Alas, the experience is scuttled by unresponsive motion controls -- an unfortunately common issue among Wii party games. The majority of games (lawn darts, bocce ball, horseshoes, Ladder Golf, and all of their variations) make use of an underhand tossing motion, but the software has a tendency to register wildly varying levels of movement; make what feels like three identical tossing motions and you'll likely wind up with three very different results. It can be extremely frustrating. Thankfully, some of the other activities -- including the slingshot challenge, water gun fights, and the batting game -- feature less irksome interfaces.
VGGEN writes: "Though the Wii is a mecca for shovelware, there is the occasional title that can still be enjoyed despite its issues. If you simply enjoy the game for what it is, then it's truly not that bad. That's the case with Neighborhood Games, a family title from THQ that boasts 24 different games. Its poor controls can make a saint want to utter some nasty words, but when they're working correctly this is a fun little Wii Sports wannabe to share with the family."
AL.com:
As if children these days didn't have enough motivation to play outdoor games, THQ puts yet another nail in that coffin. Now, all the games of youth long-forgotten -- lawn darts, slingshots and boccie (if anyone ever actually played that) -- are available in front of your screen with Neighborhood Games. There's no need to rummage the attic for that set of horseshoes. It's all in the Wii now.
THQ's Neighborhood Games isn't one of those games that's bad because nobody involved really cared about what they were doing. THQ's PR department sent it to me twice, they wanted it covered so bad. Still, the game is pretty deeply and fundamentally flawed.
