WarioWare: Smooth Moves (Wii) Second Opinion Review

Based on the excellent GBA, GameCube and DS titles of a similar name, the premise of this title is basically the same. Complete levels, beat 'bosses' and progress until you've unlocked everything there is to unlock. Then you can go back into the game and try and get high scores, beat the minigames that you enjoy the most over and over and then rinse and repeat. Chuck in some multiplayer fun and you have a fairly comprehensive game. Right? Wrong.

This would be one of the best games on the Wii and as perfect example of why the console is so wonderfully different were it not for one key issue. It lasts about an hour. We've had it for quite a while now and we've played it for the odd spare minute now and again, never really committing to completing it or indeed ever meaning to. Then all of a second we've completed it. How the hell? Yup, we finished the game in under an hour. The mistake Nintendo have made with this one is a similar mistake to the mistake they made with Wii Play. We could forgive Wii Play for being hideously short as it only cost £5, but this game is full price at £40RRP and is, quite frankly, a total rip off.

We've already mentioned the humour is superb, and the stories that precede every section of the main game are excellently well done. Graphically it looks lovely and there are so many clashes of style that everything comes together into a montage of utter madness. Nothing in this game makes sense and it is a testament to the designers that it is so fun to look at and so well styled that, despite being graphically 'basic' it is also graphically outstanding. Style over substance is the key here.

The minigames themselves are what makes this game so special. Some of them are superb. Doing the hula is an inspired idea and things like potting balls in pool, shaking a champagne bottle till it pops, driving a car or pumping up a big balloon, they're all just as odd and fun as each other. Admittedly, some of them are a bit simple, 'Hit It!' normally just involves moving your arm forward quickly...once, which is far from challenging. Still, the speed and spontaneity of the game is what makes it so special. It just keeps throwing little challenges at you and with minimal though and maximum stupidity you work your way through them from start to finish. This is an experience that is only available on Wii.

In our first review we argued that this game is only good value if you have lots of friends willing to look like idiots. Well, this reviewer is an idiot and consequently has lots of idiotic friends. And this game still isn't good value. Everyone is more than happy to play it, but never for too long as the multiplayer games (apart from Star Nose, which is pure genius) are just a little bit boring and limited. Sure, it's fun for a bit and it can be a real laugh, but there simply isn't enough depth and variety to make this game brilliant.

So why should you pay out your hard earned cash for a game that we managed to complete without even trying in a combined time of about an hour in just a few days. Because everyone wants to play it. Sure, things might be a bit limited but everyone we know loves WarioWare and always wants to crack it open for a quick play about before, after or during a night out, or before breakfast, or lunch, or after work. It is a game for all occasions and a game for people who want to get everyone enjoying the Wii and doing something different with video games. Perhaps the most striking thing about this title is that it never feels like you are playing a video game. You get so wrapped up in having fun, looking like an idiot and combining WarioWare tasks with amusing beverage activities that you utterly lose yourself in its understated brilliance. If you're a loner, you'll get bored of it in a few hours and complain that it lacks depth, but if you're a socialite or have a big family and a Wii in your lounge, then this is the game for you.

It is never complicated, nobody ever gets confused, everyone laughs and everyone enjoys if. We haven't found one person so far who finds it 'too stupid' or 'kiddy', you just want to pick that guys nose again or shove in the old woman's false teeth. God knows why, but Nintendo have managed to make the mundane, the odd and the revolting wonderfully good fun. Gaming on the Wii is all about experiences with friends and family, and we defy anyone to say they didn't enjoy this game or have a great time playing it with their mates. If you don't laugh when your dad or Wii-sceptical best mate does the hula in WarioWare, you have no soul. End of discussion.