The fact that someone from Nintendo is currently in sole possession of a video of a Kotaku writer playing Birdseye Bullseye has nothing to do with our willingness to publish the following post.
Almost as an afterthought I agreed to sample Wii Fit Plus last night during my visit with Nintendo reps in New York City. I learned that it is not as much a sequel to Wii Fit as a replacement for the original in the market. But I'm in good shape. I don't need this game. Maybe its new balance games would make me want it?
Here's what I tried:
Snowball Fight: Stand on the Balance Board and lean left or right to emerge from cover. Point a Wii Remote at opposing Miis who are doing the same. With the press of a button, toss snowballs at them.
Obstacle Course: Run in place on the Balance Board or pretend-jump (keep those feet on the board) to make the Mii leap. I didn't get far before getting knocked off the floating obstacle course by swinging wrecking balls.
Segway Circuit: Hold a Wii remote horizontally while standing on the Balance Board to simulate using a Segway. Then drive over a beach taken from Wii Sports Resort to collect balloons and chase moles.
Tilt City: Balls roll in from a ramp on the top right corner of the screen and descend to one of three chutes at the bottom of the screen. Three flippers that the player controls determine their path. The top flipper is a big Wii Remote. The bottom two flippers, aligned in a row, are Balance Boards. The three chutes are below, each color-coded for the balls of the appropriate hue. The trick is to tilt the proper flippers to guide the balls the right way. The better you do, the faster this all happens.
Birdseye Bullseye: Stand on the Balance Board and flap your arms frantically to make a chicken fly. Lean forward to make him fly toward platforms dotting the sea. Land on them for points and to add time extensions.
There were more, but those are what I tried. None seemed deep, but all were intuitive and easy. They didn't have the immediate appeal of Wii Fit's ski-jump nor the innate do-it-again challenge of the first game's slalom. But they played well enough to provide a nice dessert to an evening of Nintendo gaming. No main course, but a fine extra.
And while, yes, this reporter has in the tradition of either Woodward or Bernstein, donned a giant Pong paddle on his head to play a game of sonic Pong, done forward rolls on concrete at the behest of a lady dressed as Lara Croft and been strapped to a ceiling while dressed as Super Mario …. I still want that video of me flapping my arms playing Birdseye Bullseye. Not that I would destroy it or anything.