Mario always seems to get the lion's share of the platform games from Nintendo, so can Wario, his evil alter-ego, muscle in on the action? We go coin hunting to find out.
Our quick take
While Wario Land is fun, it's hard to get around the fact that this is just a 2D platform game that we saw about a decade ago.
I thought we had moved on from platform games, however while Wario Land is basic it's still good fun to play.
This is an example of a Wii Remote used well however as a full blown game it might be hard to justify at full price, especially as PS3 and Xbox 360 can pick up retro 2D platform titles in their respective online stores for a fraction of the cost.
One for the purists.
Wario Land - 3.5 / 5
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It might be the end of 2008, but according to Nintendo, that shouldn't spell the end to the humble 2D platform game. In steps Wario Land: The Shake Dimension, a simple 2D platform title that uses the Wii Remote to its best advantage while promising simple pick up and play action.
Following a usual Nintendo/Mario storyline, the notorious pirate leader, Shake King, has kidnapped Queen Merelda and it’s up to Wario to get her back, while trying to horde as much gold coinage along the way as possible of course.
Fans of the Mario/Wario series will feel right at home from the off. There are plenty of cut sequences to go through at first, and then once you do get to the gaming plenty of monsters to knock out, pipes to climb down and blocks to smash.
This being the "Shake Dimension" you get to use the Wii Remote for certain parts. Shake the Wii Remote up and down and Wario does a jump enough to shake the screen. Doing so can allow you to access hidden areas or shift objects in your favour. You can also use a similar "Shake" move to shake out coins from bags of gold and later on when you need to do some spinning. But it's not just shaking up and down that's required, the Wii Remote is also used for throwing objects, directing canons with you in them or controlling a submarine.
Once you've mastered the controls it's all about completing those levels and you get five different maps to explore and plenty of levels in each map. Of course this being a platform game from Nintendo there are plenty of hidden gems to find and doing so will unlock different levels. It also serves to give you some replay ability.
To recap
While Wario Land is fun, it's hard to get around the fact that this is just a 2D platform game that we saw about a decade ago