WarioWare: Smooth Moves (Hands-On) (Wii) Preview

By Adam Riley 21.09.2006

The WarioWare series started off as a strange experimental twist on the puzzle genre, with Nintendo taking Mario's alter-ego, dragging him from platform confines and placing him smack-bang in the middle of a crazy, hectic and downright title that was jam-packed with 'micro' games. Now, after four previous outings, the chubby rascal is back for another round, on yet another new system. But has the charm begun to fade with WarioWare: Smooth Moves?

Personally I have been a fan of the Made in Wario / Wario Ware titles ever since the first slice of wacky pie landed on the GBA back in 2003. Okay, I was disappointed that Wario Land 4 never received a direct follow-up, but the unusual style found in Wario Ware was enough to at least capture my attention. Even if the rest of Europe basically ignored the first edition...Now, though, after the budget-priced GameCube version caused a stir in the charts and WarioWare: Touched launched alongside the DS here in Europe and looked at with great revere, more and more people are paying attention to the portly thorn-in-Mario's-side.

Screenshot for WarioWare: Smooth Moves (Hands-On) on Wii

And so they should be, especially considering how addictive the games really are. These are not half-baked, idiotic mini-games bundled together to make cheap money (despite what Wario himself would have you believe!), but truly innovative chunks of gaming goodness that make wonderful use of the system and, particularly in this case, the unique control mechanic. In fact, it is quite surprising that Nintendo is not putting this out on the very first day here in Europe, as it would be a spectacularly good way of teaching people how to use the control setup. But hey, maybe the train of thought is that Wii Sports and Wii Play will be the ones to do just that.

Screenshot for WarioWare: Smooth Moves (Hands-On) on Wii

Anyway, watching people play this from a distance was hilarious enough, probably to the point of leaving myself with a feeling of dread and cringing embarrassment. Did I REALLY want to look like a fool? A few drinks later and all those fears were muted...time to get my crazy on!

Rather than starting on the main screen, just like with the demo of WarioWare: Touched! that was aired last year for the DS you were thrown straight into a ream of micro-games running in a row until you reach a Boss Stage (Chauffeur each time purely for the purposes of demonstration and not spoiling the surprise for the final game). The first one I that was offered up was 'Waiter'...Yes, thankfully before each micro-game kicks in there is a brief name allocated to it. These give you an idea of how to hold the controller in each instance; and if that is not sufficient, there is also a small image of which position is necessary.

Screenshot for WarioWare: Smooth Moves (Hands-On) on Wii

So, the waiter one involved holding the Wii controller flat on the palm of my hand, with the task involved being to balance a broom stick on your hand as if you were actually doing so in real-time. It certainly proves to be trickier than you would imagine as the controls are more sensitive than you will be used to. Then there is one where you hold it like a pen and have to scribble on the screen, with whatever you write being given an 'A+' rating...Others include putting the controller against your waist and doing the hula, grasping it like an umbrella handle and shaking it up and down rapidly to get rid of flies on a banana, and putting your finger over the sensor on the tip, shaking it like a bottle of champagne and removing your finger to spray drink on the screen.

Screenshot for WarioWare: Smooth Moves (Hands-On) on Wii

Final Thoughts

Can you picture how simple it sounds, but so much fun? I certainly hope so! Because after flying through a batch that also includes driving a car around a course full of cows and running monkeys, putting Granny's teeth back in, pushing a little child too hard and sending him flying, and running quickly to the finish line, WarioWare: Smooth Moves has become one of my must-have purchases for the Wii's launch window.

Developer

Intelligent Systems

Publisher

Nintendo

Genre

Party

Players

12

C3 Score

Rated $score out of 10  7/10

Reader Score

Rated $score out of 10  7/10 (50 Votes)

European release date Out now   North America release date Out now   Japan release date Out now   Australian release date Out now   

Comments

Great stuff! Looking to be a really fun lil game to get going on the Wii :D

Cubed3 Admin/Founder & Designer

"A few drinks later and all those fears were totally muted," now that's what I call class Raz. lol. So smooth Move is actually SO good you gave it an anticipation rating of 5/5? Woah, then it looks as if I'm going to have to add yet another Wii launch title that I initially overlooked to my launch list. :Smilie

I'm really looking forward to this one :Smilie

Co-founder of the PDSLB - Pink DS Lite Buddies Fraz: Cheerios are made from fairy orgasms.

A week into the Wii's launch we will have 4 games that will use the Wii remote in nearly every way.

Monkey Ball, Wii Play, Wii Sports and Wario Ware might just get them all i am multiplayer slut what can i say i love a bit of craze


Mike Gee of iZINE said, "...The Verve, as he [Richard Ashcroft] promised, had become the greatest band in the world. Most of the critics agreed with him. Most paid due homage. The Verve were no longer the question mark or the clich�. They were the statement and the definition."

5/5 indeed - WarioWare is class! Depending on how much content is actually included, hopefully this will be slightly cheaper than other Wii games.

Next up...ExciteTruck :Smilie

Adam Riley [ Director :: Cubed3 ]

UNITE714: Weekly Prayers | Bible Verses

I can't help but be envious of you jesusraz you get to play the Wii i get to talk about the US Constitution, Kreb's Cycle, and the Versailles Settlement....bore.


Mike Gee of iZINE said, "...The Verve, as he [Richard Ashcroft] promised, had become the greatest band in the world. Most of the critics agreed with him. Most paid due homage. The Verve were no longer the question mark or the clich�. They were the statement and the definition."

This was getting bought from watching videos only, before I read this, so this only enforces my purchasing even more. It looks like such a great laugh, could it even end up as the best Wario Ware yet? Twisted will take some beating...

Great stuff Adam!

I loved the DS one, this will be great too I reckon, so long they have enough mini-games.

The potential is amazing and for a home console version it will HAVE to have LOTS of micro/mini-games to justify its price-tag.

Adam Riley [ Director :: Cubed3 ]

UNITE714: Weekly Prayers | Bible Verses

Can't recall how many hours we lost on Wario Ware sessions each one memorable

Great Stuff Adam keep it up


Mike Gee of iZINE said, "...The Verve, as he [Richard Ashcroft] promised, had become the greatest band in the world. Most of the critics agreed with him. Most paid due homage. The Verve were no longer the question mark or the clich�. They were the statement and the definition."

I'm still hoping WarioWare Twisted finally makes it to Europe...Think I'm going to have to break and just import it cheap, though.

Adam Riley [ Director :: Cubed3 ]

UNITE714: Weekly Prayers | Bible Verses

I'll stick with Rayman Raving Rabbids for my mini-games. I don't like these 5 second ones...

Rayman is pretty damn cool, I have to admit...You can really tell that Michel Ancel has taken some inspiration from Nintendo's wacky WW team!

Adam Riley [ Director :: Cubed3 ]

UNITE714: Weekly Prayers | Bible Verses

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