Bargain Bin Gaming- Episode 11- WTF

wtfboxOver the course of video game history, there hasn’t been anything quite like “WTF.” Covered in Japanese eccentricities and the most unusual gameplay to ever be featured in a video game, “WTF,” or “Work Time Fun,” on the PSP provides a unique experience unavailable anywhere else.

No one would ever think that playing a batch of simple, repetitive and dated mini-games for money to buy meaningless trinkets would be this much fun, but “WTF” manages to make it so and much more. Picking between four different mini-games to play a day, gamers have the opportunity to earn cash that can be used on in-game vending machines that can buy everything from useless trinkets to new games or even tools for your PSP,

While the trinkets range from everything such as a pair of false Dracula teeth [the wax kind, Dracula doesn’t really exist, does he?] to food magnets that have absolutely no real purpose in the game, the tools, such as the Chinese Astrologer, Eye Spy and Ramen Timer [yes, you heard it right] are downright hilarious and can easily keep you occupied on that ride to school or work. They’re also pretty useful.

One of the tools is actually designed to help you find how much to pay when you go out to dinner and decide to divvy up the tab amongst yourself and your friends. Just enter in the bill and the tip you want to pay and faster than Emeril Lagasse can say “bam,” you’ll know exactly what you and your friends have to pay. Depending on how stingy your friends are, that tool by itself can save you the money it cost to purchase the game.

Despite the pleasure you’ll have messing with the tools that game has to offer, the best part of the game is in fact, the games. Ranging from trying to cross the street picking up “magical” mushrooms along the way to fielding ground balls from a skeleton with a cowboy hat on, the games in “WTF” are so easy to learn that anyone can enjoy them and offer enough challenge to attract hardcore gamers.

On the whole, the addictiveness of the mini-games and huge amount of unlockables easily makes up for the fact that the graphics, sound and control are more along the lines of SNES kart than a PSP UMD. Nevertheless, old school gamers with an aptitude for games along the lines of “Mario Party” and “WarioWare” will fall in love with “WTF,” while gamers looking for lush 3D graphics and unbelievable analog control will be forced to go somewhere else.

It’s definitely not a game for everyone, but if given an opportunity, “WTF” may find a permanent place in your heart and inside your PSP.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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