'Journey of Dreams' is nightmare to play

— -- After a 12-year slumber, ethereal jester NiGHTS returns to the Nintendo Wii in NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams, a nightmare adventure doomed by frustrating controls. The last time this franchise made an appearance, Sega was still in the console business.

NiGHTS centers around a pair of 12-year-olds who suffer from recurring nightmares. The duo, Will and Helen, discover all their dreams take place in an alternate dreamworld called Nightopia. Teaming up with NiGHTS, the two work to save Nightopia from Wizeman, a powerful dreamworld entity.

Light music and softer visuals set a soothing, dreamy tone. As you enter various game levels, the colors grow more vibrant and the music picks up the pace, almost awakening you for the adventure ahead.

After your first flight, however, you'll wish you went back to sleep. Each level is essentially a series of linear races that must be finished before the clock runs out. You can use a power boost to pick up speed when you fly through a series of rings. Missions range from side-scrolling flights to third-person jaunts.

Sega presents multiple options to maneuver NiGHTS as he floats through the winding levels, all of which are awkward. Motion controls are absolutely horrible. NiGHTS uses a similar control mechanic as Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for the DS. You move your character by guiding an object -– in this case, the Mindsight –- that your character follows.

Motion controls aren't responsive. Actions as simple as a loop require you to slowly move the Wii remote in a circle, which isn't helpful when battling against a clock. You can add the nunchuk to control NiGHTS with a joystick, but it only helps slightly. I had to resort to using Wii's Classic Controller to make the experience more palatable.

NiGHTS boasts a solid mix of levels and objectives, yet none of them are challenging. Two-player mode is slightly more interesting. You can either race players online and offline, or take on a friend in an offline duel. There's also a Dream Mode, which allows you to create your own dream realm using items collected throughout the game. You can then share your world with other players online.