The Nintendo Wii, the flagship console of the monolithic video game company Nintendo, is a household name, with games spanning just about every genre out there, so long as they're family friendly (No FPSs here, folks!). What that means is that a lot of the games center on universal concepts like racing & sports, which everyone from 5 to 50 can jump into and enjoy. Wii Go Vacation, a mini-game filled, open-world sports and recreation simulator, continues the phenomenon. In case you’ve never played – or never heard of – the game, here’s my review. Enjoy!
First, if you’ve played Wii Sports (or even Mario Kart Wii), the mechanics and some of the mini-games will be familiar. However, this isn’t a Wii Sports knock-off. In fact, one of the coolest things about Wii Go Vacation is that the game takes place on an island. An open world island. What this means is, if you want to play one of the mini-games, you don’t just pick from a menu (although you can, if you want). Rather, you explore the island to find them! You can take off in a dune buggy, roller blades, or even on a horse! This is a great concept, and something I had a lot of fun utilizing. However, this open world design is also one of Wii Go Vacation’s biggest flaws, as the non-playable characters (NPCs) you encounter are ridiculously wooden and unimaginative. They don’t even talk. Instead speech bubbles are used to get their very limited points across.
Now, let’s talk mini-games… all 50 of them! It’s an understatement that there’s a lot to do in this game beyond just exploring the island. There are races to win, volleyball games to play, snowball fights… you can even go skydiving. Cool, huh? Another thing I enjoyed was and is the multiplayer functionality. In fact, playing with and against your friends and family is probably the most enjoyable part of the game. Sadly, there’s no online component.
Another thing you might like if you pick this game up is the fact that it makes use of just about every peripheral and accessory ever made by the hand of a Nintendo engineer. I’m not kidding! Wii-motes, Wii Zappers, Nunchucks, Wii Wheels (for driving / racing games), balance boards… Seriously, guys… like, every accessory haha.
In closing, let me just say that this game obviously won’t appeal if you’re looking for a Call of Duty type experience. However, if you’re on the fence about this game, and you’re looking for something family oriented, I say go for it… in fact, I say Go Vacation Wii! 😀