What is Nintendo thinking!? That had to be the thought running through most gamer’s heads when the focus of Nintendo’s E3 show last year was on Wii Sports Resort. Not to say that the Wii MotionPlus debut with the game wasn’t impressive, but the idea of releasing a mini game compellation sequel to a free game and making it the highlight of the show, let alone charging $50 for it, ($30 if you discount the MotionPlus pack in.,) made it seem like Nintendo’s executives found Mario’s mushroom stash. Over a year later, the Mii vacation was still a big focus of Nintendo’s show, but this time was playable on the show floor with a near finished build. After two years of hype for the game, it was time to sample the resort and see if it was worth two E3’s.

Just like the previous Wii Sports, the characters are the group of Mii’s that have been made on the console. After selecting which Jesus or Michael Jackson you want, it’s time to dive into the events. While the first game had five events, this game beefed up the lineup with a large range of games like archery, canoeing, sword fighting, street basketball and Frisbee tossing to name a few. The two I got to try out were table tennis and the now infamous three point contest from the press conference. Now that I had MotionPlus, which is supposed to actually make the Wiimote work as it should, (a few years late, eh?) it turns out that the control made a huge difference and dare I say, started to make me a believer.

Table tennis was simple enough, and is just as you’d expect it to be. Two Mii’s go at it for all the supremacy and prestige associated with hitting a plastic ball back and forth. Success was determined by the timing of the swing doubled with the way the remote is swung. Skeptics might want to know how accurate it actually is, thinking that these promises have been made before. Trust me when I say the game felt like I was really holding a racquet. Every subtle movement my hand made was reflected in my swings while not being so realistic that it stopped being fun. After a couple of sets, I was able to put spin on the ball to throw off my opponent. Adding spin from top, bottom, left and right was as easy as the flick of my wrist. After the game was over, the amount of control I had was incredible, and I could only imagine how well it will work with the other games, as well as in the future after developers are more experienced with it.

Next up was the three point contest. After watching Reggie Fils-Aime look like a dork on stage at the Nintendo conference, I knew that I could look a tad bit cooler shooting an invisible basketball. Thinking it would be easy, I shot with the best arc I could. It went forward… forward… and over the basket!? Next one had less of an arc, but it was too straight and hit the bottom of the rim. It seemed I underestimated the realism of the game, and was much harder than I thought. If my hand curved at all, the ball would punish me for it. I had to aim the shot right with the perfect amount of arc, power and follow through. After getting into a grove, I managed not to completely humiliate myself and made a lot of the last shots. In the end, the three point contest was almost as impressive as the table tennis, and could get the experience of basketball without all the unnecessary running or anything else that involves real exercise. That’s what Wii Fit is for after all.

My time at the resort was short, but it’s obvious that Nintendo put a lot of effort into the game. The amount of control in both games I played was one of those things that is almost impossible to put into words and just simply has to be experienced. It seems as if the focus that’s been placed on the title is well worth it, and although it may be hated by the supposed “hardcore crowd” for “ruining the Wii,” the demo alone was pure fun at its finest. With the combination of realistic controls with great game play, this resort seems to be worth checking in to when it’s released this summer.