Reviews

WiiWare Game Reviews

  • Review Mega Man 10 (WiiWare)

    More classic Mega Man gaming goodness.

    With the release of Mega Man 9, Capcom was able to successfully recreate the classic 8-bit feel of the Mega Man series for game fans to enjoy, this time allowing the game to be downloaded on Nintendo's WiiWare service. Not only did the game bring back many of the unique gameplay mechanics of the earlier titles,...

  • Review Dracula: Undead Awakening (WiiWare)

    Undead a go-go

    Dracula: Undead Awakening is a nice example of how to port an iPhone game to the Wii properly: make sure the graphics are up to scratch and Wii-ify the controls. If you're unaware of the iPhone original, it's like a horror film version of Williams' arcade classics Robotron: 2084 or Smash TV, or the more recent Geometry Wars: players...

  • Review Family Go-Kart Racing (WiiWare)

    A pit stop on the road to hell

    The family that just can’t get enough of each other is back in their eighth outing on WiiWare. By now, Aksys has had plenty of time to figure out what works and what doesn’t in this series of games. And it was becoming pretty obvious that if these games have a fault (and they’re all pretty flawless) it’s that...

  • Review GhostSlayer (WiiWare)

    When there's no more water in the well, the dead will walk the Earth

    You know what they say: if you can’t beat ‘em, take what they did and put a fresh coat of paint on it. In this case it’s Gevo Entertainment taking on Wii Sports Resort’s sword-fighting modes with a mythical Chinese folklore twist. This is by no means a bad thing...

  • Review Mouse House (WiiWare)

    Home improvements needed

    Mouse House is the latest game to make the jump from iPhone to WiiWare. Not all of these transitions are very successful, but Mouse House is a basic enough puzzle game that it survives the leap intact and without bringing any shame upon developers Plaid World Studios. Unfortunately, in the competitive WiiWare marketplace,...

  • Review Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice For All (WiiWare)

    “Sustained!”

    This second game in the Phoenix Wright series brings more of the same intriguing puzzle solving game play mixed with addictive storytelling that made the first game a runaway success when it was released. And like the first game, Phoenix’s second outing is one of the best experiences to be had on a handheld. But as we pointed out...

  • Review Art of Balance (WiiWare)

    Who would have thought stacking could be so much fun?

    Shin'en, probably best known for their Nanostray shooters on the Nintendo DS, decided to toss their hat in the increasingly crowded ring of WiiWare puzzlers. Instead of rehashing another dumbed-down clone of an existing idea, however, they've instead taken the basic idea of stacking and built one...

  • Review WarMen Tactics (WiiWare)

    Shockin' awful

    Here at Nintendo Life we pride ourselves on reviewing every downloadable game and application released for the Wii and DSi. As a reviewer this may mean reviewing games in genres you might not regularly play, and there's also the risk of playing a bad game; sometimes a really bad game. WarMen Tactics is one of the latter, a game that...

  • Review Hubert the Teddy Bear: Winter Games (WiiWare)

    Teddy bear Christmas comes early

    WiiWare has seen a surprising number of mini-game collections come its way, probably due to the simple nature of the genre and the greater likelihood of standing out as part of a weekly download release than on a store shelf crowded with such titles. Hubert the Bear: Winter Games makes a decent addition to the genre...

  • Review Blaster Master: Overdrive (WiiWare)

    A blast from the past gets a makeover

    Over the years, Sunsoft's NES Blaster Master release has become a favourite among fans of the console. Not only has it gone on to become a true cult classic for the system, it's also been called one of the most innovative gameplay experiences of the 8-bit era. Now Sunsoft is back and after having recently...

  • Review Bloons (WiiWare)

    Floats like a lead bloon

    Balloons have a proud history on game consoles, stretching all the way back to Circus Atari on the venerable Atari VCS and Nintendo's Joust clone Balloon Fight. There's just something about popping balloons that tickles a part of our inner children it seems and it's an activity that generally translates well to video games...

  • Review Tumblebugs 2 (WiiWare)

    When the bugs come tumbling down

    Originally released on the PC, the first and second Tumblebugs games were relatively well received. However the series failed to attain the mass popular appeal of similar games such as Zuma and Luxor as well as others. Tumblebugs is not even the first in this genre on WiiWare: that distinction goes to Magnetica...

  • Review 5 in 1 Solitaire (WiiWare)

    Tethered to a television is not the way to play

    Just like sudoku, crossword puzzles, word searches, and other public-domain fare as WiiWare, Digital Leisure's 5-in-1 Solitaire will have you tied down in front of a television after having plunked down your Nintendo Points for games available for free on the internet or, worse yet, that came...

  • Review Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 5 (WiiWare)

    Another episodic adventure comes to an end.

    It took a surprisingly long time, but the fifth and final chapter of Guybrush's latest adventure has finally hit WiiWare. Every previous chapter has been building up towards this supposedly epic conclusion, so was the long wait worth it? Considering this is the fifth and final part, spoilers for the series...

  • Review bittos+ (WiiWare)

    A little bit here and a little bit there...

    With as many puzzle games as there are in Nintendo's WiiWare shop it's impressive that companies are still developing more. Even more impressive is how many of them are fun and original, and Unconditional's bittos+ is definitely one to add to the "good" pile. At first glance you might think it's...

  • Review "Aha! I Found It!" Hidden Object Game (WiiWare)

    Flawed by fuzziness

    It took Ateam Inc. almost a year to bring their last WiiWare offering to the west after its initial Japanese release, but their next reached our shores within a matter of months. "Aha! I Found It!" Hidden Object Game brings with it the promise of good old-fashioned 'find the hidden object' family fun for up to four...

  • Review Max & the Magic Marker (WiiWare)

    A beautiful piece of art or a worthless doodle?

    Games involving drawing seem to be incredibly popular nowadays. With the DS's touch screen and Wii Remote's pointer both allowing rather precise drawing, it's pretty obvious to see why. Although it's a bit late to the party, Max & the Magic Marker keeps things pretty basic: it's a fairly...

  • Review The Amazing Brain Train (WiiWare)

    All aboard, kids!

    Back in 2008, indie developer Grubby Games created a collection of cute, quirky mini-games for the PC designed to amuse as well as stimulate your brain. It went on to be chosen as a 2008 PAX 10 winner, and though it did not capture the Audience Choice Award as well, it obviously turned enough heads for an eventual console release...

  • Review Muscle March (WiiWare)

    Weird doesn't even begin to describe it

    Someone has stolen your stash of muscle-pumping creatine! Quick, assemble the burliest speedo-clad men, women and polar bears in town, chase the thief through walls and bury them under a pile of men! Dash, pose, flex! Muscle March is the kind of game that doesn't really need a review because everything you...

  • Review ShadowPlay (WiiWare)

    Hey, you got your MotionPlus in my WiiWare

    Everyone with a playful heart has thrown their hands into light and tried to make a shadow figure on the wall at some point in their lives, but few stick around for more than a couple of tries, let alone ever consider paying for the opportunity. Deep Fried Entertainment asks both of players with ShadowPlay,...

  • Review Chronos Twins DX (WiiWare)

    Double the fun

    Quick history lesson: Chronos Twins DX began life as a Game Boy Advance title that was later ported over to the DS. While the game saw release in the UK, it was unable to land a North American publisher – poor UK sales didn't help much. Thankfully, the game is now enjoying a well-deserved second chance on WiiWare and turns out to be...

  • Review Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (WiiWare)

    “Objection!”

    Renowned primarily for its storytelling and unique style, it’s hard to say for sure whether the Phoenix Wright series are games at all or rather interactive short stories, but the medium in which they exist lumps them into the game category, and so as a game we must review it. There’s nothing we can say about the Phoenix Wright...

  • Review Fast Draw Showdown (WiiWare)

    “Keep it in your holster!”

    Fast Draw Showdown is a game set in the distant past…the year 1994, to be precise. In those days, arcades were lit up with light gun games; even as other genres drifted into console-only territory, there was still a ready supply of them. But where most of these games were frantic on-rails, shoot-everything-that-moves...

  • Review Pub Darts (WiiWare)

    Downloadable darts — just as pointless as it sounds

    Pub Darts is puzzling. Not that it’s a truly horrid game, but it’s just so basic that you have to wonder why you’d want to spend a lot of time with it. People like to play darts in bars and pubs because it’s a great excuse to get tipsy with your friends and throw sharp objects really fast...

  • Review Happy Hammerin' (WiiWare)

    Now you can whack moles... in space!

    Gamebridge seems to love bringing quirky, Japan-exclusive WiiWare games over to the west. Overturn, a fun mech fighting game, was their first, and although for some reason it's not out in Europe yet, we reviewed the North American version and thought it was surprisingly good. Happy Hammerin' is their second...

  • Review Tomena Sanner (WiiWare)

    We don't know why...he's the greatest dancer...that we've ever seen!

    Tomena Sanner is the kind of WiiWare title that gamers expect to come from Japan. You control the destiny of a faceless salaryman named Mr. Susumu (Japanese for "forward" or "continue") using only a single button press to help him navigate obstacles as he runs...

  • Review The Magic Obelisk (WiiWare)

    Running in the shadows

    Whilst most of us would imagine that plants like being in sunlight so they can thrive, the tree spirit Lukus in The Magic Obelisk needs to stay in shadows. That's because he's on a big journey trying to find the right spot to lay down roots. Helping him stay in the shadows until he finds that special place is Popo, the light...

  • Review Castlevania The Adventure ReBirth (WiiWare)

    Vampire killing with a nostalgic twist!

    We've already seen Konami resurrect two of their most popular gaming franchises with WiiWare’s Gradius and Contra ReBirth, so it comes as no real surprise to see them giving the same treatment to yet another much-loved classic series: Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth. Despite its title, this actually has...

  • Review The Mystery of Whiterock Castle (WiiWare)

    Can you solve the mystery?

    With a solid sim offering on the Wii behind them, Keen Games have decided to use a similar setting to Anno: Create a New World for their first self-published WiiWare title, The Mystery of Whiterock Castle: a good-looking "find the hidden object" game that should provide entertainment for the whole family. The...

  • Review TV Show King 2 (WiiWare)

    A significant improvement over a trivial predecessor.

    One of the very first Wiiware titles at launch gets a much-needed sequel in TV Show King 2. The original was a decent trivia vehicle that we thought was okay, if somewhat overpriced for what it offered. There was so much room for improvement that we were glad this got a second chance. But is...