Deca Sports 2

Deca Sports 2 gets a lot of stuff right. It delivers graphics that are a cut above most of its sports party game competitors, offers simple online play to let players go up against human opponents when no one else is around to play, and nails the feel and strategy of games like petanque and darts. Even synchronized swimming, which is in essence a rhythm game involving specific waggles of the Wii remote, feels right.

Sadly, it also drops the ball in a few ways, the most important of which is control precision. Many of the activities practically beg to be made compatible with Nintendo’s new MotionPlus attachment, which enhances the accuracy of movement detection. Without it, players are bound to be frustrated as their movements for tennis swings and kendo strikes aren’t properly recognized. And trying to squeeze complex, team-based events like ice hockey and dodge ball into the same package as smaller individual sports just doesn’t make sense. It’s still more fun than most sports compilations, but Deca Sports 2 could have been much better.

Online interaction: Players can compete freely online or against people on their friends list. There is no way to communicate, so there is no risk of children overhearing or seeing anything inappropriate, and it is impossible for personal information to be exchanged.