A fun game that takes longer to set up than it does to play.
WarioWare: Snapped!, one of the DSiWare launch titles, doesn't feel like a game. It feels a lot more like a tech demo that shows off how to use the DSi Camera in a game…assuming perfect playing conditions. That's not to say the game isn't fun; it just means that the biggest challenge of the game is configuring the camera properly.
Snapped!, like other WarioWare games before it, uses its system's new technology—in this case the DSi Camera—and crafts numerous microgames around this technology using a unique sense of humor. This iteration only has 20 microgames split into four groups. Each group of five games is played linearly, and the order of the games never changes. One of the four groups is designed for two players on one system, which is a lot of fun, but makes the single player experience even more lacking because five of the games require two.
The games are played by moving the silhouette of the player's head and/or arms on-screen. This is accomplished by going through a lengthy setup process each time before you start a mini-game set. You have to be in the correct lighting environment with the proper contrast behind you. Then, as long as the light doesn't change and you remain in the exact position you began in, the controls will work correctly. It reminds me of how I had to search for the perfect lighting conditions play my original model Game Boy Advance.
It's a shame that the setup process is so overwrought because when the game works, even partially so, it is fun and amusing. It just doesn't last that long. The best part is that while you play the games, which range from moving your hands to collect coins to playing peek-a-boo with a baby, the game takes pictures of you that are then put together at the end in an amusing manner. Sadly, you can't transfer these pictures anywhere outside of the game.
Surprisingly, the only part of the game that keeps track of a high score is the credits sequence, in which you have to move your head from side to side to collect the oncoming names and titles. You get scored for how many of the names and titles you collect. This is a nice diversion, but nothing more.
WarioWare: Snapped! is a lot of fun, but it never really goes anywhere: it is just a demo of what the DSi Camera can do. You can play through all of the game's content in about ten minutes, and the only joy in going back is if you want to show it off to a friend or see what goofy pictures the game takes of you while you play it. If any of that sounds appealing to you, then go ahead and buy it, but don't expect anything long-lasting.
Utsusu Made in Wario
WarioWare: Snapped!
WarioWare: Snapped!
