Wii Hardware & Games

The fun of a carnival without leaving the house.

Something that the Nintendo platforms have been accomplishing better than anyone for over two decades is bringing people together. Party games have been a staple of their consoles, and the Wii has propelled that to new levels. With the motion-sensitive Wii remote, the new generation of party games, such as Wii Sports and WarioWare: Smooth Moves, takes the action off the couch. The more interactive nature of the games adds a more interactive nature to the players. After a good shot in Wii Sports Tennis, you might see energetic high-fives in place of elbow nudges. Entering this new arena is Carnival Games from Global Star Software.

When you hear the idea of using traditional carnival games as the basis of a console title, it makes perfect sense. There’s a large variety available to choose from, which keeps gameplay moving. Bored with the Bowler Coaster? Try the Shooting Gallery instead. Carnival Games offers such a wide selection, there’s something to keep everyone entertained.

There are two main play modes, single player and multiplayer; in both modes, you create your in-game persona. The stylized graphics match with the Wii aesthetic; characters have hands, but no arms. After you choose whether you want to be a boy, girl, man, or woman, you can customize your character’s appearance with different faces, hair, shirts, pants, and shoes. There are other categories—among them hats, masks, accessories, and wacky shoes—that you must unlock or purchase with tickets (more on that later). You can return to the character-customization screen at any time to change or add new items.

The single-player mode (Prize Mode) contains the extra items and unlocks the games. As you play games, you win tickets and prizes, depending on your performance. Just for playing, you’ll earn one ticket, so even if you lose, all your effort isn’t for naught. Do better in the game, and you’ll win more tickets. You can spend the tickets on items to customize your character or on one of five Alley Arcade games. Get your fortune with the Great Swami (“I wish I was big”); hold the Wii remote to your chest, and measure your Casanova level with the Meter-O-Love; or move your squirrel to catch falling nuts in Going Nuts. The Alley Arcade games are only available in the single-player mode.

The prizes you win come in three sizes—small, medium, and large—and you can trade in the lower levels for an upper-level prize. Four small prizes will give you one medium prize, three mediums for a large, and two larges for the grand prize. Grand prizes unlock super games, the harder versions of the original games. By winning the grand prize in Hoops, for example, a Super Hoops game will unlock where the basketball hoop moves around as you try to sink a basket. Once one person unlocks a super game, it remains available for play in multiplayer mode.

Multiplayer includes two modes: Head to Head and Competition. Each allows up to four players, using individual or shared remotes. Head to Head allows you to choose one game at a time. The Competition mode randomly selects five games and keeps a leader board to keep track of who wins the group of games.

Throughout the game, carnival music plays in the background, which contributes to the festive atmosphere. So does the abuse the booth workers dish out when you fail miserably at their game. The taunting of the redneck in the dunk tank at Dunk the Punk is fantastic. It makes you want to dunk him all the more, which usually causes me to play worse and get taunted even more, perpetuating the cycle.

Pretty much every game requires you to use the Wii remote’s motion sensor, with its assortment of necessary motions. While the majority of the motions acted exactly how I expected them to, a few of them didn’t respond how I anticipated (in the Ring Toss, in particular). At times, it can become frustrating, but usually after a bit of practice, I can work the motion most of the time. Luckily, since there are so many games, I can switch to another one when I feel frustrated and come back later after I calm down.

Carnival Games might sound like a simple idea, but it is highly enjoyable and addictive. The vast range of games makes it perfect for a night of entertaining, and the Prize Mode offers reason to go it alone. All in all, Carnival Games is a worthy addition to the Wii’s roster of party games.

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