Graphics: The Wii deserves better than these sub-par PS2 character models. In fact, I’d take the armless Miis over these stilted synthespians any day of the week. The Miis have charm. While every facet of the game is drenched in that tropical island aesthetic, the graphics and character animations are pretty poor and repetitive. Some of the backgrounds are inventive (the mini-golf course designs look nice and inviting) but the moment the characters start to move in their herky jerky animation, any thoughts of a pleasant vacation at this destination are quickly dashed. There’s really no excuse for the game’s appearance – the Wii is capable of much more power.

Interface: Controls are key for these cookie-cutter Wii sports compilations. If the controls are off than it’s likely the game won’t be much fun to play. Suffice it to say, the poor controls kill this game. The golf swing mechanic is not one-to-one – with the user struggling to get the exact amount of power required for precision putts. Not once could I intuitively make a putt with the exact amount of speed required – and it felt as if the game just arbitrarily selected my power no matter how far back I pulled my arm. Even the slightest movement will send the ball flying with no rhyme or reason of how to accurately control the action. The same goes for the other game modes, with basketball being a prime offender. No matter how hard I simulated a shot, my ball failed to get close to the basket. It did pick up my dribbles but that was really just a gimmicky move for show. The IR recognition is pretty tight making menu manipulation a snap. If only the game controls were as sharp.

Gameplay: As I mentioned in the interface section, this type of game is won or lost based on its control. With broken controls on almost every game mode, the gameplay is abysmal. Solo play is boring – the lack of a campaign mode makes replay undesirable. In the group setting, the only thing more frustrating than the broken controls is the party guests complaining about them.

Multiplayer: Summer Sports strengths lie with its multiplayer focused design. The game supports up to 4 players and joining a game is easy – with each player given control over selecting their avatar and getting right to the action. It should be noted that the multiplayer is strictly local. There are no online multiplayer features included in the game, which is a statement repeated all too often with Wii gaming.

Sound FX: The sound FX are fairly generic – with sounds that match the various sports (the whack of the ball in mini-golf, the thump of the basketball on the court) accompanying various island sounds (tropical birds caw, the surf roars in). It all feels plucked from some standard Sound FX media library.

Music: The steel-drum symphony and calypso tunes stood out at first – putting me in a nice relaxed mood and reaching for the Mai Tai – until I realized how often they repeated. Some of the tracks seem to be on a 10 second loop and sound vaguely like they were ripped from one of those tropical themed puzzle games (think Zuma). With a noticeable cut where the tracks loop, these tunes will quickly get in your head and rip you away from your fantasy island adventure.

Difficulty: This game should be easy but isn’t due to broken control. The difficulty comes squarely from an inability to play these games the way they were meant to be played. It’s not pick-up-and-play if you can’t just pick-up-and-play it without wanting to fire the controller through your plasma.

Overall: The success of the Wii has led to too much of this shovelware with developers taking a ‘me too’ approach and simply grabbing a handful of games, slapping some motion controls on it and then taking advantage of the casual gamers who really LOVED Wii Sports and will buy even more sports compilations thinking they are going to get something of the same quality as Nintendo’s launch title. To add insult to injury, Destineer is retailing this for $39.99 – easily $20 more than the title deserves to sell for. Wii Sports may have driven the Wii’s success but too many titles like Summer Sports – Paradise Island could hurry its demise.