August2011
Review Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (GameCube)
For super players
Back when Super Mario Bros. 2 came out in Japan — the real Super Mario Bros. 2, known here overseas as The Lost Levels — there was a little label on the box that said “For Super Players.” It meant it, too: Super Mario Bros. 2 is a ridiculously difficult game, often using your knowledge of the first game against you while at...
Review Metroid Prime (GameCube)
Prime cut
You know the story. By now, everyone does. In 2002, a new Metroid game was released after nearly a decade of silence, and it was done by a little studio in Texas that no one had ever heard of. Oh, and it was 3D. And first person. It shouldn't have worked, but it did, and the ensuing trilogy would secure that little studio as one of the...
Too little, too late
What do Arzest, ChunSoft, Good-Feel Co, Mitchell Corporation, Prope, Skip Ltd, Vanpool, NdCUBE and Nintendo have in common? They all worked as developers on Wii Play: Motion, which acts as a companion to the Wii Remote Plus. It also serves as a sequel to Wii Play, a compilation largely criticised for its mediocre mix of...
July2011
Review 3D Classics: Xevious (3DSWare)
Xevious goes 3D
When Xevious first hit arcades back in 1982, it became known for its odd visual style and unique sound effects. Now, after a number of releases on various platforms over the past 30 years, the game now makes an appearance on Nintendo's 3DS system via the eShop. While being able to take the game with you on the go for those quick...
Review Game & Watch Gallery (3DS eShop / GB)
More than a fresh coat of paint
Most fans of the Game & Watch series likely enjoy it for its simplicity. The nature of the original devices meant that certain allowances had to be made for the primitive visuals, sounds and rigid controls. All three of these things are charming in their own right, but what really made people fall in love was the...
Review Baseball (3DS eShop / GB)
The Babe Ruth of bad games
Hey, kids! How would you like to revisit a game from the Game Boy's early years that wasn't very good to begin with and, in addition, has aged horribly? Sounds exciting, we know, but it gets better: the only marginally redeeming feature of the game – the ability to play it with your friends – has been disabled,...
Review Donkey Konga (GameCube)
Moving to a new beat
Donkey Konga is a pretty average rhythm action title when purely viewed as a piece of software engrained upon a small disc that one slaps onto the GameCube's spindle. Without a "true" Donkey Kong platformer on the horizon Nintendo rather shamelessly took the beloved characters of the franchise and transposed them into...
Review Mario's Picross (3DS eShop / GB)
Fun with numbers
Picross has always been one of the weirder puzzle games at which Mario has tried his hand. It seems very boring to slowly create a picture using nothing but numbers, but once you get the hang of it the time simply flies by and you'll find yourself playing for hours on end. Mario's Picross was the first game in which Mario attempted...
Get your QIX fix, dudes and chix!
QIX is the story of... aw, forget it. The eShop download screen has more of a story than QIX does, but that's a good thing. It means that the game can be played over and over again without feeling even slightly repetitive. The gameplay isn't just pushed to the forefront in QIX... the gameplay is all there is. QIX...
Review Mystery Case Files: The Malgrave Incident (Wii)
Worth the search
When Nintendo announced Mystery Case Files: The Malgrave Incident as one of the only Wii titles it planned to publish for the quarter it set itself the lofty task of creating a hidden object puzzle-based game on which the Big N could feel proud to put its name. If such a release fails to stand out in quality, it amounts to yet...
Review Kirby's Dream Land (3DS eShop / GB)
Is Kirby's debut adventure worth getting sucked into?
Kirby's debut adventure has been around the block a couple of times now, having been remade and mechanically enhanced for both Kirby Super Star on SNES as well as the DS version of that release called Kirby Super Star Ultra. Stripped down and monochromatic in comparison, this original Game Boy...
June2011
Review Diddy Kong Racing (Nintendo 64)
A Rare treat, or will it drive you bananas?
For fans of Nintendo kart racers, 1997 has to go down as one of the greatest years in the history of the genre. Not only did it witness the European and North American release of the iconic Mario Kart 64, but Rare also introduced their own challenger to the karting crown with Diddy Kong Racing on the same...
Review Donkey Kong (3DS eShop / GB)
It's on with the King of the Kongs
In 1994, Nintendo had a great idea; why not make a true sequel to the original Donkey Kong arcade game? The result is Donkey Kong for the Game Boy, originally known as Donkey Kong '94 during development. When you first start up the game you might feel like you've been ripped off, as it starts with the exact same...
Review Radar Mission (3DS eShop / GB)
Sonar, so good?
Miyamoto's latest pet-project, Steel Diver, released to mixed critical reception; some found its slow-paced, strategic gameplay fun and refreshing, while others found it...well, boring. Suffice it to say that if you fall into the latter camp, you likely won't get a whole lot of enjoyment out of Nintendo's 1990 Gameboy title, Radar...
Review Tennis (3DS eShop / GB)
8-bit balls
Remember Tennis on the NES? Well, it's back, and this time it's in portable format! The Game Boy version of Tennis is pretty much a remake of the NES game: it's got the same extremely basic setup, but it has been polished it up slightly. Just like with its predecessor, there's not really much on offer here aside from essentially playing...
Gotta browse 'em all!
Unlike Excitebike's temporary free price of admission, Pokédex 3D is free for the foreseeable future, so there's no real reason for Pokéfans not to give it a fair shake. In fact, it's surprisingly well featured for a freebie, making use of many of the console's features to bring the critters to life. First things first:...
Review The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX (3DS eShop / GBC)
A Game Boy classic
You wake up on an island; your boat shattered, your sword swept away by the storm that caused the crash. And at first, it almost doesn't seem like a bad thing. The islanders are kind enough (one girl in particular has caught your eye) and Mabe Village is one of the cozier little towns you've visited. The cozy feeling doesn't last...
Review The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (3DS)
A masterful quest
The wait is finally over. When the 3DS was announced at E3 2010, one game announcement garnered the most attention from long-term Nintendo gamers: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D. With the promise of enhanced visuals and stereoscopic 3D, it didn’t take much to build up the hype. It is now here, with a variety of new...
Review Alleyway (3DS eShop / GB)
The poor man's Arkanoid
The most well-known block-breaking game, Arkanoid, became quite popular after its release in arcades in 1986. Many companies have created clones, and even to this day new low-budget ones show up all the time. Even Nintendo tried their hand at a clone with Alleyway for the Game Boy. Alleyway keeps things to the bare basics. No...
Review 3D Classics: Excitebike (3DSWare)
Very Excite
Excitebike was never about throwing pies. Sometimes we forget that. The game's first sequel, Excitebike 64, was a near-racing sim, with at-the-time cutting edge, realistic graphics, and a plethora of tricks and combos — no doubt a response to the massive popularity of the Tony Hawk Pro Skater franchise, while the two Excite games for...
Review Super Mario Land (3DS eShop / GB)
Mario's first Game Boy adventure is short, but sweet.
Given the popularity of the Super Mario Bros. series at the time of the Game Boy's release, it came as no real surprise that Nintendo would release a Super Mario title for its brand new portable game system. Now the 3DS eShop is available, it makes just as much sense for Super Mario Land to be...
March2011
Sub-lime idea, sub-par content
For those who aren't aware, Steel Diver began life as a demo for Nintendo DS and almost became a full game before being moved over to the 3DS. Combining simulation aspects of submarine driving with arcade-style action elements, the game is one of the more impressive demonstrations of the system's 3D and hardware...
Review Nintendogs + Cats (3DS)
New leash on life
The original Nintendogs blew many away upon its release way back in 2006 – here was a game designed to show off the DS in full, with voice recognition, plenty of touchscreen functions and even a communication feature called Bark Mode that let consoles exchange data automatically. Fast forward five years and we've got Nintendogs +...
Review Pilotwings Resort (3DS)
Flashy and fun!
Pilotwings titles have always been showpieces for Nintendo's new hardware, and Pilotwings Resort is no exception. It's clear from the moment you begin playing the game that the developers created the game in an effort to show off the fancy 3D visuals and analogue Circle Pad, and given the fact that it's been over 15 years since the...
Ready to score
Football (or soccer to our American readers) and role playing: it's not a combination that instantly springs to mind as the basis for a video game, but that's exactly what's on offer with Level 5's latest creation, Inazuma Eleven. Despite sounding like an odd mix that frankly should never be considered, the concept works incredibly...
