Double Dribble for Wii: Review

Old gamers may remember Double Dribble fondly, but does it stand the test of time? In late November 2007, Wii had re-released this venerable game for its Virtual Console. If you're interested in playing your old favorite again, this might be the chance you've been waiting for. Read this review and decide for yourself if this game is worth your time and money.

The Virtual Console (VC) is part of the Wii Shop Channel. This on-line service lets players buy and download older games in their original form. Players can find games from the original Nintendo and Sega consoles, for example. That means that Double Dribble is by no means a new game, so keep this in mind when reading this review.

If you're looking for cutting edge technology, you certainly won't find it in this game. It uses 8-bit graphics, which in its day were a big deal but today are just sad. The original game had a lot of issues with flickering and is still a bit of a problem today. There are some mildly entertaining cut-away scenes from some of the slam dunks, but even these pale in comparison to even the lowliest of today's sport games. The basics of basketball are in play, with 5-man teams and refs calling fouls, but that's about where the realism ends.

There really isn't much to comment about with the sound of this game. Players can here the sound of the ball and the ref's whistle but that's it. There is no sound track to speak of, except for the occasional half-time show. What you will get however, is a near-continuous "Charge!" tune that merrily beeps along. If you decide to pick this game up, play it with the radio on.

It won't take much time to realize that the game lacks balance. There are a couple of flaws that simply cripple the game. If you pull ahead more than a couple of baskets, the game tilts severely in favor of the CPU. The computer's shots will sink with a lot more frequency while even the easiest shot for the player misses more often than not. The good news is that not all of the glitches favor the computer. There are certain "sweet spots" on the court that players can score from nearly at will. Once these spots are found, players can win every time, which sort of removes any remaining excitement.

Double Dribble is a little light on options, too. There are only four teams to choose from and the game is geared for just 1 to 2 players. In two-player mode, there are 10 controllable players on the screen, which is just too much for an 8-bit game to handle. Most of the time, at least one of the uncontrolled players will wander around uselessly.

There is no on-line content, nor is there a tournament mode. This game definitely lacks any sort of lasting appeal. The game itself is easy enough to play, however. It uses a simple format that allows players to block, pass, shoot and swap players. Shot variety is limited to a small handful, making this a fairly repetitive game. Thankfully, there are some areas you can control. The length of the game can be set from five to 30 minutes and the difficulty level can be adjusted. These aren't really big changes but they're better than nothing.

Even at 500 Wii Points (the equivalent of $5.00), I would be hard pressed to recommend this game to anyone. The only exception to this would be older gamer who simply miss the old days. If you're looking for a cheap basketball game with decent game play, you'd be better off checking out the discount bin at your local gaming store. If the lure of a cheap, easy to download VC game is just too much to resist, remember there are around 200 games available, with more added weekly. Save your money until something a little better comes out.