Matt Paddock writes:
''It hit me halfway through Wonder World Amusement Park that the entire experience was the equivalent of playing a bad licensed game, in this case for a nonexistent movie. This joint is replete with the faults and foibles of the rushed, poorly thought-out games that have their original inspiration in a film, comic, or television show. Wonder World Amusement Park has some of the visual impact of a carnival, but instead of actually wandering through a simulated carnival, you're presented with a 360-degree view of several attractions that you can click on to play. This may have seemed like a better choice than just a series of mini-game icons available to select from a menu, but the feeling of the game ends up being static, with minimal interactivity outside the mini-games. If you come to the table expecting a mini-game collection you'll be fine, but the promotion for Wonder World Amusement Park gives the impression that there's more free roaming and exploration, an entire carnival to explore.
The best we can say is that the cuffs match the collar when it comes to the different themes of the carnival. The spooky section has spooky attractions, spooky music, and characters that are at least dressed in spooky attire. All the special areas must be opened up by playing in the generic area, which was a really poor choice from a design perspective. We should be able to mix and match and explore areas depending on our mood, but instead we're stuck plowing through each section to unlock subsequent areas. Considering there isn't anything to do in each area other than play a handful of mini-games, the ability to change scenery is critical to avoiding boredom. Without this, the player is left grinding on the same few mini-games to earn points necessary to move forward.''
Majesco Entertainment Company has announced details of its expanded European operation, which has been established to provide direct routes to retail within the UK. Based in Bristol, Majesco Europe will oversee the marketing, distribution and sales of a product catalogue bristling with mainstream titles on handheld and home console formats, with its first games due to launch in May 2009.
The controls aren't great – some motions don't register, while the 'guide the loop along the wire' buzzer game stupidly doesn't let you tilt the remote, merely move it up and down. The presentation's pretty ropey too. The Wii is about gameplay over graphics, but this really does look simple, with creepy identikit stall staff burbling away at you. A 'bonus' is that there are rides you can, er, ride. Erm, yay?
Wonder World Amusement Park falls into the crowded genre of mini-game collections for the Wii...and falls awkwardly and flailing, at that. Carnival Games ain't perfect, either, but it's a lot more elegant than Wonder World. The midway mini-game collection is a great concept for a Wii party game-someone just needs to step up and really do it right.
