Wario Land: Shake - Wii

[SIZE="6"]Wario Land: Shake! - Nintendo Wii - ( Released 2008)[/SIZE]



I will start out by saying this game is not yet available in Europe or the US and I had to import it from Japan, but it will be available in Europe on the 26th of September and the US on the 28th, no I haven’t got that the wrong way round we really have got a game before the Americans, well done Nintendo, if you carry on like this you might make up for Super Smash Bros Brawl.


When I first saw this game in a magazine, I recognised what a good idea it was for Nintendo to make a game a 2D platformer for the Wii, but how well was this good idea executed? This game has got a very simple and predictable storyline, but then again so have all the Mario platformers and they haven’t done to bad have they. One thing that gave me some trouble is the fact that all the characters communicate through a series of noises and for me all the subtitles are in Japanese, so I don’t know the exact names of characters, levels or treasures. What I can gather is that a woman has been kidnapped, believe it or not, by a fat man who just happens to be in charge of a vast army of minions, after this Wario is asked to help, but of course he has got an W on his head not an M so he wont do it out of the good of his own heart, but he will do it for the gold he is promised, and this is how it begins. Its not exactly original but if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, and it is packed with Nintendo charm and humour.

Now, on to the presentation of this game, to put it simply its among the best on the Wii, from the amazingly crisp and smooth animations to the incredibly detailed backgrounds you will be blown away. As we all know the Wii isn’t the best place to go if you want good graphics, but I honestly cant see how this game could possibly look any better on the 360 or PS3, by far the best thing about the graphics is the feeling they convey of being in a cartoon or comic strip, no other game has ever done this so well. The music always suits the setting of the level your playing in and the tunes are incredibly catchy, classic Nintendo.

Its time to move on to the most important part of any game, the gameplay, at first I was disappointed with the overall difficulty of the game, but then I started to get in to some of the harder levels and bosses and the game became a bit more challenging, after I got through the game, I went back to attempt the challenges which can be absolutely punishing, such as clearing a whole level without touching a drop of water ( of which the level is full ) or taking any damage. I got to the end of the game in around 5 hours, but I have now been playing for over 15 and I still haven’t got 100% in challenges or treasure, so there’s more than enough value for money. The game is played by holding the Wii remote on its side like a classic NES pad with just the two face buttons and a D-Pad, also the shake motion, from which the game gets its name, is used to perform a powerful earth shaking punch, shake garlic (life) out of enemies and most importantly shake gold out of sacks. Controlling Wario is made easy by responsive and accurate control, perfect for a 2D platformer.

In all honesty this is one of the best 2D platformers to grace a console in years and possibly the best Nintendo game of 2008. Wario Land: Shake has some how managed to truly bring 2D platformers back to the consoles and I would recommend it for any gamer with a Wii.









[SIZE="6"]9.5/10[/SIZE]



Written by XBOX360DON

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Nannai Resort