Old school fans: rejoice (actual score: 8.8)
Nintendo has succeeded here where many have failed. For one thing, In my opinion, this is their best example of perfectly blending core and casual. Simply getting to the end of the level (and then back to the beginning) isn't that challenging. But who plays platformers at a bare minimum? For players who want a challenge, there are several, well, challenges to complete for every level. And they're quite challenging. Completing these challenges will reward you- sometimes with challenging (wow. is it just me or am I saying "challenging" a lot?) secret levels. It's a good set up that adds a lot of extra challenge (crap! I did it again!) and replayability.
Another area where it succeeds is "waggle". Now, the Wii remote is a pretty amazing little controler, but many 3rd party "supporters" have resorted to mindless remote shaking. I must say though, despite some initial skepticism, Nintendo manages to make shaking the Wii remote a lot of fun. Shaking the crap (and coins) out of your enemies and seeing that hillarious "wtf" look on their face is one of my favorite Wii moments. Thankfully, the game also makes good use of the Wii remote in other ways. Tilt controls are great for aiming projectiles (or controling the sub-war-ine) as well as aiming cannons. This makes for some great puzzles, and it's also fun in practice.
There's a lot more to praise- the beautiful visuals, the tight controls, the awsome cut-scenes, and superb boss fights. But there are some gripes that I have as well. Mainly, it didn't quite feel "Wario" enough. In previous games if you were stung by a bee your head would swell up to insane proportions and you'd float like a balloon. Set yourself on fire and you could burn down certain doors. It was stuff like that that made Wario so funny and unique. The shake stuff makes up for that for the most part but I still miss the old way. My other problem is with the music. Now, some people like it, but I personally can't stand it. It almost never matches the level or scenery. It's not even catchy. Sort of cheesey elevator music. Some people think it fits the games sillyness, but personally I'm dissapointed, as the soundtrack was always one of the high points of past Wario games.
Other than that, though, I have no problems with this game. I was going to mark it down for being too costy, but the price just dropped to $30 so you'd have to be a fool not to buy this. If you're a fan of old-school games, or are just wanting to get into the world of 2-D platformers, Wario Land: Shake it is the way to go.