by Matt Kramer

Created on: February 03, 2008   Last Updated: February 04, 2008

EA Playground is a new and innovative game for the Nintendo Wii. The game is based around a typical school-going character, whom you must select before beginning the game. The basic concept of the game is to roam the school yard as your chosen character, looking for certain games and challenges, hosted by your classmates, as well the game's very own currency; collectible bags of marbles, which in turn can be used to pay for "stickers" which are placed into a sticker album once earned, and can be traded amongst your classmates throughout the playing area.

The games and challenges you complete also reward you with bags of marbles, depending on your performance in that specific game, i.e beating the current champion. Playing the games and beating challenges eventually allows you to progress through the previously locked gates, into the next part of the school yard, where you will find new challenges and games, and, you guessed it, more bags of marbles scattered around the game's many nooks and crannies. The game has a real competitive factor about it, in that you and your friends can get totally immersed in beating each other's records and accomplishments etc. however you may find that the slight lack of games and variation within the games may bore you within a while.

If you are someone who enjoyed games such as Wii Play and Mario Galaxy, then the chances are that you will enjoy this one also, due to Wii Play's array of mini-games, and Mario Galaxy's weird but wonderful, fun concept.

The lovely animation and friendly vibes you get from playing this game is one of the areas this game really excels in, and herein lies one of it's main focuses- a fun and user-friendly playing environment to supply the whole family with some wacky Wii excitement, EA style. The downside to this is the rather annoying "language" of the in-game characters, in addition to the seemingly constant, endless playing of the background music.

The game's good points do out-number the game's bad points, and this title gets a 7.5, bordering 8 out of 10 for me, purely because of it's fun based gameplay and the solid feel to it, unlike some games that feel they have been rushed. Presentation is good, with well made environments and physics, audio fits the game's genre and gameplay, even if it is mind-numbingly tedious at times, and the controls on the Wiimote are simple and easy to adjust to. Yes the game has it's flaws, but these don't stop the game being an absolute blast for fans of this genre. Overall, a fine addition to my collection of Nintendo Wii games, and I'm sure a fine addition to yours.

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