What Not to WiiWare – 101-in-1 Explosive Megamix

The past few weeks have been pretty good on the WiiWare front. Sure, things haven't been perfect, but with stellar titles like MotoHeroz and escapeVektor: Chapter 1 giving you a reason to shell out the cash for some Wii Points, it's amazing how Nintendo's download shop has been making a little buzz with worthwhile gaming experiences. For the most part, things have been declining in terms of quantity, and WiiWare has been getting mostly a single new game each week. This week's digital offering is 101-in-1 Explosive Megamix. Does this mini-game collection justify its $7 price tag?

101-in-1 Explosive Megamix

When I first got my Wii in 2006, mini-game collections really appealed to me. Games like Rayman Raving Rabbids and WarioWare: Smooth Moves provided me with hours of fun when I played them alone or with others. As developers continued making party games for the Wii, however, my interest in the genre began to fizzle out. That said, if I find a solid collection of mini-games, I'll usually be more than willing to check it out as long as it provides a worthwhile experience. When I saw that this week's WiiWare entry was called 101-in-1 Explosive Megamix, I knew I was in store for some rubbish.

You'd think that a digital pile of 101 mini-games would at least have a few winners, but sadly, this isn't the case. Every single one of the mini-games included in this horrid collection is boring and uninspired. Whether you're trying to shoot a basketball through a hoop, engaging in some air hockey, guiding a free falling dude through rings in the sky, or making a frog catch flies with its tongue, there's really nothing here that will keep you entertained at all.

To make matters worse, none of the mini-games offer multiplayer functionality. Not that the mini-games would be too much better when played with another individual. After all, the mechanics are mind-numbingly dull and the motion controls aren't all that impressive. Still, some air hockey with a buddy wouldn't hurt. It wouldn't make this package of crappy mini-games all that better, but it wouldn't hurt.

Of course, you have to have an underwhelming presentation for such an underwhelming game, and the graphics and sound in 101-in-1 Explosive Megamix certainly deliver the goods (or bads) in that department. Obviously, you can't really expect too much technical power from a WiiWare game, but this horrid mini-game compilation doesn't even have a pleasing art style. And then there's the music, which is boring and monotonous to the point of exhaustion.

Simply put, 101-in-1 Explosive Megamix looks bad, sounds bad, and plays bad. There's nothing here to make the $7 investment worthwhile, so if you come across this game during a random WiiWare search, don't bother. It's a shame that after a plentiful helping of great WiiWare games we have to get garbage like this. Save your money and hope that something better drops next week.

Skip it!