Nintendo’s popular Wario Ware franchise returns to the small screen in Wario Ware: Touched! for the Nintendo DS. The DS incarnation of the game is the third Wario Ware title to be released in North America, the first being the Game Boy Advance release that was followed by a GameCube title.

What makes Wario Ware: Touched! unique is that it uses all of the Nintendo DS’s capabilities to their fullest.

You’ll be using your unit’s stylus and touch screen to tap, poke and rub your way through various mini-games presented by a variety of ingame characters. In addition to the stylus, gamers will be using the Nintendo DS’s built-in microphone to complete specific mini-games that require you to blow into the microphone.

The game features ten levels each hosted by a particular oddball character. Each level contains character-specific mini-games. For example the karaoke robot Mike will require the use of the microphone to complete his micro games, while the character 9-Volt will have you playing a series of retro-based Nintendo games. Wario Ware: Touched! features a total of 180 playable mini-games.

The mini-games in Wario Ware: Touched! are small and only last, at the most, five seconds.

Instructions on how to proceed through the micro game are displayed on screen as soon as the game kicks off. Failure to complete the minigame in the allotted time will result in the loss of a game credit. You begin the micro game mayhem with a total of four credits at your disposal. Read more…

The “For the Gamer” column is a weekly article that I write for [here] magazine based out of Moncton New Brunswick, Canada.