Originally posted October 4th 2014 on the Seafoam Gaming forums
Title: Darts Up
System: Wii U (eShop)
Price: $2.49
Release date: 9/25/2014
The main game/story
This game is a simple, casual Darts simulator, with all the basics you expect from these games. Get as many bullseye as you can and you’ll be good to go!
Graphics
It has pretty much the same look as Darts Up 3D. Though sadly Miis aren’t available in this version, it actually doesn’t seem to be a big problem, which is good for the game. On the Wii U, everything looks cleaner and much more realistic than on the 3DS, which is a very good thing.
Music and sound effects:
Besides the energetic main theme, you really won’t be hearing much music in this game, just atmospheric background noise. It sounds rather nice however, if I do say so myself, and adds to the realism. Sound effects are typical, though there is an announcer that will often cheer you on if you get bullseye in this game, so overall this works well.
Gameplay
The simple premise of it is the same as always, get the highest score, using the Wii U gamepad to move around and aim, it works rather precisely and well, which is something I like from a motion controlled game.
Unlike Darts Up 3D, this game has quite a few different modes! The arcade mode is the main attraction, where you get as high of a score as possible and upload it to the online leaderboard. It actually is really fun to play, and I enjoyed trying to beat the other high scores. Absolutely the best mode in this game. There’s also a Combo mode, where you pretty much practice with special combos, like getting three bullseye in a row, a X01 mode, which is a rather confusing mode where you are supposed to get your point total to an exact score (Like 101, 201, etc), and classic mode, where you just simply get the best high score in a set amount of rounds.
Now let me say one important thing: The arcade mode is pretty much the only good single player mode in this game, mainly due to the online leaderboard. The other modes should only be played for multiplayer, as they were pretty much intended as high score competitions. I found this game a TON of fun with a friend of mine in the other modes (Especially Combo mode), and I strongly encourage you try those modes out with a friend. You only need to pass the gamepad around! Either way, you’ll find this is a great game for high score fans, especially with friends.
Conclusion
In the end, I found that Darts Up for Wii U is a very fun game! With a few different modes to play with your friends, as well as online leaderboards, this is a great game for a great value. I really think this is one of the best value multiplayer games on the Wii U eShop, due to how cheap and fun it is! If you like Darts, or just a simple multiplayer game, there is no reason you should pass this up. I give Darts Up an8 out of 10
Thanks to EnjoyUp games for the review code.
Seafoam Gaming 