Wii Wipeout, the sequel based on the television game show of the same name, brings the course to your living room via the Wii. Graphically speaking, Wipeout 2 Wii is not a pretty game, but the console isn’t really geared for HD images. The actual track renditions are spot on, looking as accurate as the ones from the show, from the slippery walkway to the giant red bouncy balls.
Rather than creating your own character, you must pick predetermined individuals: an emo teenager, an elderly lady, a suburban princess and much more. The more you play the game, the more characters you can unlock, including the three infamous hosts, folks in chicken outfits and the members of the Black and Blue Team from the show. Personally, I found the robot to be the most entertaining of the bunch.
Like Pong, the concept is simple to learn but tough to master. The goal is to complete the tracks and survive elimination in either the summer or winter courses. At the start of the game, you can only play the first summer and first winter track, but by completing one, you open up the next.
As far as difficulty is concerned, the real challenge comes from the rough Wii controls along with the track traps. The rough Wii controls require waggling it in every direction, making you look incredibly inane as your character performs moves not humanly possible in real life — these moves just don’t happen. This coupled with the crazy moves are the core of the difficulty. Additionally, you cannot set your own difficulty either, so there’s no way to make it any easier.
As I played the game, which as previously stated requires moves of insanity, I nearly felt like I was having a seizure with the different directions I had to move just to run through all the levels, though a button press does let you skip the more troublesome portions. One thing did come to my mind in the middle of playing: It was fun. Maybe it was just downright silly, but I was definitely having fun.
Even though it has its issues, it’s not hard to see families having fun with Wipeout, even if that means larger families have to pass the Wii Remote around — the game only supports two players at once. Nonetheless, if you can look past the wild jerking of limbs, you’ll have fun with this title.