Review Banjo-Kazooie - Peerless Platforming Perfection, And Now Available On Switch
"Kazooie, we're home"
This review originally went live in 2009, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the long-awaited return of Banjo-Kazooie to a Nintendo console, available as part of the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack N64 library. Back in the days of the N64’s prime, there was one firm that managed to stand out from the rest:...
Review Carcassonne - An Enjoyable But Imperfect Version Of A Board Game Classic
We built this city on part-time dough
The board game Carcassonne is undeniably one of the classics – the Medieval, landscape-building game has kept millions occupied over nearly two decades. The prospect of Carcassonne on the Switch had us very excited, but we found the final product only scores slightly better than an incomplete city. For those...
Review Hasbro Family Game Night (DS)
Family Game Delight?
Connect 4, Operation, Battleship and Bop It – games that have become household names with which we are all familiar. Translating Battleship and Connect 4 into digital versions for the Nintendo DS was always going to be an easy task; the challenge for EA was to digitize Operation and Bop It to try and emulate the success of...
Not quite out of this world...
Well, by now you'd have already seen our review for Planet 51 on the Wii, so it's time to see how the dual-screen version of the new extra-terrestrial flick fares. Did Sega manage to blast this out of the stratosphere of gaming delight or did its cargo jettison somewhere in the atmosphere of the mundane? Just like the...
Take this one back to the lab
Here at Nintendo Life Towers we are quite partial to those Raving Rabbids: those mindless jabbering critters remind us of ourselves. Seeing the release of a scaled-down version of Rabbids Go Home’s In Ze Remote feature, however, gave us cause for concern: could this dress-up game justify the 500 Point price tag? For...
Review Copter Crisis (WiiWare)
What a load of cop(ter)!
There's something appealing about being a helicopter rescue pilot: it's one of those aspirations we have when we're children of what we'd like to grow up to be. Sitting at home pretending to be one via Digital Leisure's latest WiiWare instalment certainly doesn't sound the full realisation of such childhood pipedreams, but...
Interviews Pop Island - Odenis Studio’s Founder, Olivier Denis
Olivier Denis sits down with us and has a chat about his zany and colourful DSiWare game, Pop Island
Those who read our impressions of Pop Island at the Nintendo Media Summit will know that the game is something of a buzzword here at Nintendo Life. The vibrant colours, frantic gameplay and multiplayer mayhem seem to be an ideal combination for...
Review Banjo Tooie (Nintendo 64)
Can you bear second helpings?
Banjo Kazooie was a game that revolutionised platforming on the N64: Rare's off-the-wall-humour, creative level design and sublime controls made it the pinnacle of platforming on Nintendo's console. Fans of the original will most likely remember Rare's lavish promises about the second game, Banjo Tooie, including the...
Nintendo Life wishes the Big N a very happy 120th birthday.
Well, it's been a long time (120 years, would you believe?) since the small Japanese handmade card business was founded, and where would the video game world be without them? The years have seen ups, downs, highs and lows for the Japanese gaming giant, but through thick and thin they've...
Review Learning with the PooYoos - Episode 1 (WiiWare)
Who said gaming was just for big kids?
Children’s games and WiiWare – a coupling that hasn’t really been explored. Well, that was the case until Lexis Numérique released Learning With the PooYoos Episode 1 on the WiiWare service. Designed for children between the ages of 3-6, this game set out to captivate the minds of the youngest gamers,...
News WiiWare & DSiWare London Event - DSiWare Coverage
We get to grips with the DSiWare games at Nintendo's media summit held in London, 16th September
Well, as if the landslide of WiiWare information from Wednesday’s media summit wasn’t enough, we now have summaries of the DSiWare titles on show. And while the selection on Nintendo's portable machine may not have been as high profile as its console...
Interviews Learning with the PooYoos - Lexis Numérique’s Djamil Kemal
Djamil Kemal talks about what it’s like creating a WiiWare game for the youngest end of the gaming spectrum.
The WiiWare service has been growing from strength to strength, with a truly varied range of games covering almost every genre and demograph; however, if there is one market that has yet to be tapped into on this service, it is that of...
News WiiWare & DSiWare London Event - WiiWare Coverage
London, 16th September: Nintendo hold their WiiWare and DSiWare media summit, and we’re lucky enough to have been invited…
Well, those of you who scan our site on a regular basis will know that today - in London - Nintendo made a few announcements regarding the WiiWare and DSiWare service: first of all, they gave us the release schedule for a...
Review Ashes Cricket 2009 (Wii)
We don't like cricket... but we don't love it that much, either!
With the recent Ashes series over, the sport of cricket is buzzing with popularity, so it’s no real surprise to see the Wii get its first ‘proper’ cricket game. Codemasters have taken it upon themselves to create Ashes Cricket, but have they done enough to faithfully recreate the...
Review New Play Control! Pikmin 2 (Wii)
Olimar comes back for second helpings
New Play Control! – a series of games that seems to have sparked many mixed views. Pikmin is probably at the forefront of these debates: Nintendo saw it fit to re-release both the Gamecube Pikmin games with a new series of controls designed for the Wii, and then announce Pikmin 3. The first NPC Pikmin was good...
Demons make work for idle thumbs.
For those unaware, Disgaea DS is a remake of a PS2 turn-based tactical RPG that's gained cult classic status over the years. It follows the story of youthful demon, Laharl – the son of the late overlord – on his quest for dominance in the Netherworld. Held in high regard by many PS2 owners, Disgaea has finally...
Round Table Is Nintendo Neglecting the 'Hardcore Gamer'?
Nintendo Life staff members sit down and discuss all things Nintendo
Welcome one and all to Nintendo Life's new feature: The Round Table. This is where you get to see the staff debate and discuss the most topical issues going around. From stereotypical views of Nintendo’s consoles, to our feelings on the evolution of gaming; you’ll find it all...
First Impressions The Conduit Multiplayer Madness
Tom ventures to Sega’s London HQ to play the game that is on the tip of everyone’s tongue.
To say that The Conduit is eagerly anticipated would be a serious understatement – this is potentially the title that could be the next best thing since sliced Goldeneye. Imagine then the excitement I felt at the opportunity to visit Sega’s London...
Review Conker's Bad Fur Day (N64)
One mean %&*@% Squirrel…
Once upon a time, there was a cute little squirrel that captivated the hearts of children in his debut game for the Game Boy Colour. This red-tailed critter was known as Conker: Conker The Squirrel. No one knows the full extent of what happened to this cute woodland creature in his transition to the N64; he had a...
News Beyond Good and Evil 2: Now More Topical!
The sequel to Ubisoft’s unsung masterpiece has taken inspiration from real-world events.
Five years ago saw the release of Beyond Good and Evil: a game that in many people’s eyes broke convention by having an intelligent female lead character who was a bit of a tomboy. Yet those who played it didn’t just fall in love with the game because of...
News New York Holds Host To Rhythm Heaven
On April 9th (Rhythm) Heaven will be at Scratch Academy as part of a high-profile invitation-only event.
Nintendo's recent release, Rhythm Heaven, went down a treat at Nintendo Life, and it appears that the beat-bopping rampage is not going to relent for a while yet – Nintendo have just announced an invitation-only event that will be showcasing...
News A DSi You Cannot Object To
Capcom and Nintendo team up to bring a special edition Ace Attorney DSi to Japan.
Fans of the Ace Attorney series will probably go wild at the prospect of owning the recently announced limited edition DSi that features the emblem of the game's police force, Taihokun. Over the years the series has been going from strength to strength, and now has 4...
News The Wii Gets Its Own Brutal Legend
Double Fine's gut-busting metal adventure becomes a strong likelihood for the Wii
For those unaware, Brutal Legend is a game that stars heavy-metal-groupie-turned-hero, Eddie Riggs (voiced by Jack Black), who is pulled into a world of rock ‘n’ roll fantasy where evil reigns most awesomely. Full of heavy riffs, babes and headbanging, Brutal...
Battalion Wars advances onto the Wii…
Calling the first Battalion Wars an anti-climatic experience wouldn’t be too far off the mark: the spin-off from the highly acclaimed Advance Wars series was expected to be a smash hit success. Unfortunately, the distinct lack of tactical depth brought the game short of the mark in many people's eyes...
