Wii Sports is a game that initially shipped with the Nintendo Wii Console. Its popularity is partially due to realistic gameplay - not with the game graphics but due to how the games are played. They mimic real-world sports action. For example, to hit the ball in the tennis game, you swing the controller to the left or right, just like a real tennis racquet. One does not have to fiddle with a small controller pad to play the game. To hit a baseball, you hold the controller similar to how you would hold a baseball bat. This is the most realistic game play we have ever seen for sports video games.

The games included are tennis, baseball, boxing, bowling, and golf. The boxing game requires a separate "nunchuck" which plugs into the controller. All games include training, standard play, several multiplayer choices, and the ability to create your own characters.

The training allows you to hone in on one of three different actions for each sport. Just as in real life, training or practice helps to improve your performance. In tennis, you can focus on returning the ball or placing the ball within a specific area. In baseball, one can practice pitching or batting. Boxing training is useful for learning how to duck and weave and throw your punches at just the right moment.

The standard gameplay involves one player playing against the computer. In some modes, defeating a computer opponent will often result in the gaining of "experience". With enough experience, your rank increases. Rank is cause for bragging rights among fellow gamers.

The multiplayer option allows two, three, or four players to compete against one another. This is Wii Sports at its most immersive and rewarding. It's one thing to pit your skill against a challenging computer player, another to play with living, breathing people whose real-life movements (as well as yours) directly correspond with onscreen gameplay. Of course, each player must have his or her own controller.

With Wii Sports, you can create your own characters and save them for later use. To create your own character, you simply starts with a character from the "Mii channel". The character can then be customized to your own liking. Some of these characters can be used in games other than Wii Sports.

Many gamers enjoy saving their Wii Sports characters to the Wii remote controller. This will allow you to take them to a friend's house, and insert the character into the game at the friend's house. This adds greater personality to the gaming experience.

Once a few remaining kinks have been worked out by Nintendo, expect greater and better gameplay with Wii Sports and similar kinds of games.