Is too little of a bad thing, a great thing?
Whoops. I thought wrong.
I could easily do a review on how poorly GameSpot reviewed this game. They gave this game a higher rating then Zelda. In case you missed that, I'll say it again. They gave this game a higher rating then Zelda!!!
I booted up the game and was met by a great opening screen. The presentation is great. When I got to the initial menu, I was disappointed to see that multiplayer wasn't available right away. Apparently, I had to earn it. Whatever, I continued on, and got into my first round of WarioWare microgames.
Here is something that is seriously understated: MICROgames. Never in my life, did I ever think attempting to pick someone's nose in under 5 seconds could ever be classified as a "Microgame" but apparently WarioWare can get away with it.
Once I regained consciousness, I realized how random these games are. Your first set of microgames are after Wario is chased out of some sort of temple by a boulder. So, I made what I though was a safe assumption, by believing the games would be somewhat boulder based. Was I ever wrong. I was greeted by the aforementioned picking of the nose sequence, then I had to put teeth in some Grandma's mouth and the nightmare went on.
So, after doing 10 or so microgames, I reached the "Boss Stage". Since I don't want to post any "Spoilers" I'll just say that this game sucks.
Next, it was time for me to go to the next set of microgames, expecting more of a challenge. I blinked for a second, and I swear I saw challenge scurrying away from this game, afraid of it for some reason. I didn't know why, but I played on.
What I discovered was this; WarioWare: Smooth Moves is one of the most overrated games in the history of gaming. It defines shallow, unrewarding gameplay. It just doesn't do enough with the controls to make it truly interesting. Right when you think it could get interesting, it does something stupid, like making you pick up your controller, in this case used as a phone, in 5 seconds. It's the definition of boring, easy gameplay.
Plus, there is no reason to play on past the initial hour or so. This isn't because the game is boring, it's because the game will be over. Yes, that's right, I finished this game in 1 hour and 20 minutes. Right when I thought I was just wrapping up the tutorial levels, I was greeted by end credits and the opportunity to play the newly unlocked multiplayer mode, which is also a mess.
In summary, this game is garbage. It does a great job at making sure you understand the controls before you play each new set of microgames, and the presentation is quite strong. But outside of that, this game defines disappointment. Hourlong single player, boring multiplayer and really hardly any replay value. Please folks, don't purchase this game.
Positives:
+ Easy to get into
+ Funny introductions to new controls
Negatives:
- Super short single player
- Boring multiplayer
- The overly random, boring microgames
- The lack of any difficulty what so ever.