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All Star Karate Review for Nintendo Wii

All Star Karate Review for Nintendo Wii

Aside from mini-game compilations, the Wii has become quite well known for its growing library of fitness titles. From EA Sports Active to the ubiquitous Wii Fit, there are plenty of games for the Wii designed to help players get active. When I first picked up All Star Karate, I was expecting another title in this vein. A karate simulator on the Wii would certainly make sense, and I was hopeful that All Star Karate would be an interesting new take on the fitness genre. However, instead of teaching users real Karate basics or featuring some interesting mechanics, All Star Karate instead has nonsensical controls, a weak premise, and almost no real value to anyone.

All Star Karate screenshot

When you first start up the game, you are given a choice of how to control it. You can either use the Wii-mote and Nunchuck to control the game, or two Wii-motes (with optional Wii MotionPlus support.) If you do not have two Wii-motes, I do not recommend even attempting this game. The Nunchuk’s motion controls are definitely not up to par in this title and do not respond at all. The Wii-mote controls are much more responsive, and you don’t even really need the Wii MotionPlus. However, even though the controls work better when you use dual Wii-motes, the experience still isn’t pleasant.

Once you have selected your control scheme, you’ll launch into an extremely brief tutorial mode. The controls are extremely simple. When a blue punch icon appears, waggle your right hand to punch. When a yellow punch icon appears, waggle your left hand to punch. To perform kicks, the same waggle rule applies, except you will have to hold the B button while waggling. The waggling controls do not even resemble anything like real karate, which pretty much shoots this title’s credibility down right off the bat. I was instantly annoyed with the fact that in a karate game the mechanics involved no more than just Wii-mote shaking, as there was so much potential for this game to actually teach users real karate.

All Star Karate screenshot

Even if you can get past the annoyingly simple mechanics, I’m afraid there still isn’t much to explore in All Star Karate. You’ll play as either a male or female karate wannabe who gets attacked by random ninjas while walking to a movie theater. Fortunately, by using your natural karate waggle power, you attract the attention of a karate master who agrees to train you… for some reason. After you agree to training, you will learn new karate moves aside from just regular kicking and punching, and will even unlock the ability to use a wooden training stick.

The training stick missions are actually the most entertaining part of the game. When you are using the Wii MotionPlus, you can actually see the 1:1 movement of the stick, and it can be quite fun. However, if you were expecting a realistic fighting experience, you will be sorely mistaken. All you have to do is move your hands from side to side, and all the enemies will be defeated (or weapons deflected). There is no skill involved, and as long as the fighting stick on the screen is moving from side to side (like a windshield wiper), then you are winning.

All Star Karate screenshot

It is fairly telling that the most fun to be had in this title is waving around a virtual fighting stick. There is nothing to do in this game, and even though the story mode has something of a plot, it is just so poorly delivered (through bad voiceovers and plot scenes that feature stoic character outlines) that you will probably elect to skip them. The whole experience of the game is just a mix of boredom and frustration, and the game is definitely one of the biggest missed opportunities in recent memory.

All Star Karate screenshot

However, if you are a glutton for punishment, you can check out the other modes. There is a challenge mode that lets you practice your moves, and a move creation area that allows you to string together basic and advanced moves to form custom attacks. Both the challenge and the move creation modes feel like extensions of the story mode and don’t offer anything new to players. The one mode that does offer something new is the multiplayer where you can use your karate moves against a friend. Of course, with the waggle-based controls, the multiplayer quickly becomes a contest between which player can out-shake the other.

I think my main issue with All Star Karate boils down to how the potential of this game was squandered. It takes minimal effort to produce a game with waggle mechanics and a paper-thin story, but unfortunately, All Star Karate fits into this groove a little too well.

Creating a worthwhile karate or martial arts sim on the Wii would have been a great idea, but unfortunately, all you can expect from All Star Karate is a bunch of waggling of your hands and shaking of your head. It may be worth mentioning that this title does fall into the “budget” category (MSRP is just under $20), but this game’s poor execution can’t be excused at any price.

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 2.1 Graphics
Animations are slow, and bland “plot” scenes in the story mode do not impress. 2.3 Control
Dual Wii-motes work better than the Wii-mote and Nunchuk control scheme, but waggle-based controls are unsatisfying overall. 1.5 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
Background music is repetitive and voiceover is annoying. 2.2

Play Value
The story mode is nonsensical at best, and the extra modes aren’t that entertaining, with the exception of the multiplayer mode.

2.2 Overall Rating – Poor
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

  • Perform real karate moves in the all new All Star Karate.
  • Train to defeat a villainous ninja under the (often humorous) guidance of your Sensei.
  • Experience the excitement of competition and the achievement of earning a new belt!

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