WiiWare Reviews - Page 14

Feeling board? You will be!

If there's one thing WiiWare spotlights so well, it's the beauty of simplicity. Many of its best releases (World of Goo, Toki Tori, Art Style: Orbient) are deceptively deep showcases for simple - yet addictive - concepts. PictureBook Games: Pop-Up Pursuit, however, reminds us all that simplicity without a strong...

Will this party game keep everyone entertained, or will it just tire you out?

Another minigame collection - as if the Wii isn't already overflowing with them! When done right, they can be quite entertaining, but Tecmo seems to have missed the whole point of the "minigame" concept by... well, by not offering a lot, really. This game only...

Slot car racing fun for the whole family...or is it?

Arc System Works is clearly enjoying some success with the "Family" series of games because they just keep on putting them out. Considering what real life slot-car racing is all about a video game version could offer some improvements, so is it possible that this game is worthwhile?...

Does this rock climbing simulation really rock?

When word came down that Giles Goddard, the man who had a hand in creating such legendary game titles as Starfox and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was creating a WiiWare title, speculation began growing as to what type of game it could actually be. So to say it was shocking when it was announced that the game was a rock climbing simulation..

WiiWare's first Mech-based fighting game enters the arena, but is it a champ or a chump?

WiiWare is very sparse when it comes to games that feature massive, hulking robots battling it out in an enclosed arena. Studio Zan therefore don't have to face much competition in the genre, so with that in mind let's delve into this game and see if they've taken the time to make this one worth owning. Upon..

Put on your Wii gloves…

Filling the hole in Wiiware’s library of card games is Gameloft’s Sexy Poker, the self-proclaimed “first sexy poker game on the Wii.” It certainly is unique, but has Gameloft dealt their latest offering a winning hand? The first thing that must be said about Sexy Poker is that this is an M-rated game. For many of...

Super Sprint and Super Off-Road had a baby and it's soooo cute!

If you were a gamer in the mid-late 80s you'll probably remember a couple of arcade games called Super Sprint and Ivan "Ironman" Stewart's Super Off-Road, both of which gave 1-3 players the chance to compete in a series of races against human or computer-controlled opponents seen from a 3rd-person view, resembling a..

You know what this game of Rummy needs? Gin. And lots of it

HB Arcade Cards has one thing working for it, and three things working against it. Let’s start with the good news: it’s six great games for one low price, but you don’t need to read a review to tell you that. So now on with the bad news. The first problem the game has is that there is no multiplayer function. Of course, the lack of..

This week, Alexandre Dumas makes his WiiWare debut. Next week: Crime and Punishment Party!

When it was first announced, The Three Musketeers: One For All! was the subject of much anticipation on the part of the WiiWare community, simply because it belonged a mysteriously under-represented genre: the action platformer. This earned it a lot of...

Guybrush Threepwood’s first new adventure in almost 9 years. Is he still the wannabe pirate king of adventure games?

The 'point and click' adventure has been clinically dead for quite a while now, largely because it seemed impossible to make a good example of the genre in 3D. Many developers tried, but almost all of them failed, mostly due to...

It’s a colourful world we live in.

ColorZ is a game whose trailer captured the attentions of many with its vibrant colours against light backgrounds and novel colour fusion mechanic. The sight of gently drifting UFOs floating through groups of stationary enemies accompanied by an ambient/trance techno soundtrack and no shooting in sight created the impression it was the kind of game you could..

Battle Poker? I hardly battle know her!

There are a few things about Battle Poker that you will notice as soon as you start playing the game, and one of them is that at no point do you actually play any poker. Is this a bad thing? Absolutely not, but it does lead to a slightly schizophrenic experience. Basically, Battle Poker is a collection of puzzle-based minigames (all but two of which are..

Here's your chance to try out life as a Darklord!

As a launch title for the WiiWare service in all regions, the long-titled Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King was highly anticipated by fans of the famous series and city-building enthusiasts alike. Having received positive critical acclaim from the gaming world, which appeared to enjoy the new direction the series undertook, it was..

An antagonizingly good game.

Konami returns to Wiiware with another semi-strategy game. This time instead of reactively fending off crabs, you’ll be proactively leading a nation of ants in a war of senseless aggression. Finally, those ladybugs will get what they deserve. But is this nation worthy of a leader such as you? Ant Nation is...

Beware of incoming duds.

Welcome to Incoming!, a game of projectile combat. You command a tank (or a small group of tanks), and you will be expected to demolish the other tank (or small group of tanks) by adjusting the angle and velocity of each shot. You've played games like this before, and you've probably enjoyed them. In fact, the first time you play this game, you'll take one look at the..

Can you spot the difference?

5 Spots Party is based upon the tried and true pen and paper game "Spot the Difference," a staple of children's activity magazines since forever where the object is to compare two pictures (usually drawings) and identify a set number of differences between them as a means of passing the time. This game originally appeared on the PC where it had the top spot..

A fighting game based upon a licensed property -- what could possibly go wrong?

As a general rule video games based upon licensed properties tend to be bad. For every decent game you'll find dozens of hastily churned out movie show tie-ins where the license is more important than the underlying game. The fighting genre has had some notable exceptions to this rule of course, with the VS Capcom..

Will Heracles slay the Titan of Nintendo racing games?

Due to the space constraints that Nintendo places on WiiWare games, most games on the service are short, simple, and lacking in the graphics department. One certainly would not expect a complete port of a PlayStation 2 game on the service. But that is exactly what developer Neko Entertainment has given us here, and at a price point equivalent..

Gaijin Games are back with the second game in the BIT.TRIP saga

The original BIT.TRIP BEAT took the old-school play control of Pong and created a unique and more modern spin on it. It was a bit like the original Pong games, but with far more charm and visual flair. Now Gaijin Games has taken that successful formula and bumped it up a level to give the game a more in-depth control system and a..