April2010
Review Game & Watch Flagman (DSiWare)
A game you might want to flag down
Flagman might not be one of the top tier Game & Watch titles, but it's still quite entertaining if you've got a few minutes to kill. The game borrows heavily from many of the memory-type games of the era: one that immediately comes to mind is the classic Milton Bradley electronic game Simon. As with most of the...
Review Game & Watch Donkey Kong Jr. (DSiWare)
A rather snappy LCD version of the arcade release
The first thing you'll notice about Donkey Kong Jr. Game & Watch is that it's clearly a lot more playable than many of the other Game & Watch releases. Not only are there more ways to do more, but now you have four-way controls, not to mention a jump button. The vine layout is also something...
Review Game & Watch Ball (DSiWare)
A load of old balls
Before the world-crushing DS, before the Game Boy began its decade-plus of supremecy, Nintendo’s handheld division began with the humble Game & Watch line, which started with the even more humble Ball in 1980. Over the past 30 years, odds are good that if you’ve had any interest in the company’s portables you’ve come...
Review Game & Watch Manhole (DSiWare)
Everyone walks all over a nice guy
The Game & Watch series was Nintendo's first real foray into the world of portable video gaming. Designed by Gunpei Yokoi, who would later mastermind the grey-brick Game Boy we all know and love, these handheld electronic games featured an LCD display, a tinny speaker, and just enough buttons to complete the...
Review Game & Watch Helmet (DSiWare)
When tools fall from the sky, just stay home that day
We should all be very glad that affordable portable video game technology has moved beyond the rudimentary LCD screen of the Game & Watch. Not that there haven't been any worthwhile endeavours to come out of the series, but when you're stuck designing your game around strict on-screen...
Review Game & Watch Vermin (DSiWare)
Everyone loves to whack it!
Before the days of Game Boys and DS systems, Nintendo manufactured a small portable game device called the Game & Watch. These electronic games featured LCD screens that featured specific movements that could be controlled via various buttons and D-pads on the units. While they didn't feature the same type of...
Review Super Mario Sunshine (GCN)
Water, water everywhere so let's all have a drink!
Mario made his 3D platforming debut on the N64 way back in 1996 in one of the greatest and most influential pieces of gaming ever. Fast forward the clock six years and you'll find Nintendo's attempt to beat the near unbeatable in Mario's next adventure, but in order to top its predecessor a hefty...
Review Grill-Off with Ultra Hand! (WiiWare)
You get what you pay for
For a video game rewards programme, Club Nintendo is dishearteningly light on actual video games. Apart from arguably overpriced Game & Watch DS collections and a year-end bonus for Elite members in the form of Doc Louis' Punch-Out!!, rewards have mostly been items such as posters and playing cards. But now, for a mere...
March2010
Review WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase (WiiWare)
A nice little added bonus.
We've just recently seen the release of WarioWare D.I.Y. for the DS system which lets players design, play, and share their own unique microgame creations. But for those who feel like enjoying even more of the same, not to mention the ability to play and share their creations on their television screens, Nintendo has just...
Review Nintendo DSi Metronome (DSiWare)
It's a metronome
The DSi wasn't intended just for games; part of the meaning of the "i" is in reference to using it as a "personal tool," according to some Nintendo rep who may or may not have been full of it. We've already seen some fairly useless applications hit the service already, lending credence to this, so it makes a...
Review Nintendo DSi Instrument Tuner (DSiWare)
It's an instrument tuner
The DSi wasn't intended just for games; part of the meaning of the "i" is in reference to using it as a "personal tool," according to some Nintendo rep who may or may not have been full of it. We've already seen some fairly useless applications hit the service already, lending credence to this, so it...
A real do-it-yourself project!
Back in 2003, the developers at Nintendo introduced a game that was basically nothing more than a huge collection of minigames that lasted only seconds, but were tossed at the player in rapid succession. While the idea initially seemed a bit ridiculous, it turned out to be one of the most addictive game releases and...
Well developed
We first played Photo Dojo back at Nintendo’s Media Summit in February, and in the hustle and bustle of the event it was a huge amount of fun. Now it’s out of the O2 and into the hands of gamers everywhere, it’s still a great deal of fun but its flaws are far more apparent. Photo Dojo is an extremely simplistic fighting game...
Review Game & Watch Judge (DSiWare)
Judge quick, lest ye be bopped
The Game & Watch series was Nintendo's first real foray into the world of portable video gaming. Designed by Gunpei Yokoi, who would later mastermind the grey-brick Game Boy we all know and love, these handheld electronic games featured an LCD display, a tinny speaker, and just enough buttons to complete the main...
Review Game & Watch Chef (DSiWare)
It's all fun and games until someone loses a sausage
The Game & Watch series was Nintendo's first real foray into the world of portable video gaming. Designed by Gunpei Yokoi, who would later mastermind the grey-brick Game Boy we all know and love, these handheld electronic games featured an LCD display, a tinny speaker, and just enough buttons...
Review Pokémon HeartGold & SoulSilver (DS)
Nintendo used "Spare Time Eater"!
(Pokémon history lesson appeared!) A few years after the huge success of Red and Blue, along came Silver and Gold, offering a brand new region and dozens more freaky monsters to catch. Predictably the games were just as successful and even now are fondly remembered by many Pokémon fans – this one included – as...
Review Game & Watch Mario's Cement Factory (DSiWare)
A blast from the past.
Before the days of Game Boys and DS systems, Nintendo manufactured a small portable game device called the Game & Watch. These electronic games featured LCD screens that featured specific movements that could be controlled via various buttons and d-pads on the units. While they didn't feature the same type of full range...
Review Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (GameCube)
He might be paper, but Mario's no flop
When Mario and friends appeared in their debut role-playing title nearly fifteen years ago on the SNES, it marked a significant new direction that the franchise would embark on and time has proved it's a popular one too. European gamers were understandably disappointed that Super Mario RPG never came to their...
Box clever
Longstanding nonogram puzzle fans will know that Picross games have been a part of Nintendo gaming for the best part of fifteen years. The excellent Mario's Picross appeared for the Game Boy way back in 1995, but this quintessentially Japanese pastime – where a matrix of squares is carefully shaded in to reveal simple, blocky pictures...
Review Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix (GameCube)
No! Not the Music Keys!!
Back in 2005, Konami and Nintendo surprised us all by announcing they were teaming up to release a new entry in the Dance Dance Revolution universe starring characters from Nintendo’s flagship series, Super Mario Bros. Most people will go into this not expecting the complete foot-burning DDR experience, and it’s these...
A modern masterpiece, marred
When the GameBoy Advance launched back in 2002, it landed with a port of Super Mario Bros. 2, not exactly the most fondly-remembered of plumber outings but one that still hit the mark by fitting the platform to a tee. Come 2005, Nintendo hit on the idea of launching the DS with a revamped Super Mario 64, showing off all...
Review Wario: Master of Disguise (DS)
Not even a master could disguise this mess
Wario games have always stood out as being excellent venues for experimental game design. He challenged death in games by going immortal for a spell, helped Nintendo test the waters with motion control across multiple games and platforms and for the most part boldly goes where Mario dares not. He's seen a...
February2010
Review Aura-Aura Climber (DSiWare)
A shining beacon of arcade-style fun
It's not easy being a star, having to worry about losing your place in the night sky. Aura-Aura has slipped and fallen from the heavens, crashing into the Earth far, far below, and you'll be helping him to resume his place in outer space in Aura-Aura Climber, Nintendo's own latest offering for DSiWare. By now,...
Boom boom pow
When it comes to downloadable game output, Intelligent Systems is on a roll. They’ve launched us to the moon, single-handedly blasted pollution into nothingness and took a few turns around some dragon war. Now they’ve got us chucking bombs into the mouths of ghosts in Spotto! And while it may be their smallest effort yet, it...
Review Link 'n' Launch (DSiWare)
We have liftoff!
If it's one thing Intelligent Systems has become well known for over the years, it's their diverse game development. While they've had their hands in quite a few of Nintendo's biggest selling hits over the years, it's their Advance Wars and Paper Mario series that tend to stick out in most people's minds. Now, they've decided to try...
