Jam City Rollergirls Wiiware Game

Hello All,

I do own a Wii and I was excited to hear about the release of this game. However I haven’t been able to download it myself yet. Fortunately, I was able to call on the help of a fellow roller girl who quickly came to my rescue. Thanks to Tina “Yoshi Ground Pound” Blundetto I am able to report to you on the latest in Wii Game/Roller Derby fun. You can also check out the game on Nintendo’s site, the Jam City Rollergirls site, and of course, on facebook.

-Auntie

 

Jam City Rollergirls 

Wiiware Game Review

 

By Guest Blogger: Yoshi Ground Pound

Skyland Roller Girls; Hackettstown, NJ

I have been skating with Skyland Roller Girls for almost a year now and I absolutely love the world of Roller Derby. It’s challenging and who doesn’t love to hit someone else for the fun of it? And how many roller girls just want more and more? I know I do. So how exciting is it to finally see a roller derby game out there for the whole world to see?! It’s pretty fantastic to say the least.

With my practice being cancelled last night, I was super excited to turn my Wii on and download (through Wiiware for 1000 Wii points worth $10) and start checking some other ladies. The game is really simple to get into if you’ve ever played a video game before. (Now if you haven’t, or don’t own a Wii at all then why are you reading this?!)  I would highly suggest going through the tutorial to see what you can do, especially if you know nothing about Roller Derby.

To get started, you either select single or multiplayer.  I was home alone and my cats don’t have thumbs so I went right to single player. I started a new season and picked out my team. I live in Pennsylvania, so I went right to Gotham City Roller Girls! Come on, home team (kind of) advantage, right? Right. I got my skater and customized her as much as I could with no money. This is where I thought I did something wrong… I went to start the first bout and I couldn’t find it! I didn’t realize you had to select “bout schedule” to see who I’d be playing! At least it didn’t take me a half hour to click start week 1!

I honestly thought that I was going to be an idiot playing this game but it turns out, I’m not too bad. It took me awhile to get used to it not being an oval track because the game is made out like a go kart track. There are blue squares for boosts; pink star squares for power ups, lit up stars on the floor, and obstacles depending on what track you’re on. The most interesting one is the Dairyland track. At a certain point, you’re dodging cows and a tractor! The hardest, in my opinion, was Rat City because I kept losing my power ups when I rolled over rats and into some barrels. I won’t get into specifics about what power ups there are, you’ll need to figure that out on your own.

I found the game basics to be quite simple as far as rules, strategy, and how to play. I played the game well before I did the tutorial, but once I actually went through the tutorial (and my first time for any game, ever), I played even better. I never upgraded the skater for more speed or agility until the end of the season but I did spend money on a green helmet! Once I beat the game, undefeated, I started the next season and I whipped through the first bout. It didn’t seem like the difficulty level was upped at all.

It is VERY obvious what doesn’t happen during a real bout, if you’ve ever seen one that is. Elbows, go-kart like track, power ups, blue tile boosts, four skaters on the track from each team, and no one receives a penalty! I even skated backwards towards the other jammer and hit her to see if I would and I did not. I do hope that any viewers who attend their first bout do not sit on the edge of their seat waiting for someone to throw a water balloon (if that’s what those red balls were! Haha) at another skater.

For 1000 Wii points, I don’t think any non roller derby fans will really get into it, unless the term “girl-on-girl” is used a lot to describe it. As a roller girl, I was SUPER excited to see a mainstream console game that I could download that was about something I love. Unlike that crap iPod app that I immediately removed! I hope in the future, when another roller derby game (yes, I said when because I have high hopes) comes out, you can do something like use the Wii balance board to throw hits at other players. But at this point, like any roller girl out there who has played this game, even a little, I cannot wait to get to my next practice and knock someone down!