Retro News
April2009
Review Chibi-Robo: Park Patrol (DS)
Saving our ecosystems, one park at a time.
Chibi-Robo Park Patrol is one of those few great games that many people are just going to skip over because of its exclusivity to select retailers. Well at Nintendo Life we took it upon ourselves to give this game the review it deserves, and we must say that doing so put huge smiles on our faces; the unique...
News Former King of Kong to Appear at E3
Steve Wiebe to make another record attempt this year
For those of you that haven’t seen the brilliant King of Kong yet, stop reading this post, grab your coat and run down to your DVD store. Purchase the film, watch it, and then resume reading. Done that? Good. Steve Wiebe – the ‘good guy’ of the movie who triumphed by beating the ‘evil...
Review Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (DS)
The stylus is mightier than the sword.
With a name like Advance Wars, one is likely to expect an action packed, heart pounding war game. Needless to say, the Advance Wars series is really none of those things. Rather, the franchise has focused on slower paced turn-oriented strategy gameplay that is not unlike a glorified game of chess. So what is...
Review Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon (Wii)
A fun spin-off in the highly acclaimed Final Fantasy series
When you think of Wii, you may think of very vibrant family friendly games – games that are very easy to pick up and play, as well as those that have little or no challenge. In other words, games that appeal to non-gamers more so than the hardcore veterans. Though Wii holds host to some...
Feature April Fool Jokes – The Dust Settles
We select our favourite Nintendo-related pranks from the big day
April 1st is a day feared by regular inhabitants of the internet. It’s the one day of the year when you can practically ignore all amazing and outlandish news stories as rival sites attempt to out-do each other with their attempts at humour. However, putting aside the more pathetic...
News Modern Games Get a NES Makeover
Gears of War 2 on the humble NES? You wish
Imagine if video game console technology stopped at the NES and never progressed to the 3D powerhouses we have today. A scary thought, perhaps? Not for the people at video game comedy site the-minusworld (yes, that is how it’s spelt); they’ve posted up some fake box art for some seriously cool ‘modern...
Time travel has never been so complicated
Ever since the launch of the Nintendo DS console, the format has been heralded as a great way to bring out adventure games to make use of the stylus as a mouse substitute. In many ways this has borne fruit, with releases like Another Code, Hotel Dusk and the Phoenix Wright series all proving to be excellent...
Ikaruga might not be quite as intricate as its predecessor Radiant Silvergun, but its added intensity more than makes up for it.
There are very few shooters that can bring a smile to a shooter fan's face quite like Ikaruga can - which brings me to my quandry. What can I say about Ikaruga that hasn't already been said a hundred times before. It's...
News Interview with Brian Fehdrau - Secret of Evermore
We recently got a chance to talk with the lead programmer of Secret of Evermore and found out some very interesting information regarding the development of this unique Super Nintendo RPG title.
Brian Fehdrau was the lead programmer on the Squaresoft USA team that developed the Super Nintendo rpg hit Secret of Evermore. We were recently able to...
Review Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia (DS)
Pokemon Ranger 1.5 arrives on the Nintendo DS
During the holiday season of 2006, the attention of gamers the world over was focused solely on the release of the Wii and Playstation 3, the latest consoles from Nintendo and Sony. As a result, quite a few gems for the Nintendo DS got lost in the marketing onslaught, most notably Elite Beat Agents and...
Can the Dokapon Kingdom host a party for all ages?
In general, the Wii isn’t well-known for epic role-playing titles, nor is it famous for hardcore games. Though gamers are having fun playing Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, there hasn't been very much to quench gamer's thirst for RPG's. While Japanese Wii owners are getting a several...
Review Rygar: The Battle of Argus (Wii)
Tecmo's legendary warrior returns for another outing, but is this more than just a re-heated port?
Back in May of 2007, Tecmo stated that it had plans to port Rygar: The Legendary Adventure (a seven year-old PS2 game) to the Wii. Predictably, many gamers were very vocal with their opinion of this move. For starters, why would they want to port such...
Review Eledees: The Adventures of Kai and Zero (DS)
The Elebits head to the Nintendo DS in this action-packed sequel.
Shortly after the Wii was launched in 2006, Konami released one of the most bizarre and enjoyable third-party games that year. Entitled Elebits, the game showcased the new functionally of the Wii Remote. Played from a first-person perspective, players explored the land looking for...
News Is Game Design Art? Great Designers Say 'Not Really'
At a GDC 2009 roundtable with renowned designers, Art seems to be a dirty word
It’s a debate that has raged for centuries: Do video games constitute art? Ok, maybe not centuries, but it seems like a while. Personally, I say ‘yeah, of course it is!’, but I’m not the creator of games that have been hailed as art by so many. At this years...
March2009
Review Bonsai Barber (WiiWare)
Has Zoonami assembled the perfect hairstyle for all ages?
If you were randomly asked which developer had the most well-known franchises under its belt, you’d likely respond by saying Nintendo. With series such as Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, and Pokémon, it isn’t difficult to see why. It should also be noted that they’re the...
The Sims franchise enters the animal kingdom
The forest is tranquil. The birds are flying peacefully in the sky and the bears are patrolling the ground. Swans swim swiftly downstream and rabbits hop around in the meadow. What could possibly go wrong in a paradise like this? But wait, the predator levels are increasing in the area, outnumbering its...
Get fit the Nintendo way!
Wii Fit isn't the first fitness application made for video game consoles, but it's unquestionably the biggest selling one. It's Exhibit A in Nintendo's case for the business logic behind expanding the gaming market and the message has been heard loud and clear. Much of the success must be down to the fact that the...
Review DK: Jungle Climber (DS)
You spin me right round baby right round...
It's time to spin, swing, and fling yourself into adventure with DK: Jungle Climber! Using the game's simple controls, players take control of Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong as they journey throughout the land trying to assist a talking banana known as Xananab. For you see, the evil King K. Rool stole five...
Review SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 (Wii)
One of the arcade world's most respected brands touches down on Wii with a 16-hit combo of a collection
Back when it was first released in the early ‘90s SNK’s Neo-Geo Advanced Entertainment System (or AES for short) was the undisputed Rolls Royce of video game consoles. Because the Japanese firm had decided to base the machine on the exact same...
Review Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir (DS)
Is this addition to Nintendo's Touch Generations line worth investigation?
If there’s one thing that the Nintendo DS has excelled at, it’s that it managed to expand the remit of the video gaming industry. Prior to the release of the Nintendo DS, Nintendo wasn’t doing too well in Japan. With great software failing to sell well, Nintendo had to...
Review Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars - The Director’s Cut (Wii)
The Broken Sword murder mystery adventure comes to Wii, but is this the definitive version?
It is with some fond memories that we review Broken Sword: The Director's Cut on the Wii. The original game proved to be a thoroughly enjoyable mystery adventure, with a tantalizing storyline, memorable characters and logical puzzles. This new release is more...
Review Texas Hold'em Tournament (WiiWare)
Does Digital Leisure’s latest WiiWare offering fold or make a clean sweep of the table?
It’s no lie that video game conversions of popular poker card games are few and far between nowadays as online poker has become increasingly more popular and widely regarded. WiiWare developer Digital Leisure has decided to try its luck with an adaption of...
Battalion Wars advances onto the Wii…
Calling the first Battalion Wars an anti-climatic experience wouldn’t be too far off the mark: the spin-off from the highly acclaimed Advance Wars series was expected to be a smash hit success. Unfortunately, the distinct lack of tactical depth brought the game short of the mark in many people's eyes...
Creating your own city isn't nearly as fun as it sounds.
When the Virtual Console launched alongside the Wii in November 2006, SimCity was the flagship title for the SNES. Though the graphical limitations of the SNES resulted in a rather dated experience, the core gameplay held strong and the game managed to show newcomers to the franchise that it...
Meet the beans from the Italian Maro Valley
We’re always suckers for a fun Nintendo themed video over here at Nintendo Life Towers, and this one is no exception. The talented guys over at GnamSpot have recreated the whole of level 1-1 from Super Mario Bros. by using a bit of stop motion wizardry and some beans on a plate. Amazingly it turned out...
Review The Tower of Druaga (Arcade)
Scale a skyscraper to rescue your lost love in The Tower of Druaga.
The Tower of Druaga is a moderately infamous arcade game. As the knight Gil (Who is really Gilgamesh) you must work your way up a gigantic 60-floor tower to rescue your beloved princess Ki from the clutches of the evil Druaga. Each floor is quite literally a maze - Your objective on...
Review Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars - The Director’s Cut (DS)
Murder, mystery and… Clowns?
It is a terrible mistake to call Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars a simple port seeing as it’s a game that has more added material than Nintendo have fanboys. Yet there is some basis to the claim; this game has been released on a handheld before. Originally brought to Nintendo through the GBA, Broken Sword was...
Review Wario Land: Shake It! (Wii)
Shake, shake, shake!
Over the past decade, Wario's platforming adventures have been drastically reduced in order to make way for his journey into the party genre with the much-loved WarioWare franchise. Though many enjoyed these party games, they never came close to achieving the same feeling created by the Wario platform games. When Wario Land:...
Remember the timeless classic, Galaga? Say hello to its successor, as the arcade version of Gaplus hits Virtual Console!
When Galaga first burst onto the scene back in 1981, it garnered almost instant popularity due to its intense shooting action and almost endless level of variety and challenge. Gone were the days where a fixed group of aliens...
Review Kirby Squeak Squad (DS)
Does Kirby still have the old magic or is he just full of air?
The old adage "don't judge a book by its cover" holds true in many formats. Encompassed by that is essentially everything we deal with, and the ultimate lesson is to avoid judgment based on appearances. Needless to say, it also applies to games. To simply glance at the Kirby series, you...
It's a cat-and-mouse game like no other as you take control of Mappy, a brave police-mouse.
Arguably the most popular game in the first batch of arcade releases, Mappy follows the formula of other succesful titles of the time, including Namco's own Pac-Man - Your job is to collect objects while avoiding all enemies. The premise is that a gang of...
Review Ready 2 Rumble: Revolution (Wii)
Is Ready 2 Rumble Revolution capable of getting this brawl started?
Not all games are meant to be great, nor are they supposed to be blockbuster hits in terms of sales. With Ready 2 Rumble Revolution, it's obviously that the developers had high hopes - this is, after all, a sequel to one of the best-selling Sega Dreamcast games - but by toying with...
A huge global hit at the arcades, this classic shooter blasts its way back on Virtual Console!
Star Force was originally released in arcades in 1984 by Tecmo. It was yet another title in the rapidly growing crop of vertical scrolling shooters that were gaining in popularity during the time period. While the game play was still quite basic and didn't...
Review Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS)
Get your thinking cap on!
A glass jar holds a single germ. After one minute, the germ splits into two germs. One minute after that, the two germs each split again, forming a total of four germs. Continuing at this rate, a single germ can multiply to fill the whole jar in exactly one hour. Knowing this, how long in minutes would it take to fill the...
Review Marble Saga: Kororinpa (Wii)
Marble Saga proves that messing with a successful formula can sometimes end up doing more harm than good
The original Marble Mania took the simple idea of rolling a marble around a maze-like level and combined it with the innovative control of the Wii Remote to form one of the most unique and charming third-party Wii releases. The game had this...
News Super Nintoaster gives you a slice of the action
I like my SNES games slightly burnt, thanks
If you thought that the Nintoaster was cool, wait till you see its big brother – the SUPER Nintoaster! Here we have a device that looks like your common breakfast-producing kitchen item but in fact plays everything from Super Mario World through to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past; truly, this is...
His interests include drinking, women, cigarettes and cigars - but not necessarily in that order.
Ever since we saw the first batch of screenshots for MadWorld we've been intrigued by its overwhelming style. Clearly influenced by the dark ink of graphic novels such as Frank Miller's Sin City, MadWorld is presented in supremely pretty ultra...
Review Detana!! Twinbee (TG-16)
It's the popular vertical-scrolling shooter renowned for its cute and comical world.
The Twinbee series of shooters hasn't seen a lot of action outside of Japan, so it should come as no surprise that this PC Engine version of Detana!! Twinbee was never released outside of Japan and marks yet another import release for Hudson on the Wii Virtual...
Review Donkey Kong Barrel Blast (Wii)
Is Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast really a blast to play?
Originally a Nintendo Gamcube title, Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast quietly got moved to Wii in late 2006. When Barrel Blast was first announced, it was supposed to use the DK bongo drum accessory. By hitting the left bongo, your character would move right and by hitting the right bongo, your character...
Bomberman has arrived to restore peace on the planet
Bomberman has seen a release on just about every console out there over the years, and while you'll definitely get contrasting opinions on which version of the game is the best, it's pretty indisputable that Bomberman '94 is one of them. Bomberman '94 was never released outside of Japan for some...
Review Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars (Wii)
Is this mushroom based platformer so good that it will leave you wanting spore?
The humble mushroom seems like an unlikely protagonist to take the lead in a videogame, but our hero Pax is no ordinary fungus. He seems to have somehow gained the ability to absorb precious meteorites, much to his mushroom tribe’s dismay as they keep the giant moles...
Ever wondered what it would be like if Luigi had to overcome racism instead of Birdo and Mouser?
The ROM hacking community can sometimes bring the world some real gems such a translation for a classic RPG which never made it outside of Japan, or adding extra levels to Super Mario Bros for those who like a more extreme challenge. Not that we condone...
The unstoppable Pokémon returns to the Nintendo DS
It’s hard to believe that a decade has already passed since Pokémon first debuted in North America. In 1998, Pokémon Blue and Pokémon Red made gamers want to attempt and ‘catch-em all’ as they explored the vast land of Kanto, unearthing its secrets along the way. The game became a...
Review Suikoden: Tierkreis (DS)
Is the first handheld instalment in Konami's classic RPG series as fun to play as it is to pronounce?
Who could have guessed that the current console generation's go-to platform for RPGs both old and new would turn out to be the humble DS? It's a hand-held, it's manufactured by Nintendo and the hardware leaves a lot to be desired in comparison to...
Review Henry Hatsworth in The Puzzling Adventure (DS)
Henry Hatsworth stars in one of the Nintendo DS' best puzzler offerings
First looks can be very deceiving. Just by taking a quick glance at Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure, it isn’t difficult to assume it’s aimed at younger audiences wanting in on a simple and fun puzzle experience. Surprisingly though, there’s actually a rather...
Is that a rocket in your pants or are you just pleased to see me?
Modern videogames can be rather depressing sometimes. As the industry becomes evermore concerned with reaching as many gamers as possible in order to generate the most cash, we’ve seen imaginative concepts fall by the wayside as ‘sure fire’ hits fly onto store shelves with...
Review Super Punch-Out!! (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Return of the Mac
Punch-Out!! on the NES has plenty of fans. For some reason, though, a lot of them seem to be completely unaware that there’s a second game in the series available on home consoles – this is rather strange, because Super Punch-Out!! is easily as good, if not better than the NES original. The main objective of the game is still...
Review Sonic and the Black Knight (Wii)
Hardly the stuff of legend.
Describing Sonic’s early career to young gamers is like discussing dinosaurs, it’s been so long since he was the golden boy of video games whose cheeky blue mug was a bringer of joy in the early Nineties. Since then each new game is touted as a “return to form”, with the Wii’s Sonic and the Secret Rings being...
Handheld heaven or a portable pariah?
A few years ago, EA tapped a rich vein of old-school strategy games by revamping Theme Park and Sim City for the DS's touch screens. A few years later, Bullfrog's famed God game has received similar treatment, but is it the second coming or just a slap-headed Samson? The DS's twin screens are a natural fit for...
Review Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume (DS)
Strategy RPG fans rejoice - another gem has come to the DS
Never played a Valkyrie Profile game before? No problem! This is the first time a Valkyrie Profile game has been on a system outside one of Sony's and you need not know a thing about tri-Ace's successful franchise or its history to jump right into the DS's first installment of this 10-year...
Review King of Fighters Collection: The Orochi Saga (Wii)
Five legendary fighting games for the price of one - surely too good to be true?
Born out of the union of two of SNK’s notable coin-op series – Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting - King of Fighters has always had to live in the shadow of the illustrious Street Fighter franchise here in the west; although it has a cult following, it’s never been...
Has it stood the test of time?
Without a shadow of a doubt, there will be two groups of people reading this: those who have played Chrono Trigger before, and those who never had the privilege. If you are of the former, then you’ll not find too many surprises waiting you in this remake: most of what you'll find was either included on the SNES...
Review Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (Wii)
Radiant
Fire Emblem is a renowned turn-based tactics series that can be most likened to a combination of Risk and Chess. Following in the wake of the GameCube's Path of Radiance, Radiant Dawn sees the story of Tellius develop from several perspectives. As is typical in the series, the world is gearing up for battle: the Laguz (Beastmen) and Beorc...
Peggle heads to the Nintendo DS in one of the handheld's best offerings.
Over the past few years, Peggle has become known as one of the most addicting and enjoyable puzzle action games on the market. After playing for only a few minutes, you know you’re playing special and will immediately become hooked on the game. After already hitting the Xbox...
Can EA's cute MySims get the party started?
Over the past year or so, Electronic Arts has been catering to the casual audience on the Wii and Nintendo DS through the MySims franchise. Since the launch of the series back in September 2007, it has gone on to become a worldwide hit. Given Electronic Arts' previous track record for milking winning...
Review BIT.TRIP BEAT (WiiWare)
Feel the beat!
It seems nowadays if you want to revive a classic videogame idea, you only need add in some pulsing musical beats and some flashy background visuals in order to do so. The creators of Lumines managed to revive the stale "falling blocks" puzzler of the 80's with this formula, so what's to stop someone from doing the same...
Review We Ski & Snowboard (Wii)
Looks like We Ski & Snowboard hit a tree before it managed to reach the bottom of the slope
Back in May 2008, Namco Bandai released the first third-party game to incorporate Nintendo’s Wii Balance Board. Though the game was a huge hit for Namco Bandai when it came to sales, it was received rather poorly by many game critics. Many cited the game as...
Review Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (DS)
What this remake lacks in innovation it more than makes up for in polish
Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the Nintendo DS is the best current generation system to look to when it comes to role-playing games. With titles like Final Fantasy IV, Dragon Quest V, The World Ends With You and Children of Mana, this portable gaming wonder plays host to some of...
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...
Review New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis (Wii)
Time to see if there are any faults in this second serving of the New Play Control! series: Mario Tennis…
Over the years Mario has proven his status as one of the sporting world’s most versatile celebrities. When not saving the Universe, he’s been having a crack at Karting, Football, Golf, Basketball, Baseball, and even competing in the...
News Wossy's Amazing Nintendo Themed Ceiling
He just can't stop Twittering about it!
When not harassing Manuel from Faulty Towers cheeky-chappy TV presenter Jonathan Ross likes nothing more than to sit down with a nice cup of tea and play a bit of Mario Kart on his Wii. Listeners to his Radio 2 podcast will be used to hearing good old Wossy excitedly babbling about his adventures in the...
It’s a blast!
I promise that’s the first and only pun you’ll see in this review - If you’ve played any of the popular Geometry Wars games on Xbox 360, Wii or DS you’ll be perfectly at home when you fire up XG Blast. From its instantly gratifying action and futuristic aesthetic, it borrows from any one of a dozen classic shooters, but does...
Review Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon (DS)
Use the hoe!
For years, Natsume’s Harvest Moon series has been repeating the same old formula – grow crops, brush cows, get married and live happily ever after. The first DS release was the snappy Harvest Moon DS, which lazily reused graphics from GBA’s Friends of Mineral Town (FoMT) and the town and characters from the Cube’s A Wonderful...
Review Gradius ReBirth (WiiWare)
Does Konami's old-school Gradius formula still hold up all these years later?
The original Gradius arcade release was one of the first truly great side-scrolling shooters and, along with R-Type, spawned a legion of copycat video games back in the 80s and 90s. The Gradius titles have been copied and cloned more times than can be counted and, much...
Review Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars (SMS)
Help Alex Kidd in a race against time
Before Sonic came along and propelled them into the big time, the world identified a big eared lad by the name of Alex Kidd as Sega’s answer to Mario. Alex Kidd in Miracle World was a worthy alternative to Super Mario Bros in the mid 80s and when bundled with the Sega Master System in Europe it helped shift...
News Stupidly Cool Portable Famicom Mod Surfaces
Shame we don’t know how to use a soldering iron...
The stuff these crazy modders seem to dream up never fails to surprise us, and this latest endeavour is totally off the chart in terms of sheer genius. Modder ‘goteking’ has taken a business card holder shaped like a Famicom cartridge and skillfully inserted a media player with a Famicom...
Review Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair (MD)
The once quiet town of Xenobia is under attack by fierce, gruesome monsters and no one can stop them!
Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair might seem incredibly familiar to Virtual Console addicts because the game has technically already been released on Nintendo’s download service – in the guise of Monster Lair on the TG-16! The complexities of the...
News A Boy and his Blob Gets the Remake Treatment
NES classic is coming to the Wii, thanks to the creator of Contra IV
Those of you old enough to remember the days when kids TV presenters weren’t covered with tattoos and Right Said Fred dominated the Top 10 will no doubt have fond memories of a NES game called A Boy and his Blob. Coded by the legendary David Crane (co-founder of Activision and...
Review Family & Friends Party (WiiWare)
Will WiiWare newcomer Gammick Entertainment get this party started?
The Wii is no stranger to party games or mini-game compilations; in fact, it would be no exaggeration to say that the machine’s success is largely due to the brilliance of multiplayer titles like Wii Sports and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. However, familiarity breeds...
Review Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen (SNES)
You must succeed in ousting the evil usurpers - your fate, and that of the entire population, depends on it.
The Ogre Battle series has long been a favorite among hardcore strategy fans and it won't take you long to see why that is once you begin playing any of them. This Super Nintendo release of Ogre Battle has become quite a coveted game...
February2009
Review New Play Control! Pikmin (Wii)
Pik-up a Pikmin
Pikmin has been, and always will be, one of those games that make me smile- there is something so very… charming about its concept: You play as Captain Olimar, a space pilot marooned on a strange planet. Upon atmospheric entry, his ship's parts were strewn across the local landscape, and, with no apparent means for being able to...
Easily the softest shooter on Wii.
For those that don't know what Nerf is, it's a brand of children's toy which became hugely popular in the 80's and 90's and continues sales today. The toys sell as a vast range of guns which shoot foam projectiles or "darts". Nerf N-Strike is essentially a light-gun-mini-games title developed by EA Salt...
This is the winter portion of the world's foremost amateur sports competition, matching skills against the top athletes from one hundred countries.
It was inevitable that after two batches of events from the summer side of the Olympic festival that the third entry in the Games series would concentrate on the winter side instead. Offering seven...
Review Evasive Space (WiiWare)
Will Akinai Games’ WiiWare debut live up to expectations, or is it better off being lost in space?
Let’s face it, when we first saw Evasive Space, we all thought it was going to be something quite special. Developed by High Voltage for Akinai Games, many gamers were expecting this WiiWare release to be nothing less than fantastic, and for good...
Europe has had to endure a painful wait for the seventh entry in SNK's epic 2D blaster franchise - but has it been worth it?
As you may already be aware, we’re massive fans of SNK’s Metal Slug series. The Wii Anthology went down a storm in the Nintendo Life office and when we became aware of plans for a seventh instalment we became very animated...
Review Life Force (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Use the force!
For those not in the know, Life Force started out life known as Salamander in Japan and was renamed for Western audiences. The Salamander series is a spin off to Konami’s famous Gradius franchise of shooters; the main differences in Salamander are the introduction of a simultaneous 2 player mode, vertically scrolling stages in...
Review House of the Dead: OVERKILL (Wii)
Overkill; the capacity to obliterate a target with more weapons than are required.
Last year the Wii was graced with arguably two of the greatest light gun games of all time thanks to House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return. For fans of the series, like myself, it was fantastic to replay some truly classic arcade games as the Wii simulated the old...
Can Hudson really pull off an FPS game on WiiWare?
Japanese developers are not known for creating first person shooters. After all it is far from being a popular genre in the land of the rising sun. The few Japanese FPS games that spring to mind failed to compete with their Western counterparts. Considering the limitations of the WiiWare service,...
Review Pop-Up Pirate! (WiiWare)
Pop-Up Pirate! - a barrel of fun or a total wash-out?
Many of us will remember Tomy’s successful ‘board’ game, Pop-Up Pirate, from our childhoods. Cautiously inserting mini-daggers into the pirate’s unsuspecting torso in an attempt to avoid murdering the poor one-eyed soul – that’s what being a kid is all about! Well, perhaps not, but it...
Riddle me this, riddle me that, who's afraid of the big, black bat?
Batman, the caped crusader, a franchise that has had a massive reinvention over the past few years thanks to the wonderful Christopher Nolan and his Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. However Batman has been around for a long long time and has now had three distinct on screen...
Is LIT a light in the dark or just running up the electricity bill?
Turn off the lights and grab your controller because it’s up to you to - erm - turn them back on. That’s the basic premise behind WayForward’s spooky puzzle game LIT. LIT puts you in the shoes of Jake, your regular pale-faced emo teenager, whose girlfriend is missing in a...
Review Wolf of the Battlefield: MERCS (MD)
Join a group of professional mercenaries to undergo secret missions, battling through enemy lines to go where no ordinary soldier would dare to go.
Once upon a time, back before Capcom officially started supporting the Genesis/Mega Drive, Sega acquired licence to reprogram various arcade classics produced by the developer. Ghouls ‘n’ Ghosts,...
Review Disaster: Day of Crisis (Wii)
Monolith's near cancelled game finally gets a release, but is it a total disaster waiting to happen?
The term 'action-blockbuster' is thrown around frequently these days, usually to describe an explosion-heavy-plot-thin film which garners praise and box-office approval. Taking a cue from this definition, Disaster: Day of Crisis leaps onto the Wii,...
Review Snowboard Riot (WiiWare)
Is Hudson's Snowboard Riot a riot to play, or just a wipe-out?
There's no denying that Hudson is one of the more talented developers on WiiWare. All of their games to date have done much to impress and show other devs how it’s done. In Snowboard Riot they have turned their hand to creating a racing game with the added bonus that you can use items...
ClayFighter is a 2D fighting game in which the characters, as the name suggests, are made completely out of clay.
When Clayfighter was first released on the 16-bit consoles in 1993, claymation had never before been used in video gaming. While television shows and motion pictures had experimented with the technology to varying degrees of success, it...
Play as Sonic or Tails
For those gamers in 1993 who were still unfortunate enough to not have not upgraded to the Sega Mega Drive / Genesis this third 8-bit Sonic adventure might hold some memories. It is unlikely that many will remember this Master System swansong however. That nasty piece of work, Dr. Robotnik is up to no good again and has...
SEGA couldn't keep him on the leash any longer...
Better late than never - this review - not Sonic Unleashed. Sonic Team offered us the latest Sonic adventure just before Christmas, we'd like to tell you we've been so busy playing it since then that we're only just getting round to the review, but that's not true. So let's get on with it. Sonic...
January2009
Review Pop Them, Drop Them SameGame (WiiWare)
Is Hudson’s puzzler a worthy purchase or just more of the same?
SameGame is a bit of an unusual one. It was first created way back in 1985, but was never really all that popular. Nevertheless, it went on to spawn a large number of clones and remakes over the years, with Hudson’s effort being the latest. The basic concept of SameGame is quite...
Now you can paint by numbers on DS!
This review has already been delayed twice in the past month; first by Royal Mail taking two weeks to deliver the game, then again by my inability to put the game down long enough to review it. Colour Cross is a new take on the Nintendo favourite puzzler Picross, but with its own pigmented personality. Each puzzle...
Review Wonder Boy in Monster Land (Wii Virtual Console / Master System)
Ale or mead?
Sega’s follow-up to the legendary Wonder Boy on the Master System took our hero Tom-Tom out of his former prehistoric setting into a medieval fantasy world. This game started out life as an arcade machine and also got ports to home computers and the Japanese PC Engine (TG-16) under the name of Bikkuriman World. Wonder Boy II really...
Review High Voltage Hot Rod Show (WiiWare)
Will this highly anticipated WiiWare racer take pole position, or will it merely drive us to distraction?
High Voltage Hot Rod Show is all about taking control of large trucks and racing them against each other, which is all well and good. However, because of certain game design choices, the trucks themselves handle more like a cross between an R/C...
Review Family Glide Hockey (WiiWare)
Does Family Glide Hockey capture the fun and excitement of a real air hockey game?
Let's face it, there are some recreational games that lend themselves perfectly to the Wii Remote's motion controls. We've already seen such games as billiards, miniature golf, and even a table tennis release make use of these motion sensing capabilities with varying...
Review MUSHA (Virtual Console / Sega Mega Drive)
We've got much love for MUSHA!
Mention the name Compile to any serious shooter fanatic and you’re likely to be faced with a barrage of nostalgic ranting. The now defunct company was responsible for some of the finest blasters the video game industry has seen, including Super Aleste (also known as Space Megaforce), Gunhed and Zanac. Surprisingly,...
Does this WiiWare puzzler have what it takes to stand out from the crowd?
Having been available since WiiWare launched in Japan, Lonpos' Western release has been a long time coming. The game itself has been adapted from a popular logic puzzle game of the same name. The question, of course, is how well does it fare against the many puzzle titles...
How does this unique card game of quick thinking and reflexes translate to WiiWare?
For those of you out there who aren't familiar with it, Jungle Speed is a unique card game that's recently become quite popular among card game fans. It’s essentially one of the "first one to get rid of all their cards" style and not only requires the...
Review Planet Pachinko (WiiWare)
Can you really ever have too much of a good thing?
You have to admit, a shooting/platforming game that takes place inside of a Japanese pachinko machine is indeed an original concept. Not only do you get all of the chaotic action of the pachinko balls dropping down through the various pegs in each level, but you find yourself smack dab in the middle...
Tony Hawk has a new competitor for the skating crown..
When Skate originally appeared on the Xbox 360 and PS3, it was something of a revelation to skateboarding fans who had previously only had the Tony Hawk series to contend with, each iteration proving to be similar to the last. Rather than focus on huge combinations of tricks like the Hawk, Skate...
Review Littlest Pet Shop: Winter (DS)
Your chance to have your very own Pet Shop...
Even though Littlest Pet Shop Winter is clearly aimed at a younger audience, I found the game strangely addictive for a while. Defined as “a special place where your pets will come to life and you can play with them in a whole new way,” the aim of the game is to adopt all of the pets (20 different...
Hopefully that’s just sand in your pants and not crabs…
Konami is well known in the gaming world and is a much larger game company than the typical WiiWare studio. With their resources, a simple budget title should be something they could throw together in a weekend. Unfortunately, Sandy Beach (developed by Frozen Codebase and published by...
Review Kirby's Dream Land 3 (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Kirby for beginners
Kirby's Dream Land 3 obviously had a lot to live up to - It was released not long after the amazing Kirby Super Star (Kirby's Fun Pak in Europe), which is still regarded as the greatest Kirby game ever. The game returns to the gameplay from the second Dream Land game for Game Boy - It's got rather standard Kirby platforming, but...
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