WarioWare: Snapped! is the latest entry in the WarioWare series, and was a launch title for DSiWare. I was pleasantly surprised with how much fun the game was! The DSi is placed on a table and opened so that the camera points at the player’s face. The games are all controller solely by moving your head and hands within the camera’s view. The microgames, which are what the minigames are called in the WarioWare series, were all fun, and I did a lot of laughing while playing with my friends. One game has a wet dog controller by the player. The player must shake wildly to get the dog to dry off!
I did have some issues at first getting the camera to recognize me. At my desk, the game said it couldn’t distinguish between me and the background. I tried again later while at a restaurant and had the same result, although my friend was able to play. When I got home I tried again at my roommate’s desk and the camera saw me perfectly. You definitely have to be in good lighting conditions for the camera to operate correctly. You also need to make sure other people do not enter the camera’s vision.
Unlike the abundance of characters in the other WarioWare games, Snapped! only has four characters. Even with multiple tries needed for some levels, I still completed the game in under a half hour. I don’t think I see a lot of replay value besides using it as a tech demo for camera games for my friends, but WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Party Game$! for the GameCube was the only one I did replay because of the excellent multiplayer.
Each character has different microgames to play. Three of them are for one player, and one is for two players despite not actually specifying that. In addition to the cartoony graphics on screen, a gray blob represents what the camera sees so that the player can align himself or herself. The microgames involve moving your head and hands to particular locations, swatting things, grabbings thing, and other various activities. The game is able to detect when you open and close your mouth, which is used in one of the microgames. I was also surprised to find out that the game can tell when you turn head to the side. At the end of each character’s set of microgames, video or playfully edited snapshots of the player are shown. These range from small movies with simple stories starring the player to fun little photos that seem like the type that would come from photo booths.
In addition to the microgames corresponding to the four characters, the credits is also a game. The names scroll down the screen, and the player moves his or her head to cause a rollercoaster to collide with the letters. The more letters you get, the more points you get. At the end your photo is taken and your score is saved and displayed on the title screen.
At only 500 Nintendo Points ($5), I found it a worthwhile experience. I’d be very happy if Nintendo published more small, cheap, downloadable WarioWare games!
