Wii U Game Reviews
Review Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth (Wii U)
Hulk smash
Let's face it – for the uninitiated, the fighting genre can be daunting. Millisecond-perfect timing and the memorisation of several-button-presses-long combos are often essential to win, and unfortunately not everybody has enough time to spend shining up their Shoryukens. Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth lowers the entry barrier to the...
Still solid after all these years
It's hard to believe that it's been 25 years since the first Madden Football release, and given that the game has been released on pretty much every gaming platform imaginable over the years, it was pretty much a given we'd see a release on Nintendo's new console. While Madden NFL 13 on the Wii U has lost a bit of...
Review Family Party: 30 Great Games Obstacle Arcade (Wii U)
Obstacle to fun, maybe
If you were to poll gamers at large and ask them what they felt were the worst things about the Wii, chances are you'd hear "waggle" and "bad minigame collections" pretty frequently. In fact they often went hand in hand, and Family Party: 30 Great Games Obstacle Arcade is trying its hardest to make sure both of things carry...
Review Rapala Pro Bass Fishing (Wii U)
Dead in the water
In attempting to craft a realistic fishing experience, Rapala Pro Bass Fishing got one thing exactly right: you'll be sitting around doing nothing for most of the time you play it. Unfortunately that's due to its almost insultingly lengthy load times, but we'll still give it some credit for unintentional verisimilitude. The...
Review Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2013 (Wii U)
The hunt is on?
Maybe we're just gullible human beings here at Nintendo Life Towers, but we expected Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2013 to feature some...you know...hunting. Not that we're disappointed, as this far more action-oriented approach has undoubtedly made for a better game, but the FPS / survival approach certainly caught us off guard. So,...
Review Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two (Wii U)
Port by numbers
Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two should, on paper, be an excellent game. The original Wii-exclusive title showed a great deal of promise but flawed execution, so optimistic logic suggested that the sequel would resolve those issues and build on the strengths found in that début, making some Disney fans very happy. Not only...
Massively Effective
Wii U had a rock solid line-up of launch titles to accompany it last year. From Grade-A third party franchises such as Assassin’s Creed through to Mario, a classic staple in the Nintendo canon. Oddly enough, more than a few of these launch games were sequels, or even third games in series’ that have already been around for...
Dance epidemic tonight
Given its massive success, we can't even feign surprise at this point that Just Dance hasn't veered far from its path. Pleased with its gift horse and eyes locked firmly elsewhere but its mouth, Ubisoft keeps it on the same track for yet another go round of light-hearted party fun. The prerequisite tweaks and fiddles to the...
Review Skylanders Giants (Wii U)
Not a giant leap
Plastic peripherals and Activision seem to be a match made in heaven, with Guitar Hero and then Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure both emptying our wallets. Well, it's not safe to put your money away just yet, as Skylanders Giants hits the shelves complete with a whole new set of must-have plastic collectables. So it's back to Skylands...
Review Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Wii U)
Always outnumbered, never outgunned
Black Ops was a remarkable achievement for Treyarch. By finally carving out their own vision of the franchise, one steeped in Cold War history and with narrative focus, the studio broke out from under Infinity Ward's imposing shadow and pulled off one of the most compelling games in the series. It was a breath of...
Review James Bond: 007 Legends (Wii U)
Thunderbore
With the new James Bond film Skyfall currently rocking movie theaters across the globe, you might expect this year's 007 game to be all about the present. Instead, Eurocom's swansong digs into the franchise's rich 50-year legacy, updating some of Bond's more memorable moments for the modern era. With the successful re-imagining of...
Hoop dreams
Despite its only competitor in the basketball sim arena being dormant for the past few years, the NBA 2K series has continued to march forward year after year enjoying fan and critical acclaim thanks to its constant improvement with each franchise iteration. The series finally makes the bounce pass to a Nintendo console, and hoops fans...
Review Batman: Arkham City Armoured Edition (Wii U)
The Dark Knight Rises… again
Last year saw the release of Batman: Arkham City, an open-world action adventure game that was touted as one of the best titles of its generation. Now Nintendo gamers are treated to an all new iteration of the already classic game made specifically for Wii U, with Batman: Arkham City: Armored Edition. While the new...
Review Assassin's Creed III (Wii U)
America, **** yeah!
Assassin's Creed III is a weird game to launch alongside Wii U: there is little context for those Nintendo-only players who sat out the other four games because they perhaps didn't own the proper hardware, and those who are invested in the series probably already picked this up elsewhere when it released weeks before the Wii U...
Don't fear the reaper
Whenever a new piece of Nintendo hardware is released one of the first things fans ask is “when is a Zelda game coming out?” In the case of the Wii U, the answer is simple: it’s already out, it’s just called Darksiders II. Like the original Darksiders, this sequel wears its inspiration on its sleeve. You’ll ride a...
Review Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2013 (Wii U)
Witness the fitness
Wii Fit may have kickstarted the fitness genre, but it isn't the only game in town. Ubisoft's Your Shape series started out on Wii with its own motion capture camera before moving to Kinect, and now comes full circle with Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2013 for the Wii U. While ditching the motion capture for a Wii Remote comes with...
E - I - E - I - oh
If you're looking for the most happening place on Miiverse, look no further than the community for Funky Barn. Filled with sketches of animals in sunglasses and musical references, it's become a haven for memes and the friendliest trolling you've ever seen. When somebody posts about the game itself rather than its title, it's met...
Review Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (Wii U)
Mighty morphin power racers
SEGA may no longer be the same company that bloodied Nintendo’s nose during the glorious days of the 16-bit console wars, but it still has a keen fan base and a truly amazing legacy within the games industry. Even so, there have been numerous occasions over the past few years where it's struggled to emerge from...
Thrills and spills
Gamers will forever associate the name Wipeout with Psygnosis' futuristic racing series, but in the world of primetime TV, Wipeout means wacky announcers, massive pratfalls and Big Red Balls. Based on ABC's hit US game show (which our UK readers will recognize as Total Wipeout) Wipeout 3 brings the slapstick spirit of the show to...
Review Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper (Wii U)
Hyper fighting
It's great to see such a variety of titles hitting the Wii U during its launch window, and of the many ports it's a joy to see the best of the Warriors Orochi games make the transition in Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper. For the uninitiated, the Warriors Orochi series is a crossover of the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors games, where...
Review Tank! Tank! Tank! (Wii U)
Meh! Meh! Meh!
Every so often a video game comes along with a concept so amazing that copies should come with a roll of duct tape to keep consumers from having their faces rocked off. Tanks with crazy weapons fighting giant robot monsters in expansive, destructible cities seems like a concept that you’d have to work pretty hard to screw up...
Party like it's 2011
EA has a bit of history when it comes to releasing versions of FIFA on new consoles. No matter how many years the series runs for or how many formats the game is released on, the first edition on a new machine is always a bit hit and miss. You can track that all the way back to the days of the Sega Megadrive and EA’s first...
Review Game Party Champions (Wii U)
Mini lame
Whenever a new console is launched, there are always one or two decidedly awful titles released that have been thrown together in time for the big night. The publisher’s thinking here is that most early adopters will want to leave the store with a stack of games for their new console, and if they keep the retail price low, their atrocity...
Review Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge (Wii U)
Bloody hell
It’s been a long time since master ninja Ryu Hayabusa infiltrated a Nintendo home console, with 1995’s Ninja Gaiden Trilogy for the SNES marking his last appearance. Tecmo Koei decided the time was finally right for Ryu to make his return with Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge, a souped-up, improved version of Ninja Gaiden 3, which...
This Land is your land
Nintendo Land has a lot to live up to. Not only does its name invoke a fantastic, imaginary kingdom many of us would happily sail to sight-unseen, it's also the game poised to provide proof of the Wii U's concept, as Wii Sports did for the Wii back in 2006. And like Wii Sports before it, if you've picked up a Deluxe Wii U it's...
Review New Super Mario Bros. U (Wii U)
High definition hijinks
New Super Mario Bros. U marks the first time that a brand new Mario game has accompanied a Nintendo hardware launch since the days of the N64, and consequently places an inordinate amount of pressure and expectation on its high-definition shoulders. It’s perhaps not what hardcore fans wanted; following so closely on the...
Review Scribblenauts Unlimited (Wii U)
Scribble to your heart’s content
The Scribblenauts series has always been about pushing your imagination to its limits and solving puzzles in unique and often hilarious ways. With its various open worlds and the ability to seamlessly traverse between them, as well as the brand new object editor which lets you create almost anything and everything,...
Review ESPN Sports Connection (Wii U)
Taking one for the team
Launching with Wii Sports was, in hindsight, one of Nintendo's best ideas: the pack-in's elegant simplicity helped skyrocket the fledgling Wii right up into the stratosphere. Families rallied around Tennis, grannies couldn't get enough Bowling, that annoying uncle hogged Golf, mass hysteria yadda yadda. So no surprise then...
Pants party
When you're aiming for a wide audience with your new console, it's important to have all of your boxes ticked. New Mario? Check. Zombies? Check. Party game? Check, mate. That seems to be the driving force behind SiNG Party, a game so light and fluffy that it wafts through the air like the smell of cotton candy. It just kind of exists in...
Worth your launch day carrots?
The inaugural Rabbids game was a launch title for the Wii back in 2006, so it seems only fitting that Wii U should have its own outing with the furry little hellions right from the get-go in Rabbids Land. This time around the action is presented in the context of a digital board game, like Mario Party, and while the...
