Nintendo Wii Review: Go Play Circus Star

In just under a year, the Go Play franchise has moved from an obscure name to a gaming franchise that screams run the other way. Just like Majesco’s recently released Go Play Lumberjacks, Go Play Circus suffers from several of the same flawed design decisions, as well as an overall lack of attention to creating a game that’s fun.

Many gamers have drawn the opinion that Wii is a child’s machine, reserved only for the infrequent “Wii Party.” Unlike games like MadWorld, House of the Dead Overkill or the upcoming Dead Space: Extraction, Go Play Circus was designed with the overarching thought of making a game that appealed to the “Wii Party” crowd. However, once you start playing Go Play Circus, you’ll realize that this is game is the absolute party buzz-kill. You would think that a Circus game would herald controls that are easy for gamers of all ages to pick up. Wrong. The controls in Go Play Circus are not only difficult to master; they also don’t coincide with the actions your character will perform on screen.

Instead of creating a game that was well designed from start to finish, Majesco opted to lump several Circus activities into one large compilation of mini-games. Similar to Go Play Lumberjacks, you will choose one of six characters to start with, most of whom you won’t like. Yes, there is no character creation. I went with the bald-evil-villain looking character.

One of the best games to play is the knife throwing mini-game. Coincidentally, this is one of the first games you’ll have access to. Most of the other games you will need to unlock. Alas, you’ll have to muster up the motivation to spend hours of time trying in vain to gain fans and money through clunky gameplay. And, you’ll do this all in an effort to unlock several mini-games that you or your friends will not want to play. For example, there is a Trampoline game that you can play with using the Wii Balance board or Wii-mote. The Wii-mote controls are terrible; you have to lift the Wii-mote up and down to simulate the bouncing of your circus star. Unfortunately, your character will constantly and uncontrollably shift to the right of the screen with each bounce. Inevitably, he/she will fall off the trampoline causing you to lose fans. The Cannonball event is a fun game; after all there is nothing like being shot out of a canon when you’re rated E 10+. However, I shot way past the mat that I was supposed to land on and my character still miraculously stuck the landing.

During the game, you will be forced to suffer through the annoying VO of the rhyming ringmaster as he gives you the play by play. The music is as innovative as you’d expect from a game built around circus activities – which means there is no innovation and music will quickly become repetitive. The graphics are about as mundane as the music. The colors feel more muddy than the vibrant colorful look you’d expect in a “circus” title.

Go Play Circus, and regrettably the entire Go Play franchise, should be avoided. Unfortunately, the clunky controls will make this seemingly simple and fun game even a chore for children.