Stuff for Dads

Thursday, 19 April 2007

WarioWare: Smooth Moves (Wii)

Rated: 7+

Gameplay: Hold the wiimote in every way conceivable in order to complete scores of five-second microgames. Shake a bottle of champagne and spray it, pump up a balloon, boogie, hand out leaflets, drink a glass of water - you name it. Get it wrong and you lose a life, get it right and things speed up and get harder. Half the fun is working out what you've got to do, the other half is flailing about like a loon.

There are also different modes to unlock and a few longer games.

Save System: Auto-save every time you finish a level or get a high-score.

Comments: This game uses the wiimote's abilities more imaginatively and competently than all the launch titles put together. It's great fun and a huge advert for the Wii... but you'll see nearly all of it in an evening.

There's nothing to stop you cheating and holding the wiimote normally rather than touching it to your forehead like an elephant's trunk or whatever you're supposed to be doing but where's the fun in that?

The longer games are OK but only a minor distraction. The most notable is Can Shooter. It's brilliant but limited and makes you wonder once again why there isn't a proper lightgun game for Wii yet.

Bizarrely, the multiplayer is only unlocked once the single player mode is complete. Also, there's no way to use multiple controllers. A single wiimote has to be passed quickly between players. Since some of the players are likely to be either young or drunk, this is asking for trouble.

Conclusion: Superb while it lasts.

Length: Very short.

Graphics: Vibrant and purposefully simple.

Rating: 4/5

Labels: computer game review, wii