"A very Smooth game for a very Smooth system"

Long before I got a Wii I visited a friend who had one. We played a few games while I was there, including WarioWare: Smooth Moves. I was considering getting a Wii at the time, but wasn't yet sure. Once I played this game (as well as a few Virtual Console games) however, I was sold on the new system.

Please note: This game is party/comedy based. Each rating I give it must be filtered through this knowledge. So while the game may possess features that would be considered horrible in other games on the Wii (such as frequent cartoony graphics), they work to great effect on this game.

Plot (5/10): There are various small plots that lead into each stage of the game. This is a party game, first and foremost, so the plots are not that important. They're really just there for entertainment purposes. In fact, this game would not suffer a bit if the plots were absolute garbage. Despite this fact, a bit of effort (and comedy) was put into each little story, which adds just a little extra flavor.

Music/Sounds (9/10): The music and sound is very appropriate throughout the game. I knock it down a point for the annoying song played during Dribble & Spitz's level, though to be fair it's not a horrible song, just annoying. Even that little bit isn't bad once you reach the high speed games.

Graphics (10/10): Before explaining why I gave graphics a ten, let me remind you that this game is party/comedy based. Therefore, the wild, varied, and sometimes "sub-par" graphics make the game more enjoyable, rather than less.

Within a single level, the graphics can vary to an enormous degree. One second you'll be playing a game where you must throw a well-designed dart, and the next thing you know you'll be mimicking a cartoony cowboy's motions. The randomness and, at some points, childishness of the graphics actually work to great effect in this game. It's something you have to see to believe.

Controls (9/10): The controls are absolutely amazing. There are about twenty interesting poses you'll use in varying amounts, ranging from "The Remote Control" to "The Elephant" to even "The Samurai". The variation goes even further from there, as different microgames will require different actions within those poses. Using "The Elephant" as an example, one game may require you to nod if the answer to a question is "yes", and another will require you to move your head (and the remote) around as you try to drop an apple in a basket. Some of the controls are difficult to perform or even understand at first, but it's all fun in the end.

Gameplay (10/10): In single player, the "goal" (more or less) is to unlock microgames by playing them in stages, and unlock stages by beating other stages. A stage is composed of microgames thrown at you in random order, with the speed at which the game must be played increasing at regular intervals. In no case will a game last beyond seven seconds, and your time inbetween games is typically limited to a few seconds as well. After a set number of games you will be met with a boss game, which lasts longer and must be completed beat the stage and unlock more stages.

Beating a stage in this manner is merely scraping the surface of the barrel, however, as you then have the option of replaying the same stage. This time it's a test of endurance to rack up a high score. Beating the boss stage is no longer required, however you will regain a life (if lost one of your original four) by beating it. Each time you beat a boss, you will receive a short rest, followed by a "Level Up", which increases the difficulty of the games you are playing by one level. Games have three difficulty levels. So what happens when you reach level three, and still manage to beat the boss? When that happens, you enter what I like to call "super fast mode", in which the games remain at level three, but increase in speed every game or two, reaching insane levels as more games pass. And yes, you must still face the boss games at their regular intervals. At those high speeds. With an extra life at stake.

Single player is enjoyably hectic.

Then, there's multiplayer. Several modes exist for multiplayer madness, including Survival (last one alive wins), Bomb (Hot Potato with a twist), and Lifeline (several games determine who has what number of ropes, and then whoever doesn't have all of their ropes cut wins). Most modes allow for up to four or five players, however for really big parties Survival lets you have twelve, which can make for a whole lot of fun for a whole lot of people, in a whole little time.

Replay Value (10/10): The only thing you can do when replaying this game is to increase the high scores on each stage, or play more multiplayer with your friends. Despite this fact, the game is horribly addicting, and whether you fail at beating your best score on Kat and Ana's level or perhaps set an all-time record for Wario's, you'll have an absolute blast. This game doesn't get old.

Overall (10/10): The overall score was obtained by taking a straight average of the individual scores, except for Plot, which wasn't counted since it's meaningless in regard to the enjoyment of this game. If you like fast-paced mania with sub-par (yet eerily more pleasing) graphics, then you want this game.

Rent or Buy: This is a game worth owning, however you may want to rent it first. You can unlock all of the stages in a couple of hours, however I doubt you'll want to stop playing this even after playing each stage dozens of times. And then there's the glorious multiplayer...

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/16/07