DSiWare Game Reviews
Domo arigato, DodoGo! Robo
With two games already available on DSiWare — DodoGo! and DodoGo! Challenge — you'd be forgiven for thinking that each DodoGo! game is simply a level pack expansion to the previous game. This was true for the second title, Challenge, but things are a bit different here, as while the first two titles were very similar...
Review Simply Minesweeper (DSiWare)
Simply, Minesweeper
Engine Software doesn't exactly have a track record of making amazing games for DSiWare, all of its output has at the very least always been mediocre at worst and average at best. The studio has previously released Simply games for Mahjong, Sudoku and Solitaire, all of which were quite functional, but ultimately all very basic...
Down the rabbit hole
These days, with the recent release of Paul’s Shooting Adventure and Paul’s Monster Adventure, it seems as though Agetec is trying to claim the title of "most bizarre games available on DSiWare". Keeping the tradition alive, now the company's released Rabi Laby, a hybrid puzzle platform game that has players...
Three in one
With so many puzzle games on DSiWare already, it's kind of hard to invent a completely new concept for your game. So why not combine the concept of several other games into one? Shapo is pretty much a combination of Lonpos, Tetris and Art of Balance, with key elements from each coming into play during the game. There's a classic and...
Review 5-in-1 Mahjong (DSiWare)
Overlooking this would be mah-wrong
cerasus.media specialises in telling you exactly what you're getting and giving it to you with no frills. It's questionable that they'd apply that strategy to game that already has four versions available in the DSi Shop, three of which are also priced at 200 Points. Yet 5-in-1 Mahjong is probably the best of the...
Review Beauty Academy (DSiWare)
This could get ugly...
Recently, we at Nintendo Life reviewed Model Academy from developer Tivola. As a team with plenty of modelling experience between us, we felt well qualified to judge the merits of this title. Tivola have wasted no time releasing a follow-up title, Beauty Academy, and as regular patrons of beauty salons we once again take it on...
Review Plants vs. Zombies (DSiWare)
Plants vs. Zombies Lite!
PopCap's Plants vs. Zombies has been released on quite a number of platforms already, so it certainly wasn't a surprise to see the game make an appearance recently on Nintendo's DS system. But what does seem a bit surprising is that only two months later the company has now chosen to release a slightly stripped down version...
Review Puzzle to Go Sightseeing (DSiWare)
Still no new sights to see here
We originally only got two Puzzle to Go games before the series took a break for about a year, but since its return we've now already very quickly gotten three more of them, including this newest release, Sightseeing. It should now come as absolutely no surprise that this instalment is once again pretty much exactly...
JellyCar or SmellyCar?
JellyCar 2 is a tricky one. It's a quality driving-platforming game with a variety of content; and while that really should be all that matters, the fact is you can download the game for $4 cheaper on an iOS and get more content. Paying more for less stinks. That's obvious. But if the DSi is all you've got, the fact remains:...
Review GO Series: Earth Saver (DSiWare)
Simple and fun, though not earthshaking
We've already seen about half a dozen GO Series releases on DSiWare, each offering up an experience that revolves around simplicity from both a visual and gameplay standpoint. While the results from have been mixed, there have been a couple of releases that caught our attention and proved quite accessible and...
Review Monster Buster Club (DSiWare)
Will the kids win or get busted?
The gargantuan success of the DS and subsequently the DSi has meant that the little handheld has become a prime device for games based on children’s television and film. The latest in the list of games targeting this audience has arrived on DSiWare, Monster Buster Club. Does this collection of mini games bring...
Review My Little Restaurant (DSiWare)
Diner Dash meets... Diner Dash
There's really no point in beating around the bush about it: My Little Restaurant is Diner Dash in disguise. In fact, if it wasn't for the different sprites, the two would be virtually indistinguishable. But while it's hard to sing praises to something so unoriginal, the fact still remains that as of now there's no...
More polarising than magnetic
Magnetic Joe first became popular as a mobile game back in 2006, using its simplistic control scheme and colourful visuals to garner a fairly decent audience over the years. Now the game has come to Nintendo's DSiWare service, and it remains very similar to its original incarnation. However, the "ball rolling"...
Review Remote Racers (DSiWare)
Ready, set, no
Last year saw the release of both AiRace: Tunnel and AiRace, two fun and highly regarded aircraft racing games from QubicGames. This year, the folks who brought you those two gems are back and have taken to the ground with their latest release: Remote Racers. Taking on the role of miniature vehicles in big environments, does this...
Review Faceez: Monsters! (DSiWare)
Faceez of evil
After last year's photo-fiddling app Faceez, Neko Entertainment has returned with a sequel of sorts, with a new twist. The question is, is this series worth revisiting? You wouldn't expect this to be anything but a short, fun experience for 200 Points, and thankfully it turns out to be just that, making great use of the DSi camera in...
Review Puzzle to Go Planets and Universe (DSiWare)
Not even if it was the last game on the planet
Tivola has three Puzzle to Go games under its belt already, with almost a year between the second and third instalments. The first two games were, understandably, very similar, but with almost a year between those and the third game, you'd think the team would've taken the time to refine some of the...
Review Arctic Escape (DSiWare)
Like Lemmings, but in formal wear
Arctic Escape revolves around guiding a group of adorable little critters past obstacles and away from fatal hazards, herding them in an orderly fashion through an exit so that the next stage can load and you can do it all over again. Sound familiar? It should: it's the gameplay formula that made the Lemmings series...
Review Pucca Noodle Rush (DSiWare)
Soba, so good
Korean cartoon character Pucca has appeared in two downloadable games in the last few weeks: first there was WiiWare adventure Pucca's Kisses Game and now DSiWare has got its own cutesy noodle simulator with Pucca Noodle Rush. It may not be the tastiest dish on the DSiWare menu, but those with an appetite for restaurant-based time...
Review G.G Series: Drift Circuit (DSiWare)
Slow-motion sickness
When it comes to the G.G Series, the plan is simple: choose a particular genre of gaming and produce an entertaining playing experience using not only a simplified musical and visual theme, but also a very basic set of play controls. So far that formula has worked well enough, but now this idea has been incorporated into the...
Review Hip Hop King: Rytmik Edition (DSiWare)
Rapper's delight
As the third entry in Cinemax's musical series following last year's Rytmik and Rytmik: Rock Edition, Hip Hop King: Rytmik Edition will be familiar to anyone who's dabbled with the series' previous releases; naturally, though, the soundscape here is vastly different. Where the original favoured electronic dance samples and the...
At least they're endangered
Hey, kids! If you like pandas, disorientation, horrible graphics, pressing buttons that only sometimes work, and games ported so lazily that they completely disregard the limitations of the console you're playing on, then Panda Craze is for you! Panda Craze finds you controlling Tik-Ling, a panda who must climb ladders...
Review Treasure Hunter X (DSiWare)
Between a rock and a hard place
We've seen a rash of games on the various download services take a page or two from the games of years gone by, some better than others. Treasure Hunter X attempts to capture a bit of the magic of some of the classic computer games like Boulder Dash and Lode Runner and build a unique gaming experience around it. But...
Review Model Academy (DSiWare)
Are you pretty enough?
The life of a photogenic model is well known amongst the Nintendo Life team, and now Tivola is giving all DSi owners a chance to live the dream with Model Academy, a simulation game that sees you progress from girl in the mall to World Supermodel. The question is, does this title provide a fun experience, and can you walk the...
Review Shawn Johnson Gymnastics (DSiWare)
Not even Shawn Johnson can save this one
Despite nearly 350 current releases on the DSiWare service, we've seen only a handful of sports titles. Now with the release of Shawn Johnson Gymnastics, Zoo Games is looking to cash in on this lack of sports titles by offering up not only a fairly well-known name in the gymnastics world, but also the first...
Will you catch puzzle fever?
Gold Fever is a title that has arrived on the DSiWare scene with very little known about it. Developer Tik Games LLC has only released one title on the DSi download service, Rocks 'N’ Rockets released late last year, and latest title Gold Fever is a puzzle game that borrows elements of various classics to tickle your...
Review 101 Dolphin Pets (DSiWare)
The water's fine
Some of us are old enough to remember when all you could do with a virtual pet was feed it when it beeped, play "guess the number" and wait for it to eventually die. We've come a long way since then, arriving now at 101 Dolphin Pets, Teyon's follow-up to its more ferocious shark-based smorgasbord of 101 Shark Pets. The...
Review All-Star Air Hockey (DSiWare)
Floaty puck action for one
What's the most endearing aspect of Air Hockey? Is it the rapid pace? The frantic mix of offence and defence? The unique floatiness of the puck? The smell of Chuck-E-Cheese pizza baking in the background? No; like most pseudo-sports found in arcades and questionable bars, the magic of Air Hockey lies in the spirit of...
Review Boom Boom Squaries (DSiWare)
All the right angles?
Pitched as a spin-off title from WiiWare platformer Furry Legends, DSiWare puzzler Boom Boom Squaries is very similar to Flash and iOS game Chain Reaction: you tap the touchscreen to cause a small explosion that detonates any enemies it touches, causing a chain reaction. Boom Boom Squaries has a few variations on this theme,...
Review Puzzle to Go Baby Animals (DSiWare)
A puzzle best left unsolved
It's been almost ten months since the last time we received a Puzzle to Go game. We've clearly stated our complaints about the previous two games in our past reviews, but have the developers taken the time to improve this latest outing? When you first start you'll notice that the menus look, expectedly, exactly the same...
Review Ferryman Puzzle (DSiWare)
Is this ferry on choppy waters?
Ferryman Puzzle is the latest release from Engine Software, a developer that, aside from the Just Sing! games, has focused on DSiWare in the form of basic titles with a budget price point. The concept here will be familiar to those who have stumbled across it in Professor Layton games: you are a ferryman tasked with...
