DP Challenge 25/100 - WarioWare: Smooth Moves

Game: WarioWare: Smooth Moves

Ranking: 43/100

Score: 82.04%

Something a little different from the guitar rhythm games this time, as Wario and the denizens of Diamond City show us a snapshot of their world through shaving facial hair, knocking on doors and picking noses. Surprised? You won't be once you start playing. Or perhaps you will. Regardless, this is the world of WarioWare: Smooth Moves.

'It's Wii, Wario!' Yes, very good...

Intro

The opening animation sequences are colourful and amusing; you get a brief non-verbal tale of the Wii Remote being hailed as some kind of significant discovery like fire or the wheel. Then Wario bumbles along on a motorcycle laughing, and you're at the start screen. The start screen itself is actually rather entertaining; you can swipe the Wii Remote to uncover many different little animations, and the start option (which is Wario's nose) allows you to pull Wario's moustache or make him follow the cursor with his eyes. I spent a good five minutes noodling about on this screen before I even considered moving on. Oh, and you hear 'It's Wii, Wario!' when it loads - very good, game. The options screens where you select your name and Wii are bright, chunky and easy to use; one nice touch it had was the option to use characters with umlauts and other accents in your username. Anything you can select is highlighted in some comical and very visible way. Even on the game select map, if you zoom in on Wario, his trousers will keep falling down; the game has set the tone within five minutes of you booting up.

The opening animation, although amusing, really doesn't tell you anything about the game. I was left scratching my head once the start screen was displayed, and it wasn't until the map select screen when you hover over the only available level (where Wario ponders the 'stick-thing' he's found and how it must be worth something) that it started to come together.

The animation could have made the premise a little clearer. by showing Wario on his motorcycle waving a Wii Remote around, it would have tied in more to the game select screen, where the first level is Wario trying to figure out how the mysterious 'stick-thing' he has found works.

Mona the Cheerleader. One of many colourful characters that Wario avoids at all costs.
(Source: giantbomb.com)

Getting Going

Despite having little to no instructions available, the game is easy to follow. You play a series of microgames, and if you mess any of them up, you lose one of four lives. When all the lives are lost, it's game over and you have to start the level again. This information is conveyed through in-game images and a few words in text; as speed is of the essence, this information is presented in an easily assimilated way. The microgames are varied enough that if you find one of them impossible, the next one will likely be quite different to play. You have to use the Wii Remote (or 'Form Baton' as it is described in the game) in various positions depending on the game; whenever you encounter a new form, you get a hilarious meditation parody explaining how to perform it - complete with relaxing music. I was laughing so much at these interludes that I'm fairly certain the neighbours must have thought there was something wrong with me.

The problem with the fast-paced style of gameplay is that with only a few seconds to successfully complete a microgame, it can be difficult to tell if you have. For example, there is a 'Nintendogs' microgame where you have to high-five a puppy. The only way you can tell if you have succeeded is if that puppy does a little flip; which it won't do immediately after succeeding. Often you can't quite tell if you've missed and by the time you figure out you have and try to high-five it again, the timer has run out. There's a fishing microgame based on 'Animal Crossing' where you have to catch a fish by reeling him in using the 'tug of war' action. Only this isn't strictly apparent in the explanation you get on screen. The first few times I pulled in the line too soon, thinking I had to cast it at the fish as opposed to waiting for the fish to come to me. It turns out you can't. You can't do anything, in fact, once you've pulled the line in. This leaves you waiting around for the microgame to end, and suddenly those five seconds you get to play each microgame seem very long indeed. As you only have the very limited information on-screen available to figure out how to play a microgame, if you can't work it out, you will continue to be stumped on it for ever more. In story mode (which is the only mode available to you initially), you will always have to play each microgame until you beat it.

Some of the microgames would perhaps benefit from some audio cues as additional information to let a player know they have missed. This gives them more time to attempt the action again. Also, with that fishing microgame, I see no reason why you can't allow the player to throw the line back in the water to try again. Even if they don't have enough time to reel the fish back in, it still gives them something to do and helps them to figure out how to play. Perhaps some additional hints could be displayed on screen if a player loses a particular mini-game more than once.

See, I told you.
(Source: IGN.com)

Fun

The game is certainly a lot of fun; the fast, frenetic pace gives you very little chance to think about your next move, but the games are simple enough that this won't massively impeded your performance. There are lots of sneaky tricks to up the stress levels as you play; after a while, the music will speed up and you get a 'FASTER!' message - the microgames aren't actually any faster at all, but they will certainly feel it. The game is generally very good at conveying to you whether you have succeeded or failed; after each microgame, you get an animation either of losing a life (in a comical way that depends on the symbols used to denote said lives), or a cheerful congratulatory animation. The microgames don't necessarily play in the same order in story mode either, which is good for shaking things up if you have to replay a level.

As stated before, it can be difficult to see if you've succeeded or failed in some of the microgames themselves. It's also irritating when you have a microgame that you just can't figure out (although you can play any uncovered microgames in a separate 'Forms Temple' section, where you will get more of an explanation if you hover the cursor over the relevant game card).

As the same minor issues which dog you getting used to the game continue to be a bother throughout, the game could benefit from additional in-game hints if you keep failing a particular micro-game (as the only reason you're likely to continually fail one is if you can't figure out what to do, as opposed to failing to carry out the necessary action). Even a small reminder that you can access the games in the 'Forms Temple' would probably be enough to prompt a player to go there for a little practice.

See if you can guess the theme of this level...
(Source: wn.com)

Visuals

The visual style of the whole game is great; it utilises a Flash-esque animation style with very cartoony characters and environments for all the cutscenes and between microgame areas. The microgames themselves have a wide variety of looks, from emulating classic Nintendo games (lest you fail to notice that one of the levels is a massive advertisement for Nintendo products) to child-like scribblings and anything in between. As everything is so bold and over the top, it makes it easy to chart your progress - you won't miss the bright flashing animations that inform you that you are moving onto the next microgame, nor will you miss the comical 'death' animation denoting a loss of a life. Even the level map has several amusing character animations - and each level in story mode nicely turns to colour once you have successfully completed it.

Although the bright, frantic and colourful animations are visually exciting, I can't help but think this game wouldn't be much fun for anyone with photosensitivity or epilepsy; some of the effects seem like they might be seizure inducing; most notably the later unlockable areas where each level is set in a lift with a scribbled neon elephant who flashes wildly with every passing stage. Throughout the game, messages are flashed at you very quickly and images fly on and off the screen at a rate of knots; it supersedes your average game for this kind of activity and I do wonder if it has caused some players to have adverse reactions.

It would be a crying shame to overhaul the unique and fun style of the whole game, but perhaps the addition of a toggle mode to dial down the flashing images might make things a little easier on the eye for people who are affected by such things. Just something as simple as a option to darken the view, or to slow down the animations might help in this area.

Umm... Okay...
(Source: IGN.com)

Intelligence

Intelligence of the AI is a difficult thing to measure in a game based solely on speed and reflexes, but the games does a good job of easing you into the gameplay style and building on that throughout story mode. You are gradually introduced to different 'forms' as you play the game; the first level you only handle the Wii Remote in 'Remote Control' style, but in later levels, you will find yourself switching between several ways of holding the Wii Remote depending on the microgame (you are always given an image of which way to use before you are thrown into a microgame). The microgames are well designed, in that they vary in difficulty when it comes to completing them within a few seconds, but you never feel as though they are impossible to do because of the time limit.

In story mode, the difficulty of the microgames seems a little over the place. The most difficult story mode level I found to be one that was in the last third of the game, but not the final level. This seems a strange way to order the levels; the difficulty level seems to be flat with a bump just past the middle, rather than curving up towards the final level.

Although the introduction of the 'forms' works well, it would be nice to see the more complicated microgames saved for the final few levels, rather than spreading them out over the latter half.

Your Miis are added into the game as well, which manages to be both amusing and creepy.
(Source: wiisworld.com)

Immersion

The frenetic gameplay means that time flies when you're playing this game. The story mode is both cute in its art style and funny in its content, which makes it add to the experience, rather than it feeling tacked on. As you play, there are a number of arcade-style versions of certain microgames which become available, as well as the 'Forms Temple' where you can play any of the microgames on an ad-hoc basis if you want a really quick game, or if you want more detailed instructions. Another good unlockable consists of the Elephant Elevators; here you get four lives and keep playing microgames until you lose them all. The games teases you by stating that 'something good will happen' when you complete a certain number of games before losing all your lives, which will keep you playing those microgames just to find out what it is.

However absorbing the story mode is, you are playing a series of simple microgames one after the other. I managed to clear story mode in less time that this DP challenge gives you to play a game. Save for some more unlockable microgames and variants on arrangement, there's not much more reason to carry on playing if you're a single player.

Maybe a longer story mode would make play a little more absorbing. Having said that, this is the kind of game designed to be played in short bursts or in groups (more on this later). Perhaps if more emphasis was put on unlocking achievements or games based on scores, or if there was an online mode to compete with other players, it would give players more incentive to keep playing for longer periods of time.

One of many ways you will be shown you have succeeded. Rainbows and crown wearing lions have been shown by psychologists to positively reinforce behaviour. Or something.
(Source:gamecola.net)

Cameras

There really isn't much to say about the camera here. Each microgame operates on a single screen, so there's nothing to go wrong here. The only game where the camera moves is in a driving 'boss level' game - here the positioning of the rear-view mirror animation does obscure the view of the road and make it trickier to spot obstacles. This could be fixed by positioning the rear-view mirror above the obstacles placed on screen.       

Write? Write what? Has anyone made this one work?
(Source: IGN.com)

Controls

The controls are really simple to use, as it all focuses on the way you hold the Wii Remote and rarely requires you to even press a button. Instructions are displayed on screen and it's generally easy to get the hang of things.

A few of the controls feel a little awkward, however. There's a 'Pestle and Mortar' move that I only managed to get to work once; after that, it was a disaster. There was a 'Windwaker' based game where you had to glide onto a spot of land, and that too was difficult to grasp on the first few attempts.

In the 'Forms Temple', every game the player has encountered can be played independently. It would be nice if some of these could also unlock a bit of a tutorial to help on the more complicated games, or unlocked versions that are not timed. This would be especially useful for younger players to practice on, given the game has gone out of its way to be accessible to youngsters and non-gamers.

Yes, you are directing people desperate for a wee using your Wii.
Yes, this is consistent with the tone of the entire game.
(Source: IGN.com)

Ideas

There's a lot of variety present in this game; you have the story mode you can play, but you can also unlock arcade games, bonus games such as darts, levels where you keep playing random microgames until you lose all your lives and various multiplayer modes. The humour present throughout the game is great, and it never takes itself seriously. For example, when you hover over the cinema present on the map (where you can watch any of the crazy cartoon cutscenes you have already seen), it describes the current film on show as 'an unflinching documentary of life in Diamond City'. This humour is carried over to the actual gameplay as well; you are frequently required to use the Wii Remote in silly and humiliating ways, such as resting it against your nose or using it to mimic hula-hooping. The theme is consistent, nothing you do feels out of place and the microgames are enjoyable. If you find one that isn't? You're only going to have to play it for five seconds.

One major problem I have with this game, however, is concerning how they choose to unlock options. Making the player work to get all of the microgames, or all the arcade and bonus games on offer is perfectly fine and will encourage people to keep playing. Unfortunately, you have to complete story mode to unlock the multiplayer options. I don't just mean bonus multiplayer options - I mean any multiplayer options. This in a game which is clearly designed to be played by groups of people; it hardly matters that you have to shove a Wii Remote on your nose or on your head when you're on your own. This aspect only becomes entertaining when you have to do it in front of friends or family.

It seems such an obvious thing to say, but make at least one of the multiplayer options available from the start. I could easily imagine people buying this game specifically to play with friends and never wanting to delve into single player mode. Judging by the things you are required to do in the game, I'd say the people who built the game thought this as well. 

See! See! They want you to play this with your friends! And yet, they halt you at every turn.
(Source: IGN.com)

Memory

This is the kind of game that can be played by the whole family, regardless of ability. The comedic tone is kept up regardless of whether you play single-player or multi-player modes; the story mode is watchable even if you're not the person playing, and the multi-player modes are varied enough to allow for different gaming experiences. The bonus levels are also fun without feeling tacked on; the multi-player mode has a one-on-one darts game as well as an amusing co-op game where you and a partner are tethered together and have to leap hurdles and holes without slowing each other down - you even get a 'friend' ranking based on how well you did. Playing this, it became apparent it would be a perfect game to pull out at a house party because of its fast-paced nature and ease of accessibility.

A couple of the microgames can be a little frustrating, as can a few of the 'forms' you are required to use. As the games are so short, this isn't really a problem. The big downside to this game is that you don't have immediate access to any multi-player mode. Although it is a fun single-player game, everything about it is geared towards group play. Making all multi-player gaming accessible only when you've completed story mode just flies in the face of everything the game seems to be trying to achieve in creating a series of silly challenges that require the players to use the Wii Remote in as daft a manner as possible.

Aside from carping about making a multi-player mode accessible from the offset, it would also be really handy if players could exclude certain 'forms' types from cropping up in the non-story mode options. This would be a useful feature if you're playing with people who have real difficulty getting to grips with certain ways of holding the Wii Remote. Any ability to tweak the game to keep everyone on as even a keel as possible can only be a good thing with a game so readily accessible to all sorts of players.

These might well be my favourite parts of the game.
(Source: wikipedia.org)

Overall, this is a fun and frenetic game perfect for playing with family or friends; all the more reason to ponder why you can't play any multi-player games off the bat.