GENRE
	Sports
	DEVELOPER
	Black Lantern Studios
	PUBLISHER
	DSI Games
	NUMBER OF PLAYERS
	1-2
	WI-FI ENHANCED
	No
	DS COMPATIBLE
	No
	BUY NOW AT

Conventional gaming wisdom says that games based on movies are something to approach with caution. This is because unfortunately, too often gameplay plays second fiddle to the movie tie-ins. Keep reading to find out whether or not this is the case yet again in Balls of Fury for Wii.

visuals

Balls of Fury's graphics are on Wii are naturally beefier than those for the DS version with 3D models used for venues, characters and trophies. Any game in which one can play as Christopher Walken already has something big going for it; but unfortunately, the character models aren't of the highest quality, and it's difficult to see and believe that the characters onscreen are the same ones from the movie. The inclusion of a movie trailer extra begs the question, why couldn't the Wii version have used video clips in story mode instead of the same stills as the DS version?

audio

Balls of Fury features unobtrusive competition music, voice recordings for player taunts, and sound effects that indicate what's going on with the rally. Not only can one hear the tap of the ping-pong ball as it bounces, but also power moves being charged and executed. While the use of voice for taunts is a step in the right direction, each character has only one taunt and so always says the same thing.

gameplay

Balls of Fury's motion controls feel both intuitive and responsive. Its controls feel superior to Wii Play's table tennis and Wii Sports' tennis mode for one reason: different Wii remote motions correspond to different swings. It functions well enough to replicate the feeling of hitting a ping-pong ball with a paddle.

Like the DS version, once players get rally basics down, they can then delve into adding in taunts and special, character-specific power moves. A rally gauge must be charged up to use power moves, which, when delivered at the right time can be devastating. Some power moves cause the ball to curve unpredictably, or to simply wink out of existence and reappear somewhere on the opponent's side of the table.

Players can choose from a variety of play modes, including Exhibition, Story and Arcade. Exhibition mode is a simple, single match where players choose their opponent, Story mode follows the events of the movie through still frame and text cutscenes, while Arcade mode pits players against AI characters without the story between matches. A choice of difficulty levels plus unlockable characters and achievement trophies are enough to keep players busy for some time.

multiplayer

Players have no option to compete directly against each other alone in the game's multiplayer mode. Instead, they are forced to go head to head against AIs in a Tournament. While true to the spirit of the movie, it would have been nice to have the option to skip the tournament and just go head-to-head with a friend.

overall

While movie tie-in games should be approached with caution, Balls of Fury is an exception to that rule. It achieves its success by landing solid gameplay first and letting the movie tie-ins follow after. Overall, Balls of Fury for Wii delivers solid motion control ping-pong action at home.

7.0/10