When I first picked up the Nintendo Wii-mote I thought to myself, “Hmm, this controller would feel kinda clumsy if I had to swing a bat with both hands even though it is completely wireless.” Maybe in not so many words, but you get the point. It’s safe to say, “Never fear, Rosewill is here!”. The good folks at Rosewill have solved that very problem. They have put together a SPORTS Kit.
What’s in the Box?
This SPORTS Kit offers a variety of plastic tools that you could use for many games on the Wii. I believe originally this package was to come out for the freebie game Wii Sports, however with titles like Tiger Woods PGA Tour `08, and even Zelda, this package could be used for any and all games.
Everything comes as you see it and I found that even a 2 year old can figure out how to assemble these tools. Yes, I say that because I really did ask a 2 year old to assemble them them for me! The Wii-mote that you see in the steering wheel isn’t actually real, and is just a paper imitation, so don’t get your hopes up for a free controller with purchase.
First Impressions
Now, your first impression is probably going to be one out of a childrens toy commercial. Some of the accesories don’t look like they’re to a half scale, but the group at Rosewill has ensured that when you grasp your weapon of choice, it’ll work perfectly with the sport you are playing. The plastic seemed sturdy enough to allow it to sail towards your opponents with little harm to the attachments. Your opponent? I’m not too sure about that. These accesories are even small enough to keep in a duffle bag with a pair of gym shoes, your sweat bands, and your favourite athletic drink! Boy do I feel Geeky now!
The Wheels On The Bus…
I know that Nintendo intends to ensure that you get off your fat ass (oops, am I allowed to write that?) and actually do some excercising. The introduction of these accesories gives you the real time “feel” of being on the baseball diamond, at the country club, or on the racetrack.
The steering wheel is easy to grip and if you really want to have that race car feel you can pull up a gaming chair, lean back and use your feet to pretend like you’re gassing and breaking, or for most of the games I’ve come across so far, you can sit up tilt the steering wheel forward and then you get the feel that you’re driving a really tiny bus!
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Hitting The Country Club and Ball Diamond…
The tennis racquet, golf club, and baseball bat are among the coolest gaming accesories I’ve ever seen. Each one is an attachment to the Wii-mote holder and screw on and screw off with some quick twists of the wrist. I found that this way of transferring the Wii-mote from one tool to the other was much better than removing the Wii-mote every time risking damage by dropping, or putting too much pressure on sensitive parts of the Wii-mote. The Wii-mote holder also comes with a comfort grip on the underside so that along with the Wii-strap you’ll ensure that no flying objects leave your hand and travel towards your Precious.
A neat feature with the golf club is that you can actually extend the shaft of the club, so if you feel that you need some more weight at the bottom of your pendulum swing (for those long drives) you can achieve that by sliding the shaft down, or if you feel that you need more control (for those tough putts) you can achieve that by sliding the shaft back up. I had no problems with the shaft sliding up and down when I was using it, and it has aerodynamic horizontal lines in the club face to make it look and “feel” more authentic!
The baseball bat really doesn’t have any cool features. What can you do to a century old piece of sports equipment except make it look and feel like a bat? Well, Rosewill ensured that the bat had some weight on it so that you actually feel like you’re swinging something that’s heavier at the end than at your hands. They also corked the bat so that you can pop a few more balls (illegally) without those performing enhancing drugs. *cough*Bonds*cough*. It also feels solid enough to beat people with it if they decide to brush you off the plate with a tight pitch, but I would never ever encourage that!
The last tool in your sports duffle bag is the tennis racquet. There’s nothing really too special about this tool except for the simulation cat gut string, and… oh yah… the racquet actually lights up every time you take a swing. It colour matches the Wii colours by providing a nice blue colour with every swing or with every smack of the ball. I had originally thought it was a storage compartmet for fresh AA’s but it’s actually made for AAA’s to power the LED’s. Now you can’t actually hit a real tennis ball with the racquet because I totally f*cked up the strings, but it is aesthetically pleasing to the eye!
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Final Thoughts
This SPORTS Kit from Rosewill was well thought out. The Wii-mote feels very stable when it is placed inside the plastic tools, and you don’t get the sense that you’ll have a flying projectile launched at your T.V. screen. Also stated earlier was the comfortable grip that is provided on the back of the 3 to 1 attachment piece for the tennis racquet, golf club, and baseball bat. The steering wheel has an ergonomic feel so that you won’t feel tired during those long cross country drives.
As you probably could already tell, I was very impressed with the extendable golf club which moved the centre of gravity of the club so that you can get a better “feel” while golfing. Also, the baseball bat had enough weight on it so that it actually feels like you’re swinging something and not just a tool that had no resistance to it. Finally, the most interesting piece of equipment was the tennis racquet which lit up with every swing and a miss. It really made playing tennis in the dark a whole lot more fun. However, I think they spent too much time putting the lights in and too little time realizing that the strings on the racquet interweave.
Now, for some bad news. I work with a bunch of Wii owners and posed the question of whether or not they’d shell out the bucks to buy the accesories kit. Many responded by saying that if it were a gift they’d gladly accept it, or if the price was right (say about $20-$30) then they’d go out to buy it. The Rosewill website (www.rosewill.com) does have links to buy it and it is priced just as so. So go out, get it, and enjoy it!
The Pros
- Wii-mote fits perfectly in slots and there is little movement and little risk of falling out unexpectedly.
- Well thought out placement of the centre of gravity for the tools to ensure real life “feel”.
- Extendable shaft golf club.
- Light up tennis racquet.
- Wii-mote attachment holder for the tennis racquet, golf club, and baseball bat.
- Sports equipment can be used for other games = TONS of re-usability.
The Cons
- C’mon guys atleast interweave the string on the tennis racquet.
- If the price is right, average Joe gamer will buy these accesories.
- Made in China? (uh oh, lead paint) Okay I was just trying to find a con!
Overall Rating: 9.0 / 10.0
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