Retro News

September2009

  • Review Super Return of the Jedi (Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)

    The Emperor has been expecting you

    The third and final game in the Super Star Wars series promises more of the same great experience offered as its two forerunners, but did LucasArts give us a conclusion worthy of the series or just a clichéd third act with some kid-friendly Ewoks thrown in? Like the previous two outings, Super Return of the Jedi...

  • Review Professor Layton and Pandora's Box (DS)

    Is Professor Layton's second adventure the worthy sequel fans are hoping for?

    After the success of the first Professor Layton release on the DS, it should come as no surprise that we'd get a sequel. The game's unique blend of mystery storytelling and brain-teasing puzzles somehow forms one of the most unique and engrossing gaming experiences...

  • Review Ashes Cricket 2009 (Wii)

    We don't like cricket... but we don't love it that much, either!

    With the recent Ashes series over, the sport of cricket is buzzing with popularity, so it’s no real surprise to see the Wii get its first ‘proper’ cricket game. Codemasters have taken it upon themselves to create Ashes Cricket, but have they done enough to faithfully recreate the...

  • Review Madden NFL 10 (Wii)

    Far from the Madden crowd...

    Taking its graphical cues from the recent Grand Slam Tennis, Madden NFL 10 on Wii eschews the hi-def emphasis on recreating every detail of the game, favouring a more stylised - though hardly cartoony - approach to the presentation. Defensive backs are bulky chunks of muscle, wide receivers are gangly running machines...

  • Review Clubhouse Games Express: Family Favorites (DSiWare)

    Another stripped-down retail release for DSiWare

    Nintendo seems to have a penchant for taking their DS retail releases and cutting them up into bits and selling them on the DSiWare service. So it should come as no surprise that they're at it again with this second release in the Clubhouse Games Express series. This time around, they're offering up...

  • First Impressions Classic Controller Pro

    We go thumbs-on to determine whether it's for pros or schmoes

    Launched in Japan alongside Monster Hunter 3 Tri and the Dark World Wii, the Classic Controller Pro is Nintendo's attempt at righting the wrongs of its original old-school pad. The good news is, it largely does. The bad news? It's got a few quirks of its own. We snagged a shiny black one:...

  • Feature The Making Of The Wizard, The Greatest Nintendo Movie Ever Made (Honest)

    We go behind the scenes of one of Hollywood’s most misunderstood classics

    The Wizard is very much a guilty pleasure. When the film was released it was panned by critics and flopped at the box office, yet many people still talk about it in hushed, almost reverent tones over fifteen years after its release. Although many critics will gladly tell you...

  • News Capcom Interested In Doing More Retro Games

    Unsure if sales were disappointing for Mega Man 9

    Contrary to popular belief, game companies have a vested interest in making money. Things that appear to be massive fan service, like Capcom's downloadable retro sequel Mega Man 9, bank on said fans actually buying the game, especially when considering doing it all again. So how were those sales?...

  • Review Dictionary 6 in 1 with Camera Function (DSiWare)

    Oh, what's the word? Ah yes - "exiguous"!

    First things first – this is not a dictionary in the traditional sense of the word. Not a single entry here comes with a definition or any usage guidelines, just a list of the equivalent words in five other languages. What we have here is more of a word bank, and sadly not a hugely in-depth one at that...

  • Review Contra ReBirth (WiiWare)

    Still separating the men from the boys.

    The Contra series has always been one of gaming's greats: incredibly simple yet fun gameplay, top-notch design, and of course, what the games are most known for, a hard-as-nails difficulty level. After multiple failed attempts to create a good 3D Contra game, the DS recently got a brilliant new 2D entry that,...

  • Review Midway Arcade Treasures (GameCube)

    Experience some of America's arcade masterpieces

    The history of Midway Home Entertainment is a convoluted story of boom and bust that includes the most famous names in the index of America's arcade companies. Williams Electronics and Midway merged in the 1990s to create WMS Industries in a bid to remain competitive in a market seeing the rapid...

  • Review Namco Museum: 50th Anniversary (GameCube)

    This is one exhibition that will disappoint many

    Namco is a company with one of the most impressive back catalogues in video games and is now one of the biggest names in home entertainment following a successful merger with toy and anime company Bandai five years ago. Released at the end of the Gamecube's life to coincide with the 50th anniversary...

  • Review Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 2 (WiiWare)

    Guybrush continues his piratey misadventures

    It's almost pointless reviewing this second chapter in the Tales of Monkey Island story - you should absolutely not play it unless you've played the first, because it continues where that left off, meaning you will be missing potentially vital plot information. If you've already played the first and liked...

August2009

  • Features Metroid's Metal Makeover

    How five guys blasted the series' haunting soundtrack into a whole different genre - without sucking

    The trouble with covering beloved music is that it’s so easy to lose something in the translation. Successfully capturing the original work’s intent and mood is atypical; what most often happens when things go south is the heart and soul of the...

  • Review Oscar in Toyland (DSiWare)

    A colourful trip down memory lane

    Originally released as Trolls in 1992 for the Amiga, Super Nintendo and PC, Oscar in Toyland is a remake of what many consider an Amiga gaming classic. The game combines platforming with a “scavenger hunt” game mechanic which challenges the player to find a certain number of “baby Oscars” per level. The game...

  • Review Texas Hold'em Poker (WiiWare)

    Can't read my, can't read my poker face, p-p-poker face!

    Apologies to Lady Gaga (well, actually to everyone reading this who may have heard that song and will now have it stuck in their heads), but you will be wondering exactly that after playing any amount of the latest Texas Hold 'em game from Gameloft. Before going further it's important to...

  • Review Fossil Fighters (DS)

    Is Fossil Fighters a worthy new IP or really just a prehistoric Pokemon?

    Nintendo is constantly looking to expand their horizons when it comes to new IPs, and you'd have to think that was their intention when they brought Red Entertainment's newest title Fossil Fighters on board as a first-party release. The game takes fossil hunting and builds an...

  • Review Super Empire Strikes Back (Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)

    Do or do not: there is no try.

    Following up on the success of Super Star Wars, LucasArts released Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes back (a.k.a. Super Empire Strikes Back) to an audience already hyped and waiting. As we discussed in our previous review, the story barely paid lip service to the movies, and this release is little better. Even so,...

  • Review Mr. Driller W (WiiWare)

    Drill, baby, drill!

    That Mr. Driller W would be among the better puzzle games on the WiiWare service was somewhat of a given. It's a close relation to Dig Dug - a classic arcade series if there ever was one - and its own line of releases spans more consoles than you might have known existed. Mr. Driller has a long, rich and well-established history,...

  • Review Virtual Lab (Virtual Boy)

    Where to begin?

    One of the last Virtual Boy games to be released in Japan, Virtual Lab is a strange falling block puzzler that, rumour has it, was still being developed when developer J-Wing got wind of Nintendo’s plan to discontinue support of the Virtual Boy. They then hurriedly finished it off, so as they could get it in to shops whilst there...

  • Review Defender (GameCube)

    "Live up to your name, Defender!"

    Defender was Williams Electronics first video game and its biggest seller with over 60,000 units sold. It was noteworthy for the level of control players were given over their space ship as well as excellent visuals and sound. It was a badge of honour if you could play the game with any skill due to the complexity...

  • Review Metroid Prime Trilogy (Wii)

    A must-play anthology

    It took eight years, a group of Texans and a whole new perspective for Samus Aran, space bounty hunter extraordinaire, to return to consoles after Super Metroid. Seven years and three acclaimed games later, Metroid Prime Trilogy puts Samus' Phazon encounters in one slick anthology that newcomers shouldn't miss, but does it...

  • Review Arkanoid Plus! (WiiWare)

    Another breakthrough for Taito?

    Taito's doing a fine job reviving its classic franchise on WiiWare - Space Invaders was revived with a completely different, fun gameplay style, while three games from the Bubble Bobble series all got decent to great remakes. This one's more like the Bubble Bobble games, in that it's a straight-up remake of the...

  • Review Mr. Driller Drill Land (GameCube)

    "Dig a Chance!"

    If Namco had a corporate mascot that wasn't Pac-Man it would almost certainly be Mr. Driller. The retro arcade game from the end of the last century has spawned a franchise seeing seven games released with a version of some form on nearly every console made in the past decade. Its popularity is not only down to the simple, yet...

  • Review Yoshi's Island DS (DS)

    A decent game sullied mainly by its overshadowing predecessor

    Following a critically-acclaimed title like Yoshi's Island, the immediate question that most will ask after learning the existence of Yoshi's Island DS will be: is it better than the original? Actually, scratch that: anyone who has played through the sublime SNES platformer will know what...

  • Review Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings (Wii)

    You call this archaeology?

    Filled with cut scenes and swashbuckling action sequences, The Staff of Kings has the feel of an actual Indiana Jones movie. There are a lot of concepts included here that, if fully realized, could have made for a spectacular movie-style game. Sadly, as it turns out the imagination of the game’s developers exceeded...

  • Review Pop Plus: Solo (DSiWare)

    Who would have thought that popping bubbles could be so much fun?

    For the uninitiated, Pop Plus: Solo is an enhanced remake of the original game, Pop, released on the WiiWare service last year. The game garnered a reasonable amount of popularity and was widely praised for its simple yet addictive and eloquently executed gameplay. Over a year later...

  • Review Pilotwings (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)

    Soar like an eagle

    Sometimes games deserve second chances. Let us tell you a story... A long time ago in a television studio far, far away, a member of our team took part in an episode of Games World, Hewland's Gamesmaster clone shown on Sky 1 in the UK. Everything was going great until the semi-final, when the skydiving stage from Pilotwings came...

  • Review Shadowrun (Super Nintendo)

    Computers and magic meet in this overlooked gem of an RPG

    Waking up in a morgue with amnesia it’s clear that your character, Jake Armitage, is having a bad day. Set in Seattle in the year 2050, Shadowrun is a cyberpunk RPG based on the pen and paper game of the same name. Having been gunned down in the streets you must uncover exactly what’s...

  • Review PictureBook Games: Pop-Up Pursuit (WiiWare)

    Feeling board? You will be!

    If there's one thing WiiWare spotlights so well, it's the beauty of simplicity. Many of its best releases (World of Goo, Toki Tori, Art Style: Orbient) are deceptively deep showcases for simple - yet addictive - concepts. PictureBook Games: Pop-Up Pursuit, however, reminds us all that simplicity without a strong...

  • Review Adventure Island II: Aliens in Paradise (Game Boy)

    Easily one of the Game Boy's best pure platformers.

    With the success of their Adventure Island series on the NES console and their first release on the Game Boy platform, Hudson was obviously looking to continue that success with the release of their second Game Boy release. While the game is based on the third NES release, it actually eclipses it...

  • Review 3-2-1, Rattle Battle! (WiiWare)

    Will this party game keep everyone entertained, or will it just tire you out?

    Another minigame collection - as if the Wii isn't already overflowing with them! When done right, they can be quite entertaining, but Tecmo seems to have missed the whole point of the "minigame" concept by... well, by not offering a lot, really. This game only...

  • Review The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Game Boy)

    A treasured classic and the absolute pinnacle of Game Boy gaming.

    There were initially some concerns that the gameplay experiences on the Game Boy system might end up being a bit too shallow. Fortunately, that notion was put to rest early on with some of the outstanding releases for the system. Of course no title would shatter that misconception...

  • Review Sujin Taisen Number Battles (DSiWare)

    Swap your Shuriken for a stylus and get ready to play!

    Sujin Taisen: Number Battles is a digital rerelease of the Japanese title, Suujin Taisen, which was released on Nintendo DS over two years ago in Japan. The game combines elements of classic games such as Mah-jong and Dominoes and mixes them with strategy elements to create a deeply rewarding...

  • Review Family Slot Car Racing (WiiWare)

    Slot car racing fun for the whole family...or is it?

    Arc System Works is clearly enjoying some success with the "Family" series of games because they just keep on putting them out. Considering what real life slot-car racing is all about a video game version could offer some improvements, so is it possible that this game is worthwhile?...

  • Review Phantasy Star (Virtual Console / Master System)

    The starting point for a venerable roleplaying legend

    Pity the poor Master System. South America and Europe aside, it just could not compete with the unstoppable NES despite superior technology and some cracking games. Among those titles is what could be considered the machine's killer app - a huge game with a matching price tag, which not only...

  • Review SD Gundam Dimension War (Virtual Boy)

    Mobile Cute Gundam

    Based on the popular mecha anime franchise, SD Gundam Dimension War is a turn-based strategy game where you are place in command of a small task force as you travel across the galaxy aiming to wipe out the opposing units you encounter. Gameplay is split in to two parts - a map screen where you manoeuvre your troops and a close up...

  • Review Flipnote Studio (DSiWare)

    A DSiWare application that you'll definitely flip over!

    It's no secret that Flipnote Studio has been one of the most anticipated DSiWare releases to date. The application has been described as like having your own portable animation studio right in the palm of your hands. Not only can you draw sketches and import photos, but you can then use the...

  • Review Operation C (Game Boy)

    Does the diminutive adventure bring the big guns?

    Let's just get this out of the way now: if you like the NES games, you'll probably dig this entry. Operation C isn't an adaptation or a port (arguably); it is an old-school Contra game. It may lack in a few notable areas, but you'll largely enjoy it. Operation C does a pretty good job of sticking to...

  • News The Portable SNES You've Always Wanted, But Can Never Have

    NOT coming soon to shop near you!

    Wouldn't it be great to have a mobile SNES that you could take with you everywhere? Well, until Nintendo decides to pull its finger out and launch the DSi Virtual Console service we're all hoping and praying for, you'll have to send begging letters to industrious French hardware modder darthchris13. This talented...

  • Review Kid Dracula (Game Boy)

    Nobody parodies their own games quite like Konami!

    Konami had already enjoyed some success creating a parody of their Gradius series of shooters with their Parodius releases, so they must have felt like they were on to something when they decided to do the same with their popular Castlevania series back in the early '90s. Kid Dracula basically takes...

  • Review Rock N' Roll Climber (WiiWare)

    Does this rock climbing simulation really rock?

    When word came down that Giles Goddard, the man who had a hand in creating such legendary game titles as Starfox and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was creating a WiiWare title, speculation began growing as to what type of game it could actually be. So to say it was shocking when it was announced...

  • Review Hybrid Heaven (Nintendo 64)

    The N64's own Metal Gear Solid? If only.

    Back in 1998, Konami's Metal Gear Solid took the gaming world by storm. Its masterful combination of action-packed gameplay and cinematic storytelling was unlike anything ever before seen in a videogame. The only bad news was that unless you owned a PlayStation, you wouldn’t be playing it, as it was...

  • Review Super Star Wars (Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)

    Is the force strong with this one?

    When Super Star Wars was released in 1992, it was an instant success. Offering old-school platforming but set in the Star Wars universe and culminating in the destruction of the Death Star, the video game format fit the movies like Harrison Ford fits the role of a roguish scoundrel. At the time, video game critics...

  • Review Picross 2 (Game Boy)

    Even more fun with numbers!

    Mario's Picross was a very nice attempt at making a Mario game based on Picross puzzles (Or nonograms, as they're sometimes called), but there were a few shortcomings - the biggest of which was that most puzzles just weren't really hard. With a maximum size of 15x15, the game's "toughest" puzzles just didn't...

  • Review Brain Age Express: Arts & Letters (DSiWare)

    Brain Age: Arts & Letters manages to capture the brain teasing appeal of the retail releases, just in a smaller dose.

    Nintendo's Brain Age releases have already been hugely successful for their DS system, so it should come as no real surprise to see them releasing small groups of these exercises as individual DSiWare releases on their fledgling...

  • Review City Transport Map Volumes 1 & 2 - 2009 (DSiWare)

    Now you have no excuse for getting lost on a city break.

    City Transport Map Volumes 1 & 2 contains ten travel maps in total and offers a selection of detailed routes for trains, subways, trams and airport shuttles. The maps vary in size depending on the city and different transport methods and specific lines can be highlighted via the touch...

  • Review The Revenge of Shinobi (Virtual Console / Sega Mega Drive)

    Joe Musashi returns in what is arguably the best ninja game ever

    There’s a common assumption that a console’s best titles come towards the end of its lifespan. This is mainly because developers take time to get to grips with a new machine’s power and as a result you have to wait a couple of years before you see what each console is truly...

  • Review Horrible Histories: Ruthless Romans (Wii)

    History? Sort of. Horrible? YES!

    If you live in the UK you're probably familiar with the Horrible History series of books from author Terry Deary; featuring illustrations by Martin Brown. They're books aimed at children (mainly boys) between the ages of 8-12 which try to make history fun by discussing the nastier bits of it; using humourous...

  • Review Tecmo Bowl (Virtual Console / Virtual Console Arcade)

    Older. Prettier. Just not wiser.

    In every genre there is one game that stands as a pinnacle to which other games in that genre aspire. Final Fantasy VII, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Sexy Poker. In their respective genres, these games are the standard by which other games are judged. Tecmo Bowl for the NES is often cited as that...

  • Review OVERTURN (WiiWare)

    WiiWare's first Mech-based fighting game enters the arena, but is it a champ or a chump?

    WiiWare is very sparse when it comes to games that feature massive, hulking robots battling it out in an enclosed arena. Studio Zan therefore don't have to face much competition in the genre, so with that in mind let's delve into this game and see if they've...

  • News Retro Gamer Looks Back at the Virtual Boy

    Nintendo's much-maligned machine gets the retroinspection treatment

    Here's some good news for those of you that have been keenly following Dave's excellent Virtual Boy reviews and are now thirsting for more information on the machine. UK-based magazine Retro Gamer recently ran a 5-page feature on the platform in issue 64, which leading Virtual Boy...

  • Review Virtual Bowling (Virtual Boy)

    More Virtual Boy bowling action!

    Just like Tetris, there were two Bowling games released for the Virtual Boy and just like Tetris, each region only got one of these games. While North American gamers were treated to Nester's Funky Bowling, the Japanese exclusive was Virtual Bowling which features various weights of ball, different lane conditions...

  • News Inside the Game Boy

    Nintendo's legendary handheld celebrates it's 20th by getting naked

    The Game Boy is 20 years young this year, which is pretty incredible when you think about it. To mark this momentous event, PC World (UK readers - that's a website, not the shop of the same name) has featured the machine in its Gadget Autopsy section, where they disassemble famous...

  • Review Sexy Poker (WiiWare)

    Put on your Wii gloves…

    Filling the hole in Wiiware’s library of card games is Gameloft’s Sexy Poker, the self-proclaimed “first sexy poker game on the Wii.” It certainly is unique, but has Gameloft dealt their latest offering a winning hand? The first thing that must be said about Sexy Poker is that this is an M-rated game. For many of...

  • Review Guitar Rock Tour (DSiWare)

    All the right notes, just not in the right order.

    Guitar Rock Tour is a rerelease of the game of the same name we saw on Nintendo DS late last year. The game falls into the genre of games such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band, albeit on somewhat of a budget. There are fifteen tracks to tap along to and two modes of play over three levels of difficulty...

  • Review Space Invaders: Virtual Collection (Virtual Boy)

    They’ll port it to anything.

    It’s highly likely that you will have encountered the simple fun addictiveness that is Space Invaders at some point, even if you missed it in the arcades. Ports, slight updates and compilations have appeared on a wide variety of systems over the years - Atari 2600, Spectrum, NES, Master System, Game Boy, Playstation,...

  • Review Driift Mania (WiiWare)

    Super Sprint and Super Off-Road had a baby and it's soooo cute!

    If you were a gamer in the mid-late 80s you'll probably remember a couple of arcade games called Super Sprint and Ivan "Ironman" Stewart's Super Off-Road, both of which gave 1-3 players the chance to compete in a series of races against human or computer-controlled opponents...

  • Review Final Fantasy Legend III (Game Boy)

    Is the third time the charm for the Final Fantasy Legends series?

    Like many of the other NES and Super NES marquee titles of the era, a Final Fantasy appearance on the Game Boy was almost a foregone conclusion. The series began life in Japan under the title of SaGa, but thankfully Squaresoft was kind enough to bring the three Japanese Game Boy...

  • Review Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge (Game Boy)

    The second Game Boy Castlevania atones for the sins of its predecessor and ranks as one of the finest entries in the entire series

    Before we plough headlong into this review, a short history lesson is probably in order. As the title denotes, Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge isn’t the first instalment of Konami’s vampire-slaying franchise to...

July2009

  • Review Tenchu: Shadow Assassins (Wii)

    "Are you finished? Save your speeches for Hell!"

    This is the fourth in a series of stealth-based action games which have often met with mixed reviews due to control and camera issues. After watching the atmospheric sepia-toned montage of game cut-scenes scored with Japanese opera and playing the game, fans and those new to the series will find that...

  • News Game Boy 20th Anniversary Special

    Nintendo's popular portable turns twenty!

    For those of you who don't know, Nintendo's Game Boy system turns 20 on July 31, 2009. It's hard to believe the little guy is already two decades old, but I guess time really does fly when you're having fun. The original Game Boy system hit the video game scene in North America in 1989 at a retail cost of...

  • Review HB Arcade Cards (WiiWare)

    You know what this game of Rummy needs? Gin. And lots of it

    HB Arcade Cards has one thing working for it, and three things working against it. Let’s start with the good news: it’s six great games for one low price, but you don’t need to read a review to tell you that. So now on with the bad news. The first problem the game has is that there is...

  • Review The Three Musketeers: One For All! (WiiWare)

    This week, Alexandre Dumas makes his WiiWare debut. Next week: Crime and Punishment Party!

    When it was first announced, The Three Musketeers: One For All! was the subject of much anticipation on the part of the WiiWare community, simply because it belonged a mysteriously under-represented genre: the action platformer. This earned it a lot of...

  • Review Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (DS)

    More hogwash than Hogwarts

    Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince is, as I’m sure most of you are aware, the latest entry in the massively popular series concerning the teenage wizard Mr. Potter. For those muggles out there unfamiliar with the plot “The Half Blood Prince” is where the epic tale of good versus evil really heats up; the...

  • Review Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 1 (WiiWare)

    Is Guybrush Threepwood still the wannabe pirate king?

    The 'point and click' adventure has been clinically dead for quite a while now, largely because it seemed impossible to make a good example of the genre in 3D. Many developers tried, but almost all of them failed, mostly due to clunky controls or annoying moving cameras. To be honest, there’s...

  • Review A Little Bit of... Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training Sudoku (DSiWare)

    The best Sudoku experience on DSiWare yet?

    The DSi is quickly becoming the place to be for Sudoku fans with three different titles already available on the service – a fair amount considering the overall amount of games currently released. “A little Bit of…Brain Training Sudoku” is the latest game in the genre and is of course taken from the...

  • Review ColorZ (WiiWare)

    It’s a colourful world we live in.

    ColorZ is a game whose trailer captured the attentions of many with its vibrant colours against light backgrounds and novel colour fusion mechanic. The sight of gently drifting UFOs floating through groups of stationary enemies accompanied by an ambient/trance techno soundtrack and no shooting in sight created...

  • Review Battle Poker (WiiWare)

    Battle Poker? I hardly battle know her!

    There are a few things about Battle Poker that you will notice as soon as you start playing the game, and one of them is that at no point do you actually play any poker. Is this a bad thing? Absolutely not, but it does lead to a slightly schizophrenic experience. Basically, Battle Poker is a collection of...

  • Review 3D Tetris (Virtual Boy)

    It’s Tetris. On the Virtual Boy. Again.

    Perhaps one of the strangest things about the Virtual Boy is that it had two Tetris games. OK there are many systems with multiple versions of Tetris but they were around a lot longer than Virtual Boy was. Interestingly--though this would have changed had the system been around longer--each region only got...

  • Review Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (Super Nintendo)

    Perhaps the greatest platformer of all-time.

    When remembering the great games of the past, our thoughts tend to drift towards the revolutionary titles; the literal game-changers. And any gamer worth a darn knows that the indisputable king of these wonderful permutations is Shigeru Miyamoto. The man's M.O. is completely altering the landscape of...

  • Review Mahjong Taikai Wii (Wii)

    A solid straight-up Mahjong game for fans of the real deal.

    This is the latest in a series of Mahjong Tournament games which have appeared on previous consoles and handhelds. These are single player games (as with card games Mahjong player have hidden hands, so multiplayer with one screen wouldn't work too well) with virtual opponents; online play...

  • Review Virtual League Baseball (Virtual Boy)

    Does stepping onto the virtual diamond impress?

    You take control of a team then bat, pitch and field as you compete against others, either in one off games or a league, offering you the chance to become Virtual League World Champion. Each game lasts for 9 innings though games will end early if a team is winning by over 10 points. For both batting...

  • Review Shanghai Wii (Wii)

    Sunsoft brings the classic match-two game to Wii.

    Shanghai is the name Activision gave to series of simple matching games featuring patterns of stacked mahjong tiles on the Apple Macintosh and later Wintel PCs (other companies have sold the same game with various other names; the game is generically known as "mahjong solitaire" or...

  • Review Hysteria Hospital: Emergency Ward (Wii)

    It does indeed invoke hysteria, but not the good kind.

    Hysteria Hospital: Emergency Ward is the latest treat from Oxygen Games for Wii and in a sense it truly does replicate how a hospital nurse must at times feel; overworked, frustrated and at times more than a little tired. The game begins with the player deciding upon the gender and name of their...

  • Review Wii Sports Resort (Wii)

    Is Wii Sports Resort the worthy sequel fans of the original have been waiting for?

    When Nintendo needed a showpiece for the unique motion control system of their upcoming Wii console, their developers came up with the original Wii Sports title that was eventually packed in with the system. Needless to say, it's become one of the most beloved titles...

  • Review The Conduit (Wii)

    Does High Voltage's much touted FPS manage to live up to the hype?

    The Conduit has been hyped for quite a while. Announced over a year ago, the game saw delay after delay, did not get a publisher until late last year and suffered a few other minor problems. After all this time you'd expect the game to be fantastic, but is it really? The Wii doesn't...

  • Review Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord (WiiWare)

    Here's your chance to try out life as a Darklord!

    As a launch title for the WiiWare service in all regions, the long-titled Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King was highly anticipated by fans of the famous series and city-building enthusiasts alike. Having received positive critical acclaim from the gaming world, which appeared to...

  • Review A Little Bit of... Puzzle League (DSiWare)

    A bit of a rehash, but a good rehash nonetheless.

    The Puzzle League or “Panel de Pon” series as it is known in Japan is one of the lesser-known Nintendo flagship gaming series. Over the years the game has appeared under various guises coupling well-known characters from both Pokémon and the Super Mario titles. “Planet Puzzle League,”...

  • Review Smash Table Tennis (Virtual Console / NES)

    Smash Table Tennis delivers a backhand to your wallet.

    Sometimes, you just have to wonder who at Nintendo is in charge of the Virtual Console game selection. Perhaps it's one of those people who, when unable to decide what to do, throws a dart at a dartboard with possible "options" on it in order to come to a decision. That almost has to...

  • News Daft Punk Gets 8-Bit Makeover

    Chiptunes compilation shows the true meaning of digital love.

    Sometimes, music gets covered in a way that just feels right, like Nouvelle Vague's rendition of Billy Idol's Dancing With Myself. French musician Je deviens dj en 3 jours' (or JDDJ3J) project, Da Chip!, fits nicely into this category. With the help of 10 of his cronies, the fusion of...

  • Review Ant Nation (WiiWare)

    An antagonizingly good game.

    Konami returns to Wiiware with another semi-strategy game. This time instead of reactively fending off crabs, you’ll be proactively leading a nation of ants in a war of senseless aggression. Finally, those ladybugs will get what they deserve. But is this nation worthy of a leader such as you? Ant Nation is...

  • Review Monster Lab (Wii)

    Something from Eidos that isn't Tomb Raider or Championship Manager and SURPRISE, it's actually good.

    Gamers from the PlayStation era may recall Tecmo's answer to Pokémon, Monster Rancher. Creating a monster to send into gladiatorial combat and doing jobs with the chance of getting special items to use was good fun, so seeing a similar game which...

  • Review Godzilla Unleashed (Wii)

    Up from the depths thirty stories high, breathing fire his head in the sky -- Godzilla! Godzilla! Godzilla!

    Godzilla Unleashed is the latest in a string of Godzilla games from developer Pipeworks, the same folks that brought us Rampage Total Destruction, another giant-monsters-smash-everything game that is squarely targeted at the Kaiju-loving...

  • Review Jack Bros. (Virtual Boy)

    Justifiably well regarded or just overhyped?

    Aside from VB Wario Land, if there’s one game that causes people to get excited when discussing the Virtual Boy its Jack Bros.: a spin-off title from the Megami Tensei RPG series that sees players working their way down a series of floors, fighting enemies as a timer ticks down. But is it worthy of...

  • Review Incoming! (WiiWare)

    Beware of incoming duds.

    Welcome to Incoming!, a game of projectile combat. You command a tank (or a small group of tanks), and you will be expected to demolish the other tank (or small group of tanks) by adjusting the angle and velocity of each shot. You've played games like this before, and you've probably enjoyed them. In fact, the first time...

  • News Fan-made Mother 3 Handbook Freely Available To Read

    It's all online, and it's all free.

    Remember that fantastic fan-made Mother 3 guide a while back? Those of you with a marshmallow-soft spot for the series and $20 American to spare probably already have your copy sitting snugly on your shelf. The rest of us? Well, we can now read and download it (legally!) for free. Score one for the cheap-o's! It's...

  • Review 5 Spots Party (WiiWare)

    Can you spot the difference?

    5 Spots Party is based upon the tried and true pen and paper game "Spot the Difference," a staple of children's activity magazines since forever where the object is to compare two pictures (usually drawings) and identify a set number of differences between them as a means of passing the time. This game...

  • Review Rampage: Total Destruction (Wii)

    Still Rampaging after all these years...

    This game is the latest in a series of Rampage games from Midway stretching back to the mid-80s when Rampage was released in the arcades as the first (and practically only) example of the Giant Monsters Wreaking Havoc genre of video games. To many who grew up watching Godzilla, Ultraman and any number of...

  • Review Rampage (NES)

    Is this monster mash worth all your quarters?

    Today people might look at Midway as the financial disaster that they are and chuckle. In the better days of arcades, however, Midway developed a number of hit arcade games including their hit Mortal Kombat series of fighters. While MK is likely their most famous effort, they also had some respectable...

  • Review Namco Museum Remix (Wii)

    Something classic, something new, Namco we love you!

    In recent years purveyors old arcade games have seen fit to repackage them into "Greatest Hits" collections. Namco first had their Museum series on the original PlayStation in a series of six volumes (cleverly one for each letter of the name "Namco" and then a Japanese-only...

  • Review Dementium: The Ward (DS)

    A healthy, suspense-ridden shooter, or just another flatliner?

    Due to the limitations of the platform, first-person-shooters are not a common sight on DS. Indie developer Renegade Kid is one of the few out there to fully take advantage of the lack of competitors, but is Dementium good enough on its own merit? Dementium begins with a commonly...

  • Review Moon (DS)

    A science fiction FPS on DS? Lunacy!

    The DS’s heritage for first-person shooters has been a little – wait for it! – hit and miss over the years, with Metroid Prime: Hunters singlehandedly flying the flag as titles such as GoldenEye: Rogue Agent drag the poor machine’s name through the dirt. One developer determined to craft the handheld’s...

  • Review Karate Phants: Gloves of Glory (WiiWare)

    A fighting game based upon a licensed property -- what could possibly go wrong?

    As a general rule video games based upon licensed properties tend to be bad. For every decent game you'll find dozens of hastily churned out movie show tie-ins where the license is more important than the underlying game. The fighting genre has had some notable...

  • Review BlastWorks (Wii)

    There's a whole lot of blasting going on, but how does it all work?

    User-generated content in games goes all the way back to titles like Bill Budge's Pinball Construction set on 8-bit home computers and first-person shooters like Doom and Quake, but it's not something that's ever really been prominent in console games due to both system storage...

  • Review Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (Wii)

    Marvel heroes trapped in a Wiirld they never made!

    As the title suggests, this is the ultimate game featuring Marvel super heroes. The storyline resembles many classic Marvel title-spanning events: Doctor Doom has assembled The Masters of Evil to undertake an audacious gambit to assume ultimate power in the universe. Nick Fury, Agent of...

  • Review Heracles: Chariot Racing (WiiWare)

    Will Heracles slay the Titan of Nintendo racing games?

    Due to the space constraints that Nintendo places on WiiWare games, most games on the service are short, simple, and lacking in the graphics department. One certainly would not expect a complete port of a PlayStation 2 game on the service. But that is exactly what developer Neko Entertainment...

  • Review Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon (Nintendo 64)

    You know it makes sense!

    Save Japan from a group of stage performers by throwing coins and hitting robots with your trusty kiseru pipe. What do you get if you take a generous helping of Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, mix well with a portion of Mario 64, and add a heavy sprinkling of traditional Japanese culture? The answer, of course, is...

  • Review Rogue Trooper: Quartz Zone Massacre (Wii)

    Can a last generation port based upon a licensed property possibly be any good?

    Rebellion and 2000 A.D. are both British veterans of their respective fields: video games and comics, and like Marmite and potato crisps, both go well together. Unlike Marmite crisps, however, Rogue Trooper: Quartz Zone Massacre is a winning combination in anyone's book...

  • Review Bit.Trip Core (WiiWare)

    Gaijin Games are back with the second game in the BIT.TRIP saga

    The original BIT.TRIP BEAT took the old-school play control of Pong and created a unique and more modern spin on it. It was a bit like the original Pong games, but with far more charm and visual flair. Now Gaijin Games has taken that successful formula and bumped it up a level to give...

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