Wario Land: The Shake Dimension

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When it comes to its most famous mascot Nintendo likes to play things safe, with Mario used to front sure-fire platformers, sports titles and party games. But if Nintendo has a slightly riskier idea, it calls on Wario. The WarioWare series is perfectly matched to its host character - funny, strange and convention-breaking - and The Shake Dimension is another example of the cantankerous fattie turning genre conventions on their head.

While on the face of it, Wario's new game might not seem like such an unusual proposition, particularly given his well-documented 2D platforming past, the idea of a full-price title venturing into a genre long since abandoned by most home console developers seems very risky indeed. Especially as, to casual observers at least, it might seem to fall victim to the sort of laziness we regularly accuse other games of, with just the occasional use of the Wii's motion controls to liven up a pretty standard set-up. Yet while some will probably unfairly dismiss it as yet another pointless waggle-fest, playing The Shake Dimension really makes you wish that Nintendo would go 2D a little more often.

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Pompous Pirate
The game's story isn't much more than an excuse for Wario to go treasure hunting, and takes a back seat to the action after a glorious opening cartoon from Japanese animators Production IG, the team behind the anime sequences in the equally lovely DS puzzler Professor Layton And The Mysterious Village (due out here soon).

Wario receives a gift from long-time rival Captain Maple Syrup (who you may remember from the first Wario Land game) of an antique globe and telescope, which allow him to teleport to the titular Shake Dimension. But all is not well in this world, thanks to a fearsome pirate named the Shake King. He's kidnapped the queen of the dimension's inhabitants, the Merfles, and one escapee asks Wario to help rescue her, with the promise of a bottomless coin sack if he duly succeeds. Naturally, our anti-hero soon perks up at the idea of an infinite supply of money and dives in to help out.

There are five continents in the Shake Dimension, each with four stages and a boss level to get through before you can move on to the next. Though just completing the stages might not be enough to progress, as you'll need to collect plenty of money to purchase the maps from Captain Syrup's shop. She's not just in this for the ride, clearly. Her ship acts as the game's tutorial level, showing you the ropes both in terms of controls and the various gameplay mechanics.

Tilt And Tumble
While the basic platforming controls are pretty much exactly what you'd expect - Wario's power-dashes and butt-stomps joining the usual waddling and jumping - it's the Wii Remote's unique abilities that add a few neat twists. Firstly, if you jerk the controller downwards, Wario will slam his chubby fist into the ground, which is useful both for stunning enemies and activating various environment-sensitive features. Bomb blocks will explode, barriers will raise and you'll occasionally knock a precariously balanced rock down to your level, allowing you to clamber up to a previously unreachable area.

Shaking the Wii Remote while you've grabbed a stunned enemy often releases a giant clove of health-giving garlic, and you'll also be able to relieve various money sacks scattered about the stages of their valuable contents - though be sure to collect all of the coins as they spray everywhere otherwise they won't be added
to your wallet.

That's not all. The Remote's tilting abilities are also utilised. Hold down the 1 button while you've got hold of an enemy or a bouncy ball, and an arrow will appear. Tilt the Remote to aim the arrow in the direction you need to throw, and Wario will hurl said object in that direction. Similarly, squeeze Wario's immense backside into a cannon, and you'll be able to send him flying at a rate of knots through smashable rocks or other barriers. With tilt also used to guide the various vehicles you'll encounter on your travels (see the To The Wariomobile panel), it adds a 21st-century feel to controls which are otherwise basically decades old.

The platforming itself feels comfortingly familiar, as it's very similar to the handheld Wario titles - so basically a little slower and more thoughtfully-paced than Mario's adventures. Following classic Wario tradition, levels end with a dash back to the start. Once you've found the Merfle in its metal prison, you'll activate a siren which alerts the Shake King to your position, and a time limit counts down as you race to exit the stage with your rescued chum pointing the way. The time limits are very generous and you'll often reach the start with well over a minute remaining. But then there's a good reason for that: each level has a multi-layered structure.

Seek And Ye Shall Find
It's a game that's designed in the traditional Nintendo mould of being easy to learn but difficult to master, or, in this case, simple to finish, but incredibly tough to truly complete. While you can essentially breeze through the whole thing in around six to eight hours (though casual players might well struggle with the last couple of bosses), the levels are intended to be replayed multiple times. Each stage not only holds three treasure chests, which are increasingly difficult to locate the further you get into the game, but there are also specific mission-based tasks to fulfil, most of which will require at least two run-throughs to obtain the star that's awarded for each one.

Most stages have the same three objectives: reach the exit in a set time, collect a certain amount of coins or survive without losing energy. While these are tricky enough, others might ask you to find and kill a specific enemy, destroy every block on the stage, or finish the stage without hurting any animals - which might sound easy, but occasionally they'll be positioned in such a way that they're difficult to avoid.

Some of the tasks are particularly fiendish to complete, and you'll be attempting them several times over before success is yours. It's certainly worth it though, as wandering off the beaten track can often reward you with a map to a secret stage - and each of these has multiple stars to obtain.

It's Animazing!
Somehow we've come this far without mentioning the graphics, but it's no exaggeration to say that The Shake Dimension's animation is the best we've ever seen in a 2D platformer. Wario in particular is a joy to behold, arms flailing as he runs and eyes bulging when he lands arse first on a fork-headed foe. Though the basic enemies are disappointingly generic, the bosses are all memorable and the encounters themselves are all terrifically inventive. And while it's a far cry from the orchestral wonder of Super Mario Galaxy, the soundtrack is full of catchy themes, which can be unlocked and listened to from the main menu - another incentive to find all those secrets.

Though it's undeniably got plenty of replay value, there's just not quite enough of The Shake Dimension to warrant a Gold Award, and those who aren't interested in finding the hidden items are bound to feel short-changed. But more fool them: this is a deep, satisfying and delightfully nostalgic 2D platformer.