X out of 10

If you only read the packaging, you’d think that WiiPlay gives you nine awesome games, and includes a BONUS FREE Wii Remote, all for only $50! Exciting, right? Well, not so much.

Although I knew which games to expect when purchasing WiiPlay, I didn’t know quite how limited they’d be. WiiPlay is definitely not the must-have game for Nintendo’s highly-sought-after console. On the other hand, if you can’t find extra Wii controllers to save your life (and if, like me, you refuse to pay a premium to those hell-bound bastards who scalp everything Wii-related at huge profits on eBay), you might as well pick up WiiPlay—there are at least enough games here to keep you entertained for a while, and there are even a couple that might just keep you coming back.

The Duck-Hunt-like Shooting Range game, for example, gives you a bunch of different things to shoot at, and the controls are much more accurate and realistic (shocking!) than the old NES Zapper. You can even go all Yosemite Sam on those ducks, blasting away with a Wii Remote in each hand.

The cow-racing game Charge! is at the same time very fun and very silly. If you were one of those kids who wildly thrashed about with their old, non-motion-detecting NES controllers, you might just appreciate this game.

If you’ve always wanted a pool table in your house, but could never find the space for it, the Billiards game is a satisfying surrogate. Although it only lets you play a variant of nine-ball, the control scheme is reasonably realistic, and might even save you a trip to the local watering hole.

Finally, the Pong upgrade called Electric Hockey puts a minor new twist on the half-century old video game by letting you move your paddle in all directions and allowing you to direct the puck at an angle by twisting the Wii Remote.

The rest of the games can be summed up in a word: meh. The Tanks!, Fishing, and Table Tennis games are fun for a few minutes, and the Find Mii and Pose Mii games just plain suck.

X = 5.7: the easiest way to score an extra Wii remote, plus you get Duck Hunt (kinda) and Pong (sorta)!

Buy Wii Play with Wii Remote at Amazon.com