Preview: Big Beach Sports
Following in the footsteps of Wii Sports, Big Beach Sports should become the same entertaining, party-pleasing game that its predecessor is...and then some!
Despite how fun it is to hit the beach and play your favorite sports under the sun, there are always plenty of tradeoffs that can ruin the enjoyment. Sun burns, dehydration, and the hot sand burning your feet are just a few of the downers that come with playing sports on the beach. However, the upcoming game Big Beach Sports helps cut out these negatives and even gives one the freedom to enjoy their favorite beach recreational activities from the comfort of an air conditioned condo if they so choose.
Developer HB Studios has picked a very interesting mix of sports to include in this title that some people may have never played. HB Studios has hand their hand in everything from working on big-time EA titles such as NBA Live to developing more niche ones like Rugby. It appears from the selection of games in Big Beach Sports that they have chosen to go with a mix of prominent and unheralded sports. Six different games are going to be offered including soccer, volleyball, football, disc golf, cricket, and bocce. For those unfamiliar with the more obscure sports like bocce, disc golf, and cricket; bocce sees one trying to roll balls as close as they can to a target, cricket is something like baseball, and disc golf involves using a Frisbee to hit a target in the fewest number of throws.
Those used to Wii Sports shouldn't have too tough of a time adapting to this game. Seeing how there are several months still left in HB's development of Big Beach Sports, plenty of work is still ahead for the crew. Cricket and volleyball, however, appear to be well on their way to being done and the two provide a good glimpse at what people can expect from Big Beach Sports. Cricket is the most finished product so far and can be played with four players if desired though it is just as fun playing one-on-one with a batter and a bowler (tries to get the batter out). Much of this game revolves around swing timing, as a bad hack with the Wii remote can result in the ball slowly rolling to the bowler while a great cut can send it soaring through the air for six runs. Volleyball is very comparable to Wii tennis in that its controls focus on hitting the ball rather than moving the player. Normal volleyball strategy applies in that bumps and sets (use an upward motion with the remote) as well as spikes (involve a wrist flick) are used and, so far, the characters move into position by themselves. Two-on-two play in Big Beach Sports game is highly encouraged.
There is a variety of characters to choose from though it is unclear where Miis will be featured. One of the very popular, yet time-consuming, facets of Wii Sports was the vast number of options players were given in creating their custom Mii. There were so many things to choose from in the way of hair, eyes, facial features, etc. that it was almost irritating waiting for someone to create their Mii while three other people were wanting to finally play the game. Thus far, Big Beach Sports delivers quite a few colorful characters to pick from including one that is a monkey. But it is still largely unknown if HB Studios will integrate the same Mii system used in Wii Sports into Big Beach Sports or just stick with these static characters. But whether or not these Miis are available, it seems that Big Beach Sports will be an extremely fun game regardless when it drops in the summer.
If you like Big Beach Sports, check out these similar titles: Wii Sports, Deca Sports
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