July2018
Review Hungry Shark World (Switch eShop)
Sorry about Bruce, mate
From the Finding Nemo-esque logo and the bulbous eyes of the sharks, you might get the impression this is a family-friendly romp where you munch through the ocean like a sea-faring Pac-Man, accruing points and combos as you go. Which is pretty accurate, apart from the ‘family-friendly’ bit – Hungry Shark World is...
Review Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle: Donkey Kong Adventure (Switch eShop)
"He's the leader of the bunch, you know him well"
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle was one of the Switch’s early delights, plonking Mario and friends into a fantastic turn-based, tactical RPG that somehow even managed to make us love those pesky little Rabbids. Almost outdoing its great gameplay, though, was its pure charm and the evident bucket...
April2018
Review South Park: The Fractured But Whole (Switch)
It’s super cereal
Nintendo Switch is hardly wanting when it comes to turn-based RPGs. In fact, it’s positively teeming with them, so South Park: The Fractured But Whole finds itself having to prove its existence on two very different fronts. It has to be both a worthy sequel to 2014’s brilliant The Stick of Truth and show its handheld...
November2017
A classic card game modernised
Digital card games have had a significant rise in popularity in recent years. These modern variations commonly feature online play, micro-transactions, thousands of unique collectible cards and often require hundreds of hours to properly understand the intricacies. Given the hype surrounding this specific type of card...
Review Monopoly for Nintendo Switch (Switch)
Should you take a 'Chance'?
If you had to think of one household board game that almost everyone is likely to know, it would be Monopoly. The centre of countless family gatherings over the years, Monopoly is often seen as that one game that can get the whole brood involved and that everybody loves; that is until they remember how ridiculously long...
Review Just Dance 2018 (Switch)
Strut your stuff
Just Dance is a series that likely needs no introduction; for the last nine years Ubisoft has regularly released a new version of its smash-hit franchise every October, helping the franchise’s sales to reach staggeringly high figures. This year is (predictably) no different as Just Dance 2018 takes over as the newest entry, hoping...
September2017
Review Rayman Legends: Definitive Edition (Switch)
Everybody Loves Rayman
It’s funny how things come full circle. It may be hard to remember now, but way back at E3 2012 when Rayman Legends was first revealed, it was declared a Wii U exclusive. Any Wii U owners who were eagerly awaiting Legends will recall the frustrating events that took place over the year that followed: originally planned as a...
August2017
Review Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Switch)
Bwang Bwang
When Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle was revealed to the world through a leaked image of a selfie-taking 'Rabbid Peach', it's fair to say that not all reacted with joy. It seemed like a horrific bit of fan art, especially once follow-up artwork showed Mario and company targeting guns at foes; yet when the game was revealed plenty of...
March2017
Review Just Dance 2017 (Switch)
Unfortunately Will Smith’s “Switch” does not make an appearance
People all over the world have finally got their hands on the Nintendo Switch, and with a relatively generous supply of games supplied at launch when including Nintendo eShop offerings, choices on which software to buy must be made. One of these launch day titles is a port of last...
November2016
Review Just Dance 2017 (Wii U)
Another year, another Just Dance game
It seems like it was only yesterday that this writer was reviewing Just Dance 2016 – last year's entry in Ubisoft's mammoth dancing franchise. Most people will be at least somewhat familiar with the concept; seeing friends and family dancing along to a variety of songs with wavering levels of success. By that...
December2015
Review Just Dance: Disney Party 2 (Wii U)
A Dance Party for some
You never know how poorly coordinated you are until you play a round of Just Dance: Disney Party 2 - this is a rhythm game that's almost true to its name. While it does involve just dancing, it could also be named Just Dance: Disney Party 2 for The Skilled. Rhythm games like Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and Dance Dance Revolution...
November2015
Review Just Dance 2016 (Wii U)
Keeeeeeeeep dancing!
Every year as the leaves begin to fall from the trees, as we start to moan about the weather even more than usual and as we start to hopelessly search the entire house for our gloves which we've lost for the fifth year running, you can be certain of one thing… Another entry to Ubisoft's Just Dance series will be fox-trotting...
October2015
Review Gravity Falls: Legend of the Gnome Gemulets (3DS)
Why you ackin' so cray cray?
Gravity Falls seems like the kind of show that would translate well into the realm of video games. From Zelda to Mario to Donkey Kong, the Disney cult hit has trotted out references to many of gaming's greatest franchises. In fact one of the best episodes of the series, "Fight Fighters", is about main character Dipper...
July2015
Review Super Street Fighter II: Turbo Revival (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Ryu on Wii U (again)
1991's Street Fighter II is a game that got people very excited and led to a surge of interest in the fighting genre. It's also a game that got updated a lot — new moves, new characters, new speeds... — while being ported to numerous home consoles and computers. Several of those ports have seen a Virtual Console release...
November2014
Hack job
The Wii U has had a chequered history with third-party support, particularly from Ubisoft, and the belated arrival of Watch Dogs feels a little like a final hurrah — whether we'll see many more big-budget multiplatform mature titles on Nintendo's system is certainly a cause of doubt. This title is here, however, and a viable option for...
The ultimate Tetris?
Tetris has been around since 1984, where it was developed in Russia for the DVK, a Soviet computer, but most people remember either the Game Boy or the NES version as being the breakthrough for the title. To say that Tetris is successful is an understatement; the gameplay is just as enjoyable as it was thirty years ago and...
October2014
Review Just Dance 2015 (Wii U)
Just the ticket
Despite its name suggesting otherwise, Just Dance 2015 is in fact only the sixth entry in the main series of Just Dance games, and the aim is as simple as it gets; you have to replicate the dance moves that the on-screen dancers perform in time with the music and as accurately as you can. The ethos is simple, but can it provide...
April2014
Review Child of Light (Wii U eShop)
The brush is as mighty as the sword
Listen, dear readers, and we shall recall our journeys with Child of Light. The darling of Ubisoft Montreal, it has become known as a beautiful sight. Screenshots and videos released to the world have proven its visuals most stunning. Yet when the tale is told and story unfurled, will all its design be as...
November2013
Review Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag (Wii U)
A pirate's life for Wii (U)
Unless this is the first time you’re being exposed to Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, you won’t need a telescope to notice that the landscape has changed drastically from past entries in the series. Residing in the Caribbean, you take on the role of Edward Kenway, an 18th-century pirate who dreams of obtaining...
Review Just Dance Kids 2014 (Wii U)
Get ready to wiggle
If you want to juice up a party then you can’t do much better than getting everyone on the dance floor, and the Just Dance series has been responsible for untold cut rugs for years now. But sometimes, when the age-appropriate drink for party-goers is juice, the grown-up songs and elaborate choreography of the mainline games...
October2013
Review Just Dance 2014 (Wii U)
Boogie wonderland
Ubisoft's party bus has pulled in right on time yet again, with another autumn bringing another main entry for the effortlessly silly Just Dance series of all-around good times. The franchise has had an annual numbered release since it first boogied in 2009, and this year eschews the numeric uptick in favor of a far more honest...
September2013
Review Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Blacklist (Wii U)
Silent but deadly
American espionage author Tom Clancy may have his name plastered all over the box, but he hasn’t written a single Splinter Cell book. The series is wholly a Ubisoft creation, allowing the publisher free reign over the franchise’s creative direction to best suit whatever purpose it would like. Creative license is exactly what...
August2013
Worth waiting for
The original release of Rayman Legends was supposed to be in rather different circumstances. What was once a launch window exclusive at the top of various wishlists is now a multi-platform arrival in a busy game season. While that's a pity, this is still the same project that was so eagerly anticipated in 2012, and it delivers on...
To Smurf, or not to Smurf?
Recently we got a little down and smurfy with our review of The Smurfs 2 for the Wii U, and now, we’ve set our focus on the DS version which offers a completely different gameplay experience, despite sharing the same title. Where the former offered up uneventful platforming that should only appeal to novice players or...
La la la-la-la lame
With Papa Smurf and the rest of the Smurf clan making their way back to theaters this summer in The Smurfs 2, it’s no surprise that a video game of the same name is arriving alongside its movie counterpart. Generally, expectations are low for such licensed fare, but when we heard that the good people at WayForward were behind...