Archive notice: This article was originally published on September 29, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
2D platform games such as Wario Land: The Shake Dimension have delighted fans for decades. They run and run and run … and jump, hop, swim and fly, and nothing can stop them. The heroes of 2D platformers, including Super Mario, Luigi, Wario and their companions, have been racing through the world of video games for 25 years. Technology and game graphics have made enormous progress since the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) arrived in 1983, but the simple concept of 2D platform games continues to thrill fans.
With Wario Land: The Shake Dimension, now available in shops, the popular genre comes to Wii as well. It demonstrates that retro charm and a proven game concept can be combined perfectly with the new technical possibilities of the motion-controlled console.
Super Mario Bros., the first game for Nintendo’s first NES home console, was itself a 2D platformer. It remains the best-selling video game of all time. Its legendary reputation rested on immersing gamers in what was then the most complex and expansive video game yet created. They experienced a complete story, and the character they identified with was not a superhero but an ordinary little fellow: Super Mario, the plumber. Unlike earlier platform heroes, he did not simply jump from platform to platform against the same background. Instead, he slipped through pipes from one fantastic game world to the next to rescue a princess from the villain Bowser. Even after 25 years, gamers remember the title enthusiastically; for many, it was their introduction to the new pastime of video gaming.
Yet it is not only the genre’s amusing graphics and game worlds that still make fans of 2D platformers reach for the controller. Above all, it is the brilliantly simple principle of an obstacle race demanding quick reactions and particular dexterity. Whether 2D heroes crawl through pipes, climb scaffolding, leap across moving platforms or jump over chasms, they charge forward, outwit their opponents and collect as many coins, stars or other extras as possible. The pace of 2D platform games sweeps up everyone who tries them.
In his first Wii adventure of his own, Nintendo’s favourite villain Wario proves that the latest generation of console can draw entirely new sparks of fun from the good old 2D platformer. In Wario Land: The Shake Dimension, released on September 26, players accompany Wario on his crazy hunt for the pirate king Shake King and his hidden treasure. The Wii Remote and its motion sensors open up completely new play techniques. Players hold the remote with both hands like a classic controller, but in addition to button combinations they now shake and turn it. Coins can be shaken out of money bags, for example, while vehicles can be controlled with simple steering movements.
Wario Land: The Shake Dimension is a retro-style game filled with amusing innovations. The intuitively understandable Wii Remote controls make it easier for newcomers to enter a classic game genre. For experienced players, meanwhile, it offers a nostalgic journey back to the beginnings of gaming. Simply jump, run and shake—fun can be that easy.
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