Turn It Around is a collection of 24 minigames that all involve using the stylus to nudge and spin a large wheel depicted on the touch screen. The game also allows two players to duke it out competitively by linking up two individual DS systems and cartridges. However, before you go rushing out to buy what ought to be the second coming of WarioWare, you should know that the majority of minigames included in Turn It Around are lame and the touch-screen controls rarely work like they should.
Like Nintendo's WarioWare, the minigames in Turn It Around vary widely in terms of length and quality. The best ones are the knockoffs of Taito's classic games, such as Arkanoid and Fishing Master, which employ elaborate graphics. They also really give you a workout moving the onscreen representations of the paddle or fishing pole back and forth. There are six or seven minigames like that, while the rest are less time-consuming or good-looking; they tend to feature simpler tasks like keeping a man upright on the subway or guiding sushi pieces on a conveyor to their intended recipients.
The controls behind every minigame are roughly identical. There's a round disc on the touch screen, and you're supposed to rotate it using the stylus. A few minigames require fine, short movements. The rest challenge you to make rapid circles with the stylus as if you were trying to drill through the machine. While that does start to feel uncomfortable after a while, the real problem is that the game can't keep up with the stylus during those speedy minigames. Rather than spinning rapidly, the onscreen disc will start and stop instead. An alternative, button-based control scheme is available for most games. The button setups are generally counterintuitive, which means you won't feel as drawn in to the experience as you would using the touch screen. Ironically, though, you'll achieve better scores using the buttons.
Even if the minigames weren't lame and the controls weren't dodgy, you'd still find yourself becoming tired of Turn It Around within minutes. WarioWare had multiple competitions and story arcs. The single-player mode in Turn It Around simply involves completing all 24 games. They do feature cute cartoon characters in goofy settings, at least. The two-player mode is slightly more enjoyable because another person is involved, but you and your friend will quickly grow tired of that too after you've had your fill of randomizing events or competing to see who can control the most board game squares.
While many of the game's shortcomings are predictable, considering the game's budget price, that doesn't excuse the poor minigame design or the broken touch-screen controls. The Nintendo DS definitely needs an alternative to Nintendo's WarioWare. Unfortunately, Turn It Around is not it.
