I Prefer Impressions Shaken, Not Stirred

When WiiMotion Plus releases next spring we might finally have the ability to stir in our Wii games, but for now we’ve got to shake things up with ‘Wario Land: Shake It!’ (I honestly prefer the Australian ‘shake dimension’ title better). Many of you have not picked up this title, which released on the 23rd of this month. Because of Nintendo’s lackluster gaming support of late Wario Land has inadvertently become one of two big Wii releases (the other being Animal Crossing: City Folk) for this upcoming holiday season. Does it stand tall as a solid holiday buy? Sort of!

‘Shake it!’ has an incredible look and feel. I almost want to call it a super easy version of Braid in terms of style, but that might give you the wrong impression. It also might lead you to believe the game represents such class that when you “shake it” you will, in fact, be shaking hands with men in suits. Of course, while this is not the case, what we do get appears to be an incredibly refined 2D platformer. Needless to say, the game looks phenomenal. It seems to control very well, too, but it’s almost a shame they decided to send Wario to the “Shake Dimension” as a way of explaining some of the shake related wiimote maneuvers you’ll be pulling off because, in all honesty, the game doesn’t feel gimmicky at all. While you control the game with the wiimote on its side (like a NES game) I feel like moving the wiimote around is a great way to give the player more moves to pull off without complicating the controls. It works very well.

I’ve played to Area 2 (there are 5 Areas total it seems). So far, I think it’s a safe title to pick up. I’d be surprised if anyone hated it. However, it’s a very simple experience and doesn’t look like it’ll last too long unless you want to get 100% completion. On the other hand, there’s a pirate woman for Wario to undress with his eyes. I haven’t noticed any innuendos yet, though, which is a shame. If there was any character it’d be appropriate to bust those out for it’s Wario. I’d say to hold off until it gets cheaper but these things can change. Look forward to a review in the coming weeks.