Game & Wario

The 16 mini games included in Game & Wario wants to show of what the Wii U controller is capable of. For the most part it doesn’t really work. There are some bright spots but for the most part the mini games feel rather familiar. That said Game & Wario is still entertaining, humorous and wacky. But it is not in any way a revolution.

Game & Wario is an excellent choice for those who are new in the series and are looking for instant and simple fun. Nevertheless, people who are already familiar with the Wario Ware franchise, will be disappointed with the lack of originality in the mini-game design and may get bored pretty soon.

As Nintendo Land rival, Game & Wario's main strengths are originality in presentation, a good mood and a tribute to retro gaming. It is just unfortunate that the game mechanics have not been further strengthened.

What's there is crazy enough to keep you entertained but this is an underweight package. [Aug 2013, p.62]

It's not what we expected, since it's not as good as the Wario Ware titles we've played before, but still is a great option for those who enjoyed Nintendo Land.

Unlike the story depicted in Game & Wario, Wario’s latest game isn’t going to move units. It’s lacking in depth, and while some of the mini-games are stellar, the majority of them are uninspired and dull.

WarioWare fans have been waiting more than three years for the next proper entry in the series—and they’ll still be waiting after Game & Wario. This collection of minigames designed specifically for the Wii U doesn’t have the same style and panache of a regular WarioWare entry, but several entries do manage to re-create at least some of that classic magic.

Despite the number of single player games indicating otherwise, Game & Wario isn't at its best when played alone — with multiple willing participants it's a hoot and, while it doesn't match up to Nintendo Land as Wii U's premier multiplayer experience, it certainly has its share of games that you're going to want to play again and again.

Game & Wario is worth considering if you're a fan of the WarioWare series or quite simply want a handful of new mini-games to try on the Wii U GamePad, but would be worth considering as a rental to see if it's the right sort of game for you.

The time you’ll put into finishing the sixteen mini-games, will be a somewhat precarious experience. Sometimes you’ll have a lot of fun with the intelligent concepts, other times you’ll have to wade through the muck and will get annoyed by the simplistic and monotonous mini-games. You will push through it though, because the unlockables give this collection of mini-games just a little bit more to play for, than you might’ve expected in the first place.

It's not the party game we expected from the WarioWare creators. Only 16 minigames -and many of them for single player- aren't enough to catch the attention of gamers.

Game & Wario is a minigame collection with many ideas, but just a few of them are really good. As a GamePad showcase, it comes a little too late and without enough content; as a Warioware spin-off, it just looks bland and not too inspired.

There is fun in the package, although Wario has had more inspiration and creativity in his previous investments.

If you’re open-minded enough for that to justify your time, Game & Wario will satisfy you. I suspect that won’t be too many gamers though.

Game & Wario feels like Nintendo Land Part 2. It demonstrates the unique ideas behind the GamePad in an entertaining way. This would have been a nice game to have during the launch of the Wii U. Now it is nothing new and only interesting for brand new Wii U players.

Game & Wario could come as a disappointment if you’re accustomed to excellent past collections that bare the Wario moniker. While there may be a few glimpses of really clever ideas, they’re overshadowed by the amount of uninspired games that don’t lend themselves well to the hardware. Sorry Wario, guess you’ll have to look for future funding through another Crowdfarter.

Up to now Wario brought a hefty dose of madness to the minigames table. But like the rabbids he was tamed.

Well below the standards we've come to expect from Nintendo's inventive, silly franchise. [Issue#137, p.123]

Instead of tons of microgames, Game & Wario offers a few minigames that are a bit more complex and lengthy, but also much less fun.

Game & Wario has its moments, but these are mostly hidden under layers of dust and mediocrity, which is ironic for a series that managed to abstain itself from becoming a drag thus far. It uses the gamepad inventively from time to time, but that’s not enough to sell this technology to a wider audience. And that, is what Nintendo was hoping for in the first place.

Game & Wario is disappointing mainly because the heart of the series feels stripped out, and in its place is a collection of mostly uninspired mini-games. I really wanted to see Nintendo take advantage of the Gamepad in unique ways, not just have me tilt to steer.

Wario, what happened to the fun?

As a stand-alone title, it's without an audience. Even the most die-hard Nintendo faithful would be better off waiting for the next title to come down the pipeline.

Game & Wario isn't frantic like Wario Ware and hasn't the same variety, either. This game remains hilarious in visuals, and has some good minigames with great use of Wii U controller. However, other minigames are boring and multiplayer is poor.

Despite its dozen games and side activities, Game & Wario lacks any of the depth in design of something like Nintendo Land, which offers rich multiplayer experiences that really grab the attention of everyone around you.

Game & Wario is a wavering chapter of a saga that has always struggled to find its size on the home console.

You'll have fun while you're playing it, but the lack of depth will cut into the single player experience after a few hours. The multiplayer is very enjoyable, but not strong enough on its own.

There's fun to be had, but this isn't the reliable source of brilliant design that it should be. If you expected breezy old Wario to make sense of the Wii U in some fundamental manner, you're going to be disappointed by a game that occasionally seems quietly defeated by its host platform.

Even though some games are funny, Game & Wario loses most of the appeal of its predecessors proposing just a bunch of "not-so-special" games.

Nintendo simply has already provided us better minigames collections.

Given his rich history, Wario deserves better than this. [July 2013, p.116]

A terribly disappointing collection of recycled minigames that don't have the spirit of ingenuity of previous Wariowares. There's some fun to be had, but it feels like a tease; a mere experiment in video game comedy more than a game.

Game & Wario is the worst WarioWare game ever. A predictable and sometimes irksome experience that found itself overthrown by the freshness and style of Nintendoland. Only a couple of minigames prove to be funny to some extent.

Somewhere along the line, Nintendo Co. Ltd. reckoned there was enough to Intelligent Systems’ collection of 16 mini-games to turn it into its own full-blown and nearly full-priced ($39.99) retail game...As it turns out, this may have been a questionable decision.

Game & Wario is a very disappointing outing for a series that has pushed new hardware in zany yet inventive ways a number of times before.

Wario Ware was once bristling with creativity and energy, fizzing and sputtering with mad, short-form ideas, but Game & Wario is just a bit boring. The selection of games is sparse, and a couple of excellent ones don't make up for the rest.

Too much of Game & Wario feels like it's been done before. Its handful of smart designs provide fleeting thrills, while the rest are unfortunately forgettable.

Feels more like a collection of tech demos with a tacked-on Wario theme than a coherent experience. Game & Wario is nowhere near as fun as earlier Wario games.

Even though some games like ”Games” and “Islands” are really fun to play a few minutes, the majority of Game & Wario is a big and utter disappointment both to Wario-fans and gamers that liked Nintendo Land. I like the idea of multiplayer sessions without the need of buying any extra accessories wiimotes or nunchucks though.

Far, far away from the brilliance of the Wario Ware games.

Given Wario’s great gaming background, Game & Wario leaves much to be desired. The selection of games is sparse, and even though a few of the games are fun, it doesn’t make up for the amount of ones that aren’t.

The trademark Wario weirdness is still there, but Game & Wario is too uneven and frustrating to wholly recommend.

At the end of the day, Game and Wario is a compilation of a few good and a lot of mediocre experiences. You can see a ton of potential in a great Wario game for the Wii U but Game and Wario is not that game.

Even more than the title the expression comes from, Game & Wario suffers from the "Nintendo Land" syndrome : few mini-games, and fewer that are actually really fun. Its main appeal is the best console version of a Pictionary you'll find to date.

As disgusting as it is of me to say, if you're reading this and have a family to play this with then sure, you'll probably enjoy it more than most. With that said, having kids doesn't make you a moron, and even you shall eventually tire of what's here. There's just not very much depth.