Warioware: Smooth Moves doesn't have epic drama. It doesn't have deeper meaning. Heck, it doesn't even have much of a plot. What it does have, though, is fun.
In theory, it all begins when Wario steals the "form baton" (that is, the Wii remote) from its sacred temple. As he runs for his life from a giant boulder, the player steps in to defeat a series of fast-paced "microgames," the series' signature, which each only last a few seconds. Every microgame uses the Wii remote in a different way. Hold it like an elephant's trunk and pick apples from a tree. Rest it on your hip and do the hula with a giant doughnut. Use it like a fan to waft away unpleasant odors. Wario's town is full of people with their own sets of microgames and their own mini-stories—some of which involve adorable domestic animals dancing disco.
Silly and strange as it may be, Smooth Moves makes great use of the Wii remote. Plus, between the unlockable games and the multiplayer mode, there's plenty to break up the high-speed microgames. Realistic darts? Instant classic. But who would've thought hitting a ping-pong ball up an endless tower could be just as much fun?
Beyond the game: Smooth Moves can be a sensory overload. Beyond the bright colors and the flashing lights, there's the quirky, upbeat music that gets players pumped for an ensuing onslaught of microgames.
Worth playing for: Every new "form" of using the Wii remote is introduced by an unseen but hilarious form-baton sensei, who offers wisdom on such "noble" moves as "The Janitor," "The Mohawk," and "The Big Cheese."
Frustration sets in when: Warioware's five-second microgames work because they're simple enough that they can be understood instantly. But when a microgame isn't so intuitive—straighten the papers? Straighten them how?—the game's unforgiving pace leaves no time to understand.
Final judgment: More fun than is probably healthy.