Guiness World Records for Wii.
Similar to other party games, the controls for each challenge are vastly different, making use of both the Wiimote and Nunchuck in an effort to simulate the action required to perform a similar task in real-life — where possible. For example, attempting to beat the record for tearing a phone book in half in the shortest time requires you to hold the Wiimote and Nunchuck together end-to-end and twist them in small circles until you find the "sweet spot", then furiously jerk both controllers back and forth as though trying to rip through the book.
Alternatively, competing in a egg and spoon race requires a little more skill, with the Wiimote acting as the spoon which has to remain level while you flick the Nunchuck to simulate running. This may be easy for people capable of patting their heads and rubbing their stomachs at the same time, but will take some practice to master nonetheless.
No sheep were harmed during the making of this game
(Credit: Warner Bros Interactive)
This seems to be the secret to the success of GWR. Each of the 36 mini-games has a pick-up-and-play quality but will need to be played repeatedly before the player can be truly competitive. To see how you match up to players from around the world, GWR will feature updated high scores including regional records and world records, plus the real-world record for each event. Players holding the world record in certain events may have the chance to be entered in the actual Guinness book of World Records as a virtual champion.
As a party game GWR seems to be on the right track. While there doesn't appear to be a traditional multiplayer element, only one player can actively participate at a time, each of the challenges is so short that it'd be difficult to feel left out of the game while waiting for your turn. With the games being so short and difficult to master, GWR is the kind of game you'll want to keep coming back to, just to see if you can't top that world record or at least beat the record set by your mates.
TT Games has given this title a nice, clean and colourful cartoon look with a mixture of exaggerated sound effects and cheesy muzak playing under the menus and throughout the events. The presentation is fitting but certainly not the selling point, unlike the gorgeous graphics of the Lego games.
