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- Philip_J_Reed
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- 264 (214 reviews)
- First Article
- Tue 10th, March 2009
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- 5.5
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Review Mole Mania (3DS eShop / GB)
Dig in
Poor Muddy Mole has returned home to find his family kidnapped by the evil farmer Jinbe. That's the entire plot, and we're happy about that. After all, Mole Mania isn't about storytelling; it's about a massive gauntlet of clever puzzles, and that's exactly why we like it. Divided into eight very large levels, Muddy's adventure finds him...
Review Masyu by Nikoli (3DS eShop)
Circle gets the square
The ...by Nikoli series is nothing new to the eShop, but Masyu by Nikoli stands out for being a puzzle of Nikoli's own creation. This means that if you'd like to play it, more than likely this will be your only option on the service. Therefore the question really boils down to whether or not that puzzle is worth seeking out on...
Review The Sword of Hope II (3DS eShop / GB)
The great black and white hope
Poor Prince Theo. Not only is his first game still unavailable in the eShop, but his second adventure begins with all of his previous hard work being undone, an evil spirit being set free by would-be grave robbers, the Sword of Hope being stolen, and a young orphan accusing him of murdering his father. He really can't...
Review Kirby's Pinball Land (3DS eShop / GB)
Less than the sum of its parts
While primarily known as the star of a reliably charming series of platformers, Kirby has also starred in a fair share of spin-offs. One of those, Kirby's Block Ball, came to the eShop just a few months ago. It's a flawed but fun reimagining of Breakout. It plays to the strengths of both Breakout as a template and...
Review NES Open Tournament Golf (3DS eShop / NES)
Retro golf gaming at its finest
While the eShop already has Golf for the Game Boy available, anyone who purchased that game may now start to wish they had saved their money. NES Open Tournament Golf is a superior experience in every way. Perhaps not substantially so, but it's certainly a more rewarding way to spend a day on the links. NES Open...
It may be a map, but it's no legend
Congratulations are in order for Abstraction Games: it released a topography game that's even less fun that it sounds. Topoloco almost deserves an award for just how much it gets entirely wrong. Before you read the rest of this review, know that we didn't expect this to be much of a game, per se. Topoloco markets...
Mario returns with an uncharacteristic greed
When Nintendo announced New Super Mario Bros. 2, reactions were certainly mixed. Many greeted the news with immediate excitement and anticipation, whereas others were less enthusiastic about what they felt to be underwhelming news of a predictable sequel. Whichever side of the argument you fall on,...
Review Bomb Monkey (3DS eShop)
Enough bang for your buck?
Welcome to Bomb Monkey, which does in fact feature both bombs and a monkey. Whew, that's a relief! Now that we no longer have to worry about false advertising, we can talk about the game itself. As any screenshot will suggest, Bomb Monkey is a colour-based puzzle game. You hold your 3DS book-style, and use either the...
Review Lola's Fruit Shop Sudoku (DSiWare)
Sudoku Jr.
Earlier this year we were pleasantly surprised by Lola's Alphabet Train, a rewardingly sweet journey through simple spelling drills. It was colourful, engaging and inventive. Now we have a sequel in the form of Lola's Fruit Shop Sudoku, and while the previous game's charm is intact, it's a bit less impressive overall. You'd be forgiven...
Finger-licking good
When it comes to real-world occupations that double as compelling experiences in gaming, the list is pretty short. Soldier, of course. Taxi driver. City planner. And, surprisingly enough, restaurant manager. Order Up!! isn't the first game to tap into that particular well of gainful employment, but it certainly is one of the...
Review Donkey Kong Jr. (3DS eShop / NES)
Defeat the villainous Mario!
Donkey Kong Jr. was the inevitable sequel to the massively popular arcade smash Donkey Kong. Surprisingly — and rewardingly — it inverted the formula, casting Mario as the villain to be defeated, and Donkey Kong's diaper-clad son as the avenging hero. Is there any wonder Nintendo released this one just in time for...
Review Rayman (3DS eShop / GBC)
Rayman, fighter of the Night Man
In 1995, the platformer Rayman was released to great critical acclaim on the PlayStation. It was the first entry in a hugely successful franchise that also spawned an entirely separate sub-franchise along the way. Rayman had charm, class and above all a tremendous sense of fun. Five years later, the game was still...
Review Snakenoid Deluxe (DSiWare)
In which the word "deluxe" is cheapened enormously
Last year, we reviewed Snakenoid, a Snake/Arkanoid hybrid from Cinemax that answered our question of how one could possibly combine the gameplay from those two games. That answer was, "pretty disappointingly, thanks for asking." We felt it was a bit of a mess, at best, a complete waste of time and...
Review Paul's Shooting Adventure 2 (DSiWare)
Looks like we're having twins
Upon its western release in late 2010, Paul's Shooting Adventure was a pleasant surprise. It starred a flying baby named Paul, also known as The Ultimate Pacifier, who battled evil alien sea creatures because, hey, why not? It was a surprisingly fun game with colourful graphics and an upbeat soundtrack, not to mention...
Less was more
In 2008, a Flash-based platformer/puzzle game called Shift was released online. Its gameplay was a model of brilliant simplicity: levels were constructed from black and white blocks, and the Shift key would flip the room upside down, turn background objects solid and push previously solid objects into the background. It was a premise...
Review Bird Mania 3D (3DS eShop)
A first-class flight
3DS Download Software has been a bit of a mixed bag so far, with titles ranging from the glorious to the utterly forgettable. Similarly, developer Teyon has been responsible for both memorable, addictive fun and fuelling our screaming nightmares. For those reasons, we weren't sure what to expect of Bird Mania 3D. But now that...
There will be bloodstreams
Intrinsic Games has brought some interesting titles to DSiWare so far, with topsy-turvy platformer Divergent Shift and arctic rescue puzzler Penguin Patrol both offering respectable and fun takes on their material. With Amoebattle, whose title is much more fun to read than it is to say out loud, Intrinsic Games looks to...
Review Chuck E. Cheese's Arcade Room (DSiWare)
Cheese Louise
We're not sure why UFO Interactive bothered to get the Chuck E. Cheese license for this mirthless assortment of half-baked minigames, but we can conclusively say that it wasn't worth its time or the effort to do so. Chuck E. Cheese's Arcade Room is, in a word, awful. The first major issue is the stingy number of games available. We're...
Review Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir (3DS)
The ghost of a much better game
There's something magical within Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir. Really, there is. You wouldn't know it by playing it, because the execution is downright terrible, but at heart, somewhere, deep inside this absolute mess is the germ of a great idea; that's the nicest thing we can say about it. Spirit Camera is an...
Feature Why AR Horror Just Isn't Cutting It
We're not scared
Horror, when it works, sticks with us. Bumps in the night, shadows in the dark, branches scraping against the windows...these are the things that keep us up at night when horror has correctly done its job. Whether it's a scary movie, a chilling ghost story or even a horror-themed video game, the best experiences are the ones we...
Review Anne's Doll Studio: Tokyo Collection (DSiWare)
Goodbye, Dolly
If you were clamouring for a sequel to Anne's Doll Studio: Gothic Collection, it can only mean that you've never played it. Nevertheless, here we are, being punished for whatever hideous, unforgivable sins we must have committed in our past lives. Anne's Doll Studio: Tokyo Collection is that sequel, and while the previous instalment...
Review The Legend of Zelda (3DS eShop / NES)
Rough around the edges, but an unforgettable adventure
When The Legend of Zelda was released in 1986, it was at least as much an eye-opening experience for gamers as Super Mario Bros. had been. Whereas that game expanded and solidified the left-to-right nature of platformers for generations to come, The Legend of Zelda opened sprawling worlds before...
Review Penguin Patrol (DSiWare)
Snow major complaints; it's an ice game! Catch our drift?
The charmingly simple story of Penguin Patrol revolves around a young Eskimo who witnesses a greedy walrus slugging along with a sack full of distressed penguins. The walrus is obviously looking forward to a nice big dinner, but it's up to you to prevent him from getting that far. You...
Feature The Super Mario Renaissance
We've never had it so good
When we think about Mario's glory years, it's easy to get lost in nostalgia. We might think back to the first time we played Super Mario Bros. and learned what a platform game was really capable of. We might think back to Super Mario World, which expanded upon the ideas of its predecessors in so many ways that felt natural...
