December2011
A sound investment
Mario and friends are no strangers to the board game scene: the Mario Party series is a perennial favorite, and rightly so. Those games are colourful, exciting and, most of all, fun. But it may come as something of a surprise to find our favorite denizens of the Mushroom Kingdom sharing a board with characters from the Dragon...
November2011
Seventh heaven
It's hard to believe that it's been almost two decades since Nintendo first unleashed the original Super Mario Kart on gamers back in 1992. Since then, we've seen a Mario Kart release on just about every game system Nintendo has released. Mario Kart 7 marks the debut of the series on Nintendo 3DS and while there are a host of new...
Review Metroid II: Return of Samus (3DS eShop / GB)
Exploring colourless lands
When Metroid was first released it was a unique game: with a lot of exploring to do across a giant map and with plenty of hidden items and paths, those willing to spend the time to find everything were well rewarded. The original title has aged fairly poorly though — the game lacks many things we take for granted...
Review 3D Classics: Kirby's Adventure (3DSWare)
A great game gets an underwhelming paint job
In 1993 the NES got a latter-day boon from a truly brilliant addition to its library: Kirby's Adventure. Still regarded today as one of the strongest titles on the console, it boasted an unforgettable soundtrack, stunningly creative visuals and gameplay innovations that became Kirby staples from there...
Review The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii)
A legend redefined
In a way The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword has very little riding on it: the Wii has already enjoyed huge success, with a library of critically acclaimed Nintendo games selling millions around the world. Its motion controls — dubbed a 'revolution' back in 2005 — have arguably inspired competitor formats to adopt their own...
Review Freakyforms: Your Creations, Alive! (3DSWare)
It’s alive!
The touch screen in the DS family of consoles has often been the focus for artistic experiences. The mere act of holding the stylus should inspire artists, and it’s this instinct that forms the foundation for Freakyforms: Your Creations, Alive! on 3DS. It’s a strange name that doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, and is perfectly...
Be prepared for economy class... if you're lucky
Since the launch of the Wii and the success of its pack-in title Wii Sports, it seems that there isn't a major publisher or developer that hasn't had their finger in the mini-game collection pie. Most of these copycats have either been inoffensively average or outright terrible. In fact, when it comes...
Review Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)
Tanooki time
Super Mario has been a staple of Nintendo systems since the original NES over 26 years ago, and while the series has evolved to a great degree over time, one immutable fact remains: Mario games sell systems. That's why it comes as no real surprise that the plumber's first foray onto 3DS has been about as hyped as any game in recent...
Review Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (GameCube)
Mario Fore-Stars!
For many, there isn't a sport on the planet more tedious than golf. To these people the term "a good walk ruined" is about as accurate a description as anyone's ever come up with for anything, and they'd probably be able to reel off a list of far better uses for a golf club — window removal, football hooliganism, that...
Review Balloon Kid (3DS eShop / GB)
Somewhat deflated
Balloon Kid is the Game Boy sequel to the NES original Balloon Fight. That game is remembered by some as a stone-cold classic of addictive action, and by others as a pointless, repetitive chore. In our Balloon Fight review we fell somewhere in the middle. And so it's quite fitting that we also find ourselves there for the sequel...
October2011
Review Pokémon Rumble Blast (3DS)
Let's get ready to rrrrumble! Again...
Two years ago, Nintendo released the surprisingly addictive Pokémon Rumble on WiiWare. It was a bizarre little title that took the various generations of Pokémon and reduced them to jittering clockwork toys haphazardly duking it out in chaotic Battle Royales. We liked it quite a lot, but it was difficult...
Review Kirby's Return to Dream Land (Wii)
A dream come true
To say that long-time Kirby fans have been clamouring for Nintendo to release a good old-fashioned Kirby title would be a gross understatement. While Nintendo has released several instalments in the series over the past few years, the majority of them, such as Kirby's Epic Yarn and Kirby Mass Attack, have been fairly radical...
Review Professor Layton and the Last Specter (DS)
Smells like evil spirit
By this point, most of our readers already know if they will like a Professor Layton game long before it's actually released. This is due to the fact that while the specifics of Layton's investigations change, the gameplay remains largely the same. With games such as these, however, that's not a bad thing. The Professor...
Wish you weren't here
Nintendo is a company that's world renowned for its varied cast of versatile characters and Wario is certainly no exception. Since his first playable appearance in Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, Wario has starred in a plethora of 2D platforming adventures spanning the Game Boy right through to the DS, each one seeing...
Egads! Tetrominos!
Tetris and handhelds go together like apples and cinnamon, and no more clear has this symbiotic relationship been than on Nintendo hardware, from the time Tetris first dropped like a well-placed I-block into Game Boys everywhere. Tetris DX followed with a splash of colour and tighter play on Game Boy Color, and the...
Review Mickey's Speedway USA (Nintendo 64)
Another kart racing game? Oh, boy!
By the end of the Nineties, UK developer Rareware had established itself as one of the most talented softcos in the world, and along with Nintendo's own in-house output, had helped to placate Nintendo 64 gamers throughout most of the console's life with a steady supply of premium software. Having delivered the...
Review The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition (DSiWare)
Four Links for the price of none
In the hubbub, hype and over-excitement of E3 2011, some gamers would have been particularly delighted by a DSiWare announcement from Nintendo: while that seems unlikely, it does reflect the dedication of fans and their love for the Zelda series. After a relatively short wait, the much anticipated The Legend of...
September2011
Review Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (3DS eShop / GB)
Monochrome Mario is back in style
Nintendo managed to squeeze quite a bit of the Super Mario experience into the original Super Mario Land, but many gamers felt like the game was a bit too scaled down to feel like a true adventure from the series. Nintendo obviously sensed this when they sat down to create Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, as this...
Review 3D Classics: TwinBee (3DSWare)
Bee very grateful for this one
Most of our readers could be forgiven for never having played TwinBee: after all, it began life in 1985 as an arcade game that never left Japan. It was later ported to the Famicom, and though some reports state that an NES localisation project was actually completed, for some reason it was never released. In fact,...
Ten for the price of one
It's no secret that Kirby has been a huge part of Nintendo's portable systems over the years, even making his debut on the original Game Boy back in 1992. When Kirby Canvas Curse was released, it took the traditional button controls away and replaced them with the touchscreen controls of the DS. While some die-hard fans of...
Yep. It's golf.
Rare is the game that leaves us truly speechless, but the Game Boy version of Golf is certainly one of them. Of course that's just because there's not really much to talk about. Golf, as you might expect, is a golf game. Whatever comes to mind when you hear that, that's what you get. No less, and no more. It consists of two courses...
Just like old times, huh Fox?
When the remake of Star Fox 64 was announced for 3DS, it joined Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D as part of Nintendo’s N64 re-release launch strategy. Opinion will vary on the merits of releasing these titles on the handheld, with some pining after the new titles on the horizon. What we can say after a lot of time...
August2011
Review 3D Classics: Urban Champion (3DSWare)
3D Classic, huh? Well, they're half right...
You really have to feel bad for the team assigned to updating Urban Champion. After all, it's not a game that's very fondly remembered; in fact, you're unlikely to find many positive reviews at all, even from when it was new. It's also a stretch to say that it set the framework for fighting games to...
Review Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii)
A true epic
It's been a strange year for the Nintendo Wii, with a sparse release schedule and many proclaiming the death of the console. Yet here we have Xenoblade Chronicles, which debuted in Japan simply as Xenoblade in June 2010. This current release is only available in Europe and PAL regions, prompting fan-group protests in North America. To be...
Review Pac-Man (3DS eShop / GB)
Pac's back to steal your money
Everybody knows Pac-Man. The game's been ported to just about every platform under the sun, including the NES version on the Wii Virtual Console. It's now being released yet again on the 3DS Virtual Console, but is it worth another investment? Of course, there is absolutely nothing different about the gameplay in this...
