Deca Sports 2 from Hudson is the sequel to the quirky sports mini-game compilation for the Wii that sold over 2 million copies in its first release. As a Wii Sports competitor, the game offers some interestingly less common sports to play and compete in. Sports like synchronized swimming, moguls, dodge ball, kendo, ice hockey, speed skating, darts, and tennis. At E3, we took a look at some of the family-friendly mini-games in Deca Sports 2.

The first sports game I tried was Kendo which didn't require the use of the Nunchuk. The control and gameplay seemed very straight forward. Taking the Wii Remote with both hands as if holding a shinai or a wooden kendo sword, you jab the Wii Remote forward twice to move your character forward or backwards. Swiping it forward or sideways will cause you to attack with the sword, and holding the Wii Remote up and tilted backwards while pressing B will enable a block that defends from any attack angle.

There are three ways to attack, one to the head, one to the hands, and one to the stomach. You can use the D-pad to move your character left or right to strike. Like any fighting game, there are a set number of rounds to beat in order to win the match. I played against the AI character, and quickly won by striking downwards with the Wii Remote, hitting it square on the head each time. Once your sword connects with your opponent, the round ends immediately, and the game replays the sequence with the option to skip.Another one of the games we got to play was synchronized swimming, a rhythm-based mini-game where movement is timed to the music. Again this one didn't require the nunchuck, but was more creative and complex in the Wii Remote movement and gameplay. Similar to Ouendan (or Elite Beat Agents) on the DS, there are rings around the trigger point as visual cues for timing, and as the circles shrink inwards towards the middle, you slash down on the Wii Remote to hit the trigger point on cue. Additional movements include swiping the Wii Remote left or right, and swinging the Wii Remote in a circular motion as fast as you can in a limited time. An additional upwards thrust of the Wii Remote is called for in a couple occasions for the swimmers to pop up out of the water.

Deca Sports 2 will include 10 new sports and have some online components to play against family and friends. The game is slated for release in Fall 2009.