Wii Sports Resort

Wii Sports Resort is a sequel that exists mainly to show off a new add-on. Sold alongside the game was the Wii MotionPlus attachment with a gyroscope, which finally allowed the remote's rotation to be tracked in real time, with a precision the original Wii Remote could only dream of. The difference is felt immediately. Turn your wrist in the game, and an object on screen turns by the very same angle, which for the first time makes the controller a genuine extension of your hand rather than just a swing detector. The opening calibration ritual of placing the remote flat on a table became something every console owner remembers.

Everything takes place on a tropical island, and the range of disciplines is wide: fencing, table tennis, archery, frisbee, basketball, jet skiing, bowling, wakeboarding, cycling, or flying a plane over the island. The ones that shine brightest are those where angle and subtle motion decide the outcome. Fencing turns into a game of feints and guards, since you have to work around a defense that your opponent holds exactly where you're aiming. Archery demands a steady hand and a read on the wind, and table tennis quickly turns into a battle over ball spin. Flying the plane, by contrast, is a calm, almost relaxing discipline in which you can simply soar over the island and hunt for hidden spots.

The visual style follows on from its predecessor, meaning Mii characters and clean, colorful graphics without unnecessary detail, only the setting is more elaborate this time, and the island feels like a single, unified place with its own geography. The music is light, summery, and unobtrusive, exactly as befits a holiday island. Critics received the game very well and often noted that only now was the Wii's control scheme what it should have been from the start. Commercially it was a huge success, even though the add-on represented an extra expense. Today Wii Sports Resort is perhaps the best proof of what motion controls could do, and for a group of people in one room it still works without the slightest need for explanation.