Since the surreal pot pourri of WarioWare: Smooth Moves, the Wii has been dominated by party games that offer little in the way of depth, but showcase the consoles motion controls and play right into the hands of the casual gamer the Big N is determined to woo. But in Carnival Fun Fair Games, the genius formula has taken a tragic nosedive.
Although there are 25 fairground games to choose from, each brought to life by motion controls that mimic real events - a horizontal wrist flick to throw hoops, for example, and an underhand bowling action for hurling balls - the action is brutally simple and easy to master, in turn demonstrating the power of a game like Wii Sports and the subtlety of control it allows. To make matters worse the graphics are consistently rough, even by Wii standards, and winning stuffed animals for your efforts presents little incentive as your garish prizes are useless when limited to the television screen.
As a multiplayer experience Carnival fares better, and at least gives players something to strive for when attempting to throw more hoops or knock over more skittles than their rivals. But unless you have a bunch of easily-pleased mates who really get off on funfair games, this disappointing package is best avoided.