September2016
Review TOUCH SELECTIONS (Wii U eShop)
You might want to AVOID[ER] this one
Hot off the heels of TAP TAP ARCADE 2, RCMADIAX has released TOUCH SELECTIONS; this title is a two-in-one game purchase, much like the existing ARCADE series. The games on offer this time are PEG SOLITAIRE and AVOIDER - which have been previously reviewed by other writers. The first offers a basic puzzle...
Review TAP TAP ARCADE 2 (Wii U eShop)
Double tapped
RCMADIAX returns, this time with TAP TAP ARCADE 2 for the Wii U eShop. Don't let the name fool you, as promising as it may sound this one doesn't quite live up to the name. With such a title naturally one would expect a compilation of games. Oddly, though, TAP TAP ARCADE 2 only includes two - just like the original TAP TAP ARCADE. The...
Brick Rolled
After passing the 60th car, players will have experienced all of what Brick Race has to offer. Brick Race for the New 3DS is an oddity that can lose its appeal after just a few minutes; even that may be generous in terms of the amount of time anyone would want to spend playing the game. The title, "Brick Race", is a literal translation...
August2016
Review PANDA LOVE (Wii U eShop)
A short-lived romance
Nintendo's eShop has become a home for aspiring indie developers; admittedly, the situation on the Wii U and 3DS is not much different on any other rival digital platform. Since the inception of mobile app stores, Valve's Early Access & Greenlight programs on its Steam platform as well as the likes of Kickstarter, releasing...
July2016
Review JACKPOT 777 (Wii U eShop)
More like 666
It seems that many developers have a difficult time translating casino games to a video game format. When you take away the stakes of having your own hard-earned cash on the line, the experience can come across as feeling hollow and pointless. One would think that this could be easily sidestepped by introducing some kind of in-game...
To be a 'noid
Classic arcade styles have stood the test of time, making them ideal subjects for experimentation. Combine two in a certain way and you might just make a delicious chocolate/peanut butter combo of fun. The retro concoction of INVANOID, however, is a different matter. INVANOID combines the downward travelling foes of Space Invaders...
Review SPLASHY DUCK (Wii U eShop)
Just keep swimmin'
So why did the duck cross the water? In SPLASHY DUCK, it's to grab a bunch of coins before colliding with a whale. So, uh, now you know? SPLASHY DUCK is another addition to the RCMADIAX line of simply designed score attack games. The player guides a duck endlessly swimming a vertical channel in the middle of the screen. When...
April2016
Review SUPER ROBO MOUSE (Wii U eShop)
Mousetrap
This late in the Wii U's lifecycle the low expectations for good Nintendo Web Framework games are becoming the norm. Where we were once shocked at the poor quality of a number of these low-budget indie titles, we now roll our eyes and shrug. But when a title is hyped by its developer as its pièce de résistance, the end result had better...
February2016
Review TAP TAP ARCADE (Wii U eShop)
2 Games, 1 Button
Package deals are always worth considering to save a bit of coin or reduce the footprint of buying everything separately. Even small things can come in smaller packages when bundled, which is the case with RCMADIAX's TAP TAP ARCADE. Unfortunately, the combination here doesn't really feel any greater than the sum of its parts. TAP...
Review PEG SOLITAIRE (Wii U eShop)
Solo Noble, anyone?
Ever been to a restaurant or doctor's office and found one of those wooden Peg Solitaire boards just lying around? The little triangular board where you hop pegs over each other? The degree to which you compulsively feel a need to pick it up and play it rather than fiddle with your phone is indicative of the interest you'll have...
January2016
White noise
This is not meant to be taken as an insult, but SKEASY could be a good game for winding down before bed. As with many titles from RCMADIAX, the design of SKEASY is very simple: guide your little skiing icon left and right down a never-ending slope, avoiding trees to last as long and attain as high a score as possible. There are no...
Easily avoided
RCMADIAX is a studio that has become well known for the relatively high volume of inexpensive titles that it's put out over the past couple of years. Their quality wavers from being barely worth their dollar price tag to being at least average games. AVOIDER is the latest entry in this line of titles, and while its rather barebones...
October2015
Review COLOR BOMBS (Wii U eShop)
Bombs away
It can be disappointing to realize that you've just lost precious time that could've been spent in a better way. If you would like to avoid experiencing this feeling, we would recommend that you stay well away from COLOR BOMBS. This title is excessively simplistic in all ways, and while it may be available for dirt cheap you're getting...
August2015
Review Pixel Slime U (Wii U eShop)
Pixel imperfect
RCMADIAX's latest eShop title, Pixel Slime U, attempts to create a simple, addictive experience by distilling gameplay down to one button and playing around with level design. The good news is that its one-button gameplay is reasonable and can be quite fun at times. The bad news is that, like many of the indie developer's games,...
July2015
Review Don't Crash (Wii U eShop)
Crash and burn
The Wii U eShop sometimes comes under fire for having a library of games that seem better suited to mobile platforms. Let's be fair, though: despite their reputation, mobile games aren't intrinsically bad - there are plenty of quality titles to play on smartphones and tablets if you're inclined to seek them out. That said, the eShop...
April2015
Review TABLETOP GALLERY (Wii U eShop)
No Dice
TABLETOP GALLERY serves as a compilation as of three eShop titles previously only released in the US - TOSS N GO, SHUT THE BOX and POKER DICE SOLITAIRE FUTURE. Each of these dice-rolling titles never made their way to European shores, prompting developer/publisher RCMADIAX to eventually re
March2015
Review PENTAPUZZLE (Wii U eShop)
PENT-UP PUZZLE
There's nothing inherently wrong with simplicity. When used well, a minimalist approach can be a refreshing way to get back to gaming basics; the recent 50 Pinch Barrage!!, which charmed us with its intuitive and straightforward approach to Pitfall-style platforming, stands as an excellent example of this. However, with the popularity...
January2015
Review BLOK DROP X TWISTED FUSION (Wii U eShop)
A twist to a solid formula
Crossovers can sometimes make for odd bedfellows. In the case of BLOK DROP X TWISTED FUSION (BDXTF), the minimalist-styled puzzle formula of BLOK DROP U has received a few tinkerings and a fresh coat of paint from Twisted Fusion, a title that has not yet been released at the time of this review. It's hard to say many were...
December2014
Review TOSS N GO (Wii U eShop)
Use as directed
Simplicity is never a bad thing in itself. An experience can be extremely easy in execution, yet still provide plenty of rewarding elements. Sometimes, however, something can be boiled down into such simple elements that it loses some of those satisfying quirks, and that's where RCMADIAX's TOSS N GO suffers. TOSS N GO is another in...
September2014
Review SPIKEY WALLS (Wii U eShop)
Feeling a bit Flappy
It's difficult to review RCMADIAX's new title SPIKEY WALLS in a rational fashion – without any context, one could easily write, "This is a Flappy Bird clone," and it would be exactly correct. SPIKEY WALLS accomplishes everything it sets out to do. You control a flappy bug by pressing the A button to navigate a never-ending...
August2014
Review SHUT THE BOX (Wii U eShop)
What's in the box?!
It's strange how little a concept matters as long as the execution is done well; just recently we criticised Dahku Creations' Soon Shine for playing too much like a mobile game rather than a home console title. Yet here we are with SHUT THE BOX (which seems like it's yelling at you), created by one-man studio RCMADIAX of BLOK...
July2014
Review POKER DICE SOLITAIRE FUTURE (Wii U eShop)
No poker face required
POKER DICE SOLITAIRE FUTURE (or PDSF for the remainder of this review) is essentially the digital equivalent to one of those electronic pocket poker games that your parents or grandparents were hooked on during the ‘90s. Designed to be played on the Wii U GamePad, this budget download offers a solitary take on poker to...
March2014
Review BLOK DROP U (Wii U eShop)
In Soviet Russia...
Developed by the one-man team at RCMADIAX, BLOK DROP U represents the first eShop release to emerge from the Nintendo Web Framework platform, an HTML5-based approach that aims to deliver browser-bite-sized indie experiences direct to your GamePad. True to that concept, BLOK DROP U is a simple physics-based puzzler with a fun and...
