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PDC World Championship Darts 2009 (Wii)Wii PreviewBy Nathan Whincup - 23rd May 2009 13:40
 To be perfectly honest, darts isn't my forte. My knowledge of the sport goes as far as almost suffering a stray dart in the temple after accidentally stumbling upon an in-progress pub game, and spending a few minutes with one of those magnetic foam dart boards that serve as filler Christmas or birthday presents. Lucky for you lot, I'm going to be the one attempting to sound well-versed in the subject of the most sacred of British pub sports. PDC World Championship Darts 2009 doesn't do anything radically different to its 2008 predecessor other than correcting, updating and refining things such as, say, the dodgy motion control scheme which failed to impress us last year. The Wii Remote should be a natural fit for darts, and developers Rebellion have accordingly corrected the control scheme with this year's PDC revision, which is as a result much more accessible and easier to adapt to. Simply hold the Remote like you would a dart, ensure the pointer is aimed at the virtual board, hold A, bring it back, let it fly ('it' would be the A button, of course, accompanied by a little motion jab; letting go of the Remote itself could be quite disastrous for nearby expensive equipment and/or your cat). Subtle control nuances determine whether or not you'll successfully land your target. Pointing the Wii Remote up slightly, or on a diagonal slant towards to floor upon release will result in an off-kilter shot. If you find yourself doing this as a force of habit, the controls are adaptable enough to allow you to aim slightly above or below your mark to compensate for your rubbish throws.  Steady now... This simple, natural control scheme offers accessibility and intuitiveness that opens up the game to players who have never touched a dart or Wii-mote before, yet the aforementioned subtleties allow experienced players to delve deeper into the gameplay, developing and learning strategies to put to the test against the AI or real life chums. Cracking the game is not notoriously difficult, but it's no pushover, either. Rebellion have in no way skimped out on content, with 18 professional darts players to choose from (2 of which are lefties) including world champion Phil “The Power” Taylor (who I was informed was integral to several design choices in this year's PDC title), over 4,000 lines of commentary from Sid Waddell and Russ Bray, as well as a player creator tool. I left my own mark on the preview unit by birthing a green-clad fellow named Trogdor, and whilst the creator wasn't very extensive, it's nice to have the option to further personalise your experience.  Steady now... I also managed to play a little bit of the DS version of PDC 2009, which seemed to sport a rather inaccurate control system. Dragging an on screen dart back and hurling it forwards at the board with the touch screen was unnecessarily difficult, going against the more fluid system established in its Wii counterpart. 42 All-Time Classics' darts minigame is a good example of how to get the pint-swilling sport right on a portable system: developers, take note. PDC 2009 has shaped up nicely, exceeding the expectations I approached it cautiously with, and despite the lack of competition, it's poised to be the best darts game on the Wii come its release in the UK next Friday. We'll have a full review up very soon, so stay tuned to N-Europe, and we'll see you back at the oche in a couple of throws... - Nathan Whincup © Copyright by N-Europe Comments
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PDC World Championship Darts 2009 (Wii) System: Wii Genre: Darts Sim Developer: Rebellion Publisher: Oxygen Games Release Dates:  TBA TBA Out now TBAMemorycard: N/A Multiplayer: Unknown Last updated on: Jan 15th 2009 |
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