When Hong Kong based manufacturer Brando announced their "Wii Sports Pack" accessory Kit for the Wii, some people thought it was a joke. The pack includes a tennis racket, golf club, and baseball bat attachment for the Wiimote, to be used in conjunction with "Wii Sports." Our kit arrived several days ago and here is the first-ever EXCLUSIVE review!
Packaging
For a third party product, especially one from Hong Kong, which is known for it's share of "cheap" videogame accessories, the packing of the "Wii Sports Pack" is actually quite nice.
The first thing we noticed was the curious logo, which has been modified to actually read "Wu" instead of "Wii." One can only assume this is to avoid any unnecessary licensing hiccups and/or lawsuits. It gave us a chuckle, though, as we were reminded of the classic Jeffrey Osborne song.
The box top flips up to reveal the included accessories, as well as the brief installation instructions. Brando was also kind enough to remind us to "Enjoy yourself in Sport..."
The rear of the box includes some nice screenshots from Wii Sports, which makes us wonder why they were so worried about using the words "Wii" on the packaging but didn't bother to think twice about using actual game images. There is also a nice company logo, featuring a flying shark and the words "Pega," which also gave us a chuckle as we mimicked the old Sega boot jingle.
The back also revealed that the pack "can improve inspiration when using the product to play games, you may feel more realistic and exciting. Can enhance the joy of playing the game." It occurred to us then that, if it weren't for the screenshots on the back of the box, one might assume the package contained some sort of sex toys.
The accessories themselves are internally packed in black plastic with tabs for easy removal and storage. Our first impression was that they looked a lot like vacuum cleaner attachments.
Setup
The pack includes a plastic "shell" that the Wiimote is placed in to attach the accessories. The controller fits snugly into the shell and is easy to insert and remove. Each accessory then slides into place on the shell. There is a "switch" for further support that locks the accessory into place. Once assembled, it seems sturdy enough that you won't have to worry about flying parts.
Performance
We started with the baseball bat. The first thing we noticed is that, because the Wiimote is inside the plastic shell, you cannot control the onscreen pointer. The controller's sensors are obviously blocked. Thankfully, it's easy enough to pop the controller out of the shell to navigate the menus and re-insert it for play, but still a minor annoyance.
Batting with the accessory does seem more realistic and natural. When it's your turn to pitch, though, things start to get ugly. Unless you want to feel like you're pitching a baseball bat, you need to remove the accessory from the Wiimote. This is simple enough but, because of the way "Wii Sports" is setup, your opponent can start throwing pitches almost immediately. This would be less of an issue when playing with friends, since they could wait until you were ready before pitching. Computer opponents are less forgiving. Many times we were caught unprepared while attemping to re-attach the bat and were dealt an unnecessary strike.
The golf club attachment also seems to make the gameplay "feel more realistic and exciting." Because it's so short, though, you never truly feel like you're holding a golf club. It's still better than using just the Wiimote, though, if your imagination is good enough.
The tennis racket is the saving grace of this pack. Playing with it, even for the first time, the difference was quite noticeable. For some reason I could never quite grasp which direction to swing my arm. With the racket attachment, though, things came to me quite naturally. I truly found myself more drawn into the game. Our scores seemed to improve as well.
Ratings
Baseball Bat: 4 out of 10
It does seem to enhance gameplay but it's no good for pitching and taking it off is a hassle.
Golf Club: 7 out of 10
Better than using the Wiimote by itself but, when it comes right down to it, it's too short to make you truly feel like you're playing golf.
Tennis Racket: 10 out of 10
This is how the rest of the accessories should have felt. You really feel like your playing tennis.
Overall
Most people will brush these accessories off as a ridiculous novelty item and, for the most part, they are. The tennis racket, however, is a joy to play with and I wish Brando had packed in four tennis rackets and shells instead of the other two accessories. If they're smart, they'll offer a racket pack separately. Either that or get rid of the bat and include a longer golf club, maybe even in two parts.
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