PDC World Championship Darts 2008

“USING THE Wii REMOTE TO THROW THE DART IS THE CLOSEST THING TO REAL DARTS YET – GAME ON” – Phil Taylor, 13 Times World Champion.

Use the Wii Remote’s exclusive controls to experience the most authentic darts simulation to date. ‘The closest thing to real darts yet’ - PDC Darts 2008 has been carefully crafted, allowing players to throw using the Wii Remote as they would a real dart.

Immerse yourself in the realism of PDC Darts 2008; Go head-to-head with the greatest PDC Champions and be part of the year’s most fierce console Championship.

Features

• Use of the Wii Remote to play as you would play real darts, hold the Wii –Remote as you would a real dart and throw using the same movement of the remote.

• Wii Remote sensitivity option – change the sensitivity of the Wii Remote to tailor to your own throw style.

• Starring 16 PDC Champions: Phil Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld, Peter Manley, Wayne Mardle, Dennis Priestley, Adrian Lewis, Alan Warriner-Little, John Part, Colin Lloyd, Mark Dudbridge, Roland Scholten, Ronnie Baxter, Terry Jenkins, Kevin Painter, Andy Hamilton, Andy Jenkins.

• Carefully tailored format specific controls; the heavier the barrel weight, the lower down on the metre the sweet spot is, the lighter the barrel weight the higher up the sweet spot is.

• Enhanced animations to include throw style, walk-on and celebration moves of the best PDC players

• ‘As seen on TV’ Sky-sports inspired presentation for added realism.

• Male and Female player characters with editor allowing players to style their very own champion.

• Game stats displayed in-game, at the end of match and stored as high-scores and trivia.

Enough of the facts… its time to step up to the Oche.

Firstly I am a bit of a darts fan, and have been since I was a small child growing up in a mining village. I used to go play with my dad down at the local miners welfare club, grew up watching the greats like Eric Bristow etc…
On first slapping the disk into the Wii, i was impressed with the graphics, kinda nice for the Wii, followed this was the menu front end where you have the main selections for your game. :

Exhibition:
Within the exhibition section you are able to setup exhibition games with your mates or again your mates and the pre programmed players (who are not an easy beat), you get to choose how many legs / sets etc.

Tournament:
In Tournament mode you can play with up to 8 Human players in any of the official PDC Tournaments or even create your own Custom tournaments and leagues.

Career:
In-depth career mode based around the 7 major tournaments in the PDC calendar reflecting real world PDC tournament locations. Create a character and begin career ranked 64th and work your way up, or play as your favourite professional and qualify automatically for all tournaments in the PDC calendar

Party Games:
There are 12 Party games that range from 2-4 players, unlike the other modes where players play 1 on 1 to knock the other out, this mode player’s play all in the same game to win.

Options:
Wii Remote sensitivity option – change the sensitivity of the Wii Remote to tailor to your own throw style, plus all of the normal sound controls etc.

Ok on with the game, I went straight into an exhibition match and crikey I was bad I got my ass kicked all over the place. It took me about 20 minutes of trying to get the right balance of darts to throwing action, I found this frustrating to begin with as the dart board itself is on the left and the player on the right of the screen, but to throw you need to aim as the middle of the screen to get to where you need to be. Personally I didnt find this very natural, there should be an option to have the dartboard full screen.

**Update** I have since found out that you can full screen the board itself by pressing B on the Wii remote - now that will make things a lot more natural, 180’s here I come.

After sorting this out though and locking on to the way the game is played I did find myself starting to enjoy it, although not managed to sink a 180 yet but I have had plenty of 140’s to keep me enthused. A note to anyone who buys this game is - “Stick at it - once you master the controls you wont regret it”

One item of the game I found hilarious is darts commentator Sid Waddell’s hilarious and off-the-wall witticisms, I was doing so badly to begin with and he proper slated me with quotes such as “bag o nails” and “not worth commenting on” this to me added to the atmosphere of the game, that encoupled with the excellent crowd noises perfectly timed to whats happening on screen made the whole experience a great one.

Multiplayer is available in Exhibition, Tournament and Party Modes.
In Exhibition you play head to head with a friend.
In Tournament mode you can play with up to 8 Human players in any of the official PDC Tournaments or even create your own Custom tournaments and leagues.
There are 12 Party games that range from 2-4 players, unlike the other modes where players play 1 on 1 to knock the other out, this mode player’s play all in the same game to win, if you played the previous versions of PDC you will notice that these have drastically improved.

There is a practice mode for those who want to get used to the game . The board is designed as a training board, so the trebles and doubles are thinner, which forces you to improve your aim. Aiming higher or lower on the board to compensate your throwing technique is something to master.

All in all its a great sports sim with a very well planned out atmosphere, it helps with the rendered characters looking like who they really are.
This is a must for when you get the lads round for a drunken sports evening, just remember the Wii-Mote strap or your plasma will be no more….

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Gameplay - 7/10 - Smooth playing, controls great wehn you get used to them.
Graphics - 6/10 - Great character renders, crowd lacks a bit - venues look great.
Sounds - 7/10 - All authentic Championship darts sounds Sids great.
Overall - 7/10 - Well worth a buy for any darts fan, once you master the controls your well on your way to being a pro, especially in a crowd of mates having a laugh.

WHAT:
In “Gathering Tempest”, EverQuest®II’s game update #46, players will experience an exciting live event, introduction of a new zone and a plethora of new content for both current and returning players of all levels.

The Void Storms Part 1: The Invasion
This live event runs through the middle of July, and gives players the opportunity to join in the investigation to explore the electrifying mysteries surrounding the wild energy storms appearing in Norrath. “The Void Storms Part 1: The Invasion” is one of the many scheduled live events and expansion pack themed content releasing this summer as part of the Living Legacy program. This live event is open to players of all levels and through their participation everyone can obtain a reward.

Heroic Runnyeye Zone Introduced
Players will be able to recapture the magic with a brand new experience in Heroic Runnyeye as it is introduced to the game with unique loot and exciting adventures. A worthy demonstration of the dedication and advancement of the EQII world.

Adventuring Updates
Adventuring in eighteen group instances such as Chelsith, Shard of Fear and Estate of Unrest will now yield status points when the bosses are killed!

For more details log onto www.eq2players.com

WHEN: Game Update #46 is live.

WHERE: www.everquest2.com