Wii Sports, the first in a series of Wii-titled games including the already released Wii Play and the upcoming Wii Music and Wii Health Pack, is a collection of 5 sports mini-games (Bowling, Tennis, Baseball, Golf and Boxing) that impressively utilizes the Wii console’s wireless controller interface.

The action is realized by in-game avatars (customizable sprites aptly named “Mii’s”) that the user controls via the Wii’s wireless remote. A backhand motion with your WiiMote in hand, for instance, will cause your avatar in the Tennis mini-game to return a volley, or a high jabbing motion will have your Mii pounding an opponent in the face in Boxing.

The gameplay is remarkably simple and intuitive, yet engaging enough to keep the interests of gamers of nearly every age group. And because the required motions with your WiiMote appropriately emulate real-life actions, the learning curve is nearly non-existent. The physics of the game are pretty accurate as well, although it varies a bit depending on the mini-game.

Bowling is very true-to-form (I actually bowled my real bowling average the first time around) and is arguably the most accurately represented mini-game in Wii Sports. The Tennis mini-game’s only significant drawback, in terms of gameplay, is the fact that all court movements are controlled by the computer leaving the player to focus on swatting tennis balls. This isn’t necessarily a drawback, however, as it is still very fun to play. Golf is a bit trickier as the game doesn’t seem to properly interpret subtle motions of the WiiMote (i.e. short-ranged putting). In addition, there are only nine available courses that quickly become redundant. Baseball is a severely watered down representation of the original as you’re relegated to only pitching and batting with all fielding duties controlled by the A.I. Finally, Boxing (though a lot of fun to play) is sloppy in its mechanics. Hooks and uppercuts are difficult to execute, the force of your WiiMote strikes are not taken into account by the game, and movements of your avatars seem rather disjointed. However, the Boxing mini-game is the only one that utilizes the Wii Nunchuck attachment.

Every time you perform well in a mini-game your character is awarded a corresponding number of points, which ultimately affects your in-game ranking. Once your Mii obtains a high enough ranking, it is elevated to Pro status, with all the perks that come with it. The equipment upgrade you receive as a pro (i.e. the starred bowling ball) while charming is purely aesthetic. The best “reward” for being a pro is access to tougher computer-controlled opponents. Even still, these pro-level adversaries are very beatable.

The real challenge comes in the form of Wii Sports’ training mode. Accessible from the main menu, fifteen training mini-games (three from each sports-category) are available to play at your leisure. These training exercises are designed to hone your skills used in the five main sports games. The game ranks your proficiency in each exercise giving you different medals (bronze, silver, and gold) as your overall score increases. While most of the training games are simple, obtaining a gold medal on some exercises is much more difficult then beating a pro-level opponent.

A third gaming option is the daily Fitness training, which is comprised of a handful of training exercises played in rapid sequence. Upon completion of the Fitness session (only one fitness session per day per Mii), you are given a “training age” which charts your Fitness progression or regression.

All minor blemishes aside, gameplay is where Wii Sports truly shines. In fact, the game was awarded Outstanding Achievement awards in Innovation and Game Design at the 2007 Interactive Achievement Awards (the Oscars of the video gaming industry), a testament to the games solid design.

While Wii Sports excels in gameplay, its visuals are… less than stellar. Though the graphics are not lousy by any means, the graphics pale in comparison to even other Wii games (i.e. Zelda: Twilight Princess). The models are blocky, of cartoon-like proportions, and the animation is very simplistic. But, with the oft-limbless Mii avatars what else can you expect? The graphics are, however, consistent with the upbeat and perky feel of the game and were designed, again, to appeal to the masses. In those respects, Wii Sports does its job quite well.

Audio in Wii Sports is similar to the graphics; though arguably substandard, they do not detract from the overall gaming experience. There are not a lot of musical tunes (which sound very midi-like anyhow) in the game. In fact, no music is featured in-game, with melodies relegated to pre and post-game screens and the title menu. The sound effects are much better, however. The in-game effects are appropriate and never hackneyed. And the understandably low-grade sound from the WiiMote’s mini-speaker does add a three-dimensional feel to the action.