January2015
Review Dig Dug (Wii U eShop / NES)
A competent but unneeded version of a fun 80's classic
Originally hitting arcades in 1982, this NES conversion of Dig Dug followed a few years later (albeit only in Japan until arriving on the Wii's Virtual Console service in 2008). It's a classic Namco title that sees you digging your way around a single screen defeating (and sometimes fleeing)...
December2014
Review Penguins of Madagascar (Wii U)
Un-tactical Espionage Action
The Penguins from the smash CG hit Madagascar were so popular they received their own film in the form of Penguins of Madagascar, so it was inevitable that the four feathered friends would also receive their own video game adaption. Publisher Little Orbit - which is certainly no stranger to adaptations of movies -was...
November2014
Review PAC-MAN and the Ghostly Adventures 2 (3DS)
Pac-ing on the problems
In June of 2013, a television series premiered in the United States titled Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures. The show took the classic Pac-Man and ghost arcade characters and restyled them as CGI mascots with an appeal towards young viewers. Less than six months later, a video game based on the show was released on most...
Review Power Rangers Super Megaforce (3DS)
Dull as dishwater
Games that are tied in to TV shows are often little more than a quick cash-grab used to dupe unsuspecting parents into buying a sub-par game because their child will recognise the characters. No truer is this statement than when referring to Power Rangers Super Megaforce. Once you load up the game, you'd be forgiven for letting...
October2014
Review Namco Museum (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Does it deserve to be exhibited on your Wii U?
Originally released for the Game Boy Advance in 2001, Namco Museum is part of a long-running series (which goes by the same name) that saw regular releases over a 15-year period all the way up until 2010. This game is a compilation, featuring five classic arcade games: Ms. PAC-MAN, Galaga, Galaxian,...
Review Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2 (Wii U)
Pac is back! .....again
There's a moment during the opening cutscene of Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2 where the series' villain Lord Betrayus delights over his giant robot being ready to ''unleash on Pacopolis. Again!'' It's just a throwaway joke that's fitting of the Saturday morning cartoon vibe, but while it may have raised a slight smile...
Review Tenkai Knights: Brave Battle (3DS)
Tenkai toy, fivekai game
Games aimed at children are an interesting beast – often you’ll find them less challenging than other games, and if it contains a plot it’s a simple, easy-to-follow romp through a colourful and engaging journey. Unfortunately, Tenkai Knights: Brave Battle doesn’t quite measure up to these expectations. The game...
September2014
Review One Piece Unlimited World Red (3DS)
A pirate's life
Even if you don’t follow anime or manga, chances are you’ve heard of Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece - having gotten its start in 1997 and still going strong today, this long-running tale of the Straw Hat crew’s far-reaching, seafaring adventures in piracy has blossomed into one of Japan’s most popular exports. With such wide...
July2014
Review One Piece Unlimited World Red (Wii U)
Not unlimited, but not bad
Eiichiro Oda’s anime juggernaut isn't short of games on multiple systems, and quality can be distinctly variable; the unimpressive One Piece: Romance Dawn on 3DS, with its repetitive gameplay and questionable production values, is one at the wrong end of the chain. In that sense it's tough to know what to expect from the...
June2014
Review Mr. Driller 2 (Wii U eShop / GBA)
You know the drill by now
The re-release of classic Game Boy Advance titles on the Wii U eShop marks the first opportunity many new players will have to take on a variety of really substantial experiences, short of retroactively buying the system itself. Many have made the transition to the TV screen look easy, but some are detrimentally anchored by...
April2014
Review Disney Magical World (3DS)
A magical world indeed
To anyone familiar with the handheld’s lineup, it may seem like a bad business decision to make a life simulation game for the 3DS at this point. Three years into the console's life we've seen two Harvest Moon titles, a Rune Factory game, and The Sims 3. All that, and we haven't even mentioned
March2014
Review Galaga (3DS eShop / NES)
Space: The Original Frontier
There are a few reasons so many early video games took place in space. While the most obvious one is budgetary — a flat black background being quite literally the easiest possible background to render, thereby making "space" a pretty natural choice of setting — there's a psychological reason as well: space is a...
February2014
Review Sky Kid (3DS eShop / NES)
Heavy Weather
An arcade force to be reckoned with, Namco graced the Famicom and NES with impressive cartridge conversions of quite a few of its enduring coin-op classics. From Dig Dug and Pac-Man to Galaga and Xevious, Nintendo's console quickly amassed a collection of A-list arcade hits, and — along with the heavy hitters and household names —...
December2013
Review One Piece Romance Dawn (3DS)
Just give it up, Luffy
Anyone would be forgiven for thinking crafting a decent RPG from the lore of established anime juggernaut One Piece would be a simple task; the bombastic characters, epic quests and thrilling battles the series is known for should, in theory, make for an excellent adventure. With One Piece Romance Dawn, what developer Three...
November2013
Review Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures (Wii U)
Pac ain't afraid of no ghost
As gaming's original icon, Pac-Man has enjoyed a long and varied career. He's munched Power Pellets on dozens of different platforms since his 1980 debut, starred in platform games on the Super Nintendo, raced go karts on the GameCube, had a Top-10 single on the US charts, and even worked under the baton of Mario maestro...
Review Power Rangers Megaforce (3DS)
No, no, Power Rangers
Let's just say it up front so that nobody skimming the review will miss it: Power Rangers Megaforce is a terrible game. Not only that, it's actually broken in several respects. And we don't mean "broken" to mean "unfair" or "poorly designed." We mean "broken" to mean "it does not work." The concept of the game is promising...
August2013
Review Galaga (Wii U eShop / NES)
That man is playing Galaga!
Galaga is old. It may well state 1988 on Galaga’s NES title screen, but that refers to its European and US release date, the Japanese Famicom conversion was released early in 1985 and they are all based on a port of Namco’s 1981 coin-op. This means that with any Wii U Virtual Console purchase you must consider if you...
June2013
The best of 200+ worlds
It's unlikely that this review is the first you're hearing of Project X Zone; with a sprawling, time-traveling, world-hopping, dimension-skipping plot that draws together more than 200 characters from about 30 different franchises, there's been a lot of excited talk about this one. Now that we've been able to spend our time...
May2013
Review Xevious (Wii U eShop / NES)
An early vertical scrolling classic
When Xevious hit arcades in 1982 it represented one of the first vertical shoot 'em ups of its kind. Not only that, but the game introduced a second bombing mechanic to give it a little more flare. After seeing a handful of home releases, it sprang upon the NES system with a vengeance and once again showed that...
Review Pac-Man (Wii U eShop / NES)
Pac is back!
When Pac-Man hit arcades in 1981, it was a phenomenal success. Spawning clothing, cereals and even a hit song, the game took the world by storm. It saw a rash of home console and personal computer releases during the 80s — some better than others — but it wasn't until the NES release in 1985 that the game finally saw a replica close...
March2013
Review Naruto: Powerful Shippuden (3DS)
He's a laugher, not a fighter
The first thing that's going to strike you about Naruto: Powerful Shippuden is the super deformed art style. After all, Namco Bandai has plastered it everywhere, so it must be quite proud of how it turned out. That's probably a smart move, because the visuals rank among this game's main strong points. It's only when you...
February2013
Review Dig Dug (3DS eShop / NES)
Slightly soiled
In 1982, Namco released Dig Dug. By that point in time the company had already cemented its place in the gaming history books with enduring classics like Pac-Man and Galaga. Their younger brother Dig Dug never quite reached their heights of popularity, but it's still quite fun in its own right. As with many early arcade games, your...
December2012
Review Tank! Tank! Tank! (Wii U)
Meh! Meh! Meh!
Every so often a video game comes along with a concept so amazing that copies should come with a roll of duct tape to keep consumers from having their faces rocked off. Tanks with crazy weapons fighting giant robot monsters in expansive, destructible cities seems like a concept that you’d have to work pretty hard to screw up...
November2012
Review Pac-Man (3DS eShop / NES)
Ghost gobblin' on the go
If you were to ask one hundred people to make a list of the most classic video games of all time, you shouldn't be surprised to find Pac-Man on every one of those lists. It's an unrivaled masterpiece of gaming simplicity, an experience that involves nothing more than moving endlessly around a single maze, yet which somehow...
Review Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (Wii U)
Tag, you're it
For as well known a household name as Tekken is, it’s strange to realize that it’s never made its way to a Nintendo home console at any point. There have been handheld offerings on the Game Boy Advance and 3DS, but portable fighters are rarely more than appetizers compared to their beefy console counterparts. Namco Bandai finally...
