Late to the Party: Wario Ware: Twisted

Platform: GameBoy Advance
Publisher: Nintendo
Review Type: Touchy
Version: Retail

Wario Ware: Twisted!, which came out this May, was an early hint at the kind creative thinking behind Nintendo's forthcoming Revolution console. The portable game makes clever use of a built-in gyro to add a new dimension to the fast-paced, gameplay of the quirky Wario Ware series. The game is played by titling, shaking and upending the GameBoy Advance. This introduction of motion to the Wario Ware formula, especially the occasional inversion of the screen, literally turns gameplay conventions upside down -- forcing the player to think on their toes.

It's hard to talk about this game without pointing out it's anarchic brand of humor. Through non-sequiter, potty humor and gameplay surprises, Wario Ware: Twisted! is quite capable of generating laughs. More subtly, the game utilizes a vast array of art styles. The main characters are rendered in cartoony sprite animation. Games bounce between a plethora of looks such as claymation, 8-bit and Picasso-esque line drawings. In one boss battle an Ultraman-like Sentai hero, drawn in textured ink brush strokes, battles giant noses by launching his fists into their nostrils.

The fast-paced of Wario Ware: Twisted! is very similar to the prior two games. I see them as a primer in the language of video games. They boil down the mechanics of play into tiny, bite sized bits, shuffle them and present them in a context completely devoid of context. Wario Ware, Inc.: Mega Micro Game$ was our review of the history of gaming. Wario Ware: Touched! touched upon and explored the possibilities of the unique DS input and Wario Ware: Twisted! is a tantalizing taste of next gen controls yet to come.

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