WarioWare D.I.Y. (DS) Review

Channel your creative energy and become a video game developer with WarioWare D.I.Y. (Do It Yourself). The latest entry in the acclaimed series casts you as a designer, charged with helping Wario make tons of cash by dreaming up and then releasing your own microgames. Nintendo doesn't provide you with infinite possibilities, but the wealth of tools and options allows for a near limitless number of games to create, so long as you understand how to use the included tools.

First, it's important to note that D.I.Y. isn't your standard WarioWare. Although the game includes 90 pre-made microgames, it won't take long to unlock and experience them. Instead, the focus was put on user creation, where instead of slogging through over 100 of these mini games, you make everything from the ground up, drawing your subject with simple art tools, adding a background, programming the artificial intelligence and even composing the music with 50 different instruments and sound effects; you can even hum into the DS microphone.

All of this takes place at the DIY Studio, home of the MakerMatic 21, the device that lets you create microgames. Here, you'll design your subject using tools that remind us of Microsoft Paint on the PC/Mario Paint on the SNES. There's a ton of stuff to help bring your artistic vision to life, including various templates, spray paint, markers, a fill tool and even set pieces such as trees, rocks and Nintendo characters like Mario and Princess Peach.

That said, these tools take a while to learn. You can't just go in there and pump out several microgames without wading through the mandatory tutorial, and even then, you may struggle to make the simplest thing. Nintendo does its best to streamline and simplify the process, with an easy to use touch screen interface and intermediate/advanced lessons, but let's face it, game development takes a certain level of skill, and there's nothing the company can do to help you become better at drawing or paying attention. Therefore, you should give serious thought as to whether WarioWare D.I.Y. is the right game for you, and most importantly, for young children. The ESRB rated it E for Everyone, but we could see kids having a tough time figuring things out.

On that note, the more effort you put into learning the tools, the better your microgames will be. There are limitations, of course. You can't program an object to do anything (Nintendo included a pre-set number of commands), but with some quick thinking, adjustments can be made so that your original idea comes to fruition in some form.

If you need a break, you can always fall back on those included microgames, or take on some of Wario's freelance projects, where you'll need to satisfy an assigned condition to make a game work properly. The Assembly Dojo, for instance, has 32 work in progress games to complete.

In addition, you have the option of sharing your microgames with other DS owners, and even on the Wii through the recently released WarioWare D.I.Y. Showcase. Unfortunately, you'll need to exchange 12 digit friend codes to do this, and you can only make two games available at one time.

Despite the learning curve and handful of microgames, WarioWare D.I.Y. is one of Nintendo's most ingenious and satisfying DS efforts, and we strongly recommend playing it on the DSi XL, where those big screens make it easier to draw and view your creations. Now go out there and become the next Shigeru Miyamoto.