Wii-injuries notwithstanding, the Nintendo Wii is America's newest phenomenon. Gamers and non-gamers alike love swinging their Wii-motes to vanquish foes in Twilight Princess, shaking their Wii-motes to find Elebits, or twisting the Wii-mote side to side to direct their Excite-Truck. Very soon, gamers will have another opportunity to find news ways to utilize their Wii-motes when Wii-play becomes available.

The appeal of WarioWare is in its frenetic pacing. The game presents you with a simple goal, such as aiming a finger to pick a nose. As soon as that action is completed, the Wario throws another game at you, which, like the first, only lasts for a few seconds. In those few precious seconds, you have to figure out what is required of you and perform the action. The pace doesn't let up either, progressively getting faster and faster.

Wii Play is a minigame collection/ tutorial of sorts that will come packaged with the Wii-mote. Not unlike Wii-Sports, Wii Play seems to be aimed at familiarizing players with using the Wii-mote through a variety of mini-games, all of which offer both single player and two player modes.

There are a number of simple games that comprise Wii Play. One very exciting example is an obvious homage to Duck Hunt, which has the gamer pointing the Wii-mote at the screen like a gun to fire at different objects like balloons, clay discuses, and even UFOs. The ambidextrous Wii owner can even use two Wii-motes John Woo style to double the firepower.

The other Wii Play games are varied in execution and style. The table tennis game is very nearly the opposite of Wii Sports Tennis, in that all you control is the position of the paddle. The hitting is done automatically. Another game, Find Mii, is like a virtual Where's Waldo. The player is tasked with picking out a Mii that doesn't belong in a sea of Miis. The Mii may be looking in the wrong direction, or performing the wrong action as opposed to all the other on-screen Miis, and the player has to find and target the incongruous Mii. In Pose Mii, you have to make your Mii match the exact pose shown in a bubbled silhouette before the bubble makes it off-screen. Laser Hockey seems to be an updated version of Pong that allows the player to move the Wii-mote to twist the virtual paddle, also allowing you to alter the angles and power behind the hits.

Billiards has the player pointing his Wii-mote like a cue, and holding down the B button to draw back and take the shot. This game, like Laser Hockey, is also sensitive to slight movements, allowing a lot of depth in creating trickshots and putting English on shots. There is also a fishing game that allows the player to control the casting and pulling out of their line, much like the fishing minigame in Twilight Princess.

Charge! is one of the odder games, consisting of a Mii riding a cow. The Wii-mote is held sideways, and tilting it forwards increases the bovine's speed while titling it backwards slows it down. Left and right steer the cow, and an upwards flick makes it jump. Using these controls, the player has to maneuver the cow along a track, dodging obstacles and bashing scarecrows for points. Tanks! on the other hand, is fairly standard play, with the player controller a tank that is charged with defeating its foes.

Wii Play is a simple game that serves as a teaching tool for the Wii-mote even as it entertains. Though the games are uncomplicated, they all have the option to be played with another player. Since the game also comes packaged with the Wii-mote, it will obviously find its way into a lot of homes and will hopefully draw players in with its pick-up-and-play mechanics. Look for Wii Play in early February.

By D'Marcus Beatty
CCC Co-Site Director