The best thing about Wii is playing games where you actually act out the real-life motions. That means dropping a redneck into a dunk tank and throwing darts at balloons you really have to be able to get into it when playing Global Star’s Carnival Games.
Playing alone or with friends, you really think you could be at the summer carnival you went to every year growing up (or still go to every year). You will find all the classic games from ring toss to shoot the star.
Starting out, you get to design your character choosing between body types, facial features, clothing, and hairstyles. As you play more games and win tickets you can unlock or buy additional items and accessories. They are all a little on the cheesy side, that’s really the point — exaggerated carnival antics, complete with heckling carnies.
You don’t get to use your Mii, however.
The game is probably better in multiplayer mode, but you need to play solo to unlock hidden games and fake prizes. Winning tickets in single-player mode can be used to buy upgrades for your characters or to play the extra game per walkway. Winning the “jumbo prize” unlocks the bonus game which prove much more entertaining than there entry level counterparts.
Playing multiplayer allows for good competition. You can choose to share one remote among your friends or use individual controllers. This means your friends can all play regardless of how much money you have spent on extras for your Wii.
The games are grouped on several themed walkways with no real sense of order. The only thing related to the name of the walk way are the extra games — ask the psychic — that are only available in single player modes. They take tickets to play and you don’t really get anything out of them. They’re a lot like their arcade counterparts — you pump tokens into them and get nothing in return.
The bonus games proved to be the most entertaining. They take some of the standard games a step up by giving you unlimited darts to throw for a certain amount of time or a little shooting range with a time limit. They are more about getting a high score than winning prizes, but prove to be the most fun. They can also be played in single player and multiplayer modes.
The thing that makes this game stand out is that it really takes advantage of the Wii-mote and makes the games all quite lifelike. When throwing a ball — whether it be at a clown, stack of bottles or the dunk tank — you must make an overhand throwing motion. The darts works best when holding the Wii-mote exactly like a dart and making a quick motion with the wrist.
Make sure you secure your wrist strap in this game to prevent any damage to your living room. Although it gets annoying it is an understandable warning. The harder you roll the ball in Skee Ball the further it goes, and the harder you hit the frog launcher the further they fly, so a little extra oomph is sometimes necessary.
The games are easy to pick up, and instructions grace the screen before each game. Practice definitely makes perfect in getting just the right touch in the different games.
And there is no lack of snarky comments coming from the carnies running the games, adding to the reality of the experience. When you don’t toss a ring perfectly on to a bottle or miss the mark when shooting out the star expect some heckling for your poor form.
Overall the game takes advantage of the Wii’s capabilities at making the games pretty true to their summertime counterparts. It has its moments of being a less-than-thrilling game, but provides good lighthearted fun for one or a group. It’s also a good break from (home)work or cleaning and can prove very entertaining at parties.
Publisher: Global Star Software
Developer: Cat Daddy Games
Platform: Wii
Genre: Mini-game collection
Players: 1-4
Rating: Everyone
Launch Date: August 27, 2007
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