Return to the Midway- New Carnival Games Review

One of the more remarkable enigmas in the Wii library was the case of Carnival Games. Despite receiving a nearly universal lashing by reviewers, the title went on to sell more than six million copies, becoming one of the post popular third-party games for the system. As much as critics bemoaned the game’s simplicity and sporadically wonky controls, Carnival Games seemed to be championed by a younger demographic, who were captivated by the game’s imitation of memorable midway diversions.

The inevitable sequel, New Carnival Games doesn’t veer far from its predecessor. While there’s a new selection of thirty-one minigames and optional support for Nintendo’s WiiMotion Plus peripheral, there’s also an undeniable consistency that remains through the follow-up. From the a decidedly patchy level of challenge to the robust amount of incentives to motivate players, this title is likely to be just as divisive.

Participants start by creating an avatar from the game’s selection of body parts and suitably goofy clothing. From there, a party of up to four players may visit five themed alleyways, each with its own selection of amusements. Unlike similar compilations, New Carnival Games doesn’t require participants to read a collection of tutorial screens. A abridged explanation is offered to the literate, while pre-readers are short a animation explaining controller movement. While short load times keep the momentum flowing from game to game, the developers should have offered a way to replay a game before having to shuffle through the  results, ticket, and prize screens.

Whereas a number of Wiimotion Plus-supported titles have shown a remarkably degree of fidelity, the use of the peripheral is barely noticeable in most of New Carnival Games’ amusements. Except for Haunted House and Target Shoot, which recall simple light-gun shooters, precision didn’t seem to be augmented when using the device. While this prohibits Wiimotion Plus-equipped players from having an unfair advantage, it also means a few of the games feels unnecessarily unwieldy. Both the pumping motion in Balloon Blast and the power of the throw in Bank-A-Ball aren’t always interpreted.

Other games, like Pool Shark- which task players with striking a ball hard enough to that it leaves a circle but gentle enough that it doesn’t sent a coin flying, aren’t burdened by controls by their difficulty. While New Carnivals Games rewards unsuccessful attempts with a single ticket, expect most gamers to stick to the recreations with lucrative payouts. While some of the game unlockables are little more than captioned drawings, others a rotatable, 3D figurines. It would have been nice to see a display case for all these collectables, ala Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Despite these small admonishments, New Carnival Games is surprisingly addictive, and remarkably suited for multiple players. For games with more than one player the title cleverly splits the screen, usually offering a larger overview window and smaller displays for each player. A number of the mini-games are surprisingly addictive, leaving participants yearning for “just one more turn.” Both the Skeeball-like Gold Rush Alley Ball and ball rolling of Under 7 Over 31 lend themselves for repeat play.

New Carnival Games does little to appease series detractors. Instead, the title gives fans exactly what they would expect from a sequel- a slightly more polished selection of over thirty-games. While a deeper physics system and a more thorough integration of the WiiMotion Plus would have certainly helped the title, I suspect many will find the game as enticing as fairground cotton candy. Fortunately New Carnival Games has a bit more substance than the confectionery favorite.