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When I found out I was reviewing a darts game on the Wii I was over the moon. I couldn’t wait to see what Oxygen Games had done with the Wiimote to simulate throwing a dart, and of course, to see what they replaced all the beer drinking with! Darts and Wii seemed like a match made in heaven, just like cheese and cake, but just like the latter; PDC World Championship Darts 2008 gets sickening after a few minutes.

On the back of the pack it proudly states that, “using the Wii remote to throw the dart is the closest thing to real darts yet,’ and in some respects, it’s right. Throwing a Wiimote at a dart board is more like throwing a dart just as long as you compare it to throwing a SIXAXIS controller, or pressing a button on a keyboard. The real question was whether Oxygen could create a suitable control system that was simple as throwing a dart, but equally hard to master. Short answer: no. In our review of the PC version we claimed that, ‘If you wanted it that badly, then you should buy the Wii version because it’s going to be infinitely better.’ You can’t blame us for thinking that, because the Wii has motion control, which would mean that PDC Darts would be improved. The reality is that the PC version probably is the best choice, because it’s so hard to throw a dart on the Wii that it’s pointless trying. 

Supposedly, the way to throw a dart (provided you’re right handed) is to hold the Wiimote so that the A button is facing towards you. Then you’re told to aim your cursor where you want your dart to go, and hold A to lock on. So far so good. Next you’re told that you have to hold it up to your eye so you can aim down it – just like a real dart – and then thrust it forward before releasing A. This is where your character is supposed to let the dart fly into the triple 20 segment, but 4 times out of 5 times the dart stays in his hand, and your cursor just falls to one side of the dart board. I thought, “well, I’m going to have to give it a good half an hour or so before I crack this,” but I didn’t think that 3 days later I’d be having the same problems with no hope in sight. The keyword is ‘inconsistent’. I got 180 3 times, one with 3 straight perfect shots, but at others times I’d fling 20 times, before throwing all 3, and even then they don’t go where I wanted them to go. When you have (eventually) thrown the dart, the game decides where you were pointing when you released A and attempt to recreate it on screen. The most frustrating thing wasn’t that it wouldn’t work most of the time; with one round consistently scoring 100’s and over, and the next hitting a measly 26. With this firmly in my mind, it was obvious that PDC Darts was going to be complete and utterly tripe. Just that the word I tended to use was bit stronger.

Let’s move swiftly on to the graphics. They are the worst graphics I’ve seen in a long time. I don’t think there is one smooth edge in the whole game, it’s that bad. Sure, you can make out who the characters are, but when we’re used to the visual prowess of games like Virtua Tennis, they just look horrible. If Avid Gamer had a bar chart where you gave each category a score out of 10, I’d refuse to give this a point. 

There are a few modes on offer that, if the controls weren’t awful, would be a barrel of fun, for two people or a whole family. The party games on offer consist of a few standard games like 501 and 701, and some slightly farfetched games like Cricket. In Cricket you take turns aiming for the bull’s-eye until somebody hits it. The actual rules weren’t much different from the standard rules, just that one team plays normally, trying to score the highest score they can, and the other has to hit the board on segment 1, then 2, 3, 4..etc Until you get to 10, at which you swap teams. 

The career mode is boring to say the least. You can either create a player with the worlds most stripped down creation tools known to man, or take the role of a pro. You’re thrown into a season, with ‘real-world tournament locations and sets – as seen on the PDC circuit,’ and that’s that. First is the US Open, but that, like most game modes against the AI, are fiendishly difficult. There’s no fun in playing anyway because A, it’s likely you’ll get beaten, B, it’ll takes you hours to throw a dart, and C, because the matches take long enough even when you consistently throw them. The actual season is just a mixture of real events like ‘The UK Open’ and fillers like ‘Exhibition Match’. 

Don’t buy this game, don’t buy this game, and don’t buy this game. I can’t think of one good thing about it except that it features 16 PDC pros like Phil Taylor, Ray Barneveld and Mark Dudbridge. I’m off to go and play darts on my real dart board, which, by the way, cost less than this game, so I’ll let Sid give you his one word review of PDC World Championship Darts 2008 on the Wii. Sid Waddell: “Nafarama!”

Score: 2/10

Editor's Note: Tyler is the newest member to the team and will be handling the Wii side of the site. Enjoy his first review and when he's not reviewing games he's gently caressing his Guitar Hero guitar. Welcome to the team Tyler.

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