Worthplaying reviews Deca Sports

Brad Hilderbrand writes:

”Nintendo made a lot of ingenious marketing moves when releasing the Wii. From positioning it as a console with appeal to non-traditional gamers, to maintaining a constant scarcity and "rareness" of consoles over a year and a half after launch, nearly everything has gone right for the box that loves to waggle. Perhaps the smartest idea for the Wii, however, was the decision to include Wii Sports, a fun, well-made title with the console. This simple collection of sporting games allowed new owners to get a feel for what the Wii was all about, all while enjoying some terrific digital recreations of their favorite activities.

Ever since the success of Wii Sports, many other companies have come forth with their own interpretations of sporting games on the Wii. Sadly, nearly all of these efforts have been resounding failures, and that trend isn’t about to stop here. Hudson Soft’s Deca Sports is yet another weak entry in the sports genre, emphasizing quantity over quality at every turn.

As the title implies, the game features 10 different events (Archery, Badminton, Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Curling, Figure Skating, Kart Racing, Snowboard Cross, Soccer and Supercross), each of which contains its own rules, objectives and control schemes. A few of the games manage to be somewhat addictive, giving you the false impression that this title might just be a worthy successor to the Wii Sports throne. Archery, for example, requires you to press the B button, pull the Wiimote back (as if you are drawing the bow), aim at the on-screen target, and then fire, all while compensating for wind and distance. Figure skating is also quite fun, combining elements of precision control with timed control flicks and careful maneuvering.”