Wario Ware: Smooth Moves

part 2..... on April 05, 2007

is the multiplayer. Getting a few non-gamer friends together into one room to play Smooth Moves is an absolute blast. While I’m still not too excited about quickly passing around an expensive Wiimote (especially when things start to get fast and you have just a couple of seconds to pass before the game starts), the multiplayer was still great. One loss spells elimination here, making this great to play during halftime of that football game your buddies are over for or good for a quick matchup between TV shows. A neat touch is that each player will be represented by an angel on the screen with a Mii-head. As players lose, the angels fall away until only one is left.

Miis are used quite often in Smooth Moves. Of course, they’re used in the already-mentioned multiplayer – you’ll also see them appear throughout various microgames too. One of them involved finding the “weirdo” while other microgames just put the Mii heads on bodies of characters in the game. Sure, it’s a small touch, but I’m really glad to see the created and mingled Miis from my system being used in the game.

Wario Ware Smooth Moves is definitely an ideal party game. If you’re buying this Wii for a parent, grandparent or other non-gamer in your life, grab this game with it – they’ll definitely get a kick out of it. Sure, some of the games are hard at first until you figure out what to do, but most of the actions you take are common sense type ones. After a couple of tries, most of the stuff you do will be memorized and you’ll be able to have some quick and frantic fun with Smooth Moves. And, after you’ve gone through the game, you can have some friends over to play. Smooth Moves is a game that should be in every Wii owner’s library – while it is simplistic and easily finished for a single player, the multiplayer will last a lot longer.

Wario Ware: Smooth Moves

It’s no secret that Nintendo..... on April 05, 2007

..... is a fan of using their first-party characters in a variety of ways outside of their original games. You’ve got Mario Kart, Mario Party, Super Smash Brothers and a variety of other games where Mario, Zelda and friends make appearances. Another one that came about in recent years is the Wario Ware series. You see, Wario is a ‘bad’ Mario, complete with a W on his hat and similar outfit to our beloved red-overalls clad hero. The Wario Ware games have traditionally been what are called microgames – literally just a few seconds of action with only a couple of words of instruction.

The first one of these appeared on the GameCube a few years ago and, since then, each new game in the series has showed off a new system or peripheral. Twisted on the GBA showed off the tilt-pack, letting you turn the GBA from side to side for a lot of the games. Touched on the DS put the unique features of Nintendo’s new dual-screen system to use – a stylus and microphone paved the way for a few unique microgames. And now, Nintendo’s Wii has Wario Ware Smooth Moves – and the Wiimote is definitely put to good use.

Wario Ware Smooth Moves takes place in Diamond City shortly after our good friend Wario stumbles across the form baton in a temple. As you get a bit of story, he’ll make an escape while being chased by an Indiana Jones style boulder. Here’s where gamers familiar with the style of Wario Ware will feel at home. For the uninitiated, the single player game puts you into some sort of cheesy situation and gives you a chance to fail as many as four microgames. After a set amount of games (success or failure), you’ll move on to a boss stage which is often longer and more involved than the regular microgames. If you fail this one, you’ll get to try again if you have lives left. Beat this one and you’ll conclude that stage, opening it up for a sort of endless play mode where you can just try to get through as many microgames as possible.

However, before each game starts, you’ll be told which ‘form’ to use. The different forms are actually various ways to hold the Wiimote. You’ll start off simple – point it at the screen like a remote control or hold it like an umbrella for example. However, things start to get silly really fast, with you holding the Wiimote on your nose like an elephant trunk or at your side like a samurai would hold his sword. The first time you are introduced to a new form, there’ll be a description of the way to hold the Wiimote. These are all absolutely hilarious, too. The voiceover is serene and soothing while also being totally entertaining. This game is definitely not for people that don’t like to be laughed at as they play the game, though – my girlfriend would often chuckle as I played through some of the microgames. In all, there are over 200 different microgames with multiple difficulty levels. They’ll still be easy and quick to beat, sure, but they’re still fun for the time they last.

The real reason to pick this game up is the

Virtua Fighter 5

This game overall was a superb on March 26, 2007

I think that this game overall was a superb game. Many people will not and don't like it because it is not a button masher and the combos are not as easy to pull off as in Tekken. Don't get me wrong I love Tekken but, this game is a bit more challenging. I'll be the first to admit that I am a button masher but, this game has caused me to actually learn some moves because to win you have to. Think of this game as something to do till Tekken comes out because by playing this you will definitely be a better Tekken player when it comes out. But honestly this game does stand on its own as a great game because of the wonderful graphics, game play and design. The only drawback is the menu to save and load a saved game but that is easily forgiven because it is such a good game.

Resistance: Fall of Man

This is the best FPS ever made. on March 26, 2007

This is the best FPS ever made. the grafics are shocking and so is the story. And man is the online great not only can you make a clan and all that stuff but when you get a certian amount of points you can level up which unlocks new clothes and equipment for your soldier. The story is awsome too the is lots of bosses to fight and you can get some sick weapons too my favorite is the Auger which can shoot through walls and it can also put up a force field to protect you from enemy fire.

Rampage: Total Destruction

A good remake of the classic arcade 'destroy the world' game. on January 12, 2007

I've always been a fan of smashing things while being a huge monster. And the choices of what monster to be is huge. The three classic monsters, Ralph the wolf, Lizzie the dinosaur, and George the ape are joined by over 35 other monsters to take down Scum Labs and anything that get in their way.

Gameplay 8- It's always fun to chuck buildings, stomp cars, and eat anything that moves. Although the game does tend to get repetitive after playing it for an hour or so. The inclusion of two of the arcade Rampages make the price of the game a good bargain.
Graphics 9- I have the Gamecube version also, and the Wii version has noticably better graphics. The monsters are a lot more detailed.
Sound 8- The sounds are what you expect for punching out windows and making things explode.
Value 8- A good game to add to that collection dedicated to parties where you can take advantage of the multiplayer meyhem.

Ridge Racer 7

Drifting goes hand-in-hand on January 11, 2007

Drifting goes hand-in-hand with nitrous in the Ridge Racer universe. Using juice works the same way it did in Ridge Racer 6 on the Xbox 360. It comes in three phases, each of which fills up while drifting. Players can trigger each phase manually, so there's no need to use it all at once. And since it doesn't fill up while it's actually being used, there's a constant need to strategize when to drift and when to boost. After practice, players will rarely run out, since the quality of the drift determines how much nitrous is gained. But it's serious fun getting to that point. Once a driver can boost in and out of drifts, they've got it made.

Ridge Racer 7 has all the basic modes required of modern racers. The quickest way to jump in and start racing is Arcade Mode. Here, players just pick a car and track and head off to the start line. It has two basic options, single play and multi play. The latter lets two live players compete via split screen, though there's a definite loss in framerate and visual quality. Textures look muddy, for instance, and races lose the fluidity and grace of the single-player and online matches. It's definitely unfortunate, though it doesn't ruin the experience completely. And it's nice that the second player option remains, even though the emphasis has switched to global encounters through the network system.

Red Steel

overly critical on January 11, 2007

Red Steel review sites have been overly critical in reviewing the controls for the game. The controls, while a little glitchy every now and then aren't that bad at all. For the nature of the game, the large bounding box that the game uses works and works quite well.

If you're cautious about this game, rent it first and see how you like the controls or, get a copy of it from somebody here

Red Steel

overly critical on January 11, 2007

Red Steel review sites have been overly critical in reviewing the controls for the game. The controls, while a little glitchy every now and then aren't that bad at all. For the nature of the game, the large bounding box that the game uses works and works quite well.

If you're cautious about this game, rent it first and see how you like the controls or, get a copy of it from somebody here