Wario World E3 2003 Preshow Report

Nintendo will have Wario World for the GameCube on display at this year's E3. In the game, you'll play as Wario, the money-grubbing evil counterpart of Nintendo's kinder, gentler plumber Mario.

According to Wario World's background story, Wario has been busy hoarding wealth as usual, but a gem he recently acquired turned out to be a demon in disguise--a demon that can turn his other precious gems into powerful monsters. In order to reclaim his vast fortune (and to have any hope of acquiring even more ill-gotten gains), he'll have to punch, kick, butt-stomp, and grapple his way to victory against an army of different enemies in his quest to regain his treasures.

Wario will have a number of different fighting moves at his disposal, including a standard combination of punches, his rushing headbutt attack, his butt-stomp attack, and a few different grapples that he can use to grab a single enemy, but deal damage to other enemies nearby. For instance, Wario will have a pile-driver grapple which causes him to leap upwards into the air and plow his enemies' heads into the ground, creating an explosion that damages nearby enemies. Over the course of his adventures, he'll encounter a host of bizarre enemies ranging from animated dinosaur skeletons, ghosts, and circus clowns, as well as boss enemies at the end of each area. Wario World is scheduled for release later this year.