Vacation Sports

Review

Common Sense Media says

Wii Sports Resort knock-off with poor controls.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Not yet rated

Kids say

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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this sports compilation has shoddy controls, which greatly hamper its fun. The game features eight sports games ranging from go karts to cricket, with some other obscure sports like Paleta Fronton which is similar to racquetball.

  • Positive messages0
    The game promotes a consumerism theme by having an in-game “pay per view” mechanic that encourages earning money and then spending it.
  • Positive role models1
    In the game, families are working together to beat another family at the games.
  • Ease of play0
    The controls here are poorly tuned and frustrating more often than they are usable. For example, playing Dodgeball should be a fairly simple on the Wii, but instead, it is clunky for blocking and even worse for throwing the ball - which makes the player feel disconnected from what is happening on the screen.
  • Violence & scariness1
    Go Karts can run into one another. Dodgeball could be considered an agressive sport.
  • Language0
    Not applicable.
  • Consumerism0
    In game “pay per view” gaming is available which encourages earning money and then spending it.
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What's it about?

VACATION SPORTS is another title for the Wii that combines multiple sport minigames into a single disc. This time around you are on a family on vacation at a resort which prides itself on various international sports. As you compete against other families, you can play through eight major minigames and two games that you must pay for with the currency that you earn within the game. The sports included are Darts, Frisbee Golf, Go-Karts, Dodgeball, Air Hockey, Beach Cricket and two lesser known sports; Paleta Fronton which is similar to racquetball and Petanque, which plays like the better known Bocce. Up to four players can play a minigame, but depending on the sport you may have to take turns. Frisbee Golf requires players to alternate turns while Go-Karts allows for simultaneous play.

 

 

Is it any good?

 

Unfortunately, this group of games suffer from shoddy controls. Rather than a feeling of actually controlling the onscreen action, the player may be puzzled by the controls. For example, in Air Hockey, players point at the screen to move the mallet around rather than having the mallet move as you move your hand.  This takes away a lot of the control and players lose the feel of air hockey. The small size of the puck and mallet also make this game difficult to control. Cricket also suffers from a very difficult control scheme and even after multiple games, we were confused about what caused certain things to happen onscreen.

When compared with other similar titles like Wii Sports Resort, Vacation Sports pales in comparison to game selection, ease of control, and fun factor. Don't check into this resort, instead head over to the 5 star Wii Sports Resort instead.

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What families can talk about

  • There are a lot of sports compilation games these days.  Is it a smart business to copy popular games? Or is the market getting saturated?

  • Why did you select the avatar that you did for each sport t? Did you choose one that looks like you?

This review was written by Jeff Paramchuk
Kid, 13 years old
August 13, 2009
AGE
11
 
perfect for every body
i love it it easy to play and i't fun
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This review was written by Jeff Paramchuk
Platforms:Nintendo Wii
Available online?Not available online
Genre:Sports
Developer:UbiSoft
Release date:March 17, 2009
Price:$29.99
ESRB rating:E for Comic Mischief
This review was written by Jeff Paramchuk

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.
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