When my girlfriend purchased a Wii for me for my birthday last summer (we waited in line and just barely got it), they did not have any additional controllers available - except if you bought Wii Play (conveniently, they did have extra Nunchuks available to buy - so she bought an extra one of those for me too). Considering a normal controller is $40 and we could get Wii Play for $50, we figured for an extra $10 we would get a little bit of entertainment.

Overview
Wii Play is a series of nine mini-games that you initially have to play in order (once they are unlocked, you can play any whenever you want) and are a great introduction to the capabilities of the Wii Remote. As a first time Wii player, I found learning how the system interacts with the Wii Remote pretty amazing. It was also pretty cool to have to create a Mii and then get to use it. Unfortunately, that's basically where it stopped for me, and the replay value was pretty poor... So, without further ado, here are the nine games and what I think of them.

1. Shooting Range
I was a huge fan of NES Duck Hunt (I still have my original NES with my original zapper - and it works!), so I was pretty excited when this was the first mini-game that I got to play. The idea here is that you shoot basically anything that comes onto the screen (if that stupid dog was here laughing at you for missing ducks, you would be able to get him... finally...) by pointing your Wii Remote at the screen and pulling the trigger. The game goes through a series of levels where you shoot various targets - Balloons, Appearing Targets, Clay Pigeons, Giant Cans from the sky, and Aliens! (well, UFOs). The best part about the UFOs is that you have a bunch of your Mii's on the ground (or both player's Mii's if you are playing with two people), and you need to shoot the UFOs before they abduct your Mii's. As you can probably tell, I'm a big fan of Shooting Range.

2. Find Mii
Quite possibly the most annoying and dumbest game - but it's only the second one, so who knows! The idea is that there are a lot of Mii's on the screen and you have to pick out various ones based on attributes that you are told (find the same Mii's, find Mii's that are doing different things then the other's, find the fastest Mii, etc.). Somebody should tell Nintendo that we already learned how to point the Wii Remote at the screen and press a button - time to move on to some other cool features, guys! I am not a fan of Find Mii.

3. Table Tennis
Oh, great idea! I loved the Tennis on Wii Sports, so this has to be equally as great! WRONG! In Table Tennis, you are just a paddle, and you move it left or right to make contact with the ball. I found it pretty frustrating, and not a lot of fun. I think it could have been done a lot better and had a lot of potential. I am not a fan of Table Tennis.

4. Pose Mii
The point of this game is to fit your Mii into various falling shape bubbles at different angles. You do this by pointing your Wii Remote at the screen, rotating either left or right, and clicking various buttons to change your Mii's pose. I found it pretty good the first time for two reasons: first, you get to actively move something around the screen while having to think about two other things (rotation and position), and, second, it comes after Table Tennis. I am a fan of Pose Mii.

5. Laser Hockey
I love air hockey so this has potential to be fantastic! Unfortunately, as you probably just picked up on, I used one key word in there: potential. You move around on the screen and can change the angle of your game piece by rotating the Wii Remote. I think the problem with this game is that it's hard to get the angles right and hold them while hitting the puck (wall bounces are the key to success in air hockey), and it's hard to go perfectly the way you want to with your Wii Remote (you will inevitably drag it down or up instead of horizontal), which screws up shots... Overall, I am not a fan of Laser Hockey.

6. Billiards
You play this game like a really good game of pool in real life - 9 Ball Billiards (or, as I used to call it when I was little, hit the balls in in order). You get to control the pool cue and choose where on the ball you want to hit and what angle you want to hit it at. Overall, a lot of fun, but really hard. I am a big fan of Billiards.

7. Fishing
You know what would be more boring then real life fight? Video game fishing. Especially video game fishing for paper-like fish. You move your fishing rod around with the Wii Remote, and when you think you can get a fish, you pull it up (just like real fishing!). There are a few rounds, and you certain fish have a bonus (whichever one is displayed at the top of the screen). This game's pretty poor... Overall, I am not a fan of Fishing.

8. Charge!
Finally, a game that shows something good that can come out of cow tipping (aside from "Hey Chucko, I don't think that's mud"), cow riding and scarecrow destroying! The concept of the game is that your Mii is on the back of a cow, and you have to go through a track hitting scarecrows for points and avoiding hurdles (since they will slow you down). While the concept sounds really stupid (well, it is really stupid...), the greatness of this game comes out of the Wii Remote interaction. During Charge! you hold the Wii Remote sideways in both hand - if you want to go faster rotate it forwards, to slow down rotate it backwards, to turn just use it like a steering wheel, and to jump (over those hurdles!) jolt it up quickly. Overall, it's a pretty stupid game, but it is the only mini-game that uses the Wii Remote sideways, so it shows how much more potential the Wii has. I am a big fan of Charge!

9. Tanks!
This is the only game that uses the Nunchuk and, quite frankly, it's a letdown. You drive your tank around using the Nunchuk, and aim at enemy tanks by pointing your Wii Remote at the screen (you are doing all of this from an eagle-eye view). It's a good game for showing how you can use the Nunchuk and Wii Remote together, but it could have been done a lot better. Overall, I am a fan of Tanks!

Ratings Summary
I Am A Big Fan - Shooting Range, Billiards, Charge!
I Am A Fan - Pose Mii, Tanks!
I Am Not A Fan - Find Mii, Table Tennis, Laser Hockey, Fishing

While it almost breaks down evenly, the games that I am not a fan of are so disappointing that it brings the entire mini-game series down.

Bottom Line
While Wii Play is a great introduction to the Wii Remote and the system itself, it is outdone by Wii Sports, which comes for free with the Wii Console anyways... There is not a lot of replay value in a lot of the mini-games, and a bunch of them are just downright disappointing. If you're looking to get another Wii Remote and this is your only option, go for it. Otherwise, save the $10 and go buy five 2-litre bottles of soda that will keep you going all night while you make your Mii a pro in Wii Sports.

Recommended: No