"For the busy, the bored, the focus."

"zOMG itZ WaRiOwArEz on PSP!!!"
95% of the people that sees this game WILL at one point say "hey it's like Wario Warez". BUZZ not entirely, let me set things straight. While Wario Warez is a collection of really short games (1-3 second span?) that get faster and faster. Baitos is not! Some of the games are short, some of them take awhile and some have no end to it (kill me if I ever work for the pen factory). In fact alot of the games, you'll need to really focus. So do not dismiss this game just because of one similiarity with Wario Warez. Baitos is not for those who have ADD (no insult to those that have it...it's just something people say about Wario Warez)

"Japanese Humor"
Parody and parody. Some might be funny...that's if you understand what the heck is going on. I don't speak Japanese but I recognize some of the icons in the parodies. You can play as HG the miniature concert security, have no idea who HG is? Look it up. See how long you can "lift" the soccerball with Japanese Prime Minister Mr. Junichiro Koizumi. Then there are video game icons that you'll recognize. Also some of the games are just whacky, you'll play as a bar hopper that attempts to guess a girl's last 4 digits of their phone number. Or a professional "rock scissors paper" player and you'll soon enough find that "rock scissors paper". Oh yea... and the famous muscle man ramen timer (he's not a game just an utility).

"mini-games of all types"
Now to let the people know what kind of mind bending, side splitting mini games are there. There are short games and there are long games, games with no apparent goal and games that you can screw up in 1 second. Games that require intellect and games that require listening skills. Games that have a time limit and games that count by stages.

"I am not fluent in Japanaese, will I understand?"
That's quite a big issue for importers of gems that never make it to the states. I don't see Baitos ever coming to the states (muscle man anyone?). As for the whole understanding issues, there will be "some" difficulties. Some of the games (ie: diner waitress and the darn wildlife math game) will have you scratching you head and saying "huh?". Most games have easy control, you'll figure everything out by trial and error (how hard is it to tap a button?). One of the things you'll definetly miss out on, is the flavor of the emails sent to you after special accomplishments or repeated failures (I think so). I'm not even close to being fluent in Japanese, if I can manage then you can.

"Vizual/Awdio"
It's not going to blow your mind away on graphics, so don't count on it. The music though on some games can be fun to listen to or at least put up with. Something that I really love is the murmuring of the workers at the pen factory mini-game. Women speaking in Mandarin dialect, saying how she didn't get enough sleep last night. Or speaking of a cheating boyfriend. Or the old lady at the bar that you just guessed her number from, call her and hear her tell you she misses/hates you in Mandarin.

"Get or not to get"
I say get it if you like funky humor, funky mini games and don't mind some of the more boring ones (seriously...the pen factory will make me appreciate my future jobs). Some of the games will challenge you and some will bore you to death. Nothing is perfect, they found a good balance of each type of games you can play. You'll also be working to collect money to buy miniature collectibles, unlock games and utilities from egg machines. So if you're the type that strives to collect everything this is a game you'll like. If you didn't like anything I just mentioned, don't even bother to get it.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/30/06