Do it yourself on Nintendo DS

An important warning for those who like "WarioWare" games but despise the idea of creating their own fun: This one may not be for you -- at least, not yet.

Also, a word of warning for anyone who enjoys a creative challenge or has aspirations to enter the world of animation, character and/or game design: If you don't at least check this out, you're doing yourself a disservice.

Like every "WarioWare" game before it, "WarioWare D.I.Y." sports a collection of microgames, which are like minigames but generally toss out one vaguely worded objective, allow five seconds or fewer for players to figure out and complete the challenge, and then whisk away before another microgame pops up and repeats the cycle until players simply cannot keep up.

But the "D.I.Y." in the title isn't kidding. Where previous games came bundled with more than 200 microgames each, "D.I.Y." has barely more than 90, and not all of them are even new. If you want more than that, guess what? Make them yourself.

Fortunately, that's not a concession of laziness on Nintendo's behalf, but instead the real reason "D.I.Y." exists.

In spite of the obvious limitations on hand with regard to the hardware and the microgame format, Nintendo has put together a game design tool that's shockingly robust.

The full might of the tool isn't apparent at first glance, when "D.I.Y." asks players simply to draw a character that the game inserts into a prescripted microgame. Initially, this appears to be all "D.I.Y." is -- players performing fill-in duty while the game does all the creative, complicated stuff.

"D.I.Y." obviously doesn't allow for the creation of the next "Legend of Zelda" game, and the limitations of the microgame format are in place. But the tools do not skimp on control.

Players can create objects separately using a capable paint editor and, in similar fashion to basic Adobe Flash design, can script those objects to move and react according to input triggers and other conditions. Ambitious creators can stack win conditions for extra challenge, and there's even a little music composition tool to create a soundtrack.

Nintendo goes a little crazy with the tutorials -- Photoshop pros who don't need basic paint program instruction will be dismayed to discover they can't just skip ahead -- but the lessons are brisk, effective and, with Wario's help, funny.

The tools' respective interfaces benefit from similar attention to detail. "D.I.Y." toes the line between whimsy and efficiency to resonate equally with designers-to-be and Nintendo fans.

Happily, all your hard work need not be for your eyes only.