Road Racing: A basic motorcycle racing game, played by holding the Wiimote sideways and using the 1 and 2 buttons as brake and throttle with turning done by tilting the controller. A pretty simple racing game, the only major depth it has is the use of slipstreams to shoot past your opponent.

Mogul Skiing: Similar to speed skating, oddly enough. You hold the Wiimote and Nunchuk, keeping the B and Z buttons held down while you swing one and then the other at the right times to ski along various mini-hills, followed by a stunt jump ramp at the end. It’s not bad, but it has no real depth to it and is basically the sort of game I’d assume is a tech-demo for the Wii when it first entered the market.

Dodge Ball: A sport in which you use the Wiimote plus Nunchuk to guide a team around a field, throwing a ball at your opponents. The controls work very well; the analog stick moves your character and aims, while pressing a button passes to the indicated teammate or swinging the controller throws the ball at the indicated opponent. You can then press B plus Z to catch a ball heading your way, or swing the controller sideways to dodge. Good timing is rewarded with various ’power throws’, and this mode actually works fairly well. I wouldn’t be opposed to this one being a WiiWare release on its own, but sadly I doubt that will happen.

Darts: Exactly what it sounds like, you hold the Wiimote rotated on its side like it were a dart. Hold A and B, then make a forward throwing motion. Pretty much guaranteed to cause someone to break their TV because of that, but on the other hand it does control fairly well and supports a few different rules sets. It’s not bad for what it is.

Online Play: Three games support online play; Hockey, Dodge Ball, and Tennis. While Tennis in Deca Sports 2 is so bad that I have no urge to play it with anyone online, I admit I would have liked to play Hockey and Dodge Ball with someone. Unfortunately, I could not; the online play for Deca Sports 2 seems to be deserted. Numerous attempts were made to find someone to play with, to no avail.

Ultimately, Deca Sports 2 doesn’t justify its price tag. Only two or three of the games can be genuinely called ’good’, another few are acceptable tech demos but aren’t worthy of being in a retail product, and the rest have terrible controls. Even the inclusion of a basic ’Mii Too’ system for making your own character and team to play as doesn’t really help all that much, and Deca Sports 2 comes across as an attempt to cash in on the success of Wii Sports. The problem is that Wii Sports was free with the system, while this costs thirty bucks. If you’re really looking for a collection of ’Wii casual mini-games’, steer clear of this and go with Wii Sports Resort instead. It costs more, but it’s much better than this.