Sports games on the Wii: let's face it. A room full of monkeys could do a decent job on the design. Yes, programming is a difficult and intricate job, but as long as the controls mimic real life and the graphics look half decent, it'll be a fun game. Throw in multiplayer, and you can't lose. So how did the monkeys at Hudson manage with Deca Sports?

Games

Deca Sports, for you non-Latin Scholars, has 10 different events in a handful of modes, including multiplayer. The sports vary in difficulty, but with practice, most members of your family can expect to get the hang of most or all of them:

• Badminton is probably the easiest of the sports. My 7-year-old struggled with it until we gave her a few strategy tips, after which she was able to take on my 12-year-old and almost win. (She wanted me to tell you all that!) In this game, you control the racket and swing just like a regular racket, and the computer moves your player for you. Control works as well as the Wiimote is capable of.
• Kart Racing is not Mario Kart, so get that out of your head before we go any further. This is a simulation of the go-carts you find at amusement parks. Control is tricky even for some adults who tried it and takes a lot of practice. You drive using standard Wii driving via tilting, and while it predates the Wii driving wheel, it's compatible with this game.
• Curling also takes quite a bit of practice to master. Push the stone, then shake your Wiimote just enough to land the stone in the target ("House"). Younger kids will really struggle with this one.
• Snowboard Cross is one of my 12-year-old's favorites. Control your boarder simply by tilting the Wiimote. This sport offers challenge, but won't frustrate new players. The more you play, the better you'll get, since the strategy is such that it can be constantly fine-tuned.
• Archery is the family favorite. Pull the B-button to knock the arrow, then pull back, aim, and release. I can't imagine how to improve on this game, except to allow for the option to shoot out the lights or other environment items just for fun, but it's not that kind of game. (It still would've been fun!)
• Supercross works much like Kart Racing, but with hills and jumping. You control the angle of your motorcycle when in the air, but you can't actually crash. Be aware that this does not have the great physics of a dedicated cycle game like MX vs. ATV, so if you're looking for that kind of experience, you'll be sorely disappointed. I wasn't thrilled with this version at all.
• Beach Volleyball works much like Badminton in control, except that it adds another player to each team. Bump, set, and spike just as you'd expect. Controls work equally well as Badminton.
• Figure Skating has been a source of frustration for my kids. Here, you attach the nunchuk, move your skater, and twitch the Wiimote at key spots to perform tricks. This one is almost as difficult as curling, and many kids will tend to stay away from this one. Since good figure skating games are rare, I'm neither thrilled nor surprised by this one.
• Basketball also uses the nunchuk for a fairly decent 3-on-3 experience. Move players with the nunchuk, steal, jump and shoot by twitching the Wiimote, and pass and switch players with the buttons. Challenging, younger players will likely have trouble with this unless playing against another human player of similar skill.
• Soccer is a lot like Basketball, except with a computer-controlled goalie and is only slightly easier thanks to an easier steal control.

Instead of using Miis, the game offers 8 different teams, each with varying degrees of skill. This works fairly well, since you need a lot of characters for all these games.

Modes

Multiplayer offers 3 2-player games and 7 4-player games, the computer filling in if playing with less players than the maximum. Your family will likely spend most of its time here, as the real fun of this game is playing with friends and family. It only includes single-game play in this mode, no tournaments or anything else, so that's disappointing, but in all, our only problem was not having a large enough living room, as we tended to run into each other.

Open Match allows the player to play a single match with many options for settings, a good mode for practicing a sport before entering the other modes. This is just like the multiplayer in options, except for the obvious single-player-only.

Deca League runs you through all 10 sports, competing with 4 other computer-controlled teams. This mode offers a unique condition statistic. As you use the players from your 5-person team, they tire out, so you have to use different players for different games. Try to ignore the fact that it's nearly impossible to go from snowboard cross to beach volleyball in real life without a chance to rest. Think about it. That said, this is my favorite signle-player mode because of its variety.

Tournament puts you in a single-elimination tournament against the other computer-controlled teams in a single sport of your choice. Opponents seem to get more challenging as you work through the semi-finals and finals.

Deca Challenge includes various mini-games with the different sports, challenging the player ot meet certain goals for medals.

Controls mode allows you to practice the different movements needed in the different games, so if you can play the Basketball game except for shooting, go here for coaching.

And finally, the Locker Room gives player stats and earned trophies.

How did the monkeys do overall?

In all, Deca Sports isn't a bad title. If you love Wii Sports, and who doesn't, you'll like Deca Sports. While it has no glaring problems, it just lacks the flair of Wii Sports, but you could do worse (like Wii Play or the Kidz Sports titles). The game offers something for everyone and can be enjoyed to some degree by anyone capable of using a Wiimote. Just a few more multiplayer options or online play, and this would be a great title. Give the monkeys a treat, but no bananas.