SOUND MACHINE: If Guitar Hero and Rock Band are a bit too hard core for your tastes, or if you'd rather be playing the piano, violin or xylophone or conducting an entire orchestra than just wailing on a guitar and drums, Wii Music should be right up your alley. But the game is missing some major features that would have made it an instant classic.

PICK UP AND PLAY: Whereas Guitar Hero and Rock Band rely on pressing buttons with perfect, split-second timing to create beautiful music, Wii Music is built on rhythm. You create tunes by swinging the Wii remote and nunchaku attachment in time with the onscreen guide. It's a much simpler setup, but it does require some concentration. The drawback to the control system is that you have much less control over what notes you play. You control when you play, but have little control over what you play.

MULTIPLAYER: Wii Music should be an awesome party game, as you can have groups of friends jamming together on the same TV to create great ensemble pieces. But you can't play online against or with other players, which is a huge flaw. You can send your recordings to other players, but that's a weak substitute. Also, the Mii Maestro mode, in which you wave your Wii controller like a conductor's baton to lead an orchestra, is great in theory, but only five short songs are available. This segment alone could have been a great stand-alone game, and I wonder if Nintendo plans to release additional songs as separate downloads at some point. If not, this segment is a gigantic missed opportunity.

BOTTOM LINE: Wii Music feels like a superb concept that just didn't get the level of fine tuning needed to be a great game. As it is, it's fun and should be a hit at parties. But it could have been a lot more.

Victor Godinez

Wii Music

B

For Nintendo Wii. Rated for all ages. $49.