I await a video that shows some actual game play. But, think of the possibilities - you could have random Wii tournaments on public transport - run with the help of some government arts funding!

Image by Flickr user CokeeOrg.

It’s taken me a month or two but I’ve finally got around to writing something in response to Robert Capps’ article in Wired. His was a brilliant piece reflecting on the success of technology that is just good enough for its purpose - bringing savings in accessibility, simplicity and price. But I won’t rehearse that here as you can read it in full on the site.

What it was missing though was a reference to any ‘Just Good Enough’ gaming technology. To that end I’ve taken the opportunity to use my new Game People column on The Escapist to flesh out what I see as a ”Just Good Enough’ gaming device - the Wii…

“Being a gamer, I immediately thought of Nintendo. Its restrained approach to gaming mirrors those magical devices that succeed with a “just good enough” user experience. It’s an approach I like because it means game design becomes about the player rather than the technology. In fact, they seem to have been reading from the same playbook. Capps’ comments about disrupting existing industry values could just as easily have come from Reggie Fils-Aime.”

I’m still taken by Nintendo’s rhetoric of focusing on the playability rather than the visuals…

“A lot of this is gaming history now, but go back a few years and the idea of low-fi gaming was unheard of. Before the Wii and the DS broke onto the scene, everybody clamored for fidelity, resolution, and hardware features in new gaming consoles. Each new generation had to outgun the last and deliver previously unimagined graphical realism. Go back to the GameCube, though, and you can hear Nintendo quietly building its vision of games not dependent on horsepower. Its big idea: fun from ideas and implementations rather than processor speed, polygon count and frame rate.”

I know there are plenty of problems with Nintendo’s approach, not least the high price and lack of third party support for their ‘Just Good Enough’ device, but for me their wider contribution outweighs this.

Cover Image: THQ

THQ sent over a copy of the Wii version for review. Developed by Blue Fang, the same studio behind Zoo Tycoon, there was obviously more than a little knowledge available in terms of what works, what doesn’t and what’s been done before. While many kids obviously enjoyed the Zoo Tycoon experience, there was always a desire from many of them to get more interactive with the animals and that’s what World of Zoo delivers. The Wii is the perfect platform for this (it’s also available for the DS and PC), with the remotes allowing you to virtually “pet” the animals. Players can also give the animals various treats or toys or build a playground for them with a variety of tools, all the while gaining in rank and earning star tokens to unlock additional creatures. You do have some responsibilities -it’s important to make sure the animals are fed and happy (they have thought balloons that give you a pretty good idea of what they want) and the exhibits are kept clean- but that’s about as far as you’re required to go in terms of managing things.

Screenshot: THQ

The animals really react to the stimulation of toys and the play equipment and it can be entertaining to sit back and watch what they get up to; my boys would literally spend hours goofing around with the monkey exhibit. And the Poop Vac feature got a lot of laughs- they are seven, after all. There’s a nursery where the cuteness quotient can be ratcheted up and a camera to snap photos of those special moments. There’s also an option to customize animals via the Animal Creator, letting you unleash your own versions of existing animals, or create hybrids by combining bits and pieces of various different species. My daughter spends much of her time experimenting here, turning out animals that are artistically shaded. While the game sounds a tad unrealistic at times, the animals and their behaviors are reasonably representative of what they’re supposed to be and there are over 90 species available. There are also animal fact cards from National Geographic to add a few more points in favor of an educational experience.

My kids are probably squarely in the target demographic for this game (they’re 7-9 years of age and love animals) and to say that World of Zoo went over well is an understatement. Despite the substantial library of Wii games they have, guess which one they chose to take to Grandma’s after Christmas to demonstrate what her new Wii could do?

World of Zoo for Wii from THQ
Rated E for Everyone
MSRP: $39.99

Wired: Animal animations strike a nice balance between realism and cartoon, interacting with animals is fun while turning them loose on a playground is even better, Animal Creator tool lets kids use their imagination.

Tired: If you’re looking for a realistic zoo sim (one where a Tiger would maul you if you tried to pet it instead of purring), this probably isn’t the game for you.

Image: Southpeak Games

When I first received this unsolicited but free review copy of My Baby: First Steps, I thought, oh great, it’s going to be another cutesy game that even the kids wouldn’t like. I was wrong, for a variety of reasons. This game is pretty authentic. Right down to the dirty diapers, bath time, monotonous feeding regimen, doting grandmother and cute toddler. The only thing that seems to be missing is any kind of misbehavior on the part of the baby (though it’s possible that comes later, since I didn’t make it to the end of the game).

When you start the game, you can choose your baby’s gender, or get a surprise. If you choose boy or girl, you can also choose the ethnicity of the child. I chose to get a surprise and ended up with an Indian girl and named her Nola, after my great great aunt. All of the babies that I’ve seen are adorable. You’re only able to have one baby going at a time, though, which is frustrating when you want to share the game with other family members. But when you’re done raising one baby, you can raise another.

The goal of the game is to raise your baby from 15 months old to 30 months old. It is a sequel to My Baby Girl and My Baby Boy, which deal with younger babies. The game is broken down into months, and each month you are given two teaching goals and some new extra tasks and activities. As time goes on, some of the things that you teach her are walking, talking, running, climbing stairs, jumping and variations on those skills. You also get new challenges with feeding, diaper changing, bath time, outdoor play, bedtime reading and so on. She also has toys to play with. Some of the tasks can be really tricky to get just right. It gets frustrating to not make progress, since you can’t move on to the next month until you’ve taught your baby what she needs to know for the current month.

As your baby gets older, the game expects you to be paying close attention to her noises and gestures, as there are fewer and fewer clues as to what your baby needs. If you’re paying attention, this isn’t too difficult, however. You can also go shopping and buy her clothes, and take pictures of her at just about any time. As time goes on, your baby’s hair grows, she matures and she can do more on her own. There is a also pediatrician who checks in on you from time to time to make sure you’re caring for the child well enough.

Since it is a pretty authentic game, I found it fairly boring since I’ve already done all of that with my own kids. In real life, you have more personal triumphs. In the game, it’s less personal. It’s too much like real life for me to want to play it all the way through, though I did get about halfway. But then again, I’m not in the age demographic for which it is designed. It is an excellent tool to teach patience to children looking to babysit or to have their own kids one day. My kids are very much drawn to the game. My daughter is very nurturing, and my son just loves babies.

Game play can be frustrating at times because you get so focused on teaching the tasks to your baby and then the game interrupts you to do things like change a diaper or have mealtime. Of course, that’s like real life as well, since once you have a child, it’s impossible to get anything done in one sitting.

The retail price of $29.99 (for DS or Wii versions) is a bit more than I would pay, unless I had a child who was really interested in learning how to care for a baby. I’m not sure if the Wii version is exactly the same as the DS version that I tried, but it seems to me that it would be harder to be exact with diaper changing and bath time with a Wiimote than with a DS stylus.

Wired: Good variety in tasks to complete, cute babies, game progresses as you take care of your baby, you may develop a small connection with your virtual child.

Tired: Game is a bit too authentic at times, and it can be frustrating to have to do the baby-raising tasks without as many of the real life joys that usually come along with it.

Baseball Blast! Image: 2K Sports

Once again, I learned the valuable lesson that I shouldn’t impose my likes and dislikes on my kids. They loved this game. Normally they’re a Lego Star Wars/Rock Band/ Mario crowd, so I expected them to lose interest pretty quickly, but despite an almost zero exposure to baseball, they picked it up immediately and spent the better part of a Saturday evening at it - holding the attention of seven year old twins for several hours at a stretch is no small feat. Baseball Blast! for the Wii consists of 20 mini games, all with a baseball connection (naturally) and most of which involve hitting, catching or throwing a ball (although there was also a variation on bumper cars). None of that complicated strategy of managing a team roster or fighting to control multiple players on a field. Which is perfect for young kids and casual gaming. Even though you can pick from major league teams for your jersey, the choice appears to have no real impact on game play and the characters are very cartoon-ish, so don’t expect to be instantly recognizing anyone. Again, this isn’t meant to reproduce a real MLB event of any sort, just the atmosphere. Bob Uecker and Rob Dibble are available for play by play to add a little more authenticity. The favorite mini game so far is probably Cannonballs, where your player attempts to sink pirate ships. Yes, they’ve combined baseball and pirates (not the Pittsburgh variety, either). Baseball Blast! supports up to four players and multiplayer mode is definitely its strong point. The game is nothing earth shattering, but it’s a fun, casual title and at twenty bucks, it’s a pretty good value.

Minigame mashup: Pirates and Sluggers Screenshot: 2K Sports

Baseball Blast! for Wii from 2k Sports
Rated E for Everyone (with Comic Mischief)
MSRP: $19.99

Wired: Multiplayer mode is a blast, a good assortment of mini games, kid friendly games and controls, inexpensive.

Tired: Single player mode not so fun, hitting can seem a little random.