Wii U, 3DS, Wii, DS, DSi, WiiWare, DSiWare, Virtual Console Reviews - Page 30

Smells like evil spirit

By this point, most of our readers already know if they will like a Professor Layton game long before it's actually released. This is due to the fact that while the specifics of Layton's investigations change, the gameplay remains largely the same. With games such as these, however, that's not a bad thing. The Professor...

It's evolution, baby

The world is not lacking in Just Dance games. Since that original perfect storm of pop style, goofy fun and lack of inhibition crashed the Wii party near the tail end of 2009, Ubisoft's dance factory has put out an additional eight releases of varying quality in a short two years. It would thus be easy to dismiss Just Dance 3...

Split!

What's not to like about bowling? The feel of manoeuvring the ball in your hands as you launch it down the lane, the crack of the pins, the fun of going out with your buddies or your team, trying on a pair of communal shoes – ok, not that last one. It was only a matter of time before Crave's Brunswick Pro Bowling series made it to the 3DS,...

1001 ways to say "meh"

101 Dolphin Pets. 101 Shark Pets. 1001 Crystal Mazes Collection. And now 1001 BlockBusters. Teyon sure tends to feel a great deal of pride for the sheer amount of content it packs into every release. But playing this most recent game, at least, it's difficult not to wish that it'd aim for smaller, mor

Fun, but still floaty

To say that Furry Legends for DSiware has been in development for a long period of time would be an understatement. In fact, the game became so far removed from gamers' minds that many assumed that the game had been cancelled altogether. But here we are, over two years since the game was first announced, and Gamelion has finally unleashed the game, and while it still features..

XY oh why

X-Men is the type of comic series that makes it tempting to visualise yourself in a starring role. Its heroes are just like the rest of us, give or take a few chromosomes, and its universe works both as an allegory for coming to terms with your identity as it does for the larger issue of race relations. But does X-Men: Destiny mutate into...

Numb skull

It’s about time we all came to terms with the fact that episodic games aren’t really going to change from episode to episode. Sure, each episode may have a different plot and contain different puzzles, but the gameplay will stay generally the same. Because of this, all of the good elements of the first episode will generally carry over to the following episodes as well, but this..

It ain't easy being radioactive

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions had a lot going for it last year with its snappy presentation of four incarnations of the webhead powered by a scrappy developer. While not quite in swinging distance of comic game king Batman: Arkham Asylum, Shattered Dimensions brought a massive jolt to a franchise on life support...

Here come the Spider-Men

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions had a lot going for it last year with its snappy presentation of four incarnations of the webhead powered by a scrappy developer. While not quite in swinging distance of comic game king Batman: Arkham Asylum, Shattered Dimensions brought a massive jolt to a franchise on life support — and...

Wish you weren't here

Nintendo is a company that's world renowned for its varied cast of versatile characters and Wario is certainly no exception. Since his first playable appearance in Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, Wario has starred in a plethora of 2D platforming adventures spanning the Game Boy right through to the DS, each one seeing...

Definitely not a trap

Nintendo's been releasing 3DS Virtual Console games at a very nice pace so far. In just a few months, we've already had classics like Donkey Kong and Gargoyle's Quest. The newest release, Catrap, however, is probably the most obscure title yet. Originally released in Japan under the title Pitman, and based on a game earlier...

Well balanced?

Horizon Riders is definitely a Wii-exclusive experience. A game that makes use of both the Balance Board and Wii Zapper, Sabarasa's on-rails shooter is tailor-made for the console. If you are one of the millions that bought Wii Fit, consider yourself in for a treat, as the game makes good use of the peripheral and really shouldn't be played any other way. Those who don't own the..

Dead ball

The great thing about the Virtual Console is that it allows people to experience games that they somehow missed out on the first go around and encourages discovery of forgotten and overlooked gems. The flip side is that not everything dug up has aged particularly well, like Data East's portable version of once-esteemed billiards game Side...

Sixth time the charm?

When we first played Wii Sports back in 2006, it woke us up to the potential of sports compilations to provide simple yet rich entertainment. When it was at its best, it boiled down a game to its essence, then refined that to make something truly special. Since then, countless titles have attempted to reproduce the formula, and...

Are those golden eyes wearing rose tinted specs?

Highly revered by countless N64 owners, GoldenEye 007 is often credited with kick-starting the first-person shooter craze on consoles. It not only showed that a good FPS could be crafted for a machine other than a high-spec PC, but arguably also created the multiplayer FPS phenomenon. In fact, if it...

Look both ways before crossing this game

Why did the frog cross the road? We've still yet to receive an answer, but the little guy's been doing it for 30 years. Marking his birthday is Frogger 3D, begging the question: can yet another entry really bring anything new to the table? The answer is yes, as this title takes the little amphibian on a journey from his hometown to the casino to a warzone..

A narrow miss

When the 3DS launched in March, Konami instantly seized the opportunity to provide the first football – or soccer, for our US readers – title on the 3DS, with Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 3D. While that title was prompt but light on content, FIFA 12 has emerged for the second half of the year to attempt a comeback; can it turn the game on its head? Of vital importance to any football..

Egads! Tetrominos!

Tetris and handhelds go together like apples and cinnamon, and no more clear has this symbiotic relationship been than on Nintendo hardware, from the time Tetris first dropped like a well-placed I-block into Game Boys everywhere. Tetris DX followed with a splash of colour and tighter play on Game Boy Color, and the...

Super Sonic or Super Chronic?

SEGA's attempt to have Sonic the Hedgehog transcend his 2D roots and venture into the realm of 3D didn't go nearly as smoothly as Nintendo's own Super Mario 64, despite Sonic Adventure being generally well received upon its release on the Dreamcast in 1999. It didn't take long for the cloud to lift from the judgement of...