Review Despicable Me: The Game (Wii)
When you wish upon a moon
Ever since George Bailey promised Mary in It's A Wonderful Life that if she said the word, he'd throw a lasso around the moon, people have plotted to steal that thing. Despicable Me: The Game tells the tale of one such dreamer, Gru, as he heists parts to build a combination rocketship/shrink ray. It's up to you to guide...
News Mario Collection Special Pack Coming to Japan
It's-a-me, the rest of the world's envy!
Online retailer Play-Asia has just added a title to their catalogue that confirms our earlier speculation: this generation will indeed see its own Super Mario All-Stars in the form of Super Mario Collection Special Pack, which is set to come with a bonus booklet of artwork a
News Even a Wii Remote or a DS Stylus Can Be a Sonic Device
Pretend you're The Doctor even when you're not playing his games
Every fan of Doctor Who (or, simply, The Doctor) knows that he'd have a lot more trouble fighting Cybermen and Daleks without his trusty Sonic Screwdriver. It seems that no matter what the problem is, it can be solved by him pointing the device at it and acting like he's concentrating...
News Mama to Pick Up Two More Hobbies
She can craft and babysit too, and with this baby doll so can you
We've just added some newly released screenshots for Majesco's upcoming showcases of Mama's versatility, Babysitting Mama for Wii and Crafting Mama for DS. Interestingly, the former will hit stores in a special box the likes of which we've never seen before; the game comes in a crib...
News Doctor Who to Land the TARDIS on Wii & DS
Allons-y!
Like bowties and time travel? Then you should be excited to hear that the hit BBC programme Doctor Who is zooming to the DS and Wii with Doctor Who: Evacuation Earth for the former and Doctor Who: Return to Earth for the latter, both set for release in the coming months from Asylum Entertainment. The program stars The Doctor, a 907 year...
Review LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (Wii)
The Order of the Fun-ix
Imagine that in just one day you found out that not only are you destined for greatness, but that magic is real, you can perform it, and that instead of ever having to go to regular school again, you get to live in a castle with John Cleese. These things – well, most of them, anyway – are what every child dreams of, and...
Review Did It Myself ABC123 (DSiWare)
Baby boon
Toddlers: they're everywhere. Don't believe us? Next time you're on a busy street, just play a little game that we like to call "Spot the Toddler". Some estimate that about 130 million babies are born every year, making them more popular than iPods! But these trendy tots are more than just a fashion statement. They need food,...
Fun but forgettable
Since time immemorial, man has sought to sort his symbols by shape and colour. While we may take for granted our efficacy at this essential task, things would be a lot more disorganised without the work of scientists like the moustachioed Professor Lexis. Now, for the first time, Digital Leisure gives us an inside look at his...
Review Petz Dogz Family (DSiWare)
Ruff!
Dogs are widely considered to be a great friend of man – in fact, some would go so far as to call the species man's best friend. Known for their obedience and constant attention, they make a perfect model for a virtual pet. It's no coincidence then that Petz Dogz Family is the best of the DSiWare series. Like its feline and rodent...
Sigh borg
Playing Hints Hunter is a lot like browsing through a book of carpet samples: there may be a lot of them, but it won't take you very long before you've moved on from one to the next. Also, sometimes you come across a really difficult square right in the middle of some comparatively easy ones. Plus there are cartoon robots. Ok, maybe it's...
Review Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law (Wii)
Take the case! ...I think.
If you're a Hanna-Barbera cartoon, job security should be the least of your worries – just as long as you don't mind your occupation's title changing a bit. In 2000, winged warrior Birdman saw a resurrection in the suit and tie of a third-rate attorney. Other characters from the low-budget animation house came along for...
Review Petz Hamsterz Family (DSiWare)
This time, you won't be so sad when your dad accidentally steps on it
The hamster is largely considered a cute and desirable pet, even in spite of its often curmudgeonly temperament and stinky, difficult to clean cage. They're a lot more fun to watch than they are to play with, which means that it shouldn't be difficult for Petz Hamsterz Family to...
Review Hospital Havoc (DSiWare)
Dead on arrival or just what the doctor ordered?
Hospital Havoc is quite a simple, fun game that debuted as an iPhone application almost a year and a half ago and doesn't seem to have changed much since. This is apparent in both the gameplay and graphical simplicity, and while it is a lot of fun, the lack of variety and abundance of bugs add a touch...
Impurrrfect
There once was a time when all that one could expect from a virtual pet was to feed it and play with it when it beeped. We've come a long way and should now expect a lot more, having moved on from imaginary digital creatures to real animals. Certainly a kitten simulator should simulate the behaviour of a kitten. It should be good enough...
Review 4 TRAVELLERS - Play French (DSiWare)
Liberté, Égalité, Médiocrité
Learning a foreign language is hard work. There are gendered nouns, verb conjugation, sentence structure, idiosyncratic phrasing, funky pronunciation and, of course, seemingly countless words to memorize. There are ways to facilitate the travail, but beyond the most basic education, playing a game isn't one. Maybe...
News Nintendo to Show Off Other M and Dragon Quest IX at San Diego Comic-Con
Get a free treasure map!
Of all the conventions, one stands staunchly above the others in nerd notoriety: Comic-Con International in San Diego, California (July 22 to July 25 at the San Diego Convention Centre). Nintendo's announced that it's to have a featured exhibit for the first time since 2006, complete with tantalizing playables and super cool...
News Shu Takumi Talks Ghost Trick, Ace Attorney
Would love to see a 3DS Phantom Detective
Recently, PlanetDS.de published an interview with Shu Takumi, a creative director at Capcom who's working on Ghost Trick and whose past projects include the first four Phoenix Wright titles. In it, he discusses his excitement with Phantom Detective: I swear none of you have ever seen anything like it...
News Capcom Bringing Titles to Japanese Virtual Console Arcade
Come on, we like Ghouls 'N Ghosts too...
Capcom announced on Friday that it plans to begin expanding Japan's catalogue of Virtual Console Arcade titles this summer with some of its own. They'll start with SonSon, a 1984 sidescroller loosely based on the Chinese fable Journey to the West. If you enjoy playing classic games on your Wii, it seems that...
Review 101 Shark Pets (DSiWare)
Shark weak
Part virtual pet, part mini-game compilation, 101 Shark Pets cobbles together enough halfway-decent features to create a slightly above average game that younger audiences ought to enjoy. While its individual parts could never hold up on their own, within their sometimes fun framework they just manage to make this a passable title. As...
News Nintendo Admits Advertising for 3DS Will be Tricky
"Do I need these glasses or don't I?!" exclaims hypothetical customer
It wouldn't be tough to argue that Nintendo's forgotten child, the Virtual Boy, was doomed from the start. Among the myriad factors that contributed to its downfall was the inability to successfully advertise the product, as we detailed in our Making of the Nintendo Virtual Boy...
News Budget Japanese DSiWare Headed to North American Shores
The land of the rising fun
If you've read some of our coverage of Japanese gaming with forlorn longing, you might want to stifle some of those sighs - a few games from Genterprise and Tasuke Co. are unexpectedly making their way westward. Recently evaluated by the North American ratings board, the ESRB, are G.G. Series: Super Hero Ogre and G.G...
News Our Perceptions of 3DS Metal Gear Further Solidify
May not be what we saw at E3
The latest Kojima Productions podcast revealed more detail regarding the upcoming 3DS Metal Gear title. It seems that the publishers are paying attention to the feedback from E3 in shaping the new release and in deciding whether the series comes to the potent portable at all. Judging by the buzz, it seems quite likely...
Review QuickPick Farmer (DSiWare)
A flocking good time
One of the most important aspects of a video game is fun gameplay, and that's what developer Dancing Dots delivers with their budget DSiWare debut QuickPick Farmer. It's a simple, accessible and original experience that will hook you and carry you away like so much wool. The goal is to drag set quantities of differently styled...
Review Ancient Tribe (DSiWare)
Dino snore
Hot on the heels of T-Rex Rumble comes Ancient Tribe, another real-time strategy game in which you lead a prehistoric society as it grows, develops and fights the beasts with whom it shares the land. We at Nintendo Life try to judge a game for what it is instead of what it's not, but when two games that share the same basic concept hit...
