It’s a welcome addition that will encourage further play time for many. The wardrobe of costumes is also able to be continually expanded, as you are actively encouraged to strive to unlock a number of in-game rewards, including new Stages to be used as backdrops for the show, Concept Art and further outfits to customise your own contestants with. Such customisation serves well to personalise the appearance of your characters within the game.

The use of Mii-esque character design also lends itself well to the overall presentation, with a noteworthy inclusion of not only being able to use your own Mii characters within the game but also being granted the ability to dress them in a variety of outfits. A nice inclusion, yet one that will perhaps not be utilised by many. Regardless, it is great to see that Wii Speak has received further support when its future is clouded in doubt, yet unfortunately, most will find that its use here slows down and hinders progression, rather than necessarily enhancing the gameplay. The developer recommends that you use it for single-player only, yet surely the game is more suited to being played in groups? In addition to this, you are also able to record your own voice effects for your contestants, adding a further degree of vocal customisation to the mix. Those with Nintendo’s oft-neglected microphone accessory will be able to call out the actions that they want to perform, shouting phrases coherently such as ‘buy vowels,’ ‘solve puzzles’ or ‘spin.’ As you can expect, you’ll need to be relatively near to the Wii Speak device for it to hear you clearly, and you’ll have to talk slowly and with clarity. Such utilisation feels a little simple and tacked on, a button press could perform the same function and remove the necessity to flick, yet the developer takes the experience one step further through the implementation of Wii Speak.

The use of motion control functionality is a little basic, with players being asked to hold B down and to then flick the Wii remote to the left to spin the wheel – the speed at which you do so being dependant on the height of a meter in the lower left-hand corner that indicates the strength at which you spin. Whilst introducing varying rules that break away from the core gameplay, it would’ve been nice to see a greater alteration in terms of style instead of offering more word-based puzzles. These remain to be ‘Guess the Word’ based affairs, with the victor gaining a point towards being the ‘Crowd Pleaser’ on the show rather than any monetary bonus. Sprinkling a little differentiation when playing against human opponents in multiplayer is the inclusion of mini games, effectively classed as ‘Commercial Breaks’ by the developer, that are played between each of the core rounds.

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