The big marketing push behind this line though aren't the things that I have mentioned, it is what you hear when you use them. The main selling point of these accessories is their Sound Plus feature. Acrrording to the packaging, you can “feel and hear every swing” of the bat or club. That is true, though it often doesn’t make sense. The Sound Plus accessories have what is best described as a ball or weight inside of them that, when swing in full motion, is “slid” all of the way to the end of the barrel (of the bat or club) and makes a smack or hitting sound. The sound is reminiscent of a bat hitting a ball and sort of feels like it too. In terms of the feel that is relays to the player. This works really well in theory but it just does not make sense to me that it sounds like I just knocked one out of the park when, on the game, I just whiffed one for strike three. Now I know that there is nothing that Hyperkin can do about that issue, but it just sounds weird when you are playing.
Honestly, this is just a minor complaint and annoyance and something that I am really nitpicking on. The truth is that these things feel pretty good for what they are. The Hyperkin products give as good of a sense as any Wii sporting accessory on the market that I have gotten my hands on. If I have any concerns with the product(s) it is the longevity and durability of the bases and the price point. The base is a simple, open ended plastic sleeve that the Wiimote slides tightly into. My fear is that over time, the firmness of the base, which is what holds the Wiimote in place, will start to give and the base will become less functional. I don't know if this will become and issue or not and am just making a generalization about the physical “feel” of the product. For all that I know, these things will last years without ever causing an issue, but it doesn’t “feel” like that will be the case. Only time will tell on that issue.
The only thing that concerns me about the Hyperkin products is the price point; the price point of these accessories is a little high compared to most of the competitors’ offerings. Most products in this line of accessories cost between $10-$15 and the Sound Plus line retails for $25. It is very hard to justify the purchase of a product that is nearly double that of many of its competitors even though it does do its job adequately. The additional features and quality of these products is nice, but just not "twice the price of admission" nice. Dropping the price $5 would work wonders in my consideration of the product, or perhaps offering the attachments in packages without the base(s) since they are all interchangeable.
Hyperkin Sound Plus products are available for the Nintendo Wii in the following packages: Nintendo Wii Baseball Kit (includes one base and bat attachment), Nintendo Wii Golf Kit (includes 2 bases and 2 club attachments), and the Nintendo Wii Tennis Kit (includes 2 bases and 2 racket attachments. All three Kits are available in one of three colors: white, blue, or pink and retail for $24.99. Product samples of the Nintendo Wii Sport Baseball and Wii Sport Golf Kits were provided by Hyperkin for our review.
C+ | If you like the feel of the attachable Wii accessories for games like Tiger Woods 2010 and Wii Sports, then the Hyperkin assortment of Sound Plus accessories are about as good as any that are out there. The overall feel of the products is pretty good and they do add a sense of realism to the motions used in the games where they can be used. If this is your sort of thing, Hyperkin’s offerings are as good as any of the products available just quite a bit more expensive (proportionately). The price point is the only thing keeping me from recommending them and rating them higher. |
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