• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Go Vacation (Wii) Official Thread: It only does everything

G

gamingeek

Member
UncleSporky said:
I still want to know more about the tron lightsaber sword fighting. It's very mysterious. This is all I've seen of it, from the end of a commercial:

vXvFM.jpg
Click to expand...

Here

I saw your Penny Arcade thread.
 
T

The Awesomest

Member
Are there any further impressions? I'm considering picking this up tomorrow. How much is there to collect? What all can you do with the lodge? How corny does it get (like that dance event)?
 
C

cacildo

Member
I read two reviews saying its impossible to control your character movement in volleyball. Destructoid and IGN.

And well, this caught my eye because i saw somebody in this thread saying "pay attention: the first time you play any mini game it will give you the dumbed down version of it. When you play it again you get the full version, with full controls and objectives to complete. In fact, the first time you play volleyball you cant even control your character, and playing it for the second time you can control it with the nunchuck" (or something like that)

So, did i got something wrong or did these sites just played any event once and rushed to finish the reviews?

(destructoid gave it a 5, IGN said 7)
 
U

UncleSporky

Member
The Awesomest said:
Are there any further impressions? I'm considering picking this up tomorrow. How much is there to collect? What all can you do with the lodge? How corny does it get (like that dance event)?
Click to expand...
The majority of the internet really doesn't care much about this game. I mean look at it, it's yet another Wii minigame compilation, at least at first glance.

I made a thread for this game at Penny Arcade and a few people offered their impressions there:

Yeah, the exploration aspect appealed to me the most. So far it's pretty good, I opened up the villa and unlocked the rest of the resorts. It really does feel like a lot of care went into this, and it wasn't just a quickly made shovelware title.

I like rollerblading around the city, it really reminds me of Jet Grind Radio. Only there's no tagging or Hideki Naganuma music.

...

if you just wanna chill and drive/jet ski/skate/horse ride etc... around, it's completely relaxing. You can just stroll around at your own pace and sightsee or look for hidden chests.

It also sort of scratches an Animal Crossing type itch with building up and customizing your villa.

I've only played about an hour, but it looks like there's a ton to see and do.
Click to expand...

Played a little of this tonight. Not bad. It's not quite GTA Island. At least the first resort, your travel options are ATV, jetski, or walking and there's no carjacking. You can run over people, though. There's a few travel options like a plane and a boat where you're a passenger (the plane was pretty good, got a guided tour of the island), but didn't see a plane you could fly (boo!).

The mini-games are kinda hit and miss so far. I could be wrong, but looks like there are 20 on the first resort alone? That's... a lot. So far I enjoyed the volleyball and surfing the best, but I was playing by myself and I have a feeling a lot of these would be more fun with others.

One neat thing is you can find at least some of your Miis scattered around and you can have them follow you and participate in some of the activities, so that was kinda cool. There's a fast travel system of sorts, so that's good. It also appears you can just select games from the main menu and play from there if you don't want to do the resort thing. And for some reason I created a dog, but I don't know why yet.

Will need more time with it, especially with other people, but it looks promising.
Click to expand...
 
N

nincompoop

Banned
cacildo said:
I read two reviews saying its impossible to control your character movement in volleyball. Destructoid and IGN.

And well, this caught my eye because i saw somebody in this thread saying "pay attention: the first time you play any mini game it will give you the dumbed down version of it. When you play it again you get the full version, with full controls and objectives to complete. In fact, the first time you play volleyball you cant even control your character, and playing it for the second time you can control it with the nunchuck" (or something like that)

So, did i got something wrong or did these sites just played any event once and rushed to finish the reviews?

(destructoid gave it a 5, IGN said 7)
Click to expand...
Why do you sound so surprised? People really need to stop paying attention to reviews from mainstream review sites like those.
 
P

Plinko

Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
cacildo said:
I read two reviews saying its impossible to control your character movement in volleyball. Destructoid and IGN.

And well, this caught my eye because i saw somebody in this thread saying "pay attention: the first time you play any mini game it will give you the dumbed down version of it. When you play it again you get the full version, with full controls and objectives to complete. In fact, the first time you play volleyball you cant even control your character, and playing it for the second time you can control it with the nunchuck" (or something like that)

So, did i got something wrong or did these sites just played any event once and rushed to finish the reviews?

(destructoid gave it a 5, IGN said 7)
Click to expand...

They rushed to finish the reviews. Once you play the first game of volleyball, any other time you go back to play you can choose the control option that allows you to move your character.
 
O

Outtrigger888

Member
Put a couple hours into the game and its pretty shitty. The controls are garbage, who the Fuck thought it was a good idea to control all the vehicles by turning the wiimote and nunchuk. The frame rate in split screen is probaly around 20 fps, I couldnt imagine it with 3 or 4 players. Most of the activitys are boring, but my 3 year old daughter enjoys it so at least my money wasn't a total waste.
 
T

Tagg9

Member
Played a few hours of it earlier and wasn't overly impressed. Vehicle controls are absolute shite in my opinion (turning with the nunchuk and Wiimote). Some of the minigames are good, but most get old after 30 seconds.

The sheer variety of events is nice, but in no way does this compare to a Nintendo minigame Wii title.
 
S

sfried

Member
Tagg9 said:
Played a few hours of it earlier and wasn't overly impressed. Vehicle controls are absolute shite in my opinion (turning with the nunchuk and Wiimote).
Click to expand...
Outtrigger888 said:
The controls are garbage, who the Fuck thought it was a good idea to control all the vehicles by turning the wiimote and nunchuk.
Click to expand...
Here's a trick for the jetskis and ATV: Orient your Wii nunchuck and remote in a similar fashion to handle bars (like the jet skis in Wii Sports Resort) and twist them in opposite directions to turn. It will become second nature and it a much better setup than the default "turning" motions they suggest in the prompts. In fact, if you go through the Tutorial School section (which is at the Information Desk area), they'll tell you you can also treat your Wii remote and nunchuck like a seering wheel and it will work the same way. But the handlebars technique works practically all the time and works for smoother turns too.
 
G

gamingeek

Member
cacildo said:
I read two reviews saying its impossible to control your character movement in volleyball. Destructoid and IGN.

And well, this caught my eye because i saw somebody in this thread saying "pay attention: the first time you play any mini game it will give you the dumbed down version of it. When you play it again you get the full version, with full controls and objectives to complete. In fact, the first time you play volleyball you cant even control your character, and playing it for the second time you can control it with the nunchuck" (or something like that)

So, did i got something wrong or did these sites just played any event once and rushed to finish the reviews?

(destructoid gave it a 5, IGN said 7)
Click to expand...

Here:

Sir Penguin said:
This cannot be said enough, and should probably be put into the OP: Mini games need to be played more than once! I think Namco did a huge disservice to the game by presenting the first run of each mini game in such a boring and simplistic way. Volleyball practically plays itself, jet skiing race down a straight path, etc. Even the presentation sucks.

Then you visit it a 2nd time and it's totally different. You get a "splash" screen for the activity, allowing you to see all the various control options, select different modes (and each mini-game has a ton of them), and view the game's equivalent to achievement or medals, called silver keys. It's a completionist's wet dream!

For example, the jet ski alone is actually composed of nine courses, 3 for each mode (single lap, multi lap, and going through rings). It's a minor thing, perhaps, but the game is far more deeper than I thought
Click to expand...

I just read through both reviews, IGN love the controls, Destructoid hate them. Neither reviewer actually played or went far enough to actually review the whole villa building and customisation element. And both reviews seemed to only take a single pass at each minigame and move on, not realising that there was more depth to them.

Is it really so hard to get some half decent coverage for this game? 2 freaking previews since E3.
 
M

mentalfloss

Banned
cacildo said:
I read two reviews saying its impossible to control your character movement in volleyball. Destructoid and IGN.

And well, this caught my eye because i saw somebody in this thread saying "pay attention: the first time you play any mini game it will give you the dumbed down version of it. When you play it again you get the full version, with full controls and objectives to complete. In fact, the first time you play volleyball you cant even control your character, and playing it for the second time you can control it with the nunchuck" (or something like that)

So, did i got something wrong or did these sites just played any event once and rushed to finish the reviews?

(destructoid gave it a 5, IGN said 7)
Click to expand...

If true, then I will give it another run tonight. I was extremely disappointed by how gimped a lot of the mini-games were yesterday. Was not expecting that.
 
E

Edag Plata

Banned
People keep calling this GTA meeting Wii Sports Resort.

This game reminds me more of how they used to do the Tony Hawk games. You could go explore the area as much as you want and there's dudes standing around and when you talk to them they give you an objective. Then that opens up for more in high scores and more games and stuff.

It's good innocent fun, relaxing to explore. I'm sure everyone will find that one mini-game they love and will be obsessed with playing with their friends. I can't wait to bust this one out this Thanksgiving. Should be a blast.

But I still have so much more to see! I'm convinced those two reviews didn't play the whole thing before jumping to their conclusions. I feel like when you play games 24/7 for those sites you seem to forget what makes games fun at times. It doesn't have to be 1000 features, fully customizable controls and full online multiplayer to be an A+ game. This is a great buy for a reason.
 
G

gamingeek

Member
The comments section of the IGN review is more informative than the review

Thickets said:
Actually the reviewer needs to play this some more. Volleyball can be played with a nunchuk as well - which adds to the experience. Although the first time you play the games, it keeps them simple but you can go deeper with them later on. I assume Audrey rushed through everything to do the review and didn't explore how deep each individual mini-game could go.

I find the complaint re: NPCs a little trite. What would you really want them to say? Endless fetch quests? No thanks. Some do talk, either to give hints, open mini-games, provide help or yes, give you a fetch quest - she probably skipped those too. Although it would have been much more fun if when you rammed into someone with a car they went flying off instead of just recoiling briefly. Nor can you interact with the wildlife or even cats in any way so it is a little lifeless despite lots of life.

While not perfect, this is how Wii Sports Resort should have been. While WSR has some great uses of WM+ (sword-fighting, flying, archery) many of the games in WSR were flat too (cycling, kayaking, skydiving). Overall the games in Go Vacation are fun, well executed and there's 50 of them. Plus it is fun to explore and there's lots of hidden areas (some completely off the maps!).

I was afraid many mini-games would basically be the same with only aesthetic differences but while the controls remain similar, racing with a car is very different from an off-road car, which is different from a marine-bike which handles very differently from a dog-sled, etc. Everything is unique in it's own way despite being similar in others.

My one complaint is the entire island isn't open, only the individual resorts - but they are all massive in their own right but I would have liked to drive, boat or fly around the whole island. Perhaps this opens up later in the game but I doubt it.

I would highly recommend this for any family with a Wii. It's the best family title Wii has seen probably since Mario Kart and it's enjoyable to play alone or together. Online would have been nice, but no-one does online on Wii anymore.
Click to expand...
 
6

60_gig_PS3

Banned
I'd give the game a solid 7.5 it gets extra points for being ambitious. I havent even beed to the snow island or the villa.

The games are well done.. really well done just not as good as Wii sports.
I played some minigolf (one round) and it's about like Wii Sports gold but its a little different so it's hard to judge your swing so it's not as fun. Maybe I need to play it some more.

Im starting to agree with the comments about islands being too big. The city island it's hard to even tell where you're at.

Ive only played a few events that I liked on the city island one of them was that odd thing where you play a song on the wine glasses (forgot what it's called).

oh and put me down for loving the controls at least with the ATV and jetski. Just drive like youre holding a steering wheel it feels real natural. better than if it were just the analog stick, IMO.
Hoever doing this type of steering when your on the skateboard seems a little awkward.
 
Z

zigg

Member
I gave it another multi-hour shot with my daughter tonight, had a little fun, had a bunch of frustration (in particular, mentally comparing the games to Wii Sports and Resort presents a real issue for me... they are just not in the same tier at all), and I think I'm done. She'll continue to love it, though, I'm sure.
 
6

60_gig_PS3

Banned
Id like to change my score to an 8.5
Theres so much to do in this game that I think anyone with the least bit of interest wont be disappointed.

the virtual sword fighting is pretty fun. go carts is like a mini Ridge Racer. I was disappointed that there was no special reward for getting a 0ft in the bungie jump. )

Actually the skateboard controls are even making sense now. I like how you have to lean with both remotes to turn its sort of like keeping your balance on a real skateboard.
 
N

nincompoop

Banned
I got my copy today from Amazon. It's about what I expected so far; the minigames won't blow your mind but they're simple and fun enough to keep you entertained for the few minutes that they last, and the resorts are large, good-looking and fun to just run/drive/jetski around and explore. I got 8 stamps at the first resort which allowed me to go to two of the remaining three resorts. I also played a couple of minigames (trick surfing, sailing) that didn't give me stamps for completing them.
 
G

gamingeek

Member
Nice impressions guys.

This is the only new review I have seen. From GamerDad

"My brother Jeff, who mostly plays only mature popular titles like Call of Duty or World of Warcraft, really likes Go Vacation, too, so you know it has to be good. Go Vacation makes for a GREAT family game. If you have kids who enjoy any of these outdoor sports, they WILL have fun with this game. Definitely put it on your Christmas list, or better yet, get it now!"
 
V

Veal

Member
Wow! How did I miss this? This looks amazing! Might have to pick this up when I get a working Wii again.
 
G

gamingeek

Member
Just found another review

Wii nintendo.net said:
Concluding Overall Impressions

I admit, exploration is not for everyone, neither are mini-games. Sometimes people just want fast paced action and constant stimulation. Then there are some like me who likes the action but also likes the easy going games. So, if you’re like me and you’re looking for a relaxing game, with hours of exploration, rewards for your exploratory nature, several customization options and 50+ activities to participate in then Go Vacation is absolutely for you. At $29.9, Go Vacation should be in your library of games.

4.5 out of 5
Click to expand...
 
P

Plinko

Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
Let me again say that this game is a lot of fun--WELL worth the low price.
 
Z

zigg

Member
Eiji said:
Pity it doesn't work on Dolphin yet :(
Click to expand...
Looks very nice on my plasma.

What's the deal when a dog gets an exclamation point over his head? My daughter ran into this in town and on the ski slopes; she's not sure what it means.
 
S

sfried

Member
zigg said:
What's the deal when a dog gets an exclamation point over his head? My daughter ran into this in town and on the ski slopes; she's not sure what it means.
Click to expand...
It means a Message Baloon/Treasure Chest is nearby.
 
D

DGRE

Banned
Seems like a big issue that the IGN reviewer couldn't even play a minigame more than once during her review period. There hasn't even been an update from her owning up to her mistake.
 
S

sfried

Member
Holy crap I found the
secret Crystal Cave
in the Marine Resort. I seem to be getting awards all over the place. Next thing you know I finally have a Gold Key!

Edit: The dog can apparently also lead you to secret routes/award ramps if you manage to cross it. Good boy!
 
D

DGRE

Banned
The Awesomest said:
Trying to play devil's advocate: She was probably rushed, and there were 50 minigames she had to try. No time to replay them all.
Click to expand...
I'm not saying she had to get all the silver keys in each one but if your job is to review the game, does playing a minigame once ever give you a proper feel for it? In almost every minigame game, your first playthrough of a minigame helps you understand how it works and then you play again to actually try it out.

Just seems like a really weak argument.
 
kunonabi

kunonabi

Member
Got my copy of Go Vacation but I can't play it until December. I've only got my Homebrewed Wii with me and the game has an update on it.
 
O

Outtrigger888

Member
Ok put more hours into it and really enjoy some of the activitys, snow tubing is a blast and riding the kayaks is a lot of fun. Game still has its issues but its not as bad as I made it sound in my first impressions.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Dave the Diver plunges into PlayStation Plus Game Catalog (Extra and Premium) on April 16
News
12
904
Thick Thighs Save Lives replied
Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island | Review Thread
Analysis Review
6
1K
Shadowstar39 replied
RLTTP: Banjo-Kazooie Grunty’s Revenge
RTTP
3
436
Gaiff replied
Sandland |OT| Go, Go Chasing Waterfalls!
2
54
2K
Shake Your Rump replied
Open world games and busy work
8
683
Daneel Elijah replied
Top Bottom