Screenshots :.
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
Wii
Matt
30-03-2007
"Strange asian style chick art...what else can I say"
"It's more fun that we can convey in screenshots.."
It speaks somewhat of the rather desolate Wii launch line-up that a game such as Warioware: Smooth Movies was so much anticipated. Not that there’s anything wrong with the fat yellow-clad big nose you understand; it’s just that Warioware games have always been merely a collection of – admittedly amusing – mini games which are designed as a few minutes fun more than being an epic system selling title.
To be fair, Smooth Moves was always going to be a little bit different. Much in the way that Warioware: Touched! introduced the world to the capabilities of the Nintendo DS stylus, Smooth Moves gives the Wii-remote a thorough demonstration which goes a long way to confirming just how much scope future games have if they use it properly.
The story behind Smooth Moves is as lightweight and unnecessary as before, with Wario discovering a long-lost relic called the ‘Form Baton’ (basically the Wii-remote) and a whole host of mini stories sprouting up left, right and centre based around a familiar selection of supporting characters.
For those uninitiated in Warioware games of yore, let me explain the basic premise. The main screen in single player takes the form of a map of a town, upon which little cartoon heads appear. Clicking on each head will take you to a series of different mini games, usually increasing in difficulty as you progress through.
When I say mini games, I mean mini games. Each last about 10 seconds at maximum, asking the player to undertake one simple task during them. One moment you might be turning the Wii-remote like a key to open a door, the next you might be waving it around like a sword to deflect an enemy attack. A whole selection of random tasks fly at you, making complete use of the range of movement the controller offers. The main aim is to complete a set number (usually 15) of these mini games without failing and losing 4 lives before taking on a boss battle.
To aid the player and give him at least an idea of how he is going to need to be holding the Wii-remote for each game, a selection of bizarre instructional videos teach a variety of different positions. These range from the standard ‘remote’ mode to such contortions as the ‘handlebar’, which sees you holding either end of the remote like a steering wheel, the ‘elephant’ which has the player pointing the remote forward and holding it in front of their nose, or the ‘mohawk’, which sees you pointing the remote towards the screen and holding it on top of your head.
Whilst the majority of these are intuitive enough and allow you to get to grips with your tasks pretty well, some positions don’t work quite so well and leave you desperately waving the remote around in all directions in the hope that something you’re doing will correspond with the game on screen. The major offender with this is a position known as the ‘mortar and pestle’, which sees the player holding the remote with their right hand and gently resting it in the upturned palm of their left. The games that use the position all require some sort of grinding manoeuvre or joystick control, but only a few feel like they are relating to what you’re doing on the input side and often you’ll not really fathom what it is that you are supposed to be doing.
When you’ve done with the single player side of things, a multiplayer option opens up and sees you competing in a series of mini games whilst frantically chucking the Wii-remote to your mates. It makes for amusing party fun, although you’ll have to be careful not to leave the remote protruding from someone’s eye socket in the heat of the moment.
As with previous Warioware games, graphically the game is a mishmash of bright cartoon colour and is full of well-drawn characters that’ll have you grinning at the screen as you watch their escapades. Likewise, the sounds and music score which buzzes around the background is packed full of the madcap kinds of riffs and effects which you’d expect from Nintendo, from the weird hyper acid jazz to the funky disco tunes and Wario’s trademark cries and cackles.
Cackles that the player will mirror no doubt. With its madcap, Monty Python humour and frenetic nature, Smooth Moves packs in plenty of single and multiplayer fun. Occasional blips in control do spoil the party slightly and the game lacks a degree of longevity, but as something to dig out when around a group of chums Warioware once again comes up with the goods.
To be fair, Smooth Moves was always going to be a little bit different. Much in the way that Warioware: Touched! introduced the world to the capabilities of the Nintendo DS stylus, Smooth Moves gives the Wii-remote a thorough demonstration which goes a long way to confirming just how much scope future games have if they use it properly.
The story behind Smooth Moves is as lightweight and unnecessary as before, with Wario discovering a long-lost relic called the ‘Form Baton’ (basically the Wii-remote) and a whole host of mini stories sprouting up left, right and centre based around a familiar selection of supporting characters.
For those uninitiated in Warioware games of yore, let me explain the basic premise. The main screen in single player takes the form of a map of a town, upon which little cartoon heads appear. Clicking on each head will take you to a series of different mini games, usually increasing in difficulty as you progress through.
When I say mini games, I mean mini games. Each last about 10 seconds at maximum, asking the player to undertake one simple task during them. One moment you might be turning the Wii-remote like a key to open a door, the next you might be waving it around like a sword to deflect an enemy attack. A whole selection of random tasks fly at you, making complete use of the range of movement the controller offers. The main aim is to complete a set number (usually 15) of these mini games without failing and losing 4 lives before taking on a boss battle.
To aid the player and give him at least an idea of how he is going to need to be holding the Wii-remote for each game, a selection of bizarre instructional videos teach a variety of different positions. These range from the standard ‘remote’ mode to such contortions as the ‘handlebar’, which sees you holding either end of the remote like a steering wheel, the ‘elephant’ which has the player pointing the remote forward and holding it in front of their nose, or the ‘mohawk’, which sees you pointing the remote towards the screen and holding it on top of your head.
Whilst the majority of these are intuitive enough and allow you to get to grips with your tasks pretty well, some positions don’t work quite so well and leave you desperately waving the remote around in all directions in the hope that something you’re doing will correspond with the game on screen. The major offender with this is a position known as the ‘mortar and pestle’, which sees the player holding the remote with their right hand and gently resting it in the upturned palm of their left. The games that use the position all require some sort of grinding manoeuvre or joystick control, but only a few feel like they are relating to what you’re doing on the input side and often you’ll not really fathom what it is that you are supposed to be doing.
When you’ve done with the single player side of things, a multiplayer option opens up and sees you competing in a series of mini games whilst frantically chucking the Wii-remote to your mates. It makes for amusing party fun, although you’ll have to be careful not to leave the remote protruding from someone’s eye socket in the heat of the moment.
As with previous Warioware games, graphically the game is a mishmash of bright cartoon colour and is full of well-drawn characters that’ll have you grinning at the screen as you watch their escapades. Likewise, the sounds and music score which buzzes around the background is packed full of the madcap kinds of riffs and effects which you’d expect from Nintendo, from the weird hyper acid jazz to the funky disco tunes and Wario’s trademark cries and cackles.
Cackles that the player will mirror no doubt. With its madcap, Monty Python humour and frenetic nature, Smooth Moves packs in plenty of single and multiplayer fun. Occasional blips in control do spoil the party slightly and the game lacks a degree of longevity, but as something to dig out when around a group of chums Warioware once again comes up with the goods.
7/10
