Wario Ware: Smooth Moves (Wii, 2007)

Wario Ware: Smooth Moves takes the versatility of the Wii Remote and presents you with a countless number of 'microgames'. They're called microgames because at the most they last about 5 seconds each. If you play this game alone, after a few hours of unlocking everything you're likely to discover this game was NOT made for one player. The true nature of the game is in the multiplayer modes, which only take about 2 hours to unlock. Basically, the multiplayer games allow up to 5 people in most games and up to 12 in one game to play. You only use one Wii Remote which is very nice as a cost saver, and you each take turns playing a microgame and then passing it to the next player. The microgames are fun, hilarious, and downright weird at first and you're likely not to pass any or hardly any of them with your time constraints, but after an hour or so, a total novice can actually beat someone who's played for weeks, believe me it's happened personally. The game, competition wise, comes down to luck, sometimes you get the really ridiculous games and sometimes the really easy ones. In any case, the multiplayer mode is where the game really shines and makes it well worth a purchase, and multiplayer is only enhanced when you continuously unlock more microgames in single player mode. The only true flaws with the game, taking aside from the fact that it was designed to be a multiplayer party title, is that during multiplayer gaming the same few microgames seem to appear several times while most games don't seem to appear at all. So it may get boring within a short period of time which is really a major problem considering it's a party game. All in all, the unique ways the wii remote is utilized during the hundreds of microgames, as well as the comical and weird objectives you are presented with (such as shoving a finger into a nostril without hitting the nose or such as keeping a panda balanced on a huge ball without falling over) are insanely fun even if the fun may be short lived. One main rule applies to this game in terms of fun: the more the merrier, especially if few of you know how to play the game at all.

I paid $50 for this game and upon first playing it, was satisfied with the purchase. It is a pretty fun game to start out, really crazy, off the wall, and fast paced which I love. The single player mode was also very enjoyable; my favorite part was probably the comedic voice overs explaining the different forms. My girlfriend and I played through the single player mode in order to unlock everything in about an hour and were left thinking, "This is it?" After you beat it, there really isn't much else to do on your own other than try to beat your personal bests, which gets old after a while. Multiplayer is pretty fun if you have someone that knows the game and has experience with the minigames and the forms, but I've found that most new comers will be left in the dust and get frustrated. I also LOVE the dart game.

One of the main problems I have found with the game is that some of the forms were ridiculously unresponsive, such as (off the top of my head) reaching out to grabbing the falling woman on the roof, putting the finger in the nose/ring on the finger, and the magnifying glass, just to name a few. Basically, if you have to move the remote towards the screen, it seldom reads what you are doing. This is especially annoying if you are playing the multiplayer mode, since if it doesn't read the motion, you lose. It gets very frustrating and I have found that it will make people that don't have experience with the game want to play something else.

Another problem I find is that the game is touted as a "party game," but I have come to find that most people don't reall enjoy it that much at a party. Three parties out of four that I had, when given the choice between Wario Ware and Guitar Hero on PS2, my party guests choose GH2 after getting frustrated and bored with Wario Ware. Maybe this says something about my guests rather than the game, but even my family didn't see the draw of the game when I introduced it to them. The problem lies in that forms are far beyond a lot of people, and the only way to learn all of the forms is to play the single player mode, which takes a lot of time, and not everyone at the party is going to want to do it. If you opt out of introducing the forms and let a complete rookie dive right into the game, they are given less than 10 seconds per minigame to A) determine the form and B) determine the action to be used C) perform the correct action. I find that most people don't and/or won't take the time to figure it out and would rather play something different.

After playing this game, I was left with the feeling of "This is it?" This is not only because of the extremely short single player mode, but also the "minigames" are only 10 seconds each and very basic. However, my neice and nephew (4 and 2) LOVE the game. They are able to do most of the actions, either by luck or because my neice learned the motions and showed my nephew how to do it. Either way, its great for kids. As for adults in a party setting, if you're not playing darts, I'd suggest sticking to Wii Sports or Wii Play; much more engaging and easier to pick up and play.

Upon reviewing Wii games for kids I settled on Excite Truck which had consistently high marks from both pro and user reviews. I found it on Ebay and purchased it in a bundle of 4 other games for a very reasonable price (less than I could have paid for just the Excite Truck Wii Game). It was a surprise for my 3 1/2 yr old grandson. He received it today and has had so much fun playing it. He had previously played Mario Carts so it took a little adjusting to get used to the position of the Wii Controller (face up instead of facing and can't use steering wheel) but he adapted quickly and was making jumps and drifts and saying "this is so much fun". The hugs and giggles were worth it all.

I have loved all the other Wario Ware games in the past, so I knew that I wanted to add this to my collection. If you have not played any other Wario Ware title before, then know that this game is for ADHD people. It is fats moving, and forcus is not on story or graphics but only on the simple game play. Kids and adults of all ages will find it fun or hate it. There is no middle ground on this one...I personally love it!!

Only 4 person multi-player that only uses a single baton. Awkward fun for everyone. 200 micro-games (most lasting 3-20 seconds) provide stark variety. A non-sequitur plot line briefly introduces a series of characters that are uniquely odd and lovable yet are of no consequence. Were it not for the requirement to first beat the game, in order to get to multi-player mode it would go on my list of ultimate party games.