WII SPORTS RESORT BOWLING OFF THE WALL TV

When both in the pre-match warm-up the game wouldn't connect us, and it felt by chance that after failing to connect we'd then see the other in the first lobby screen. There's a 'waiting area' where you can see those awaiting matches, and then you can enter the area yourself so visible to others. Even when in phone conversation with our test subjects we struggled to hook up, possibly due to the clunky interface. Bizarrely, setting up a match with those on your Friend List is annoyingly fiddly and imprecise. Online multiplayer, which consists of first-to-seven-points single matches, supports playing with Everyone in your region, those in your Club - which we'll get to shortly - or Friends. The other major additions to this entry are the online features, though these are occasionally smashed into the net.

Duck Dash is a clever inclusion, as it encourages you to move your shots around the court, so provides useful training for real matches. Mole Commotion is the weakest of the three offerings, as you smash the ball at multiple pop-up moles worth different point values while you can technically aim for more awkward 3-point critters, the best tactic is to simply hit the ball hard and hope a kind bounce will accumulate multiple hits. Ring Master is self-explanatory, as you accumulate points by accurately targeting your shots and, if you're feeling clever, the occasional lob. To Nintendo's credit it has added some fun challenges to help you grasp the new controls, named 'Skill Shapers'. They're not absolutely perfect, and though rare there are moments where the controls genuinely misbehave, while the spin on the ball - applied with a twist of the wrist - can feel negligible. Overall, we feel that Nintendo's done a solid job with the controls, with the only downside being that over-sensitivity can occasionally prompt a swing while, for example, trying to setup a lob.

WII SPORTS RESORT BOWLING OFF THE WALL TV

A forceful swing (remember that wrist-strap, for the sake of your TV screen) will actually register with a more powerful hit, for example, so waggling your way to victory is off the cards. The new move-set is undoubtedly challenging to master, though that's to be expected, and moments where we felt the input and response weren't a match were - in hindsight - mostly down to our own sloppy swings. The greater sensitivity and range of strokes is applied reasonably well, with lob shots, top-spin and back-spin applied along with greater control over direction. The most important change with this new iteration is the adoption of Wii MotionPlus controls, with the more accurate controller being mandatory to play.

There are enhancements served up, however, which aim to take the fun but throwaway waggle of the original and apply a little more complexity and longevity. It's perhaps surprising that over two years after that visual demo, we're just now seeing the iconic Wii pack-in make its way to Nintendo's latest system, and Wii Sports Club: Tennis is the title which potentially utilises the new hardware the least. Way back at E3 2011, in that Wii U reveal that rather bizarrely confused half of those watching, Nintendo showed remixes of Wii Sports events that showed the GamePad being utilised in creative ways.

Wii sports resort bowling off the wall