Wario: Master of Disguise Member Review for the DS

Nintendo Proves It Can Have Tough Characters. . . sorta

Wario: Master of Disguise is the latest game in the life of Wario, everyone's favorite anti-Mario.  The basic concept of the game has something to do with jumping into your TV and trying to take the place of a superhero inside the game.  As the Game Revolution review states so well, the story does not make a lot of sense, but hell, when has Nintendo or any game maker had to hire a writing staff that understands anything at all about writing?  How does the game play though.

In short, not well.  The gameplay itself is simple, but with a much different focus than other Wario games, something that a potential buyer needs to realize.  The use of costumes as the primary way of getting around puzzles or fighting enemies is an interesting idea that ultimately leads to annoyance.  The controls in this game are unacceptable because they stop you from doing the very things needed to win the game.  If camera control or item management is iffy in a DS game, I can live with it.  However if you can't execute time critical commands because the developers didn't test enough, I can't excuse that.  This is not to say the game is so bad as to be unplayable.  While I do have a certain hatred for this title, that is not to say you CAN'T play it.  There is a solid foundation underneath here, with decent graphics and a honestly varied selection of costumes that do try to do different things to fit the situation. Ultimately, what is this game?

This game is a waste of money.  Its not good, in fact I would say that its not fun at all.  I don't understand the GR rating of a C because it offers so little that would keep you coming back for more than an hour or two.  The gameplay itself is frustrating because the selection of costumes is so difficult.  If your not trying to get a costume on, your barely paying attention to the rest of the game fly by you with very little difficulty.  Combine a lack of story with bad design by the company that made the system, and you have the classic bargain bin game.  When you see this piece of junk sitting at your local K-Mart, do yourself a favor and leave it there.  Just because Nintendo wants to prove that they don't have to be cute doesn't mean you need to pay for their teen angst.