01-23-2007, 12:09 AM
Warioware: Smooth Moves – Really, Star Nose? Bungee Buddies? What were the developers on when they made this game?
In order to appreciate the greatness that is Warioware: Smooth Moves you have to understand what a Warioware game is first. Don’t be distracted by the totally out there story, random characters, and very strange, very stylized art. All you need to worry about are the mini-games and the 3 or so seconds you have to solve that particular mini-game. Each of the over 200 finely crafted mini-games is a puzzle that the player must quickly analyze and solve and each puzzle becomes harder as you get further. Warioware: Smooth Moves takes extreme advantage of the Wii Remote and has players master many different forms in order to solve these quick little puzzles.
Before you run out and pick up Warioware: Smooth Moves, you should know that this is not a single player game. Yes, it does have a single player mode that will offer a few good hours of play, but nothing longer that that. Warioware: Smooth Moves is purely a party game that can support anywhere from 2 players all the way to 12 in an insane mass confusion survival mode. Warioware: Smooth Moves is definitely a unique experience that will have you and your friends constantly playing this game for hours and hours of fun.
Presentation – 9.8
From the Wii Menu all the way to the games itself, Warioware: Smooth Moves offers a very unique and polished stylized experience. Everything is top notch and top quality of the game. Don’t let the simple graphics fool you, every detail of this game has been picked over to deliver a perfect play experience. One of the most noticeable to me was the compensation for the inability to use the Wii Remote strap during multiplayer. There are a good number of mini-games that requires the player to swing the remote like a sword or wave the remote frantically in the air. This is perfectly fine in single player when the player can wear the strap, but in multiplayer where every player shares the same remote, that simply isn’t feasible. To combat this, the developers simply took these games out of multiplayer. This may sound bad, but it shows that the developers knew that the games could be a problem and they did something to fix this.
Warioware: Smooth Moves does everything possible to deliver a great play experience. The art is nailed down, every problem thought of, the sound is wonderful, and I still haven’t found any bugs after nearly 10 hours of playing this game.
Graphics – 9.0
The graphics of Warioware: Smooth Moves are very simple but very stylized. If you were to casually see screenshots from this game without knowing what it is, you would think you’ve glimpsed back into 1992, but that is simply Warioware’s style. Warioware: Smooth Moves offers finely polished and stylized graphics every bit as crazy as its mini-games. Whether they are the beautiful cut scenes, old school NES graphics, or very low poly almost crude models, they all just look great and fit wonderfully into the entire package that is the art for Warioware: Smooth Moves.
As much as I love the style in this game, I can’t bring myself to give it a higher score than a 9.0. I love the style of this game, I truly do, but the simple truth is that it didn’t push any boundaries.
Sound – 8.5
The sound of Warioware: Smooth Moves is very well done. What else can I say, the music fits each character’s cut scenes and the mini game music will often have you tapping your foot as you complete the mini-games. I don’t think the music itself was as well done as in some other Warioware games (particularly Warioware: Touched), but it is good nonetheless. I was also a little disappointed that more use of the speaker in the Wii Remote wasn’t taken advantage of. Still though, Warioware: Smooth Moves offers an overall high quality sound design that will not leave you wanting.
Gameplay – 9.0
How can you critique the gameplay of Warioware: Smooth Moves? I’ve been debating writing this review for several days because I’m not really sure how I can write this and faithfully represent how great this game plays. I suppose since I’ve gotten this far, I must try. First off, Warioware: Smooth Moves is a multiplayer game. There is single player content, but it’s really only good for figuring out the controls and unlocking the multiplayer. Single-player really doesn’t offer more than a few hours of fun.
Before every mini-game the player is shown a “form baton” style (The form baton being a fancy word for the Wii Remote) and then quickly thrown into the mini-game. The player must quickly get into the correct position for the mini-game and then quickly figure out how to solve the puzzle given to them in a typical Warioware fashion. While most of the forms work great and will have you laughing (see “elephant”), there is one form in particular that doesn’t work well, “the discard.” Most games that use “the discard” form don’t always seem to play too well and are generally a let down. Besides that and a few other rogue mini-games, I would say a good 90% of the 200+ mini-games are very intuitive and an absolute blast.
For all of the multiplayer modes only one Wii Remote is used. Players must quickly pass the remote back and forth. This may sound like a fault, but it adds a lot to the frantic nature of the game and adds to the overall fun. Now that I’ve described the basic gameplay, lets look at the different games modes that Warioware: Smooth Moves offers.
Survival: 2-12 players
This has to be the most fun game of them all because there's one clear winner and it's fast. Every character is an angel Mii and the game randomly picks a player to go by having the angel with the name the focus of the screen. The style of the game is show very quickly and then game goes on. If the player wins, they stay and go onto the next player. If the player loses, the angel dies and falls and then it's the next players turn. This keeps going on until there's one person left. This is the version that got the most play and it really was just a blast. The confusion of what form to use, trying to figure out how to beat the mini-game in the short amount of time, and trying to get the remote from the previous person is all just a blast. This one play mode makes the game worth it alone.
Bomb: 2-5 Players
This play mode is kind of like hot-potato minus the fun. It wouldn't be bad except that there are too many choices between each game to make it run smoothly and too little time. Just like survival, there's only one remote used for all 5 players, but there is only 1 loser (the person left with the bomb). After you clear a mini game, you pick a player to give the bomb to and then click on a baton form for them to use. This would be fine, but you're timed during this and it just doesn't really work well with the picking and the passing of the remote.
Lifeline: 2-5 Players
This version is a lot of fun, but not for the mini-games part. The game starts out with the 5 players running a marathon and each taking turns playing a mini-game. If they win the mini-game, they get a predefined amount of points and then continue to the next round. After several rounds (4 I believe), the first part of the game is over and the players are ranked 1 to 5. Now for the next and most awesome part. The next screen shows the 5 players Mii's tied up and hanging by ropes over alligator infested water. The player who took first place (or players) each have 3 ropes holding them up, 2 has two ropes, and the rest only have one rope. The players take turns starting with the player who took 1st cutting a rope. The twist is that you don't know who's rope you're cutting. It's kind of like Russian Roullette and it's just awesome. The marathon part is cool, but the Russian Roulette part just makes the game a lot of fun.
Balloon: 2-5 Players
I believe something like this was on the Gamecube version of Warioware and it's pretty much the same. Players take turns playing mini-games and the longer you take the more chance you have of making a balloon above you explode and you lose. This play mode runs fine, we just don't like the games where there's only one loser so we didn't play it much.
Darts: 1-2 Players (I think)
I think the Wii almost died of boredom when we tried playing this game. I feel bad saying that, but this game really did just bore us to tears. I think this game could be a little more fun with just people two people in the room, but when you have 20 or people, it really just is a buzz killer.
Star Nose: 2 Players
So how could Warioware get any weirder? Play Star Nose. This game is for two players and one player uses the Wii Remote and the other player uses the Nunchuck connected to the 1st players remote. This sounds a little weird, but it actually works and it pretty entertaining (though not for long). Both players play as a starship in the shape of a nose flying through what I can only guess is Wario's nose. You must dodge hairs and the other player in to collect 3 boogers and win. The problem is that there's no way to alter speed and it gets a little stale after playing it a few times but definitely worth checking out.
Bungee Buddies: 2 Players
So what could be weirder than Star Nose? Bungee Buddies. Sometimes you really have to wonder how many drugs the developers were on while creating this game. Seriously. In this game, one player holds the Wii Remote while the other holds the nunchuck and players must jump over obstacles as the Bungee Buddies run. This game is a lot more entertaining then Star Nose, but it doesn't hold a lot of replay value. It's incredibly entertaining and weird and random, but it's not going to keep you and your buddies entertained for longer than an hour.
All in all, Warioware: Smooth Moves offers a very solid multiplayer gameplay experience that will become a staple at parties for years to come. Sure, the single player doesn’t provide much value, but you should not buy this game for the single player.
Lasting Appeal – 9.0
I’ve already said this a few times, but Warioware: Smooth Moves is a multiplayer game, not a single player game. The single player will only last you about two hours before you start becoming tired of the game. When you start bringing more people into the equation, the game just starts becoming more and more fun. Whether you’re watching or playing, Warioware: Smooth Moves is an incredible success that will be the focus of many parties for years to come.
Scores Roundup
================
Presentation – 9.8
Graphics – 9.0
Sound – 8.5
Gameplay – 9.0
Lasting Appeal – 9.0
Overall – 9.1 (Superb)
The Wii was created for party gaming and games like Warioware: Smooth Moves proves that. If you’re looking for a truly great multiplayer experience, you absolutely cannot pass this game by. People who are looking for a single player game or people that like longer slower paced games will not be impressed by this game and that’s fine. Warioware games are not made for those types of people and that’s that. Warioware games work great for short games, people that don’t play games seriously, and works perfectly as a party game.
In order to appreciate the greatness that is Warioware: Smooth Moves you have to understand what a Warioware game is first. Don’t be distracted by the totally out there story, random characters, and very strange, very stylized art. All you need to worry about are the mini-games and the 3 or so seconds you have to solve that particular mini-game. Each of the over 200 finely crafted mini-games is a puzzle that the player must quickly analyze and solve and each puzzle becomes harder as you get further. Warioware: Smooth Moves takes extreme advantage of the Wii Remote and has players master many different forms in order to solve these quick little puzzles.
Before you run out and pick up Warioware: Smooth Moves, you should know that this is not a single player game. Yes, it does have a single player mode that will offer a few good hours of play, but nothing longer that that. Warioware: Smooth Moves is purely a party game that can support anywhere from 2 players all the way to 12 in an insane mass confusion survival mode. Warioware: Smooth Moves is definitely a unique experience that will have you and your friends constantly playing this game for hours and hours of fun.
Presentation – 9.8
From the Wii Menu all the way to the games itself, Warioware: Smooth Moves offers a very unique and polished stylized experience. Everything is top notch and top quality of the game. Don’t let the simple graphics fool you, every detail of this game has been picked over to deliver a perfect play experience. One of the most noticeable to me was the compensation for the inability to use the Wii Remote strap during multiplayer. There are a good number of mini-games that requires the player to swing the remote like a sword or wave the remote frantically in the air. This is perfectly fine in single player when the player can wear the strap, but in multiplayer where every player shares the same remote, that simply isn’t feasible. To combat this, the developers simply took these games out of multiplayer. This may sound bad, but it shows that the developers knew that the games could be a problem and they did something to fix this.
Warioware: Smooth Moves does everything possible to deliver a great play experience. The art is nailed down, every problem thought of, the sound is wonderful, and I still haven’t found any bugs after nearly 10 hours of playing this game.
Graphics – 9.0
The graphics of Warioware: Smooth Moves are very simple but very stylized. If you were to casually see screenshots from this game without knowing what it is, you would think you’ve glimpsed back into 1992, but that is simply Warioware’s style. Warioware: Smooth Moves offers finely polished and stylized graphics every bit as crazy as its mini-games. Whether they are the beautiful cut scenes, old school NES graphics, or very low poly almost crude models, they all just look great and fit wonderfully into the entire package that is the art for Warioware: Smooth Moves.
As much as I love the style in this game, I can’t bring myself to give it a higher score than a 9.0. I love the style of this game, I truly do, but the simple truth is that it didn’t push any boundaries.
Sound – 8.5
The sound of Warioware: Smooth Moves is very well done. What else can I say, the music fits each character’s cut scenes and the mini game music will often have you tapping your foot as you complete the mini-games. I don’t think the music itself was as well done as in some other Warioware games (particularly Warioware: Touched), but it is good nonetheless. I was also a little disappointed that more use of the speaker in the Wii Remote wasn’t taken advantage of. Still though, Warioware: Smooth Moves offers an overall high quality sound design that will not leave you wanting.
Gameplay – 9.0
How can you critique the gameplay of Warioware: Smooth Moves? I’ve been debating writing this review for several days because I’m not really sure how I can write this and faithfully represent how great this game plays. I suppose since I’ve gotten this far, I must try. First off, Warioware: Smooth Moves is a multiplayer game. There is single player content, but it’s really only good for figuring out the controls and unlocking the multiplayer. Single-player really doesn’t offer more than a few hours of fun.
Before every mini-game the player is shown a “form baton” style (The form baton being a fancy word for the Wii Remote) and then quickly thrown into the mini-game. The player must quickly get into the correct position for the mini-game and then quickly figure out how to solve the puzzle given to them in a typical Warioware fashion. While most of the forms work great and will have you laughing (see “elephant”), there is one form in particular that doesn’t work well, “the discard.” Most games that use “the discard” form don’t always seem to play too well and are generally a let down. Besides that and a few other rogue mini-games, I would say a good 90% of the 200+ mini-games are very intuitive and an absolute blast.
For all of the multiplayer modes only one Wii Remote is used. Players must quickly pass the remote back and forth. This may sound like a fault, but it adds a lot to the frantic nature of the game and adds to the overall fun. Now that I’ve described the basic gameplay, lets look at the different games modes that Warioware: Smooth Moves offers.
Survival: 2-12 players
This has to be the most fun game of them all because there's one clear winner and it's fast. Every character is an angel Mii and the game randomly picks a player to go by having the angel with the name the focus of the screen. The style of the game is show very quickly and then game goes on. If the player wins, they stay and go onto the next player. If the player loses, the angel dies and falls and then it's the next players turn. This keeps going on until there's one person left. This is the version that got the most play and it really was just a blast. The confusion of what form to use, trying to figure out how to beat the mini-game in the short amount of time, and trying to get the remote from the previous person is all just a blast. This one play mode makes the game worth it alone.
Bomb: 2-5 Players
This play mode is kind of like hot-potato minus the fun. It wouldn't be bad except that there are too many choices between each game to make it run smoothly and too little time. Just like survival, there's only one remote used for all 5 players, but there is only 1 loser (the person left with the bomb). After you clear a mini game, you pick a player to give the bomb to and then click on a baton form for them to use. This would be fine, but you're timed during this and it just doesn't really work well with the picking and the passing of the remote.
Lifeline: 2-5 Players
This version is a lot of fun, but not for the mini-games part. The game starts out with the 5 players running a marathon and each taking turns playing a mini-game. If they win the mini-game, they get a predefined amount of points and then continue to the next round. After several rounds (4 I believe), the first part of the game is over and the players are ranked 1 to 5. Now for the next and most awesome part. The next screen shows the 5 players Mii's tied up and hanging by ropes over alligator infested water. The player who took first place (or players) each have 3 ropes holding them up, 2 has two ropes, and the rest only have one rope. The players take turns starting with the player who took 1st cutting a rope. The twist is that you don't know who's rope you're cutting. It's kind of like Russian Roullette and it's just awesome. The marathon part is cool, but the Russian Roulette part just makes the game a lot of fun.
Balloon: 2-5 Players
I believe something like this was on the Gamecube version of Warioware and it's pretty much the same. Players take turns playing mini-games and the longer you take the more chance you have of making a balloon above you explode and you lose. This play mode runs fine, we just don't like the games where there's only one loser so we didn't play it much.
Darts: 1-2 Players (I think)
I think the Wii almost died of boredom when we tried playing this game. I feel bad saying that, but this game really did just bore us to tears. I think this game could be a little more fun with just people two people in the room, but when you have 20 or people, it really just is a buzz killer.
Star Nose: 2 Players
So how could Warioware get any weirder? Play Star Nose. This game is for two players and one player uses the Wii Remote and the other player uses the Nunchuck connected to the 1st players remote. This sounds a little weird, but it actually works and it pretty entertaining (though not for long). Both players play as a starship in the shape of a nose flying through what I can only guess is Wario's nose. You must dodge hairs and the other player in to collect 3 boogers and win. The problem is that there's no way to alter speed and it gets a little stale after playing it a few times but definitely worth checking out.
Bungee Buddies: 2 Players
So what could be weirder than Star Nose? Bungee Buddies. Sometimes you really have to wonder how many drugs the developers were on while creating this game. Seriously. In this game, one player holds the Wii Remote while the other holds the nunchuck and players must jump over obstacles as the Bungee Buddies run. This game is a lot more entertaining then Star Nose, but it doesn't hold a lot of replay value. It's incredibly entertaining and weird and random, but it's not going to keep you and your buddies entertained for longer than an hour.
All in all, Warioware: Smooth Moves offers a very solid multiplayer gameplay experience that will become a staple at parties for years to come. Sure, the single player doesn’t provide much value, but you should not buy this game for the single player.
Lasting Appeal – 9.0
I’ve already said this a few times, but Warioware: Smooth Moves is a multiplayer game, not a single player game. The single player will only last you about two hours before you start becoming tired of the game. When you start bringing more people into the equation, the game just starts becoming more and more fun. Whether you’re watching or playing, Warioware: Smooth Moves is an incredible success that will be the focus of many parties for years to come.
Scores Roundup
================
Presentation – 9.8
Graphics – 9.0
Sound – 8.5
Gameplay – 9.0
Lasting Appeal – 9.0
Overall – 9.1 (Superb)
The Wii was created for party gaming and games like Warioware: Smooth Moves proves that. If you’re looking for a truly great multiplayer experience, you absolutely cannot pass this game by. People who are looking for a single player game or people that like longer slower paced games will not be impressed by this game and that’s fine. Warioware games are not made for those types of people and that’s that. Warioware games work great for short games, people that don’t play games seriously, and works perfectly as a party game.
