While writing my review of Hasbro Family Game Night on the DS I was certain of two things regarding this sequel on the Wii. Firstly, given the superior capabilities of the Wii the graphics would be much better. Secondly, the games would work better on the Wii and thus provide more in the way of entertainment than the version on the DS.

The first assumption was true. The graphics on the Wii are clearly going to be much better than on the DS. We’re not talking anything special here but they are solid enough and it can’t be easy to make what amounts to a few boardgames look pretty. My assumption that this shinier version on the Wii would be more entertaining proved to be a little off the mark.

Bop It! was by far the weakest of the four games on the DS version and that is also true of this sequel on the Wii. At least it’s consistent. The DS stylus is great for many things but controlling a virtual Bop It! toy is not its greatest strength. I was convinced that the Wii-mote, with its versatility, would be the only controller capable of emulating that physical toy. I remain adamant but on this occasion I’m sad to say it failed miserably. The thing I find most frustrating is that the Wii-mote itself isn’t at fault. The wireless controller combined with motion sensor capabilities opens up a multitude of creative avenues. Pressing the A button to “bop” the toy should be the very last avenue explored. Something clearly went wrong here.

Operation is another game on here which is featured on that DS version. I didn’t like the other version and I found it too frustrating but the opposite is true here. No, don’t be silly, it’s not good here either. Rather than frustrating I found this version far too simple. I may just prefer the Wii-mote over the stylus when it comes to this particular game but whatever the reason I still didn’t enjoy playing it.

In many ways simple is best and this seems to be true of the videogame incarnation of Connect 4. I enjoyed the Power Chips mode on the DS but for the sake of being different the Wii version does away with that and replaces it with a bunch of nonsense. Chips hover for one turn before dropping, fancy point multipliers, plus something which shoots into the air to explode and release more chips. Too many bells and whistles spoil the broth.

This leaves us with two remaining games, Jenga and Pictureka!, which are unusual as they aren’t featured on that DS version. I played Jenga on a couple of occasions. The first time I was a young kid at school. The second time was a few years back, while a student at University, as part of a drinking game. It’s difficult to gauge which occasion resulted in most fun It’s not easy comparing an excitable youth with an equally excitable and very drunk student. What I can tell you is that the Wii version isn’t anywhere near as fun as those real-life moments. Last up is Pictureka! and this is the first time I’ve ever played it, real life or otherwise, but I have played hidden picture games in the past. Not sure why the board-game was popular as it appears to be very basic and there are plenty of books of hidden picture games. In one game I was asked to find a few animals. I selected a Snail and it flashed red. This videogame is trying to tell me a Snail is not an animal. This videogame can jolly well shut its face!

I expected this to be better than on the DS but I’m disappointed to discover it’s not even that good. No destructive fun of Battleships and no Power Chips mode to brighten up Connect 4. I think the developers may have spent too much time on visuals and not enough on making sure the games are fun. Probably cheaper than buying each game individually but balances itself out as there isn’t as much fun to be had here.

5/10

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