Review: Jakks Pacific UltiMotion SwingZone Sports

Written on Dec 10, 2008 by Brian and filed under Jakks Pacific, Reviews

Jakks Pacific, the undisputed king of plug and play TV games, is back at it with UltiMotion SwingZone Sports. SwingZone Sports features five sports games that are controlled via wireless motion controller. Designed to be used for the entire family, SwingZone Sports promises fun for both kids and the family at large.

SwingZone Sports Setup

Out of the box you’ll notice the console itself, a remote control and five attachments. The remote needs two AA batteries and the console needs four (not included). The console is pretty simple, it has two cables for connecting to a TV, one for audio and one for video. On the front there’s a power button and sync button to reconnect with the wireless controller should they lose signal. The remote control has an A and B button, along with a D-pad and off button.

Setting up couldn’t be any easier. It’s plug and play, like other products from Jakks. It’s also easy to power on and work with the menus as well. Kids who can read will be fine on their own out of the gate. Younger kids will pick up the process pretty quickly as well, and will be off and running. Each game also has a tutorial so all-in-all it doesn’t get a lot easier.

It’s nearly impossible to evaluate SwingZone Sports without making comparisons to the Nintendo Wii. We’ll get it all out in this paragraph. While SwingZone Sports bears a close resemblance to Wii Sports, it’s not the same thing and isn’t trying to be. This product is about easy setup and instant fun for the whole family, without having to spend upwards of $250. It’s also much more portable and even works well with a car’s entertainment system. While the Wii games are going to look better and have more functionality, SwingZone Sports has a lot to offer, but to an entirely different audience.

Using SwingZone Sports

SwingZone works a based on a wireless controller with an accelerometer, which measures the speed and direction the controller is moving. That’s why when you swing the controller, a tennis racquet swings in response on the TV. Kids really love this sort of interaction, plus it gets them up and moving, which is a nice plus.

UltiMotion SwingZone Sports features five games that can be played individually or in 2-player mode, where players alternate using the same controller. 2-player mode adds a good deal of fun, kids in our test loved going back and forth with each other. This also teaches taking turns, which is another nice bonus. The only complaint really is there’s only one controller and even if you want to buy a second one, you can’t. It’s also limited to 2-players at a time, which is also a problem if you want to play a round of golf with the whole family.

The game areas include bowling, tennis, baseball, football and golf. Simply select the game you want to play, the number of players then your avatar. The avatars are a little hit or miss, several kids really didn’t want to be the guy with the mohawk, but there are only two avatars per game, so in a 2-player game, someone either has to select an avatar that they don’t really want, be it a girl, boy, mohawk guy, whatever. It would be wise in future versions to include more avatar choices for each game.

Each game also comes with a controller accessory, a plastic housing for the controller in the shape of a tennis racquet, baseball bat, bowling ball, football and golf club. The idea is to switch out the shell depending on which game you’re playing. The accessories don’t add any functional value though and are difficult for kids to switch out on their own. We ended up not using them after the first few tries and wouldn’t mind at all if Jakks dropped them from the package.

Bowling

One of our favorite games, bowling is very easy to pick up and go. There’s also a bumper bowling option, which is fantastic for younger kids and not-so-coordinated adults. The game lets players change their position and bowling angle before tossing the ball down the lane. As you release a twist of the wrist will add spin to the ball. Definitely the crowd favorite, bowling is well done and appropriate for all ages, thanks to bumper bowling mode.

Tennis

Tennis is the only single-player game on the system. Players can choose to play 1, 3, or 5 sets (it takes 2 games to win a set). It takes a little to get the timing down, but once you do tennis is pretty fun. Mastering the timing is key though as hitting the ball early for instance, will yield a hard angle shot. There’s also a little finesse involved in learning a few other twists like drop and lob shots. Tennis is pretty tough for younger kids to do well with, we saw success in the 7-8 age range though.

Golf

The graphics here are what we’d like to call “retro” but that takes away none of the enjoyment. Choose the club from your bag and swing the controller much like a normal golf club to send the ball flying. The map tells you more or less how hard to hit the ball, but it’s all about feel as you try to figure out how hard to swing to go half way up the power meter. The back and forth here makes golf pretty close to bowling in terms of 2-player fun. Kids will post some ugly scores, but have fun nonetheless as they try to get the ball in the cup. 

Baseball

In this game you get 10 pitches in a home run derby style game. This one is all about timing and because it requires precision to succeed, it was the hardest for younger kids to play and therefore their least favorite. It’s also not nearly as deep as the other games, so their assessment is probably reasonable. Still, not bad for the older kids who love baseball and one parents in the group had some fun with.

Football

Football is a target contest, kids get a set number of balls to try to hit targets with over three rounds. The more targets you hit, and the more challenging the target, the more points you earn. Perfect shots yield extra balls and bonuses if you hit several targets at once. Targeting is done with the d-pad or wrist rotation, then a windup and tossing motion will send the ball flying. Again we saw younger kids having a bit of trouble with the timing, but there’s still a lot of value here for older kids and parents.

I took SwingZone to a place where I thought it would be a tremendous success – Grandpa’s house at Thanksgiving. And here’s really where the product shines. Plug in two cords and press the power button and you’re up and running. My five year-old son had a blast playing with his Cousins, Aunts and Uncles. As you might expect, Grandpa hasn’t embraced the latest technology, nor does he have an advanced gaming system. As a result SwingZone Sports was a perfect fit and everyone had fun with it, even those with gaming consoles at home. Kids under 5-6 will have the most fun with bowling and golf, while older kids might enjoy all five games. This is also something that parents will have fun playing a long with.

Bottom Line

The graphics aren’t the best, you can’t add a second controller and you’re limited to two players. But SwingZone Sports also has a lot to offer, including a price tag under $60 and entertainment for kids that parents can have fun with too. Kids get up and moving, work on sharing and coordination and generally have a very good time. As we always say with these things, kids don’t care about the graphics, though they do appear to care about the avatars, something that should be addressed. At the end of the day though, we find UltiMotion SwingZone Sports to be a good value and worthwhile purchase if you’re looking for an easy to use game system for kids who like sports. It’s very portable too, so it’s great for taking on the road or a friend’s house, adding to the flexibility of the unit.

3.5 out of 5 stars

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