Celebrity Sports Showdown
Rating: E
Score: 6.0/10
Much like Wii Sports and Deca Sports, this Wii-exclusive title tries to be the next big party game for the Wii. Does it succeed or end up in the trash with Deca Sports while Wii Sports lives on? This game is only available for the Nintendo Wii.
As the name suggests, you play as a Celebrity. There are only ten of them, which is really lacking. Here’s the complete list of playable characters (none are unlockable, so no spoilers here): Fergie, Avril Lavigne, LeAnn Rimes, Keith Urban, Nelly Furtado, Paul Pierce, Mia Hamm, Kristi Yamaguchi, Reggie Bush, and Sugar Ray Leonard. There are only a dozen sports, so I’ll review each separately.
Beach Volleyball is exactly the same as beach volleyball in Deca Sports. Hit the ball when it glows to get an instant point.
Smash Badminton is the exact same as beach volleyball. Hit the birdie when it glows to get an instant point.
Inner-Tubing has you collecting points by collecting stars while stopping the other Celebrities from getting points. It’s simple, but fairly fun.
Rapid Fire Archery is a lot like archery in Deca Sports (noticing a pattern?). You shoot targets for points, trying to beat your opponent.
Wild Water Canoeing is exactly what it sounds like, you canoe down wild waters. There’s not much to it, which ruins the fun.
Hurdle Derby has you racing horses around a track. Again, there’s not much to it…boring!
Curling is exactly like Deca Sports’ curling. There’s more to the curling than most games in this title, but curling games like this are way too common.
Arena Dodgeball is fast-paced, but even on the highest difficulty, it’s way to easy. It’s quite fun, though.
Cliff Hangers has you jumping (not climbing, jumping) up a hill, while keeping opponents at bay by throwing water balloons. It’s a little unorthodox, but unique and amusing.
Air Racers is basically racing in a jet plane, while firing missiles and dropping mines on unsuspecting opponents. It’s fun, but alas, way too easy.
The best for last: Joust Duel! You’re given a padded bat; your only objective to beat your opponent senselessly, knocking him off a platform and into the waters below. There a few different hits you can do, depending on how you swing the Wii Remote. There is also a situation where your bat locks with the opponent’s bat, and you must shake the Wii Remote violently to overcome the opponent and get a few good hits. It’s easily the best game in this package, but it’s certainly not difficult.
As a whole package, Celebrity Sport Showdown is a decent game. It has a few good events but not enough characters, nor enough events to make it a smash hit. Looks like Wii Sports is still King of the party games.