The launch of the Nintendo Wii
brought with it one of the best pack-in games in years: Wii Sports. This game
has succeeded because it is very easy to learn and play, yet it contains much
depth, and because of this it has remained a favorite game for many players.
Since its released, many companies have tried to duplicate the success of this
game, but many have fallen short of its excellence. The latest game that tries
to take on Wii Sports is a game entitled EA Playground.
As its title suggests, EA Playground
takes place at the back of the playground where you can play some of your most
cherished childhood games once again. There are four areas that you can explore: Schoolyard, Goby Park, Stadium, and Rabblewoods. In the beginning
you only have access to the Schoolyard, but if you win and defeat the players
around the area you will gain access to other places. Winning games also unlocks
tougher opponents, which gives you better rewards and stickers (will explain
that later) if you defeat them. The ultimate objective is to take on the Sticker
King and beat him at every game and become the new King of this playground.
When you first start up the game you
are to make a profile by choosing between a few different characters. The main
problem with this is that there are only a couple of characters to choose from,
and there is no way to customize the look of your character. I thought this
was pretty lame since this character will be representing you throughout the game, and the choices are very few.
When you actually load up the game
you will find that there are several different games for you to play; some will
remain locked until you pass certain requirements. These games are: dodgeball,
kicks, tetherball, slot-car racing, paper racers, wall ball, and dart shootout.
In dodgeball you run up to get the balls, and make a throwing motion to throw
them.
Move the control pad to dodge, B button either catches or deflects the ball. One
of the more interesting games is kicks, as it is a combination of soccer and
volleyball. In this game you can touch the ball with your hands and you can’t
let it hit the ground. The main objective is to get the ball in the soccer goal
on your opponent’s side.
That being said, each game plays
decent enough, but the main concern here is that there is no stand-out game (aka
addictive), and they are all pretty mundane. In fact, the game that EA shows the
most of on the cover (dodgeball) is one of the worse playing games of the
batch. One of the things that is enjoyable is that you will be able to collect
(buy and win from opponents) various stickers throughout the game. The stickers
will give you access to more powerful and hidden moves, which will help you
defeat tougher characters later on. This gave the game a more RPG kind of feel since you get to level up the characters by obtaining more moves.
Flying so high
Many will see the graphics as very kid-like, and while they are I think that they fit the concept of
this game really well. The main problem with the graphics is the fact that all
of the characters are really plain looking and really lacking in the variety
department. Another major issue is that while playing it you will
notice that you will get some slow down. While this doesn’t occur all the time
it happens enough for it to be noticeable and irritating.
The audio is also a
very mixed bag. First off the music has its ups and downs; some
of the music is very good and other times you will be reaching for that mute
button as fast as you can. There is not much voice work to speak of in this
game, as it is just very limited and also spoken in inaudible gibberish at
times. The sound effects will not impress you much either.
On a sad note, EA Playground doesn’t
allow you to play games online with other people. Fortunately you will get to
play with up to four players (depending if you can find three more people to
play with, and the fact that some games are only for two players). This is good
since it is always better to play with live humans than the computer AI.
EA Playground is rated Everyone.
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Gameplay: 6.5
The games are easy to operate and fun to play. The only true problem
here is the lack of a mini game that will truly draw everyone in. Instead they
are all just average games with none really standing out above the rest.
Graphics: 7.0
While many people might criticize the look of the graphics, I like the style
that the developers went with here as it really fits in with the whole
“playground” theme that they have going on. Unfortunately many of the characters
are very plain looking and there are even slight framerate drops that make this
score go lower.
Sound: 6.8
The sound is a mixed bag, there are some decent music and some annoying tracks
at the same time. The voices and sound effects don’t fare too much better
either.
Difficulty: Easy
The game is really easy for anyone to pick up and play.
Concept: 6.8
The concept here is obviously taken from Wii Sports and in many areas it
succeeds, such as leveling up your characters and collecting various stickers.
Unlike Wii Sports the games here don’t have as much depth or even having a game
that stands out above the rest.
Multiplayer 6.8
Sadly this game doesn’t include online multiplayer, but you can play with your
friends in your living room and that is always better than playing with the
computer AI.
Overall: 6.8
EA Playground is a good first attempt at trying to create a game that is as
captivating as Wii Sports. Unfortunately there are problems with the control
scheme (seriously, who let this game ship with only D-pad controls) and a lack of
a real captivating mini game. For what is presented, this will entertain your
family (kids) for several hours on end.
