Archery: This is a very unusual one, in that you swap your controls; your off-hand holds the Wii Remote, and your primary hand holds the Nunchuk. This makes sense when you realize the Remote is your bow, and the Nunchuk your arrow, as you take aim at a target from varying distances. The challenge here is three-fold; the wind will affect your arrow, the distance to your target increases which requires you to fire in an arc, and in later stages the target will both move and be obscured by cover. This is pretty fun, and combined with the air sports modes it likely offers some of the best examples you’ll see of the MotionPlus attachment on this disc.

Basketball - 3-Point Contest and Pickup Game: Mentioned together since they’re very similar. Simply put, the idea is to make overhead throwing motions as if shooting a basketball. This is a little odd, since your Mii jumps for you; you don’t need to (and probably shouldn’t) do a real jump before your shot. The three point contest just has you make as many shots as you can, while the pickup game adds some basic basketball nuances; dribbling, passing between teammates, and stealing the ball. I was unimpressed by these two, but they’re not terrible by any means.

Bowling, 100 Pin Game, and Spin Control: Also variations on the same basic idea. Bowling is just that; it’s similar to the Wii Sports original where you fling a heavy ball at ten pins over several rounds. The 100 Pin Game is the same basic idea, but with no gutters to fall in to and obviously throwing your ball at a lot more pins (the ’red button’ trick returns, of note). Spin Control is also like some modes in the original, urging you to make various trick shots by spinning the ball in unusual ways. In all honesty, this plays very much like the Wii Sports original, and while I can feel some difference with the MotionPlus, it isn’t that big. I remain confused as to why this is even on the disc, thus.

Canoeing - Speed Challenge and Versus: A sport that probably benefits from having more than one player, since you are indeed just rowing a boat down the stream. Very easy if playing alone, since you just alternate between left and right paddle strokes. The real fun presumably lies in getting a whole team of players to do this, or racing against someone else. A yawner if you’re alone, but fun with others.

Cycling - Road Race and Versus: An unusual choice, as your hands (using Wii Remote plus Nunchuk) behave as both the handlebars and pedals of a bicycle. This works out well enough when you get used to it, but it does remain rather odd. The Road Race mode has you racing against several AI opponents, letting you do things like drift behind them to save your stamina. Versus mode just lets you race against another human player, but is otherwise similar.

Frisbee Dog: A beach sport where you play fetch with a cute dog. You’re given a target area to throw your Frisbee at, and if you get the disc in the right general spot, your dog will nab it for some points and bring it back. Trick shots can include curving your throw to hit a balloon while also getting it to the target zone, making this a rather fun mode in short bursts.

Frisbee Golf: This uses the same controls, but gets rid of the dog in favor of a golf course; your goal is to throw the Frisbee along the course until you get it near the target area. Essentially you throw your disc like a Frisbee, but play each additional throw where it lies... just like golf. Thus, Frisbee Golf does exactly what it says.

Next: More sports, and conclusion.