GENRE
	Simulation
	DEVELOPER
	Namco Bandai
	PUBLISHER
	Namco Bandai
	NUMBER OF PLAYERS
	1-4
	WI-FI ENHANCED
	No
	DS COMPATIBLE
	No
	BUY NOW AT

Earlier this year, the many folks assembled at Namco Bandai's Editors' Day event snickered and groaned at the goofy promotional video that introduced We Cheer. The game is, after all, unapologetically cute-- bobble-headed anime cheerleader girls, with plasticine smiles and rainbow-colored hair, strut, bounce and sway to the sunniest pop soundtrack to hit Wii since Boogie. Yet perhaps more distinctly, it's about cheerleading: there's nothing macho about it, and the blatant Claire's marketing tie-in and pink-purple game box proudly asserts that. Therefore, the manly thing to do is eye-roll and dismiss We Cheer.

Yet this is no powder-puff game: it's challenging, proving as athletic as any "sports" game on Wii, and features gameplay and music that is sure to make it a hit for any casual or music game fan, girl or guy. Proof of this occured at the aforementioned press event: everyone who tried it was surprised how fun it was.

visuals

We Cheer follows well in the footsteps of many music and dance games released before it. In the primary Championship mode, a veritable pack of about 20 cheerleaders dance out unique choreographies across varied, colorful and dynamic stages, while the camera swoops and pans perfectly to the music. The cheerleaders themselves have bubbly personalities and a significant degree of physical variation thanks to creative hairstyles and differing facial features, though their tendency to flip facial expressions, slideshow style, during a routine is a bit robotic and perhaps a subtle commentary on the "real or fake?" enthusiasm cheerleaders are required to have.

All the cheerleaders in a gamer's squad can be customized. Whilst names, hairstyles and faces are fixed to specific girls, each can have her hair and skin tone changed to a number of shades across the spectrum. Further, the cheerleaders' outfits feature an ever-growing set of unlockable halter tops, shirts, sweaters, jackets, skirts, pants and shoes, each piece of which having various color patterns and can have its three colors changed however the gamer wants. For us, that meant creating the ultimate goth cheer squad-- pale skinned, dark haired, black pom poms, and black and red outfits with "evil" written across the chest-- probably not the target market of Claire's, but all the more fun.

We Cheer's stages and choreography are delightful for both gamers and anyone watching the show. The stages are inspired by locations across the U.S., from a Hawaiian-based stage to Times Square to a giant toy parade in a theme park. The stages get expectedly more hectic with great performances-- pyrotechnics go off, confetti drops, and the background becomes even more alive. In one striking example, a performance in the center of an Indy 500-themed race track is rewarded with an explosion of stock cars racing on the track behind the cheerleaders. Each stage also has a livelier, often night-time themed variation when the cheer squad is ready to graduate to the hard difficulty mode.

Each song has a unique dance routine-- part of the excitement of progressing through the game's songs is seeing what dramatic starting position the squad will be in at the start of the song and, then, if any melodramatic movements will occur in the routine, like cowering to the floor and then theatrically reaching to the sky with one hand while slowly standing. Regardless the gamer's interpretation of the motion-captured dancing, it's solidly choreographed and consistently entertaining and varied, though much more dance-based than acrobatic, if any Bring It On fans are hoping for flips and tumbles.

audio

We Cheer's licensed soundtrack is perfect for the game and features over 30 master tracks that run the gamut from '80s pop to Disney Channel stars' songs, even adding in a sizable helping of modern day pop punk and emo. "Walking on Sunshine" and "Perfect Day" are natural, summary fits, as are the thumpier "C'mon Ride the Train" and "Whoomp! (There It Is!)," though songs from The Ataris and Plain White Tees are just as nice complements. Perhaps the best-fitting two tracks are from The Go! Team, who seem to make nothing but old-school-styled, chanting cheerleader music.

Commendation is also worth mentioning for many of the original tracks that pepper menus and the title screens. They're often catchy and completely in tune with the cheerleader vibe.

Minimal voice acting pops up in short dialogue cut scenes, be it girly giggles or short spoken phrases. These elements, however, could have been dropped-- they're repeated too often and quickly tiresome.

gameplay

Other reviewers have savaged this title for being too difficult or flawed in motion control, and it certainly is not as pick-up-and-play as would be expected for a game with a Claire's sponsorship. Yet nobody said cheerleading is easy, and that's true in this game. Yes, there's a steep learning curve up front-- does the game really expect you to do a rapid pirouette in place, remote held out from your chest, or will a stand-fast, half-hearted cabbage patch move suffice? These sorts of questions make for a challenging indoctrination. With practice, however, most all moves become achievable, and the game then becomes addictive, though perfectionists should note that getting a perfect rating for any routine is near impossible-- inevitably a hand full of moves in any routine are not registered correctly, but that doesn't mean a song can't be beaten with a high score.

Whether in the championship, cheer off, work out or practice modes, gameplay follows the same conceit. Arrow paths arc and trace across the screen, and then a split second later the gamer must move the corresponding remote at the same speed the paths were drawn, careful to follow the path's shape and "pop" the remote at the end of the path. Sometimes the paths are simple straight lines, some are loop-de-loops, some are sweeping arcs from behind the gamer to in front: there are plenty of individual moves, and oftentimes they come at rapid speed, requiring a song be practiced several times before the full routine becomes predictable. Once the core set of movements are learned and more quickly "readable," though, later, brand new songs are easy to get through on the first or second try in the normal difficulty mode.

Unfortunately, the game does seem like it would benefit from the as-yet-unreleased motion plus peripheral because movements, as mentioned above, often feel like they've been executed correctly, but the game doesn't always think they were done right. "Not that way!" or "A little harder!" pops up for a split second to explain failed movements, and for the first couple hours, the deluge of these messages make the gamer feel like the game's broken. Yet strangely, after a certain point, the required body movements start to make sense and the routines become accomplishable, so long as the gamer expects that, even with added confidence, occasional moves will still be unrecognized, but songs will be cleared.

We Cheer does offer two control variations to make things less stressful for budding cheerleaders: the game can be played with two remotes, one for the right pom pom and one for the left, or with a single remote, for which a gamer only has to mimic the right pom pom's moves and can still progress through the game. Cheering with a single pom pom is certainly less stressful and less to think about, but the sense of achievement in beating a routine with both pom poms flailing is much more satisfying. And sometimes, "flailing" is the operative word: sneaky Wii Sports players who smugly soared through that game's Tennis and Bowling modes with mere, Jedi-like wrist flicks will find that methodology does not work in We Cheer: the game is more receptive (and often more forgiving) with large, dramatic movements, just as if you were really performing the moves shown on screen. This can be quite an aerobic workout; just be sure that no people, animals or houseplants are nearby when playing, because they will indeed get whacked just as the Wii's start-up illustration warns.

Of the various modes to play through, Championship is the most rewarding as it's where extra stages, outfits, cheerleaders and songs are unlocked. The choreography is often very entertaining and is fully fleshed out in this mode, whereas the Cheer Off two-to-four player competition is missing the extra camera effects and pyrotechnics.

Yet We Cheer stops short of being fully inclusive in its representation of cheerleading, and perhaps a bit sexist to more sensitive gamers: only girls cheerlead, and only guys run or work at the venues the girls cheer at. At first the game implies, in a stream of constant outfit and cheerleader member unlocks, that eventually male cheerleaders will be added to the team as well: this expectation makes sense since the first character seen at each venue joins the squad (along with her outfit) if a song's beaten there. Yet when male characters replace the unlocked cheerleaders as "hosts" of the venues, the game never explains that the guys shown will never give up their careers of race car driving, marching band or club-running to join the squad, but for some reason they all have extensive closets full of girl's cheerleading outfits to give your squad for later cheer victories. Yes, the glass ceiling is firmly in place, though it seems some cheerleading fetishists are on the other side of it. Admittedly, the choreography in We Cheer does suit girls best, and it might have been awkward to see a male character performing the moves, but this is a noticeable shortfall when compared to THQ's All Star Cheer Squad, which has cheerleaders of both genders.

multiplayer

We Cheer features a decent variety of cooperative and competitive variations of its single player modes, most notable being Championship and Cheer Off. Championship is interesting in that it shows the full choregoraphy and stage effects of the single player mode, but each player controls either the left or right pom pom of the squad's leader, almost like two gamers share the single player's role. A two-player Cheer Off puts two different squads on screen and allows both participants to control two pom poms (remotes) each, while a four-player version is the simplified single remote variation. The only thing holding We Cheer back from being an instant party game classic is the aforementioned learning curve will slow down first-time players struggling to process the gestures rapidly flashing across the screen.

overall

We Cheer is an excellent and novel take on creating a game that utilizes Wii's motion controls for something intuitive and unexpected. The up-front learning curve can be discouraging at first, but aspiring young cheerleaders as well as dance or music game fans of any age or gender will find this cheerleading incredibly addictive and fun after a little practice. You may look silly to friends while playing it, but the music, choreography and sunny presentation should make most anyone smile, and those playing will get a decent, light workout to boot.

8.2/10