Reviews

WiiWare Game Reviews

  • Review Wild West Guns (WiiWare)

    Saddle up the horse and reload your six shooter - it's time to earn your badge, partner...

    As children many of us spent several lazy afternoons watching old cowboy flicks, so it seems almost criminal that this classic Hollywood genre hasn't been granted a decent videogame adaptation for some time. Last generation's GUN was a modestly successful...

  • Review Frat Party Games: Pong Toss (WiiWare)

    Is Pong Toss the life of the party, or just another sobering WiiWare experience?

    Before we start, it's worth noting that Pong Toss began life as "Beer Pong" but due to worries about references to alcohol, developer JV Games opted for a more family-friendly name and removed all the naughty drinks as well. We're sure Nintendo and the ESRB...

  • Review Pirates: The Key of Dreams (WiiWare)

    Is this pirate based game worth your pieces of eight or should it walk the plank?

    Pirates: The Key of Dreams was originally meant to be released as one of the launch titles in Europe. For whatever reason, this failed to happen, but two months it has finally come out and perhaps lost some of its thunder. Interestingly it is a prequel to an upcoming...

  • Review Major League Eating: The Game (WiiWare)

    What goes down must come back up in this gut-wrenching ‘sport’.

    People have been competitively stuffing their gullets with exorbitant amounts of various foods for over a hundred years, but not until the release of Major League Eating: The Game on WiiWare has this activity been immortalised in a videogame. Now, before you ask yourself whether or...

  • Review SPOGS Racing (WiiWare)

    Does SPOGS Racing offer the exciting racing experience that WiiWare is lacking so far?

    It's no secret that the WiiWare service has been crying out for a racing title, so many fans of the genre have already put a lot of hope in SPOGS Racing after viewing the many inviting screenshots and videos that have been popping up around the internet over the...

  • Review Gyrostarr (WiiWare)

    Will you master the warp gate or lose it all in this technoplasma fuelled shooter?

    There has been no shortage of hype surrounding the release of High Voltage's new Tempest-style shooter Gyrostarr. The only problem with having that kind of hype is that the game ultimately has to attempt to live up to it. After complaints of Star Soldier R, the first...

  • Review Cocoto Fishing Master (WiiWare)

    Is this fish a keeper, or should it be thrown back in the water?

    The Cocoto “franchise” is a strange one. After cluttering game aisles everywhere with rather generic sounding titles like Kart Racer, Platform Jumper and Tennis Master, the series has come to WiiWare with a bizarre take on virtual fishing. Developed by Paris-based Neko...

  • Review Block Breaker Deluxe (WiiWare)

    Can this Arkanoid clone match the block-breaking fun of its predecessors?

    Arkanoid clones were two-a-penny many years ago, particularly on home computers; however gamers have not been treated to many games like this in recent times. It would seem the timing is perfect for Gameloft to bring the first game in their successful cell-phone based Block...

  • Review My Pokémon Ranch (WiiWare)

    Is this WiiWare release a Dude Ranch or a Dud Ranch?

    My Pokémon Ranch follows the franchise’s long, tumultuous history of 3D games with questionable design choices and narrow appeal. Unfortunately, this WiiWare offering is one of the worst offenders due to its strictly passive “gameplay”, ineffectual features, and obtuse design. In fact, MPR...

  • Review Magnetica Twist (WiiWare)

    Does the intuitive Magnetica Twist have hidden depths that make it something to shout about?

    It was always likely that WiiWare would provide the perfect platform for the criminally overlooked puzzle genre. These games have always been popular, but given their nature they are often unfairly ignored when sitting next to higher-profile releases such as...

  • Review Protöthea (WiiWare)

    Is this worthy enough to be remembered in the shoot-em-up hall of fame?

    Protöthea originally started life as a PC game, developed by Digital Builders back in 2005. It pretty much went unnoticed at the time, so it seems like a strange choice for Ubisoft to use for its debut on the Wii as there's little here in the way of innovation other than the...

  • Review Family Table Tennis (WiiWare)

    Will table tennis fans rally behind this challenger to Wii Sports?

    Family Table Tennis is the first WiiWare game to directly compete with Wii Sports and Wii Play -- two games that almost every Wii owner already has. So, is it a waste of your hard earned Wii Points, or a fun, new experience that can be enjoyed alongside Wii Sports Tennis? Read on to...

  • Review Critter Round-Up (WiiWare)

    The animals aren't the only thing that stink in this mediocre WiiWare release.

    Critter Round-Up has been branded by many people as an animal-themed version of the classic arcade game Qix. While that description isn't too far off the mark, there's more to it than simply boxing in area on the screen, but unfortunately it's not enough to keep this...

  • Review Dr. Mario Online RX (WiiWare)

    Zany pill-popping madness with Nintendo's favourite son.

    Dr. Mario was the perfect NES game. A bold, simple statement to start this review, but never has a sentence rang so true in the ears of our peers. This was a game that combined mad colours, infectious soundtracks and a delightful twist on the classic Tetris formula and is (in our opinion) the...

  • Review Toki Tori (WiiWare)

    Is this Toki Tori's grand comeback or is our feathered friend best left forgotten?

    In 1994, the relatively unknown Dutch company, Fony, released a quirky little game called Eggbert for the MSX home computer. The system was never really all that popular outside Japan, but a few European countries (the Netherlands included) had quite a big fan base...

  • Review Star Soldier R (WiiWare)

    Does Star Soldier R have enough fire-power to satisfy shooter fans?

    The shoot 'em up genre has been lacking for many years now, so it's no real surprise that shooter fans have been anxiously awaiting Hudson's newest entry in their Star Soldier series. WiiWare seems like the perfect fit for a good old-fashioned space shoot 'em up, but many fans have...

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

    Is this a game fit for a king or a pauper?

    Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King, is the first WiiWare game from SquareEnix and they obviously spared no expense in putting this title together. Instead of pitting you in the fighting role, as in most normal Final Fantasy titles, this game puts you in the role of King and allows you full...

  • Review Defend Your Castle (WiiWare)

    XGen takes a Flash game favourite and gives it a lick of WiiWare coloured paint.

    Some time ago XGen Studios released a free Flash version of Defend Your Castle which unwittingly spawned a small following of loyal defenders. The game was unquestionably entertaining, but here at WiiWare World we don’t want to waste our time encouraging carpal tunnel...

  • Review TV Show King (WiiWare)

    Step on up to the Wheel of Fortune

    TV Show King makes us wonder what the difference is between a video game and a regular game. We're aware that they’re judged by different criteria; for instance, no one complains that Monopoly hasn’t updated its look in about fifty years, while the control scheme of Hungry, Hungry Hippos would be lambasted by...

  • Review V.I.P. Casino: Blackjack (WiiWare)

    Is success on the cards or is this game serving up a bum deal?

    Is the gamble worth it? That is a valid question when looking at what this game has to offer for the 700 points you'll be paying for it. As you can tell from the title alone, the only game featured here is the well-known Blackjack, and in that respect it may seem a bit bare-bones. But as...

  • Review Pop (WiiWare)

    'Once you pop, you just can't stop' is proved to be true in this excellent WiiWare launch title.

    Pop, as the title suggests, is a game where you pop bubbles. But don’t be fooled by the deceptive simplicity of this idea; there’s more to it than might be apparent at first glance. First of all, Pop has a timer that counts down; if you don't pop...

  • Review LostWinds (WiiWare)

    Is LostWinds the innovative platformer Wii fans were hoping for, or just a lot of hot air?

    Let's face it, the Wii has already had its fair share of below-average platformers, so it comes as no surprise that, despite the enormous amount of hype surrounding Frontier Development's LostWinds title, Wii owners have approached the game with a certain...