Wii MotionPlus review: it works, but so far the games aren't worth the fuss
By Paul Miller 
posted June 30th 2009 11:12AM
posted June 30th 2009 11:12AM
Major thanks to The Golf Club at Chelsea Piers for letting us test this out at their facilities, and to golf pros Herb and Marj for letting us waste some of their valuable time.
The hardware
Outside automatic system software updates included with both games (to add the MotionPlus support, presumably) there was nothing we had to do on the software side to activate or implement the add-on, which in a way was almost disconcerting. The games didn't offer much info as to whether we were using a MotionPlus-enhanced control setup or not. A few screens mentioned added features with use of the MotionPlus, but seemed unaware that ours was plugged in, and Grand Slam Tennis didn't blink an eye when we unplugged MotionPlus and went without.
Despite all this simplicity, there's a three minute instructional video included with the games for helping figure out how to plug in the MotionPlus, which taught us absolutely nothing and yet proved unskippable once started. One thing it mentioned was placing the Wiimote face down to reorient the controller in case it got out of step, but we never had occasion to do so -- it worked flawlessly through our testing.
Not as much could be said for our muscles, however, which were sorer than usual from the relatively mundane movements. The additional weight of the MotionPlus and the hugemongous protective cover (we never sent away for ones for our original collection of Wiimotes) really wore on us after a while, at least in the rapid back and forth motions of tennis.
The games
Grand Slam Tennis
The first game we tried was Grand Slam Tennis, and we'll just say it: we don't get it. That is to say, we don't get why this really needs MotionPlus, at least for relatively casual players like us. See, while MotionPlus does seem to do some work with helping the controller stay oriented and perform precisely measured skill shots, its implementation in the game is pretty much limited to that. So a player who invests 10 hours or so in practice and actually likes the deep strategy and complexity of tennis will probably find MotionPlus a definite addition to the existing Wiimote setup, but most people who just pick up and play won't even be able to tell the difference.
We'd say the big problem -- and not a small problem for game developers, to be sure -- is the fact that true 1-to-1 tennis gameplay would be a major undertaking to simulate. So they don't. On occasion the system seemed to pick up our random Wiimote stylings and reflect them in our onscreen character when the ball wasn't on his side of the court, but when it comes to hitting the tennis ball the game is just picking up predefined strokes. What the MotionPlus adds is better sense of the exact hitting angle, which makes for better ball placement in advance modes, but provides quite a considerable learning curve. As demonstrated in the video, at one point we resorted to a mere one dimensional "waggle," which resulted in wild skips and jumps of our Nadal avatar, who managed to pick up tennis balls on either side of him, jumping as far as six feet or so away from just a tiny flick of ours.
While appropriate Wiimote twisting applies topspin and backspin, drop and lob shots require respective button presses that shatter any other illusions we might've had about MotionPlus turning this game into some sort of true tennis simulator. We also found it incredibly frustrating how much of a delay there was at times between our swings and the actually onscreen swing, especially during our serves. The good news is that folks who feared the MotionPlus would usher in an era of physically taxing 1-to-1 gameplay (like real sports) don't have to worry about this game outside the added heft it brings to their existing flicks.
Luckily, the game isn't sold bundled with MotionPlus in the States (it is in Europe, but that's what those suckers get for living in Europe), so if you're still interested in a decent tennis game without the added "work" of MotionPlus, that's always an option.
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10
EA has pre-packaged Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 with the MotionPlus add-on, and for good reason: it works. Where its implementation in Grand Slam Tennis didn't bring us any closer to the "real" game of tennis, its addition to Tiger Woods' little cash cow really does bring us to a closer approximation of golf from the comfort of our living room.
To be frank, we're not really big golfing junkies. We found its implementation in Wii Sports to be tantalizing but ultimately frustrating, and all of our "real life" run-ins with khaki pants and well-manicured greens have all ended up with us in a near homicidal state. Where Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 could change all that (or at least has a shot) is the great consistency and accuracy of the controls. It takes the blame game out of golfing (my clubs, this Wiimote, that sensor bar, your face), proving once and for all that we just suck at it.
While there are naturally still the video game-style enhancements to the game of golf (like power meters and detailed info-graphics), the actual swings are actually being simulated at a level of detail never available on a home console before. Based on the twist of your hands, the range of the swing and the speed of the stroke you control fade, draw and power. The main thing still left up to the virtual realm is topspin and backspin, which would naturally be horribly difficult to simulate with a handheld controller.
The downside of all this is that we're not incredibly great at the game yet. Straight drives aren't super hard, but our short game is miserable and our putting could use some work. What's nice is that we really do feel the difference between a shot with 40 percent power and a shot with 80 percent power, and the slight struggle to keep our shots straight is a gentle reminder of how impossible it is to do so in real life. Putting required a bit more "oomph" than should be necessary, but it still felt pretty "real" -- certainly a long ways away from the frustratingly glitchy implementation in Wii Sports.
Disc golf
Tiger Woods disc golf
We'd be remiss if we ended this review without mentioning the disc golf mini game in Tiger Woods. Not only because it's a fun little bonus to an already feature-packed game, but because it's actually the most impressive technical demonstration of MotionPlus available at the moment, even if the actual gameplay falls a bit short.
If you were wondering if your MotionPlus add-on worked, just fire this puppy up. The first time you pick up a disc you're playing with it in 3D space in almost perfect 1-to-1 motion. You can twist and bend a flick and the on screen hand and disc track your motion perfectly.
Unfortunately, that's perhaps the most fun to be had here. The game allows for a few different throws and is fairly sensitive to angle and release point, but unfortunately the differentiation between a good flick for 100 percent power and a (what we supposed would be) powerful full body throw for 60 percent power is hard to track down. It was particularly frustrating for those among us who were actually good at throwing frisbees in real life. The disc also just doesn't hang in the air "right," which cut away some of the strategy and realism of disc golf.
That's not to say the game can't be learned or even enjoyed, and we'd certainly say it has an advantage over the regular golf game as far as instant accessibility, but we found ourselves a little frustrated by the overall mechanics -- and our elbows weren't thanking us for all those mis-judged phantom snaps.
Wrap-up
Overall, we'd say EA has provided a mere glimpse at the possibilities of MotionPlus with these two games. If you're inclined to play virtual tennis or golf, these two games are probably the best two physical simulators of those particular activities available for the home at a reasonable cost, but outside of that (or some strange fascination with disc golf) there's no "must have" experience to be found here.That said, MotionPlus does serve in both of these games to deepen the experience. From our perspective, that added depth added complexity and potential frustration to Grand Slam Tennis, while it deepened the Tiger Woods gameplay without actually adding complexity. The difference between the two probably amounts to the pacing. In Tiger Woods you can preview the draw and fade and power of your swing, in Tennis you just have to go on intuition -- your only visual cues are colored motion trails for topspin and backspin, and of course where the ball lands on your opponent's court. The problem is that the game is learning more about your swing, and therefore can add deeper simulation, but since it's not giving back enough visual feedback, or acting in a 1-to-1 manner (which of course would be a little dangerous in a living room if actually implemented) it's hard tell exactly what you're doing.
The $20 cost per MotionPlus isn't horrible, and you don't really need to buy extras for golf, but it'd be a major stretch to spend $80 on add-ons for four player tennis. We'd say at least wait for Wii Sports Resort with its own bundled MotionPlus, since we have a feeling that like most things Wii, the first party experience will be the one to beat. We've also come away a bit more excited for the upcoming motion controls of the Xbox 360 and PS3, since it's clear that controller technology only gets you so far: you need graphics, physics and gameplay to make up the rest of an effectively immersive and (most importantly) entertaining experience.
Seems pretty 50/50 to me. I knew it would work just fine with Tiger Woods. That's a bread & butter franchise for EA. But as far as GST and the Disc Golf...it's to be expected.
Can someone please for the love of god mention Virtua Tennis 2009 and compare it to grand slam? Every keeps saying the same thing, Grand Slam Tennis is lame and doesn't really need the motion plus add-on, so why not go ahead and try out the other tennis game which is supposed to be much better?
I'm assuming EA is sponsoring this review and most likely specifically mentioned that they should only be reviewing these EA games. Sounds about right.
there's a lot of info on the ea forums http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/categories/show/82.page.
Both games have plusses and minuses and both are not perfect. Neither have true 1:1. I have both and have yet to decide which I like better but am currently into GST more right now.
There are lots of reviews of the two tennis programs out there. Virtua Tennis has been criticized as not being realistic enough and too much of a video game instead of a tennis simulation, and GST has been criticized as having a very steep learning curve if you want to play it with the motion plus (and that it is basically Wii Sports Tennis w/o the motion plus). So pick your poison, I guess.
BTW, I really doubt the Engadget guys are in the pocket of EA. For one thing, they basically trashed GST without giving it a fair shake, so that doesn't seem like they are shilling for anybody.
And no, I am not some guy who works for EA either.
The thing about the disc golf in this game is that they've tuned it such that much less power is needed then would be necessary in the real world. I wish they hadn't done that, but there you go - they should have included a setting. Anyway, if you play the game with that in mind you'll get the hang of controlling how far you throw pretty quickly.
The real golf, on the other hand, seems to require much more realistic amounts of effort (unless you turn on "All Play mode", which makes it so much gentler forces are required then reality, among other changes.)
Tiger Woods 10 for Wii is great, but I have to agree that the Disc Golf seems like an afterthought and that is too bad, because it is fun. What we need is a full-on disc golf game, with courses designed for it. I'd go for fantasy courses as well. That is, what we need is... Mario Disc Golf! Come on Nintendo, you can do it!
There's something like that in Wii Sports Resort:
http://wii.ign.com/articles/890/890299p1.html
"the actual swings are actually being simulated at a level of detail never available on a home console before."
That's just flat out not true, Real World Golf with the Gametrack was about as real as you could ever map a golf swing, and considering this is not really mapping proper clubhead positioning just your grip, it could never be as accurate.
waiting to see a game I would want to play use WM+, Red Steel 2 maybe??
Wii Sports Resort is the game to show off with this. It is one of the most impressive technological feats in gaming. Nintendo was also very smart in including old games from the original Wii Sports to show you how much of a difference the WM+ makes.
Also Tiger Woods is pretty impressive. It is leagues better than the rubbish that was the previous editions.
Since when do you have to buy a bundle in Europe? I purchased Grand Slam Tennis last week in HMV and all of the packs were standalone. Thanks for the review, I won't be buying the new device as the game is pretty superb without it.
If this game were released without the Wii MotionPlus, it would be a mediocre title. The amount of time spent at a loading screen are huge especially considering the sparseness of the environments. I know the Wii isn't powerful but if the next hole shares the same tree models, same player models, same crowd models, why am I staring at a loading screen for 30 seconds between each hole? Also I wish I could turn off "Player Reaction" shots too, where the camera turns back at you as you wave to the crowd or fist pump. I'm sure these are there to mask even longer load times, which are why they're unskippable as well.
I also get a kick out of the fact that when booting the game there's a static "Loading" image, which gives way to an EA "Loading" image, which switches to "Loading" dialog box, which switches to a title graphic that says "Loading" before finally being able to press A to enter the game.
If you have the nunchuck connected the player will not move automatically lol. Your video is pretty much worthless
I love how to start off he just tosses the instructions aside and installs the motion+ wrong.
the reviewer for GST is just holding the controller vertically and waggling it. Now I suppose there's a point to be made that you can still return a shot with a waggle, as if I would hold a real tennis racket like that and waggle it the ball would probably bounce off the racket and into my eye.
the other issue is that the motion plus is expecting to come back to center after every stroke, just as you should be doing if you're playing real tennis. If you're waggling the remote around after your completed stroke, then center position is wherever you've been waggling it, so your next shot will be screwy and unpredictable. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mf3eV6sh3Vs
So EA decided to not really do 1:1 for whatever reason, but it seems the expectation is that motion plus will allow 1:1 movement, so that the racket follows the player's motion at all times. 1:1 probably made for a game as difficult to pick up and learn as real tennis, so that's probably why EA decided to pull back from that. Anyhow, it think it is a reviewer's responsibility to at least put some effort into learning how to play the game as the publisher intended, and use that to inform the review, rather than on what turned out to be a false expectation.
Still debating if this is worth it.....
The disc golf is in NO way 1:1. It only senses orientation, no translational movements appear onscreen at all.
1:1 tracking would mean real 1:1 tracking, and it doesn't even try, it fixes your wrist in place onscreen.
Pretty decent article and videos, nice how it keeps a bit cynical but gives it a go to see what's what and what's not.
Open, but not bought by EA/nintendo's PR department it seems.
About the tennis thing, I think they should just make a 'non-kids-are-playing' setting where it doesn't hold your hand in such a severe way. But that is something you see more and more that games are catering to people that don't want much of a challenge and they don't make settings for those that do really, it's the console experience if you will, but unfortunately now crossing massively over to the PC gaming platform too, actually a bit like windows vista is an attempt at that in the OS experience sense.
I'd prefer to hear what a skilled tennis player has to say about the game.
Just like how he tried the other games with the respective skilled people.
The same goes for me with Tiger Woods 10. Have any REAL golfers tried this thing? You know, somebody who's actually decent.
Why are you using crap games like EA sports
perfect review, 100% correct.
I'll wait to read another kind of story with Wii Sports Resort...trust me, it's a revolution in gaming experience, I'm playing jap version and it's AWESOME, motion plus is IMPRESSIVE with these mini-games....
wait for it and prepare to be blow away...I think that with Wii Sports Resort begin the "motion gen", it's a dream come true...
I'm playing Wii Sports Resort for about a week now and I love it.
Motion Plus really adds to the experience. You can especially see that in sword fighting and ping pong.
I appreciate the approach taken in the reviews as I was interested seeing the tennis player not repositioning the racquet like the Wii controller and found it astonishing how the player didn't have to be even close to a good position to return the ball. I've seen a few other reviews and they focused more on the game than the motion plus even when they were discussing motion plus.
This is also the first mention I've seen of the disc game thrown in to Tiger Woods.
It's cool you got real players opinions on golf and the disc golf as it was obvious to me that real golfers can play Tiger Woods (and I was surprised you found someone willing to give it a try that obviously hadn't ever used a Wii) - that really shows how decent the game is. Also, never having played frisbee golf I wouldn't have known the physics were off.
I hadn't expected Engadget to be a good source for Wii Motion Plus reviews (I expected the full time gaming sites to be the best), but this is the best Wii Motion review I've seen.
What would happen if you cover up or disconnect the Wii bar? It should be able to play without it.
A real golfer review:
I picked up Tiger Woods 10 w/MP last night and gave it a shot. I was horribly unimpressed with Tiger Woods 09 and thought it was perhaps the worst game I have ever paid money for. I went back to playing TW08 on my PS3. Wii Tiger Woods 10 improves on 09 in every way. The graphics actually look like they belong on a current gen console, 09 looked like it belonged on the original Playstation. It looks like every texture and character model was redone. Now it looks like a lower resolution version of the XBOX360/PS3 game. I will say the motion plus add-on is built like crap though. The connector on mine is loose and pushes back into the unit. Several other people have complained of this problem. I think I will use a bit of superglue and lock it into place. It still seems to work but the loose connector bothers me.
In real life I am a scratch golfer, played on my High School and College teams. I don't have the time or money to play golf that much anymore. Because I am actually good at real golf and know how to play, I have always hated console golf games. I bought TW'09 because reviewers said the game felt like real golf. The swing mechanics of '09 were as far from real golf as you could be and the putting mechanic was insane. How bad that game was kept me from wanting to buy TW10.
The new motion plus controls add a little bit of subtlety to the swing and allow a better representation of your backswing. It is much easier to pull a quarter way back or half way back to control the distance of your shot. My main gripe is that even with the advanced controls turned on you still can't take anything that resembles a real full golf swing. You still must swing much slower than you ever would in real life. What registers as 100% power would hit a real ball about 5 yards.
You turn your wrist left and right to set the draw and fade before you swing. The position is locked while you swing unless you completely twist the Wiimote around while you swing. I didn't see any effect of small movements in my downswing with the on screen avatar. The club is not mapped 1:1. You can not miss the ball or affect the swing plane. I would have liked to have seen some accuracy with the club head and the impact point of the ball. IN real life if you swing too close or too far out you will miss the ball. I could see how that would be a pain for people who do not golf but it should have been an option with the advanced controls.
Putting is 100% better and could be described as the best putting simulation available. It actually feels like you are putting the ball. Again the physics are way off and you swing effort is not accurately translated but it feels like real golf.
SO this leads me to my real problem with the game. It is way too easy even with the advanced controls turned on. Because the motion plus really only enhances control over the backswing and not addressing the ball, it becomes a lot easier to blast the ball down the fairway and shoot close shots. The first round I played I shot -9. I could only shoot that well in real life on my best day ever. I probably could never shoot that well on the real course in the game. Hopefully some of the later courses will be a lot tougher.
The game really is the closest representation of real golf without spending $200 on Gametrack. The only problem is that if you are good at golf in real life you will probably find the game to be too easy and therefore not close to a true representation of the game at all.
Before you get out the glue, be aware that the WM+ actually uses the "loose" connector to make it more durable during all of the abuse it is designed to survive. If you want details, check out the Iwata interview with the designers. A really impressive amount of thought went it quality control.
That's what the doctor ordered
I can't wait to get one, I hope people will accuatly make games that use the motion controls and use better graphics most of what i have seen are just puzzle games and stuff. It seems like Nintendo and very little other developers make good games for the Wii. I can't wait to see Wii Sports Resort!
i like it its useful for far range playing if you have a lot of freinds over and it makes better connection and accuracy
the sensor bar is the key I think
awosome, how to Play DVD on Wii?
http://www.dvd-ripper-copy.com/articles/how-to-play-dvd-on-Wii.html
The reason the disc doesn't "hang in the air right" and was frustrating for those that were good at throwing frisbees is that it is disc golf, not frisbee golf. Disc golf is not played with stable frisbees. It is played with small discs of varying weight and flight characteristics. As one who has played disc golf for years, I have played with many first timers who think they will be good because they can throw a frisbee. Frisbees will attempt to level out if thrown near horizontal. Discs will not. In addition, frisbees' weight determines how stable and far they will travel. Disc weight will determine if it will hook, fly straight, or turn over for a slice. Most frisbee-experienced new-comers to disc golf will hook everytime.
dear paul miller,
what the hell is your problem with europeans?
last time i checked we were decent people.
also, just in case you forgot, except you are native american, afro american or asian: you got european roots and basically are european too.
pissed off,
kamisori
Hey, I've got no problem with homosexuals or even with effeminate straight men, but watching complete non-athletes review sports games is painful to say the least. In that tennis review the guy looked like he was swatting at moths - you could've at least tried to use a little form. I play real tennis, and I found even the Wii Sports offering allowed me decent and quite satisfying ball control, and with a little imagination it was nearly as fun as the real thing - it would have been nice if the review had given me some sense of whether or not this was improved or even possible in this new game - he just made it look lousy.
I skipped the golf video review - I assumed there was little hope there - and then I checked out Frolf. Once again, Fumblenuts the Host stunk things up, and then the three-steppin "expert" showed us how to look like a total know-it-all douche - guess what folks, that guy ain't very good at it in real life either, trust me. I've played the Wii Sports Resort Frolf and it's quite realistic and responsive - takes a lot of getting used to, but if you've got an athletic bone in your body, it can be quite fun.
Sorry dorks - the worlds of video gaming and sports have now collided in a big way, and unless you've got at least a bit of skill in BOTH realms, don't think you can review these games with any amount of credibility.