When the WiiMotion Plus accessory was released for the Wii a little more than a year ago, a lot of us gamers hoped we’d finally see some true 1:1 swordplay. “Swords,” which is only a handful of games to use the accessory, slices those hopes faster than a sushi chief during a lunchtime rush.

The game offers both single player and mutiplayer modes. In single player, you’re brought under the wing of a sensei who dishes out your next opponent and serves up minigames between matches. The camera sets up right behind the shoulders, similar to “PunchOut,” and the rest of the game would be familiar to anyone who’s played sword fighting in “Wii Sports Resort.” Sadly, the results are less than inspired to say the least.

Players choose a “magical” sword (for the most part, magical only in that it can glow pretty colors on the selection screen) and must strike quickly after finding an opening in the opponents stance. Defending is handled by holding the B button on the remote, while attacking is all done through physical action.

The result is chaotic at best. Blocks have to be exactly correct in order to allow a counter attack so, most of the time, players are just stumbling back after failed blows. The computer-controlled players are laughably automatic. Interrupt their attack and they’ll try the same angle again and again. Each “magical” sword has a charging powerup that you’ll probably never see as it’s nearly impossible to charge before the computer attempts another attack.

Multiplayer is just like you would imagine: two people blocking and slashing wildly until someone figures out that playing with an actual stick would be more entertaining.

“Swords” has a simple name and a simple concept. And although it would have been simple to do this game right (I’d start with adding in some gameplay that isn’t all ripped right out of “Wii Sports Resort”), spending any time on this game is like falling on a dull blade.

Platform: Wii

Online: www.majescoentertainment.com

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