Everything the Wii is today, it owes to “Wii Sports,” a freebie collection of sports games that everyone assumed would be a temporary diversion but instead materialized as the system's first killer app. Who can blame “Wii Play” for wanting to ride the same wave into people's collective consciousness?

“Play” features nine mini-games which aim to demonstrate just how versatile that Wiimote really is. To that effect, it certainly succeeds. Games range from a “Duck Hunt”-style shooting gallery to billiards, fishing, “Pong”-style air hockey and table tennis.

In terms of quality and control, “Play” aces every test. Billiards feels like billiards, fishing feels like fishing and the stranger games – which include cow racing, a “Where's Waldo”-style game involving your Mii characters and a fantastic little “Battle Tanx” knockoff – are great fun.

Feature-wise, though ... yikes. While “Sports” certainly didn't do all it could in the options department, it did enough. “Play,” however, offers next to nothing.

The billiards game features only one game style, and the table tennis game only ends if you complete (or fail to complete) a 100-volley rally. There's no scoring.

Since the only object of each game is to obtain a gold medal-worthy score, options (or even varying difficulty levels) aren't allowed. Once you've gone for the gold, little motivation exists to go further.

Some issues resolve themselves with a second player: Table tennis features scoring, while the games in general are more challenging and unpredictable. But that's not enough to keep “Play” from feeling like a giant tease. Nintendo has made its case for the Wiimote's versatility; now it's time to make some games that speak to ours.

Grade: C