Wario Ware Twisted! (Game Boy Advance)

The evil and money-hungry Wario returns for his second GBA adventure with a plethora of new and weird micro games to keep players equally frustrated and amused. There's no real plot in WARIO WARE TWISTED! besides the basic back story explained in the intro: Wario and his friends invented tricky games to make them money; it's your job to figure out how to beat them -- and prove that you're smarter and quicker than Wario and his cronies.

Most of the games have the same basic structure (avoid something, jump over something, identify something, break something) but the zaniness of each particular situation -- and the speed of which the games come at you -- throw you off guard time and time again. For example, one minute you are shaving someone's face and the next, pulling on a roll of toilet paper. Instead of just quick thumb-numbing action, the game cartridge has a built-in gyro sensor to detect movement; this lets the GBA know when you are swinging the unit back and forth in accordance with the game's wacky demands.

Players are given about four seconds to figure out how to complete tasks and even less time to absorb the hilarity of the scenarios before being given another command. But really, having more time to complete the task would ruin the fun. This version is more complicated than the original, and packs a lot more challenges. The later levels can involve both swinging and button-pressing action, and it gets very complicated trying to remember which games require which action in the blink of an eye.

The new Spindex feature helps by allowing you to return to practice any game you've already played. There is also a Souvenir section where the goodies you win after completing any Boss Stage (the last great challenge of any given round) are kept. Souvenirs range from wind-up music boxes to kaleidoscopes to new games utilizing the motion technology. Wario Ware Twisted! is sure to suck in the kids, and is potentially just as enjoyable to adults -- it's perfect for kids without a lot of video game experience.