2/2

Table Tennis
Second in line for miscommunicated motions is the 'Table Tennis' mini-game, or as its commonly known as 'Ping-Pong'. The main problem here, judging exactly where your paddle is sitting relative to the table. It is something that takes a lot to get used to and even when you think you have it nailed, it will surprise you with some odd behaviour. The A.I. can be inconsistent here, fluctuating from fantastic matches to all out blunders. Even with a lack of precision and some questionable computer Intel, I can see this mode being a lot of fun with friends because of its high speed matches. Single player, well, not so much.

Archery
Topping my list for a favourite activity in 'Sports Champions' is the Archery mode. Although, its way better with two wands, one works well enough. I was really surprised with the direction of each level in the Archery mini-game because of its diversity between solo matches and matches against the computer A.I., often with the stress of a timer counting down. Shooting at the same target like a moving watermelon or playing an archery version of 'Tic-Tac-Toe' is a lot of fun. This mode also gives you arm a good workout as you have to move over your shoulder to grab an arrow and extend your arm to shoot. Sounds easy enough?! Well it is, but I'm not going to tell you that you're not going to be tired. Expect a classic case of "Move-Arm" or "Move-Shoulder." Move related injuries aside, the Archery mini-game is very stimulating and addictive.

Gladiator Duel
The 'Gladiator Duel' is probably the most shown off mode in 'Sports Champions' and rightfully so. Who wouldn’t want to feel like a gladiator in a dual to the death? It is a little more exciting then table tennis or bocce, no? While the 'Gladiator Duel' might not be the most outstanding mini-game out of the bunch, it is a great showcase for where the technology can go. One can’t help to think about a refined 'Soul Calibur' with 'PS Move' controls, that would just be sick.

Similar to Archery, 'Gladiator Duel' makes great use of two wands, one for controlling your shield and the other, you weapon. With one wand, shield control comes down to holding a button. It works, but it doesn’t have the same effect. Fighting is instantaneously fun with the later rounds bringing the goods. The basis of the game are simple. Deplete your opponents health or kick them out of the ring. The contestants might be a little underdressed for the event, but aesthetics aside you will likely fall in love the idea behind the tech. Although it is not perfect and some tracking slips can be noticed. However, in comparison to the “other” brands device, the 'PS Move' seems worlds ahead.

The Little Things
Lastly, I wanted to touch on some other inclusions I liked about 'Sports Champions,' and a few I didn't. Starting with the bad, 'Sports Champions' makes you re-calibrate the wand way too much. In some instances it happens every match, which is simply too much when you just want to enjoy a quick game or two. Secondly, there is no instant rematch button after a round, which means you have to role through the menu and start up the match again, waiting for the game to load. A rematch button would have done away with that and saved the annoyance of re-selecting each round. Both these issues can probably be resolved easily, so fingers crossed for a patch.

For the good, I have to point out the music, but not the actual sound. The music is as generic as they come, but what is cool about it is how they bring up the volumes at crucial points to add to the excitement in-game. It's something small, but effective. I also enjoyed having my picture taken after winning a championship. Posing with a oversized and digitized item from the game world is funny, and is a great way to capture some jocular milestones with friends. Of course in today's world what would it be without the ability to upload to your photo to the social networking website 'Facebook.' So expect some odd posting hitting your friends photo galleries. Sometimes it's the little things that count.

'Sports Champions' as a stand alone game unfortunately has the same fate as the Wii’s launch title 'Wii Sports,' it's fun to play for a while and cool to show off the tech to your friends, but it really lacks substance to keep you around in comparison to other sport titles. As a bundle, you are getting some excellent hardware that shows a lot of promise and the game, which isn’t so bad. However, since a good majority of the features need two wands to be experienced, it's baffling why they didn’t package the bundle with two wand controllers. To get the full out experience from 'Sports Champions' you will need at least two controllers (wands) or four if you want fully play all the modes in multiplayer. With that being said, with one wand the game is still a lot of fun and for what it is; you’ll likely be entertained until the next Move enabled title comes out. Thankfully, there is a lot more to come and 'Sports Champions' is just the tip of the ice-berg.

Gameplay:6.6, Graphics:7.0, Sound:6.0, Innovation:7.0, Mojo:7.0  Final:6.7 / 10