The 8 Lamest Mii Ripoffs

• By Dave Rudden and Ivy Yup
• September 09, 2008 16:43 PM PST
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If you can't beat Nintendo, plagiarize them! These 8 games tried to capture the magic of Miis with generic alternatives, but failed.

Few could have predicted the runaway success of the Wii. Fewer still expected Mii's to be so integral to the system's success. But these crudely designed characters are the centerpiece of the Wii experience, and Nintendo has kept the mascot characters on a tight leash. Therefore, other companies have had to mimic the Miis, with little success. Here's 8 games that have done it the worst.

8- Carnival Games

It seems that the mass appeal of mini-games are often the impetus for incorporating them into full-scaled games, but Carnival Games for the Wii manages to stand on its own as an addictive selection of party games, despite the lack of originality. The in-game characters, for instance, are stylistically similar to that of Nintendo Mii's and the gameplay is essentially the same short and sweet formula for those in need of instance gratification. Perhaps these short and stubby characters were specifically designed to appeal to children and adults who reminisce about their long-lost childhood. After all, how could anyone say no to those large, lovable puppy-dog eyes? When they're in a terrible game, it's actually quite easy.

7- MySims

Silly and cutesy are the epitome of MySims. The attractive quality to this concept is perhaps what makes us all regress to playing with child-like dolls featured in MySims. Still, these minuscule figures are not conceptually far off from Nintendo Mii's. Although the proportions are more or less the same, the Mii's are scalable in height and girth, whereas MySims allow for a greater array of outfits and accessories. Regardless of these extra features, we still prefer the simplicity of caricatures that Mii's provide. And really, what was wrong with the classic Sims characters? They've only helped sell eleventy kabillion copies of the franchise thus far...

6- Deca Sports

After the popularity of Wii Sports, similar sports simulations have been developed for the Wii. One such game is Deca Sports, except that the customizable Mii players are replaced by Hudson Soft's own selection of tall, medium, and short characters to compete as a team against other. Their blank stares, however, prove that they can't compete with Mii's or Wii Sports.

5- Big Beach Sports

Man, Nintendo must have been POed when it heard that THQ had beat it to the punch with the poorly-conceived Big Beach Sports months before the company could announce Wii Sports Resort. The Big N's only measure of revenge had to be withholding Mii's from Big Beach Sports' collection of minigames. Unfortunately, if you want to play cricket, volleyball, frolf, or bocce ball, you'll have to make do with THQ's ugly, squat, cabbage-patch-looking characters.

4- EA Playground

Where are casual games played more often than the playground? And who better to represent casual games than Miis? Unfortunately, EA Playground had to make do with scary-looking characters that look like they were fired from a Saturday morning cartoon. You may not have Mii's, but at least the game has tetherball! Yeah!

3- Game Party 2

Game Party has sold over a million copies. It is amongst the top ten best-selling third-party Wii games. According to VGChartz, it has sold more than Okami, No More Heroes, and Boom Blox combined. It did so because it was cheap and people are stupid and will overlook things like terrible, broken gameplay and poorly-designed characters. The sequel has just been released, and we know this one has even lamer-looking Mii-knockoffs than the original. So look for it to outsell Super Mario Galaxy.

2- Active Life: Outdoor Challenge

Here's a game that manages to be derivative in more than two ways. While most games on this list have taken Wii Sports' formula and the Mii-character design concept and butchered both, Active Life: Outdoor Challenge rips off the competition using a handful of features from other titles. The DDR-esque footpad appeals towards Wii Fit fans, with outdoorsy games that recall Wii Sports and Wii Fit. Finally, while the game is promising Mii compatiblity, that hasn't stopped Namco Bandai from including its own brand of stupid Mii-lookalikes.

1- Xbox 360 Avatars

Apparently, playing dress up is no longer something to be ashamed of. Rumor has it that Xbox 360 avatars will be playable characters in select games, allowing gamers to customize clothing and other options to personalize your created character. Other improvements over the Mii include more animated and life-like avatars to give your in-game representation more personality and pizzazz. This pizzazz might cost a pretty penny, as we've heard that extra clothes for your fake character will cost real money. So they're unlike Mii's in that way.

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