Wario Land: Shake It! (Wii)

As far as spin-off characters go, Wario's had a pretty good career. Though he'll always live in the shadow of his more popular doppleganger Mario, he still manages to star in some awesome games like the frantic WarioWare. Now he's back with Wario Land: Shake It, a fun and whimsical platforming title that's perfect for the younger Wii gamer.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Possessing the charm and vibrant visuals of a Saturday morning cartoon, Wario Land: Shake It will definitely appeal to children; adult gamers, however, may find the gameplay repetitive and a tad dull.

All That Glitters

The more I played Shake It, the more I became enamored with the game's visual style. It really is one of the more vibrant and eye pleasing Wii games I've seen. The cartoon-like graphics are really whimsical and it fits Wario's greedy and grubby persona perfectly. Everything, from the characters to the level environments, left my inner-child smiling; it really is like watching a Saturday morning cartoon.

The gameplay, however, didn't thrill me as much. The level designs are rather simplistic, though there are plenty of hidden nooks and out of the way crannies to hunt down, and the treasure collecting missions felt a little repetitive after a while. The boss fights are also rather easy and won't challenge experienced gamers.

Wario Land: Shake It! (Wii)
Wario Land: Shake It! (Wii)

Master Shake

Still, the game does make good use of the Wii Remote-you hold the controller sideways and use the motion sensing for things like shaking money bags and initiating a powerful ground stomp-and there plenty of side missions to keep gamers busy. And I'm pretty positive that fans of platform games will find enough depth to keep them entertained throughout the game's main levels.

Despite its simplistic gameplay, the game is still worth playing, especially for the casual Wii gamer. It's fun, it's simple and it's charming, which pretty much describes most Wii games that hit big with that audience. And like I said, it's perfect for younger gamers so for them, it's an easy recommendation as well.

Wario Land: Shake It! (Wii)
Wario Land: Shake It! (Wii)

PROS: Highly engaging and eye pleasing visual style; perfect for younger Wii gamers.
CONS: Gameplay is a little too simplistic and repetitive for gamers looking for a challenge.

Comments [12]

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Toneman

So, they're reccomending this game for kids and casual gamers... sounds like it would be perfect for my girlfriend. I'm sure I'll like it too... not every game needs to be as complicated as Oblivion or MGS4 to be good.

TKK

Dude, calm the hell down. Why is it bad that I said it was good for children? Did I say the Wii is only good for children? No, I said that younger Wii gamers will really appreciate this game, as will casual gamers who own Wiis, but that more dedicated gamers probably will get bored of the repetitive gameplay.

And what's up with someone whose username is CaptainSony accusing me of Sony bias? Goddamn alt accounts. I'm gonna have to do something about this.

TKK

donkeykong57

CaptainSony wrote:

As usual GP takes every chance it can to take shots at the Wii. Funny how no other review I read went out of their way to point this game out as only for kids. Oh well I dont come to GP for reviews. I come for laughs because of how bad they show their Sony fanboyism all while claiming not to be.

Oh shut up troll.

Like TKK said, it'll seem repetitive so those looking for challenging gameplay should keep on truckin'

GamePro is not Sony biased, but I'm sure CaptainSony is.

goofball

Nintendo could care less what Gamepro thinks as this game will most likely sell better thne most box360 and PS3 games. LOL

Toneman

Game can't be worse than Wii Music... at least it's an actual game. I love 2D platformers and I'm glad to see they're making a bit of a comeback. (Wario and Megaman 9 this week). Most 2D platformers are pretty difficult (judging by the ones I bought on VC and for DS) and I never see the ending. Glad to see this one's not too difficult... but I certainly hope there is a bit of a challenge there... especially if you wanna go back and finish the game at 100%

Shammon

>And what's up with someone whose username is CaptainSony accusing me of Sony bias? Goddamn alt accounts. I'm gonna have to do something about this.

I was wondering about that too when he made a few remarks in the forums...

I don't know why, but I thought this was a WiiWare title. I'll pick it up when the price comes down.

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