PDC World Championship Darts 2009 (Nintendo Wii)

Animations

There’s a lot of showboating involved with the walk on, it feels more like Smackdown Vs. Raw in that case and amused me. I found nothing wrong with the animations in general, they were solid and the dart-throwing animation was decent enough. It was good fun to watch the player walk on and see the camera panning the crowd, the player and catch a glimpse of the WWE style showboating animations.

AI

The CPU does a good job at providing a decent challenging opponent and I don’t have any issues with it.

Physics

Rebellion have done a good job at translating Wii-mote motion with the actual physics of darts, I can’t wait to try Wii-motion plus with this game or a sequel.

Sound

The sound design is good, decent atmospheric sounds that draw you into the world of darts pretty well. I have no complaints here either.

Music

The music in the game has the right kind of darts feel to it, it plays when you get your walk on and it’s there to augment the game not overshadow it.

Voice

Oh boy, there’s an amusing glitch that I stumbled upon, not sure what causes it but the Alvin the Chipmunk Commentator was utterly awesome when it happened. I wasn’t able to replicate it on the same day but if you get it, try throwing a dart with a straight face. When it works, the two commentators from the World of Darts: Sid Waddell and Russ Bray do a fantastic job. The commentary is sharp, doesn’t repeat and is satisfying to listen to.

Multiplayer

There are party games in PDC 2009, which is great to see. 301, 501, Around the Clock, which needed a better explanation for a non-darts player are just a few of the things on offer here. You can also play with one Wii-mote if you don’t have more than one, or your friends forgot theirs.

One in my eye!

So PDC 2009 is better than PDC 2008, by a long shot. They dumped the Nunchuck and concentrated on the Wii-mote. They provided a better game experience all around. It has some glitches and overall visual problems now and then, however, if you want a good starter darts game, or a game for a darts enthusiast on the Wii, look no further.