The Wii has introduced us to a number of basic games which serve on the surface only as tutorials of how to use the controls, and Wii Music appears to be another of those - but will it stand alone as a hot selling game now that everybody knows how to use the controllers?

With previous titles such as Wii Sports and Wii Play being undeniably well received by an audience of all ages groups, Nintendo could be forgiven for assuming that there is still a desire out there for similar titles with little more than novelty value to them. Wii Music is such a title, as you do not actually play any music so to speak and instead simply mimic the way you would play certain instruments, and it can not really be considered a game either.

However that does not mean that there is absolutely no point to the presence of Wii Music, because it does actually have some good points to it. The most notable feature of the ‘game’ is the huge variety of instruments available to you, all of which you operate more or less exactly as you would the real thing with various alternating methods of using the Wii Remote, both with and without the Nunchuk depending on the instrument you choose to play.

The range of instruments includes the most obvious ones that you would expect to see such as guitar, drums and piano - but it also features a whole host of more unusual instruments which actually prove to be a lot of fun at least for a short period of time, such as a harp, hand bells and oboe. The list goes on and on, so you will just have to get your hands on Wii Music for yourself to see the whole list of instruments available to play.

The effectiveness of the motion sensitive controls boasted by the Wii varies depending on the instrument you happen to be playing. Instruments like the guitar and violin prove to be pretty easy to play, and hitting different notes is a breeze. Things become a little more testing when you select instruments which involve a bit more movement and precision, though, such as maracas, drums and pom poms - yes, pom poms. To be clear on that comment before we go on, you are able to be a cheer leader in Wii Music - true story. Wind instruments force you to remove the Wii Nunchuk from your remote, and to hold your remote vertically to play as if you are blowing into the top which is a nice touch.

Once you have the basic controls mastered you are set free to play some music! The best introduction to the game really is to have a jamming session with the tutes. The tutes are the in-game band, kind of, made up of computer controlled musicians who will follow your lead on various instruments. Once you hit a good rhythm they will begin to join in one by one starting with percussion, then bass and so on - and before you know it you are making some real noise, and sometimes it is quite literally just noise but with any luck you will be a natural and will make sweet music from the outset.

There are a few interesting modes within Wii Music which give things a bit of variety, and each can be played by up to four players which give the game an extra bit of fun as you are competing against your friends, or playing along with them depending on the mode you have chosen. Mii Maestro places you in the shoes of an orchestra conductor and it is your job to keep the musicians playing together by swinging your remote up and down in perfect time. It is not very challenging, but is fun none the less.

Another mode is Hand bell Harmony in which you, and each of your companions get allocated a set of colored hand bells with the color being unique to you. One hand bell is tagged to your remote and the other your Nunchuk, and you must play them in time with the on-screen notes which scroll in as they do in standard music rhythm games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band.

The final game mode is Pitch Perfect which challenges your ability to differentiate different notes which will be sung by a group of Miis. Many of them will sing different notes, but in each group two Miis will sing the same note - you must identify these two before dropping them onto two podiums. You will earn points based on how quickly you grab the correct pair.

That is essentially everything there is to Wii Music, believe it or not, and it is unfortunate if you are sitting there saying to yourself ‘yes, I quite believe it’. For kids, Wii Music can be considered a fun title especially if they happen to have an interest in playing instruments already and it may even help develop their technique a little. For adults, Wii Music offers you a few hours of fun before putting it back in it’s box, and leaving it there to collect dust for months on end until you come to gather items for a garage sale years later, stumble across it again and say, ‘oh, I forgot I had that’.

Wii Music is not worth the money you will have to pay for it. There is not enough here for it to even be considered a game, so it certainly is not one for gamers.

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