Game & Wario

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Going off previous experiences on the DS and Wii, the kids and I couldn’t wait to get our hands on the new Wario game for the Wii U.  I like the Wario games because their fun, absolutely bonkers and easy for young gamers to play with.  What’s great about this Wii U exclusive is that unlike other games you don’t have to go out and buy multiple Wii remotes.  Both the single player and multiplayer modes only use the Wii U gamepad, making clever use of the small screen and your TV.  From what I could tell when watching the opening sequence, Wario and his crazy cast of characters are going tech mad for a new console (one that resembles the Wii U), and Wario believes that he can make the best game ever for this new piece of hardware.

When we first started playing Game & Wario, the girls and I immediately went for the multiplayer mode, which has 4 games to choose from: Disco, Fruit, Islands and Sketch.

We first tried out Fruit, which allows one player to use the gamepad and 4 others watching the TV screen (bear with me now).  The player in charge of the gamepad is going to try and steal 3 pieces of fruit right under the noses of the other players.  Sound easy? Well it’s not!  You see the thief is hidden amongst a crowded scene of people, vehicles, buildings, which is going to make it difficult for those watching.  I soon found out though that you have to keep the gamepad close to chest when stealing the fruit as you don’t want two little girls sneaking a peak, because at the end the players watching the TV screen have to guess who the thief is.

Another great mini game was Sketch, which is very much like Pictionary.  I can see this being used a lot when we have friends over.  Players take it in turns to draw pictures on the gamepad and players watching must correctly guess what it is.  It’s really funny at the end of the game when do a recap and your drawings are shown in the form of an art exhibition, golden frames and all!

The girls had hours of fun playing Islands by themselves.  On the TV you will see a floating target and on the gamepad screen will be a netted slingshot containing  ”Fronks”.  You need to carefully aim the gamepad at the target on the TV and launch the Fronks onto the target’s numerous scoring zones.  It’s gets interesting when players launch too many Fronks on one side, which can cause the floating target to tilt and spill Fronks into the water.

The single player campaign has 12 mini games: Arrow, Shutter, Ski, Patchwork, Kung Fu, Gamer, Design, Ashley, Taxi, Pirate, Bowling, Bird.  I would have to say that the best and most innovative game from this mode is ‘Gamer’.  You play a kid called 9-Volt, who has been sent to bed by his mum.  The gamepad plays Wario style mini-games, however, the player must also keep an eye on the TV because the mother keeps checking to see if you are asleep, at which point you must pause the game and hide under the covers.  It very clever and extremely frustrating when you get caught or when the sleep meter runs out.

This is a brilliant game for youngsters to play and keeps with the Nintendo philosophy of local multiplayer.  The graphics look fantastic in HD and the sounds are spot on.  A good first party title for any family Wii U owner.