Shake it like a Polaroid picture
Amongst the scores of below-average games that have been consumed feverishly by the ever-growing casually-inclined Wii user base, there are a few gems out there actually worthy of gracing the console, most notably the Wii-exclusive titles; i.e. the ones built from the ground-up specifically to take advantage of the console’s motion sensing controller.One of the biggest titles to be released in the last month, and one that - if the pre-release trailer is anything to go by - certainly looks as though it may be deserving of a place amongst the elite Wii games this year, is Warioland: The Shake Dimension, a 2D puzzle-platformer jam-packed with Wii-remote-shaking activities.
At the forefront of this colourful cartoon adventure is the familiar face of Wario who fuelled by greed embarks on a journey across the Shake Dimension to save Queen Merelda from the Shake King. With pound signs flashing in his eyes, Wario’s real motive for his heroics is to recover the stolen Bottomless Coin Sack and to pocket as much treasure as his grubby hands can carry along the way.
The gameplay in Warioland: The Shake Dimension consists of numerous stages across the likes of the jungle, desert and ocean, all of which are made up of similar platform hopping, vine-swinging, ground-pounding, block-smashing antics that you may remember from Warioland 4. Each stage generally follows the same pattern, with each requiring you to navigate across the level using an array of Wii-remote movements to work your way around obstacles, pick up treasure, kill enemies and free Merfles, the loyal subjects of the captured Queen. Along the way , there are side objectives to complete, such as gathering as many coins as possible against the clock, whilst there are also secret areas to discover, often requiring the range of Wii-Remote movements to access in order to discover hidden treasure chests full of loot.
Each level then culminates, predictably, in a big boss battle and a frantic dash as you slide, duck, jump, swing and blast your way against the clock back to the starting gate.
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