Wii New Year's Eve: The Game

[CodenameDuchess]

While going to the store to purchase some delicious Jameson for my flask (I have a long train ride to the Burning Angel New Year's Eve XXXtravaganza tonight and will need liquid courage to brave New York public transportation), I happened to walk by one of the sixteen Gamestops between my house and the liquor store.

I noticed something in the window that took me by surprise. Now, as an extremely professional video game journalist who takes his job insanely seriously, I felt a bit ashamed that I hadn't heard of the title featured prominently in the window display. Then again, nothing interesting has come out in nearly a month so one could forgive me for being a little less than diligent on keeping up with release dates.

To show my dedication to Ripten's loyal readers, I purchased a copy even though I would have to shirk many of my New Year's Eve responsibilities in order to put enough time into the game to give a fair review. Plus, I figure I needed to get it done while it was still topical.

The game is called Wii New Year's Eve: The Game, after all.

According to the instruction booklet — video games still come with instruction booklets. Who knew? Also, according to the booklet, this is supposed to be the most realistic simulation of a New Year's Eve celebration without actually having to step in vomit on the streets. I won't read the rest because, much like the actual New Year's Eve itself, you should go into it knowing as little as possible in order to maximize the amount of poor decisions you make.



Right away, the depth of this game is noticeable. After importing your Mii, you are presented with nearly limitless options in order to customize your gaming experience to be as realistic as possible. Before settling on "single pretentious hipster 20-something with an inflated ego" I experimented with some of the other options. When I changed my Mii to a female sorority pledge, she spent ten minutes at a local bar before leaving her drink unattended which led to a rather graphic Game Over screen.

Picking a straight edge character just made my Mii jaded and anti-social towards the holiday. He ended up staying in the main menu listening to Youth of Today and Chain of Strength albums instead of going out. Perhaps the best advice I can give someone is to not set your character to "In a Relationship" as it will hamper any enjoyment of the mini-games New Year's Eve: The Game has to offer, and may actually lead to an instant Game Over screen when your significant other decides he/she just wants to stay in and watch a movie.



If and when you find a combination that gets you past the personality selection screen, this is where the game is very true to its word. For the next few hours in game time you will see only your apartment/bedroom/parents house while you frantically call everybody in your contacts list trying to find something to do so "tonight isn't as lame as last year." Your character has Social Anxiety and Insecurity meters that you need to keep balanced during this stage. The longer it takes for others to get in contact with him/her, the more insecure your character will become as they start to worry that everybody is avoiding them because they don't like them.

If it gets too high he/she will turn their phone off and spend the night in the dark watching reruns of House. The Social Anxiety bar is something you will have to deal with during any of the social interaction mini-games over the course of the simulated night. As you begin to field calls and make plans, there will be intricate situations you will have to avoid in order to make sure your night is drama free. You said you would hang out with Bob's Mii, but he can't go to Sally's Mii's party because he got drunk the other night and sent her sexual text messages. This is just one example of many that will come up. Of course, it is impossible to avoid all drama. It is New Year's Eve after all.



When you do end up settling on a plan, or a series of plans if you are going for the high score, you will be brought to a map screen that shows all the tasks your character will need to accomplish in order to have a successful night out. You will also be introduced to the Intoxication meter, which should probably go without needing any explanation.

Again, if you picked a straight edge or non-hypocritical religious character you will have a Righteous Indignation meter instead. Edge characters will be pestered with a "BREAK EDGE ?" nag screen anytime they enter five meters of an obnoxious drunk Mii — which can get a little frustrating.



The tasks are completed through a series of interesting mini-games that all take advantage of the Wii's unique controls and the deluxe addition even comes with a few peripherals to make it easier on you. I found the Aerodynamic Wii Beer Pong Ball to be the most useful, but I have to give the Bag of Wiine the nod for most innovative. Even without the additions to the Wiimote, controls are intuitive enough that there's hardly any learning curve.

Whether singing karaoke while trying to keep your drunken Mii standing, or trying to cut up a line in the clubs bathroom with shaky hands while Lady Gaga blares in the background, I think this really is the most realistic representation of New Year's Eve a video game could possibly accomplish.

A more robust online multiplayer would have been nice, and it was a bit insulting that every time I tried to pick the multiplayer option it told me to "Go outside, loser" but its omission isn't enough for me to really detract from the score. This is an enjoyable game, perhaps the most enjoyable and mature on the Wii, and would be a great addition to anybodies collection after they sober up tomorrow morning.

Oh, and my favorite part of the game? You just lost it.

[jkid101094]

Didn't you just plagiarize this?

[Hakudamashi]

Y'know those people who are soo ______ that they believe their own shit?

[CodenameDuchess]

Didn't you just plagiarize this?

Too lazy to give credit, I was gonna go to some new year's party.