Is Instant Sports Paradise the beach trip of your dreams?

We love our AAA games, especially when we’ve got a phenomenal lineup coming at the end of the year, but we always need to break away. Normal people would go on a trip to the beach, hang out with friends, watch a movie, etc. Since you’re reading this review, you’re looking to relax in even more games, and we applaud your great decision. What better way to relax than to go to an Instant Sports Paradise, a remote island sports title for you and your friends to explore and compete in a variety of mini-games to pass the time. Is Instant Sports Paradise the trip you’ve been looking for?

The concept is simple, you’re on a remote island where you have no responsibilities other than to explore and have fun. The island you’re on is filled with numerous activities including passive activities such as fishing, bug catching, and searching for treasure with a trusty metal detector. If you’re looking for more of a challenge you can partake in up to 12 mini-games you can enjoy by yourself or with friends. The games range from your staple activities mini-golf and archery, to some surprisingly fun additions such as flying a seaplane and wing suit gliding, to obscure activities such as cooking in a wok and scooping ice cream. While there are quite a few of these games to choose from, only a few of them really stand out. Most games are fun to play and offer three levels of difficulty to keep the games challenging as you hone your skills; and since parts of the island unlock as you progress through the difficulties, you’ll want to master each game.

My largest complaint regarding the games are the controls which often feel askew. This is most prevalent in games where your positioning is vital to success such as gliding, wakeboarding, and bowling. Even though you can have everything lined up perfectly, you’ll still end up missing. Now I thought this could be attributed to difficulty however this just wasn’t the case. Not only does it make it a chore to actually complete the mini-games, it made me lose interest quicker than I hoped.

Instant Sports Paradise attempts to capture the look and feel of a resort island and, but it’s technical issues hold the game back. The island looks bright and colorful with an abundance of characters present which works, but that’s about the best. Performance issues when traversing, clipping through objects and characters, and visuals that look like they came from the Wii really hold this game back. I don’t like to hold back titles when it comes to visuals if the gameplay is solid, however with the assortment of issues present it just stings even more.

Party games are a challenge to create as it can be difficult to create an accessible experience that is both fun and easy for anyone to enjoy. While Instant Sports Paradise offers a myriad of fun activities, the problems can’t be ignored. For a game that you can pick-up and play with the family at holiday gatherings, Instant Sports Paradise will fit the bill. For the price though, the game really falls short of creating a lasting appeal.