October2010
Review Sengoku BASARA Samurai Heroes (Wii)
So many bad guys, so little fun
It's easy to think all hack & slash games are mindless and repetative in nature, but it doesn't have to be that way, as fans of the genre will know. Unfortunately, "mindless" and "repetitive" are the very words that spring to mind when writing this review, not because it's a hack & slash...
Review Resident Evil 2 (Nintendo 64)
The horror continues
Leon Kennedy's having a tough first day at work. As with every new job, there are new people to meet and new challenges to face – namely, zombies and killing said zombies. Capcom's Resident Evil 2 follows two concurrent storylines: that of Leon, a police officer, and Claire Redfield, who's in town to investigate the...
Review Resident Evil (GameCube)
Possibly the best in the series
In many ways, the GameCube remake of Resident Evil marks a return to where it all began. The original PlayStation release popularised the budding horror survival genre, and the events that took place at the mansion were, for a time, at the centre of the series' universe. The moment that gamers boot up the GameCube...
July2010
Review Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law (Wii)
Take the case! ...I think.
If you're a Hanna-Barbera cartoon, job security should be the least of your worries – just as long as you don't mind your occupation's title changing a bit. In 2000, winged warrior Birdman saw a resurrection in the suit and tie of a third-rate attorney. Other characters from the low-budget animation house came along for...
May2010
Review Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials & Tribulations (WiiWare)
Phoenix Wrong
Capcom's Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney series on DS has become a popular staple of the system over the past few years, combining a novel-style courtroom presentation with many of the unique gameplay functions of the DS system itself. The end product has been a very engaging gaming experience that allows players to feel like a part of an...
Another Capcom classic
With various versions of Street Fighter II, Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, a bunch of Mega Man games and two exclusive Final Fight sequels, the SNES was a good machine to own for Capcom fans. They also released many other games on the platform including U.N. Squadron, a frantic side-scrolling shooter originally released in arcades in...
April2010
Review Monster Hunter 3 (Tri~) (Wii)
A tri-umph
Monster Hunter Tri has a lot resting on its broad warrior’s shoulders. An online-enabled, unashamedly hardcore title for Wii with huge amounts of advertising and hype behind it, anything less than a critical and commercial success would be a huge blow to Capcom, as well as Nintendo’s never-ending crusade to market the Wii as a great...
Review Mega Man 4 (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
A bit weak, but still a good game
With both Mega Man 2 and Mega Man 3 ranking among the best NES games ever made, many people were quite excited when Capcom announced a fourth entry in the series back in 1991. After all, if they managed to make it even better, it would be pretty much near perfection! Sadly, it didn't quite turn out as people hoped...
March2010
Review Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth (DS)
Eureka!
Although four installments long already, the Ace Attorney series has never really changed much in terms of gameplay. Every previous game consisted merely of showing the right evidence to the right people, or at the right time, with only very minor additions or alterations between each title, like the Psycho Locks in the second and third...
Review Resident Evil: Deadly Silence (DS)
A good adaptation with obsolete game design
It's tough to judge the classics, especially one like the original Resident Evil. Ground-breaking when it first hit the PlayStation in 1996, many of the game's mechanics are downright antiquated by now and can be off-putting to gamers who missed out on the series until Leon Kennedy shot up half the...
More classic Mega Man gaming goodness.
With the release of Mega Man 9, Capcom was able to successfully recreate the classic 8-bit feel of the Mega Man series for game fans to enjoy, this time allowing the game to be downloaded on Nintendo's WiiWare service. Not only did the game bring back many of the unique gameplay mechanics of the earlier titles,...
February2010
Review Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice For All (WiiWare)
“Sustained!”
This second game in the Phoenix Wright series brings more of the same intriguing puzzle solving game play mixed with addictive storytelling that made the first game a runaway success when it was released. And like the first game, Phoenix’s second outing is one of the best experiences to be had on a handheld. But as we pointed out...
January2010
Review Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars (Wii)
Crossover chaos at its very finest
When Capcom’s Versus series burst into arcades in 1996 it was a refreshing change of pace after the seemingly endless stream of copycat brawlers and tired sequels. X-Men vs. Street Fighter also marked a significant new attitude for the veteran developer; it was willing to let its most famous characters duke it...
Review Dark Void Zero (DSiWare)
More 8-bit retro goodness
We've already seen Capcom enjoy success on WiiWare with their retro-infused Mega Man 9 release. Now it seems they're trying to show DSiWare the same retro love with Dark Void Zero. Of course now the question is, does the game live up to the lofty standards the company has already put in place with Mega Man 9? Dark Void Zero...
Review Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (WiiWare)
“Objection!”
Renowned primarily for its storytelling and unique style, it’s hard to say for sure whether the Phoenix Wright series are games at all or rather interactive short stories, but the medium in which they exist lumps them into the game category, and so as a game we must review it. There’s nothing we can say about the Phoenix Wright...
Review Street Fighter Alpha 3 (Game Boy Advance)
Street Fighter returns! Bigger and better!
Three years after porting the first Street Fighter Alpha to the Game Boy Color, Crawfish Interactive tried something a bit more ambitious, this time for the more powerful Game Boy Advance. The decision was made to skip Alpha 2 and instead port the third game of the series. Street Fighter Alpha 3 had arrived...
Review Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams (Game Boy Color)
An impressive but flawed conversion
In 1995 Capcom decided that, for the time being, there were enough versions of Street Fighter II in the world and so came up with something different. Street Fighter Alpha featured air-blocking, a three-level super combo gauge, counter attacks and a fancy anime appearance. Although sequels followed, it was decided...
Review Final Fight 3 (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Is the third time the charm?
Final Fight 3 came along fairly late in the Super Nintendo's lifespan, but that certainly didn't bother fans of the series who were looking for one more heavy dose of beat-'em-up action. Capcom decided it was time to spice up the gameplay some and the end result was something that would appeal to classic fans of the...
December2009
Review Street Fighter Alpha 2 (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Stunning achievement or a conversion too far?
No company in the storied history of video gaming has tried harder to not create a true sequel to one of their hit games quite like Capcom did with the myriad releases that followed their hit fighting game Street Fighter 2. Not only did they create a number of tweaked releases of game itself, but they...
November2009
Review Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles (Wii)
Do not underestimate the power of the Darkside!
When Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles was seen to only cover RE0, 1 and 3 it was pretty clear that a sequel would be in the offing; the positive reception and respectable sales figures it received probably didn't hurt. If you're a fan and expecting more of the same in this digest-version of the...
Review Street Fighter II': Champion Edition (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
A very solid, albeit unknown port of the Capcom arcade fighter.
After seeing releases on both the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis consoles, Capcom figured they could capitalize one more time with a release on NEC's PC Engine system in Japan. While the game was considered a very faithful port of the arcade hit, waning sales and licensing issues kept...
Review Fighting Street (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
Proof that some memories are best left in the past
Before Street Fighter 2 became all the rage in arcades and one of the most popular fighting games in the world, it began life as an overlooked arcade title called Street Fighter, which saw the light of day way back in 1987. While the title was far from the monster hit its successor would become, it...
October2009
Review Final Fight 2 (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Final Fight for two
The Mad Gear gang are back and out for revenge. This time they’ve kidnapped Guy’s fiancée Rena and her farther, so it falls to Haggar and friends to rescue them from the gang’s evil clutches. The original Final Fight was a classic side-scrolling brawler which received two paltry SNES ports, the first of which is already...
May2009
Is this two-wheeled racer quick off the mark or does it experience some trouble before leaving the starting grid?
Before we get stuck into the review, it's time for a little history lesson. Back in 2006, when Disney bought the Climax racing studio (who produced some excellent MotoGP titles for the Xbox), the MotoGP license went exclusively to...
March2009
Review Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop (Wii)
The game where you can grab anything... and hit a zombie with it.
It seems that game developers are under the increasing expectation of the great zombie invasion- surely it's only now a matter of time. To help prepare you for the certain apocalypse Capcom decided to bring 2006's Dead Rising to the Wii in the form of Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop...
