"Don’t be fooled – this game IS multiplayer…"

Short attention spans, rejoice! Wario Ware has returned with another zany collection of mini-game mayhem for the Wii. This time, Nintendo is bringing its spastic, impulsive game play to the same system that has ruined dozens of television sets, caused scores of injuries, and even helped a few people lose weight. Is this a winning combination? I say, as long as lacerations or repair bills aren't involved, yes. (Besides, we know it's not the console itself causing all of the trouble, but rather the sub-par IQs that don't grasp the complicated workings of a wrist strap, or the concept of having enough room to move around in.)

Brief commands guiding you through a random assortment of tasks is the premise of every Wario Ware title, involving various forms of eye-hand coordination. Now, it's a matter of adding body movements to the eye-hand combination in order to ensure success. This might sound nightmarish to the n00bs who complain because they couldn't embrace Red Steel's control system, but the mechanics in Smooth Moves are actually quite easy to interpret. You may need to play a mini-game once or twice before you really understand what's going on, but considering the plethora of challenges involved, the task isn't nearly as daunting or repetitive as it sounds.

I've always known that one of the prequels to Smooth Moves, Wario Ware: Twisted (for the Nintendo SP), was a vital stepping stone in the current trend of movement-based video game playing. The cartridge for Twisted was larger than any other SP game, due to a small, embedded gyroscope that detected tilt. Therefore, directional input was based on the entire handheld being rocked back and forth, leaving no use for the d-pad. Anyone who played this amazing game knew there was still plenty in store; not just for the Wario Ware series, but for new and inventive ways of interacting with our entertainment.

Cue Smooth Moves for the Nintendo Wii, which features the wiimote controller being utilized in a vast array of creative and simultaneously hilarious ways. The system introduces a new complexity of controls, tapping into the very ‘extra-dimensional' concept Nintendo had in mind when it created the console. All axis (x, y and z) are considered during play, meaning games involve not only moving the wiimote in your standard directions – up, down, left and right – but also towards and away from the TV, including various degrees of tilt.

Charming name aside, there are a few areas where Smooth Moves was a bit ‘rougher' than I had anticipated in the control department. There are many different ‘stances', or ways to hold the wiimote, that you use to play through the hundreds of challenges. One stance has you holding the wiimote like a dumbbell, another has you hoisting it above your head (a.k.a. the ‘mohawk'), another asks you to hold it by your hip, like a sheathed sword, and so forth. Short tutorials are given once for each stance via comically bland voice instructions, offering subtle humor in their context.

While the stances are easy enough to understand, they are sometimes not so easy to utilize, or they just don't seem pertinent to the task at hand. For example, one game involves the simple job of moving garbage from the right hand side of the screen, to the left. You're asked to use the ‘handlebar' stance for this, meaning holding the wiimote horizontally, grasping both ends, top-side towards you, akin to the handlebars of a bike. How do you move the trash? By rolling the ‘handlebar' forward; no right or left motion involved at all. (?) A few other stances, such as the ‘waiter', which involves holding the wiimote on an open, upturned palm as steadily as possible, seem to have minor troubles in detection capability. I noticed (at least with my gaming setup) that the waiter stance actually had to be tilted upright, about 5 to 10 degrees above level, for my actions to register. If I kept the wiimote flat, or let the front end dip at all, the onscreen actions would cease, as if communication with the controller had been lost entirely.

While these slight flaws are far and few between, they don't hinder one's capability to enjoy playing the game. Periodic imperfections, however, will have you racing to the practice mode, eager to figure out why your movements aren't being interpreted correctly.

It should be pointed out that some of the mini-games requiring large amounts of movement have, for lack of a better word, “cheats” available. When asked to hold the controller to your hip and gyrate as if you were using a hula hoop, you can easily remain seated and move the controller horizontally in a circular direction. This will trick the sensors into thinking you're actually completing the task as requested. I think it's probably fair, when playing Smooth Moves competitively with others, to agree upon whether or not these “cheats” will be allowed. For all intensive purposes, a multiplayer game where everyone does exactly what is asked of you, without cheating, is without a doubt a more fun (and, in this case, slightly embarrassing) experience. Letting Grandma bust a hip doing squats, while you sip your beer and shoot the wiimote into the air a couple of times, is a pretty unfair example of brain over brawn.

Expecting a solid, intriguing plot in a title based on mini-games is about as absurd as expecting a decent storyline in a fighting series. Your focus should be on enjoying the wide assortment of challenges, just as it should be learning fighting moves and game mechanics. “I don't understand how Mona and Wario know each other! It's never explained where Jimmy learned to dance!” Please . . . go read a book.

One slightly awkward thing about Smooth Moves is that the multiplayer options are not available when you first begin playing the game. I can only assume the reasoning for this is so the control stances can be introduced to a single player, one mini-game at a time. Still, having the option to include multiple players from the start just seems like something that should be standard for any multiplayer game on the market today.

So, the breakdown:
Graphics: Not that much of an upgrade from anything you've seen in a Wario Ware title before, and just like plot, nothing you should be expecting to make this game any better.
Controls: Touchy and questionable in some spots, but smooth and intuitive in all the others.
Sound: The same kinds of quirky tunes and effects all previous iterations of the series have had. The addition of the wiimote speaker does add a nice sense of depth.
Replay Value: High – as with any prior Wario Ware title, revisiting each challenge always involves some memory recall, which ups the competitive factor even more.

Out of a perfect 10, I have one point docked for the occasionally wonky controls, and another point docked for the lack of multiplayer options being available from the start. It's the massive roster of challenges and various methods of completing them that make this game shine, and will keep you and your friends coming back for more.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/23/07