Obviously stepping in to take a bite of Wii Sport's mega success, Hudson steps in a year and a half after the hit's release to offer up its own update to the party sports scene. Is party-game champ Hudson up to the task of matching what is arguably the Wii's best game, or is Deca Sports a day late and a dollar short?
By nestlekwik
Using Wii Sports as a building block, Deca Sports sprints onto the system in an attempt to deliver the fun of the established launch title while doubling its content and expanding each offering even further with multiple options. At face value, players will be tackling badminton, volleyball, motocross, kart racing, snowboarding, curling, basketball, soccer, archery and figure skating in single-sport and decathlon modes for up to four players. However, most of the sports offer only bare-bones presentations of the sports and what players find is a mixed bag of enjoyable and boring.
Graphically, the title holds up to other games in the genre, sporting unique characters chosen from a number of different teams featuring speedy, powerful or balanced characters. The models resemble Wii Sport's usage of the trademark Miis, but are unique and feature their share of charm (especially the disco team's afro-laden squad). The environments of each event do their job and overall, combined with some catchy themes and appropriate audio, Deca Sport's presentation actually holds up rather well.
Unfortunately, though, the overall package is dragged down by some lame sports events. The motocross, kart and snowboard races require little skill to maneuver through and with no attack options to heat games up, your group is better off hitting the local go kart track. The basketball and soccer events are stripped to pass and shoot mechanics and might prove to be enjoyable for one time amongst friends, but there is little here to engross single players. With four players in tow, however, you'll probably see the remaining events getting much more play. Curling and figure skating are decent enough "oddity sports" to get the group riled up and the random nature of the archery contest will cause for some heated accuracy contests. Badminton and volleyball will no doubt be the party pleasures, serving up frantic competition and a ton of interaction via the Wii Remote.
While the title has been developed exclusively for the Wii Remote, the effort at times doesn't show, most notably when aiming left and right and balancing power in the badminton and volleyball events and launching your rock in curling. The title's biggest letdown is it essentially relies on players having three other gamers present in order for the game to rise above boring. Even at four players your mileage may vary, but there's nothing wrong with giving Deca Sports a day rental for a Wii get-together session. Deca Sports isn't a keeper, mixing bland events with occasionally sloppy control, which unfortunately makes the title worth trying but not buying.
GemuBaka Score: 2 out of 5
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