Wii Sports Resort vs. Wii MotionPlus
You wanted to know exactly how it works...
Basketball
In 3-Point Contest you hold the remote out in one hand, tilt it down and press B to pick up balls, and then swing up quickly to jump and shoot at the basket. Memorably demoed at Nintendo's E3 press conference, accompanied by some of the worst trash-talking in the history of verbal communication, this streamlined target practice actually moves too quickly for you to really notice much of a MotionPlus difference. Taking the shooting mechanics from 3-Point Contest, 3-on-3 presents a more elaborate - but still sensibly pared down - take on basketball. Pass the ball to highlighted team-mates by pressing A, steal the ball from opponents with a flick of the wrist or block their shots with an upwards stroke, and shake the remote up and down to dribble. It sounds complicated, but it quickly becomes second-nature, and it's one of the meatier options in Resort.
Table Tennis
When compared to the original game's Tennis, a regular Table Tennis game in Match mode really highlights the MotionPlus' greater accuracy, allowing you to angle your paddle a fair amount, and switch to backhands. Rallies build with a real tension, and the game moves at a nice pace. Return Challenge focuses on hitting a series of balls without having to worry about serving or rallies, and is more a test of speed than accuracy.
Golf and Bowling
Golf returns, but there's a new range of courses, and a greater degree of accuracy all round. Elsewhere, I couldn't really tell if Bowling had gained much in the transition to Resort, other than by having 100-Pin mode and Spin Control freed from their hiding places in the original game's Training menu.
Power Cruising
Slalom Course places you on P Diddy's favourite form of transport, the Jet-Ski, and gets you racing between bobbing rings to earn enough time extends to make it to the finish line, the remote and nunchuk held out like handlebars. Due to the speed and water, it's also hard to tell how much the MotionPlus is adding to the experience here, but twisting the remote to boost is a nice touch. Versus mode sends you racing to the chequered flag passing through the rings in any order. (Please note, almost all events in Resort have some kind of multiplayer mode, not just those with a Versus option.)
Canoeing
Speed Challenge introduces the basics, using the remote held down like a paddle, and swung from one side and then the next to move you forward. The MotionPlus' accuracy is on full display, as the angle of your oar and the speed with which you cut it into water all seem to count. Versus mode sees you racing past checkpoints to beat your rival to five points.
Cycling
Road Race sends you pedalling around the island, conserving your energy on the downhill sections, pumping the remote and nunchuk up and down to power you forward. With all that shaking going on, the MotionPlus can occasionally lose its calibration - and when it is calibrated, it's often slow to register your movements.
Air Sports
Holding the remote flat to mirror your body as you sail through the air, Skydiving has you tilting it to move around, linking up with other divers for a photo challenge, and eventually passing through a series of rings. This is MotionPlus at its most quietly effective, registering all your moves, even if you often have to contend with wind resistance and a gently reluctant camera. Island Flyover uses the same controls to send your biplane whizzing around WuHu, with simple pleasures like a treasure hunt and some balloon popping in store, and Dogfight makes it all a bit personal.
With all this in mind, check out our Wii Sports Resort review to see how we felt about the game in summary.