Reviews

Darts is a funny game. A few years ago it was one of those sports that nobody knew a great deal about and one that was only associated with smokey pubs and smelly old men. Yes, everyone knew of it, but to actually show a genuine interest in it? Unlikely. This stereotype has completely changed for the majority of British sports fans, ever since the birth of Premier League Darts. It has added a new and sexy side to the game nobody knew much about.

The success that this new era in darts has bought has done wonders for the game and, as a result, its mainstream media involvement. It was only a matter of time before this stretched to the video game industry and with the unexpected success of the first PDC Darts game it was always going to be interesting to see what a sequel would bring.

Such concentration, such precision...

There's no getting away from the fact that the overriding factor on this game is the controls. For those of you who did not play the original, the Wii remote acts as your dart and you perform a throwing action to take your shot (wrist-straps on, please). There is a pointer system that allows you to aim your dart at the position on the board you desire. Holding the dart is slightly different this time around, instead of holding the Wii controller sideways on; you hold it flat in-between your thumb and your forefinger. You must then hold the A or B button down and release it on throwing to launch the dart.

For some reason it doesn't feel as natural as in the first version of the game, but after a few goes you soon get used to it. You can change the assist setting to increase/ decrease the amount of help that's added to the accuracy of your shot. The great thing about this game is that there is no way of doing lazy cheating. It somehow knows if you are not using the remote as a proper darts player. It's actually quite scary how accurate you have to be with your throws, and how there are no short-cuts.

Hey, where did everybody go?