BIG Family Games (Wii) - Review by Chris

Introduction

The continuing pillage of the new casual market that is a big part of the Wii's success continues with each and every month seeing a new title that is handmade for them; easily accessible and giving short yet fun mini-games to provide entertainment to those new to gaming. They come in all different kinds from sports games to fitness titles to mini-game compendiums and they are all met with varying degrees of success. THQ, who have been a strong supporter of the Wii from the beginning, have now dropped another title into this casual market, titled Big Family Games which hopes to captivate its demographic with a plethora of sporting games, all rolled into one.

Gameplay

Big Family Games incorporates a large line-up of sporting mini-games designed to appeal to the younger demographic of gamers. From the likes of basketball to tennis to the more obscure RC trucks, the game encompasses enough variety to appeal to just about anyone who picks up a Wii-mote to play. In total, there are 24 games for you to get to grips with, each garnering a varying degree of success in terms of the fun they generate. The game clearly splits itself into both multiplayer and single player, with multiplayer being the first and most important option for the title. While all the games can be played in the single player, this is a perfect example of a game which should be played in the company of others to get the most out of it. The majority of the games on offer allow up to 4 people to join in and with a full group, Big Family Games can be enjoyable. But that fun factor does come down to the games you play, with the ratio for hit and miss leaning more to the miss side of things.

The likes of tennis, basketball, golf and water wars are the games that people are likely to play the most, with some of the more obscure games, such as RC trucks and planes and horseshoe throwing, being too problematic to sustain any form of enjoyment. For example, while the RC trucks game will allow for 4 player competitive racing around a short circuit, control issues as well and general gameplay issues hamper the fun that should be had with the game. The problem is even more apparent in RC planes which is almost unplayable and while younger gamers are known to be more forgiving of these styles of games, RC planes is one area that even they won't show much mercy. Yet, while problems with the gameplay are more prone to show up in the more obscure games, they do crop up in the more playable ones. Tennis isn't your standard matchplay and basically boils down to a rally with each player hitting the ball against a garage door and waiting for the player to return the favour. Golf isn't as it should be either, resorting to a driving range with the object being to hit oncoming golf carts with your golf balls to make them explode. Yes, it's a change in the style of what golf usually is but I'm sure it would perhaps be more practical and better for the demographic to have been given a simulation of the real thing instead of what is here.

Single player will leave you stuck with some mundane and uninspiring games to play through before you can move onto the better ones, with you having to beat the game and its 2 other variations before the better games become available. It's not a particularly inspiring setup considering all games are available immediately in multiplayer and it would have perhaps been kinder on gamers to have given the same courtesy in single player as you won't have company around all of the time. But saying that, this isn't the best title to play on one's own with the AI for the computer controller characters being quite unforgiving and the sports never really shine through whatsoever in single player form.

Controls

For the most part, the game will allow you to simply make use of the Wii-mote on its own, although you can choose to use it in conjunction with the Nunchuk. But, while it is necessary for some of the games, most of the controls that are taken care of by the Nunchuk are done with the d-pad on the Wii-mote so it is basically defunct. Overall, the control scheme has been designed to make the games be as accessible as they can and the controls have managed that with the only button used in gameplay being the B button and the rest is taken care of with motion gestures. Unfortunately, most likely due to lazy developers, the motions aren't exactly as forgiving as they should be and switch between being either over sensitive or almost unreliable, with this really being shown when playing in single player when the AI is managing to hit just about everything. The developers have tried to make use of what is available with the controller but they haven't refined them to the point where they are anywhere near accurate enough to do the controller justice.

Graphics

The visual presentation follows the same pattern of the controls; the developers have obviously tried to design a simplistic yet colourful world but the graphics are so jagged and dated in their presentation that it looks like something that the N64 could put out. Big Family Games brings with it, like many other similar titles, its own caricature style, with you creating yours before playing. They are exactly as you would expect them to look, with the exaggerated big heads and small-ish, skinny bodies. The environments in which you'll be playing are well designed but they never really stand out as brilliant pieces of design and do look, as previously stated, dated.

Sound

Another non-key area for the title, the music and sound effects don't have to be up to much because the average person who plays this isn't going to really scrutinise them. But then there isn't much to as sound effects are minimal, and boil down to some booing or cheering from the caricatures at the side lines in the games. The music is kept as low-key as the sound effects, but providing just the right amount of ambience to help the game move along.

Final comments

Big Family Games is clearly a title with considerable faults. It's made up of a collection of games, with some being decent and the rest representing missed opportunities. On the presentation side, it's not up to much either and there are considerable control issues that hold the title back. But even with these things, with the right number of people, at the correct age of course, the game can be fun which is remarkable given the long list of faults. There are clearly better mini-game collections out there but if you're looking for something to entertain children over the remainder of the summer, then this title should provide them and their friends some entertainment. Anyone else, though, should look elsewhere.

Pro: Simple and easy to pick up, hefty collection of games to play...
Con: ...but many of them play out terribly, presentation isn't up to much, controls are awful in places
Final score: 4.5

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