Wario Land: Shake It is the only first-party Wii title I am looking forward to this year. Granted, that's not saying much, but based on my brief time with the game, Shake It looks like a worthy entry in the Wario Land series.

Shown only in Nintendo's private booth, I was only able to play through the first level of Shake It, which introduces the player to the game's controls and structure. This Wii title is entirely made up of 2D sprites and is modeled after Wario Land 4. As described in our preview, Wario's greed drives him to team up with Captain Syrup to save the Merfles in the Shake Dimension. As far as I could tell from the map screen, the game consists of 20 levels (5 worlds x 4 levels each). I was unable to discern the purpose of the potions and other items on sale in Captain Syrup's shop, aside from the maps.

All of Wario's essentials make the move to Wii, and he handles more or less as he did in the GBA game. You can ram forward with (1), jump with (2), and butt-stomp by pushing down in mid-air. You can also pick up and throw baddies, charging the throw with (1) and aiming by tilting the controller. In the intro level, this technique was required to hit a switch on the ceiling. Shaking the remote also allows Wario to cause earthquakes that can modify his surroundings and rattle baddies for more goods. Interestingly, after sliding down a ramp, Wario no longer rolls into a ball. He instead clumsily crashes, although his momentum still allows him to break some blocks. Once he has found and rescued the captured Murfle in a level, Wario must escape to the level's entrance/exit in a timed sequence, just as in Wario Land 4. The escape route is mostly different from the route taken to rescue the Murfle. To aid Wario, the escapee points in the direction of the exit.

There were no vehicles or transformations in the introductory level, but it did contain a few other things of interest. There were special pipes that launched Wario forward at full speed. I had to turn Wario around to maintain his momentum and make a jump. This sequence was reminiscent of Fire Wario. Each level also contains treasure chests to open and objectives to complete for replayability. The first level had three of each; an objective I inadvertently completed was to stomp on a specific baddie, but challenges will likely become more complex.

Although the first level showed very little, the graphics and animations I saw were crisp and humorous. Wario squirms as he squeezes through pipes and jiggles as he walks. Colors were vibrant, and the foreground, a pirate ship, is detailed with wood patterns. Promotional videos also showcase anime cut-scenes, vehicles (which the Nintendo representative implied were critical for boss battles), and the classic Snowman Wario transformation.

Shake It will not revolutionize the Wario Land formula, but perhaps that's a good thing. It doesn't look like it will be as inspired as Wario Land 3, but the title certainly looks better than Wario: Master of Disguise. With Animal Crossing and Wii Music as Nintendo's headliners for this year, it's nice to see something more traditional from the publisher.