Dancing girls, golf-style swing and black wickets say croquet to me
A Decent Start, But ...
Once the Wii console was announced, it was clear to me that platform was perfect for a croquet game. So far, there has been no attempt at a croquet stand alone for the Wii, so we see the game as part of sports game compilations. The first one out of the gate was Summer Island Sports released in 2008. This fall saw the release of Game Party 3 ($29.99 to $22.99) from WB Games and Far Sight Studios which includes croquet and 18 other games.
The Rundown
It's based on nine-wicket croquet and the initial positive is that it does indeed utilize partner ball play with carry-over deadness. That step forward is immediately rendered useless by not allowing partner ball roquets. Yep, all strategic elements of the game are destroyed with that one mistake.
Game Party 3Otherwise, the engine isn't too bad. Or I guess I should say it is fairly enjoyable to play and makes sense for the most part with the Wii remote. However, the field appears to be a little small, though that is counter-acted by a rough maximum shot distance of 32 feet (assuming the field size is based on 100' x 50'). I suppose that makes sense because shot accuracy is based strictly on where you aim -- meaning with unlimited power you could really make a wicket from the maximum of 80' or 90' pretty easily. I would suggest that remote swing accuracy should be a factor in how straight the shot travels.
Another weakness would be what appears to be bugs with croquet shots. Sometimes it works and other times you'll try a croquet shot and it will go right through the other ball (not moving it at all). Placement of the striker ball is a little dicey as well with the worst aspect of that being that it will not allow you to place the striker ball in the boundary margin. Pretty hard to get the roqueted ball and the striker ball out onto the field with that limitation.
There is kind of a bizarre one-player option where you score points, but I gave up on that one pretty quickly. Up to four players can play, but there is no computer opponent. Since there is no real strategy, that is a little surprising. The AI wouldn't be a challenge to figure out.
The fact that the players use a golf-style swing makes me giggle, especially as accurate as they are.
The only other thing I can think to mention is I wonder what was behind the decision to make the wickets black. Visibility? They're also plenty wide. The dancing girls in the background remind me of many of the croquet events that I've played in over the years.
The Bottom Line
I would not recommend this for purchase for croquet players unless you are just a collector of everything croquet. Some of the other games on the disc are pretty fun (billiards, trivia), but I'm not sure that makes it worth the price. Again, I think the engine is a good start. Fix the partner roquet and the croquet shots and I think you could have a lot of fun with the game as is. Game developers feel free to contact me if you need technical consultation -- croquet and the Wii are made for each other.