Tech: Wario Ware: Smooth Moves Review

The "Wario Ware" series of games is one of Nintendo's newest franchises, starting with the original GBA game and progressing through titles for the GameCube and the DS. Centered around super-short minigames (microgames, you might say), they are all about manic, fast-paced action.

The Wii version was just released, and it's probably the best Wii game since the North American launch. Like all the Wario Ware games, a straight playthrough of the single player might only last 2 to 3 hours. There's a ton of replayability, here, though - you'll miss out on a bunch of games the first time through, and it's inherently fun to see how long you can last as the games' speed and difficulty ramp up.

In "Smooth Moves," you'll use the Wii Remote in a huge variety of ways - from swatting flies to jumping rope to driving a car. It becomes quite a spectacle when players get into it. This is also a family friendly game, with enough goofy Japanese humor to keep all ages enthralled...for a while.

There are only a few unlockables and less long-term reasons to come back to the singleplayer mode, which is the game's primary shortcoming. It's a bit of a tribute to the core action of the game that you wished it lasted longer, but it's something holding the title back from being great.

Rating: 80/100