the illusion of seamless, natural play.
Wii Sports Resort isn't supposed to be about Motion Plus trickery though. Its focus is on providing engaging, accessible entertainment and that's something it does in huge spades. It's got the same clean, unfussy aesthetic of previous 'Wii' branded games and, while it might be minimalist, it's still packed with character. From Wuhu Island's intriguing nooks and crannies to the hilarious personalities bestowed on your Miis, it's full of deft touches that form a typically slick, irresistibly charming package. And if you don't fall in love with Resort's breaking surf, shady palms and blazing sunshine then you clearly live somewhere much nicer than we do.