EA Playground Hands-On

Earlier this month, at a pre-E3 event held at Electronic Arts' Los Angeles studio, we were afforded our first look at the Wii version of the recently announced EA Playground. Currently in development at EA Canada, EA Playground is a collection of minigames based on traditional and not-so-traditional schoolyard games, such as tetherball, slot car racing, and shooting sucker darts at one another. Only the dodgeball minigame was shown at the event, and although we were made to feel like the only nerd in a playground filled with bullies in our first match, it wasn't long before we mastered the uncomplicated controls and were able to exact some revenge.

There will be a number of custom rules available in the finished game, but EA Playground's default version of dodgeball is played by two teams of four players using six balls that are placed in a line through the middle of the court at the start of the game. The Nunchuk's analog stick is used to control player movement, and you can switch between players using one of the controller's trigger buttons. The Wii Remote is used for everything ball related, which includes using a throwing motion to toss the ball at opponents, pressing a button to catch incoming balls, and quickly moving the controller left or right to dodge opponents' shots at you. The somewhat showy dodge moves that we were using are typical of the advanced abilities that you'll need to unlock as you progress through the game; dodgeball, for example, will include more powerful shots.

EA Playground's single-player game will task you with becoming "king of the playground" by beating your classmates at the games and unlocking new activities and collectibles as you explore the school. When in party play mode you'll find that all the minigames support up to four players, and we're told that there will be options to set up tournaments spanning multiple events and the like.

All we were told about the Nintendo DS version of EA Playground on this occasion is that it will feature a number of minigames that are quite different to those on the Wii. Dodgeball will still be there, though presumably in a different format, and the other games mentioned included skateboarding and something to do with spitballs. We look forward to bringing you more information on both the Wii and DS games as soon as it becomes available.