3DS eShop Reviews - Page 5 of 7

On the dot or a runaround?

Dot Runner: Complete Edition is the latest release from Intense, developer of unique DSiWare RPG GO Series: Picdun. This outing shares the dual perspectives of that title but little else; here you collect dots as a futuristic man-on-a-mission named BOLT in a chase puzzler that's fast and fun, but seriously flawed. While...

Circle gets the square

The ...by Nikoli series is nothing new to the eShop, but Masyu by Nikoli stands out for being a puzzle of Nikoli's own creation. This means that if you'd like to play it, more than likely this will be your only option on the service. Therefore the question really boils down to whether or not that puzzle is worth seeking out on...

Hidden gem or a kick in the jewels?

The Phantom Thief Stina and 30 Jewels is an arcade-like game that has you breaking into an assortment of stages, grabbing keycodes, deactivating security systems, and escaping into the night with shiny jewel in hand. As a concept, Phantom Thief is intriguing, but while it can be fun, it's ultimately let down by...

Like a punch to the Wang

We're on to you, UFO Interactive. You've released these side-scrolling action games every few months now and, we'll admit, each one has had a fairly interesting premise — a samurai slicer with RPG elements and a zombie-flavored rhythm game? We can dig it. Now you roll out what seems like an ode to LCD handheld games...

Take a pretty picture

It’s easy to forget about all of this multi-functional nonsense and think of 3DS as an all-out gaming machine, but occasionally a new app appears to remind us that, actually, Nintendo intends for the system to offer much more. The arrival of Sparkle Snapshots 3D in the eShop is one such reminder, a camera app designed to...

A good second service

Arc System Works, most fondly known for the Guilty Gear and BlazBlue series of 2D fighting games, also dabbles in the casual sports genre with its Family series for WiiWare. Those titles generally haven't been very well received, but the series' first entry into the eShop, Family Tennis 3D, is a happy reversal of that trend...

Spark in the dark

Hamster is now at the halfway point of chopping up upcoming retail release Sudoku + 7 other Complex Puzzles by Nikoli and selling each puzzle type individually through the eShop. With Sudoku and Kakuro out of the way, the far more interesting chunks have started to hit as evidenced by last month's Slitherlink and now Ak

Dat Mahvel

Unlike video games based on movies or popular comics, licensed pinball tables have a reputation of being pretty great — The Twilight Zone, The Addams Family, Indiana Jones and Monster Bash are but a sampling of the rich properties that have yielded some of the most popular pins of the past 20 years. Marvel Comic's iconic characters are...

Enough bang for your buck?

Welcome to Bomb Monkey, which does in fact feature both bombs and a monkey. Whew, that's a relief! Now that we no longer have to worry about false advertising, we can talk about the game itself. As any screenshot will suggest, Bomb Monkey is a colour-based puzzle game. You hold your 3DS book-style, and use either the...

Voldemort's favourite puzzle

Hamster continues to roll out piecemeal the components of its forthcoming retail package Sudoku + 7 Other Complex Puzzles by Nikoli onto the eShop, now breaking out the brain-bender Slitherlink by Nikoli. Unlike past efforts Sudoku by Nikoli and Kakuro by Nikoli, Slitherlink offers a type of teaser seldom seen in digital...

Finger-licking good

When it comes to real-world occupations that double as compelling experiences in gaming, the list is pretty short. Soldier, of course. Taxi driver. City planner. And, surprisingly enough, restaurant manager. Order Up!! isn't the first game to tap into that particular well of gainful employment, but it certainly is one of the...

Send it to the pound

Remember back when Laserdisc games were king and everyone loved them and we were all playing them at home? No? Well, that’s probably because it was never the case, and the really great news is that Laserdisc games quickly came and went before they could do any real lasting damage to the future of gaming. With that in mind,...

The title says it all

Nintendo’s digital stores have given us plenty of titles based on old-fashioned games of cards, for those who no longer play with real decks or other people. The thing about solitaire, or course, is that it’s a card game for just one player, and anyone’s who owned a Windows PC in the last 15 years is likely to have played...

4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42

There's certainly no shortage of number puzzles lurking around the dark, damp corners of the eShop. Sudoku is a prime culprit, and we wouldn't be at all surprised if there was a degree of puzzle overlap between them all, however mathematically unlikely that may be. Kakuro, on the other hand, is much less of a bruised dead horse...

Not fond memories

Sweet Memories Blackjack is a strange arrival on the 3DS eShop, with a Japanese concept and style that typically doesn’t make it outside of the Land of the Rising Sun. While card games are common on DSiWare, this 3DS exclusive follows a different approach that aims to bring a relationship dynamic to proceedings. This title may...

Art of brilliance

WiiWare puzzler Art of Balance is one of the best games on the service: instinctive and addictive, it made the well-worn act of stacking shapes feel fresh again. Now on the 3DS eShop, Art of Balance TOUCH! keeps the winning formula going. The premise to Art of Balance is simple. In each stage you're given blocks of various shapes,...

SuDDDoku

Given the volume of the genre found in the eShop, we expect a lot from new digital sudoku games. If someone is going to go ahead and plunk down some cash, a game really needs to bring the thunder compared to the free versions found online and on other devices, or even one of those end-all puzzle books down at the five and dime. Sudoku by...

A first-class flight

3DS Download Software has been a bit of a mixed bag so far, with titles ranging from the glorious to the utterly forgettable. Similarly, developer Teyon has been responsible for both memorable, addictive fun and fuelling our screaming nightmares. For those reasons, we weren't sure what to expect of Bird Mania 3D. But now that...

Block party

If you've ever harboured the desire to create your own block-falling games, Block Factory might just be what you've been looking for. Through its editor you can build new games in the puzzle sub-genre with ease, but in doing so you'll have to look past the bland presentation, and it soon becomes clear that there's a reason there are only...