I love WTF games. I love anything that leaves a weird impression on me. Remember the first time you played Katamari Damacy? Muscle March has a déjà vu feel about it, and I mean that in the best way possible.

Looking at preview screens from the game, I knew it was something that I needed to play, despite how horrible the experience may have been. Uber muscular, scantly clad men usually repel me, but the character roster includes a female and even a polar bear: nature’s equalizer.

D'aww?

The game, like many WTF games involves a simple premise. There are thieves about, and they want to steal your (the macho bodybuilders) all mighty protein powder for themselves. You and your friends must run after these hooligans and get your protein powder back! Easy enough you say? I don’t think so. You see, your enemies may be puny, but they’re fast, and are able to make strategic holes in walls to stop you. To keep your stamina up, you must make a pose in a wall’s hole, in correspondence to the one the enemy left, by making special poses, using the Wiimote and Nunchuck.

The controls are simple enough. Your left and right hand move up and down in accordance to the Wiimote an Nunchuck. There are four different poses for the bodybuilders, so there’s not much too keep track of. However, the learning curve is a bit steep. I lost about fifteen seconds into the first level trying to figure out the controls. If you’re as inept as me, the first level will take a few tries (cough, 7). After that, the game becomes much more user friendly….when the Wiimote wants to pay attention to your movements. I’d say it cooperates 80% of the time, it’s almost too sensitive. Yes, the controls are a tad iffy, but in the end it’s almost negligible. Almost.

The WTF Roster

I’ve been in love with the games art direction since I saw my first screen. The cell shaded graphics seem almost copied from those of the King of all WTF games: Katamari Damacy. The characters are all super quirky, and there are many to choose from, from whatever country you might fancy ala Street Fighter. The game moves rather fast, and there is so much going on the backround on just about every level. It’s almost to awesome, I’ve found myself distracted a few times from the chaos going on. I wouldn’t mark that down as a bad thing though. You’ll be putting down your Wiimote a few times, if only to get your laughter out of your system.

Closing in on the enemy

What’s a WTF game without an awesome soundtrack? Hearing it brings back memories of – you guessed it – Katamari Damacy. It’s J-Pop heavy soundtrack are almost required for this sort of game. The devs were wise to include one.

The Awesome

-Awesome/Hilarious art design

-Quirkiest game on WiiWare

-Original concept

-A steal at 500 points

-Up to four players

-Polar Bear in tight swimwear

-Soundtrack in the same league as Katamari’s

The Not so Awesome

-Steep learning curve

-Controls sometimes unresponsive

Verdict

Despite being absolutely ridiculous, this game is actually one of WiiWare’s more entertaining titles: not something I can say for most games priced at 500 points. If you’re into the WTF genre, don’t let this game get away.

Score: 9/10

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