Even more cerebral, and less like a golf game, than the PS2 version.
First off, this isn't a golf game. (As I type, on the right I can see Gamespot's "similar" games list, covering Super Swing, Leaderboard, We Love Golf.... That's absolutely missing the point.) This wasn't a golf game on the PS2, and it's even less like a golf game now. It's a kind of a turn-based Marble Madness dressed up as a mini-golf game. So, the gameplay is still not at all what you expect, but has hidden depths.
Secondly, it still isn't visually appealing. Where most games try to be polished and cool, this has gone for deliberately kitsch. The art is OK, but nothing special, and the differences between the PS2 and Wii versions seem slight – there are some more character animations, but little else has changed. So, the Wii version is just as quirkily off-putting as the PS2 version.
The most important thing about the game, however, is the gameplay. This will always be true of any Wii game (if you only care about pretty graphics, go buy a PS3!), and it is here that King of Clubs irritates excels.
The game has clearly been designed as a set of arenas to navigate, not as "golf courses". Think of it as a set of puzzles, but with no single "correct" solution or path: instead you have arenas where you can explore various routes and tactics. This is really, really intriguing. You can get lots of fun out of scratching your head over some of the more complex levels thinking, "I wonder what happens if I try this combination…. What if I could use the rubber ball and a swerving arc to bounce over those…." etc., etc. It lets you plot and scheme in a way that even most strategy games can't, and most shooters don't give you time to. And this unique challenge is the game's great strength. Once you realise this isn't a mini-golf game, this unusual gameplay absolutely makes the game worth a try – and because it's so unusual, it makes it worth persevering with.
And here the Wii version of the game is even more extreme than the PS2 version. If reviewers grumbled that the PS2 version wasn't enough like a golf game, the designers here have decided to respond by making this even less like a golf game. More power to them. Most developers seem happy to churn out the familiar over and over, so respect is due to anyone who'll try something original and not compromise.
On the PS2 you try to control the power-bar to control the shots. This makes all shots slightly tricky, and difficult or powerful shots very risky. For the Wii version, however, the designers have clearly decided that if the game is about solving puzzles, the player shouldn't have to make these kinds of twitch decisions. The Wii remote is swung like a golf club, but it's the angles you hold it at and not the speed you swing at that matter: the feedback on the power-bar and the precision of control means that you can control exactly how much power you get and in what precise direction – no uncertainty, no misjudged swings. It's about judgement and planning, pure and simple.
The result is that King of Clubs on the Wii is even more extreme than on the PS2. It's slightly easier, with less frustration but perhaps less emotional satisfaction and more mental satisfaction to be got.
So PS2 versus Wii version?
The PS2 version is slightly more tense, the Wii version is more laid-back. If anything the Wii version is the pure, unapologetic version. The Wii's is the "real" (as in, "most original") version.
And is it worth buying?
King of Clubs, as a game concept, is genuinely unique. It's impossible to explain – you'll have to try it – but the key thing is that it really appeals to your head, not to your gut (like a shooter) or your heart. If all you want is a repackaged version of something you already own, then don't buy this game: it's nothing like the games you own and you'll hate it. But if you want something different, interesting, original, then, buy it, try it.