Nintendo Australia Wario Land: Shake It!

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.

All That Glitters

The more I played Shake It!, the more I became enamoured 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.

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.