Triple Throwing Sports Review (WiiWare)

Please have your Wii Remote and Nunchuk handy. You’ll need them to read this review. Ready? Okay, first, begin by spinning the Nunchuk around in a circular motion. Any direction will do, just spin it really fast, then faster still. Then, when the time is right, press the B button. Are you with us so far? Good, now press the A button while simultaneously pointing the remote upward. If you can manage to follow these directions, then you have already mastered 50% of Triple Throwing Sports. If, on the other hand, this all sounds like a needlessly complicated and unnecessary step to what could have been an enjoyably brief experience, then Triple Throwing Sports may not be the game for you.

Riding high on the apparent success of Triple Shot Sports released a few months earlier, Triple Throwing Sports brings, well, throwing sports to your library of Olympic-themed events. The two titles perhaps form the core of a whole Olympic series from Code Monkeys, with each release focusing on a different style of events.

The graphics are identical to the previous title, as is the style of play. Images of the stadium you compete in are static. Your only interaction with the game comes from selecting your event and then using the motion controls required to complete each attempt. This is no open world environment, it’s just a straight mini-game collection. As such, the presentation is entirely functional and barebones.

One bright spot is that the game allows you to customise your athlete. However, this function is limited to selecting your flag from fifteen choices, choosing your hairstyle from a smaller range of choices, and selecting your race. You cannot choose to compete as a female, however, and there’s no excuse for that.

At start-up, you select whether you want to play a single or multiplayer game. Multiplayer is local only, and single player features three skill levels to test you. You can also choose to bask in your past glory like a real Olympian by viewing your medals previously earned.

Don’t let the name fool you – Triple Throwing Sports actually has four sports included. Discus Tossing, Javelin Throwing, and, of course, The Hammer Toss are your main events. Score a gold medal in all three and you’ll unlock the Shot Put event as well.

But try to contain your excitement as it’s not really four games in one – it’s two games with the same controls recycled. The Discus and Hammer events both use the control scheme we described above, with no discernable difference in gameplay between them other than the graphics. The Javelin and Shot Put events use a different control scheme that involves raising and lowering the Wii Remote and Nunchuk as if to simulate running. By our count, that makes just two games. But, in reality, it’s difficult to call any of this even one game. Had it been bundled together with Triple Shot Sports as one package, there might be enough content to be worth the download, but, as it stands, this entire game is just two motion control patterns that bear little resemblance to their actual sports. You memorise, rinse and repeat until boredom sets in.