Wonderworld Amusement Park

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Release Date: July 8, 2008

Wonderworld Amusement Park Review

We are not amused.

Wonderworld Amusement Park is Majesco's answer to Carnival Games. The game sets players loose in the titular theme park to play mini-games and take a few rides for a spin. Unfortunately, the shallow gameplay and generic cartoon visuals mean only the youngest gamers will find the tiniest sliver of enjoyment. Mini-game collections like these are clogging the Wii's arteries.

Players begin by customizing their character. There is a decent amount of choices for body types and clothing to start with, but it's all very "safe." You won't be able to create anyone too outlandish. More costumes can be unlocked in the park -- but that means you have to play the game. And nobody wants that.

Once your avatar is set you can start playing some mini-games. These are your usual carnival fair: shooting gallery, whack-a-mole, and crane games. Most of them are easy to understand and control, but they're also pretty frivolous. Realistic physics have not been implemented, so bottles knocked over in a shooting gallery don't look convincing. When you're tossing balls at coconuts in Coconut Topple, the speed with which you swing the remote doesn't affect your throw. Then there are the rides. The boring, boring rides, which are merely more depthless mini-games.

Some games are downright frustrating, like Ready Steady, where you point with the remote to align your cursor with a hoop and guide it along a wire without touching the edges. A buzzer will sound every time you make a mistake. After about 30 seconds of that we were ready to toss the Wii out the window.

Many games cost tickets to play, but there's no way to tell which ones until you actually enter the tent. This takes a second to load, and if you don't have enough tickets you have to wait for the hub area to reload. It's not an enormous complaint, just another example of the game's lazy design.

Each zone in the park has one goofy fellow running every game tent. He is always quick with a quip, but he isn't as funny as he thinks he is. Most of the time his comments don't make any sense. He'll award you tickets for your performance, but the game doesn't tell you how many, so it's difficult to gauge how well you're doing. After the game's over you can check your stash of tickets to see how many have been added, but this should have been implemented into an after-game wrap-up.

Tickets can be used to purchase prizes. Then, you can go into the menu and look at your prizes! Woo hoo! Man, there's nothing more fun than looking at a crappily rendered stuffed animal, spinning on your TV screen.

Some areas seem to be missing sound effects. When you're redeeming tickets for prizes, the vendor claps for your choices, but the whole process occurs in silence. Even being shot out of a cannon for the Sky Cannon ride is barely audible. There's no voice acting, making this amusement park an eerily quiet place.

The Verdict

Wonderworld Amusement Park has no personality; no soul. There's nothing on offer here that other Wii mini-game collections haven't already beaten to death. What's worse, many of these games are frustrating or have unresponsive controls. The ugly art design is the icing on this garbage cake. You're better off trying your luck with the 30-year old rides and sketchy operators at a real amusement park.

IGN Ratings for Wonderworld Amusement Park (Wii)
You know what the Wii needs? Another mini-game collection!
The character design is ugly and generic, and animations are stiff. The Wii isn't the most powerful console around, but it's capable of looking a lot better than this.
The music is appropriate and inoffensive. But sound effects are either lackluster or missing entirely.
Shallow, repetitive, and often frustrating. There's nothing here other mini-game collections don't offer.
Lasting Appeal
Any of the mini-games can be played with up to three of your friends, but unless you want to turn them into enemies I wouldn't recommend it.
(out of 10, not an average)
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Game Details

Published by: Majesco
Developed by: Coyote
Genre: Simulation
Release Date:
United States: July 8, 2008
Australia: November 13, 2008
MSRP: 39.99 USD
E for Everyone : Comic Mischief, Mild Cartoon Violence
Also Available On: NDS