December2014
Review Shantae And The Pirate's Curse (Wii U eShop)
More like a blessing
While WayForward has been working away on the crowd-funded Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, which will be released on every platform under the sun, it hasn't forgotten its Nintendo roots. Shantae and the Pirate's Curse, the final game of the "original" series, wraps up the storyline started in the original Game Boy Color title and...
Review Adventure Time: The Secret of the Nameless Kingdom (3DS)
"I love you everything burrito"
Despite the universal praise for the main cartoon, Adventure Time hasn’t been able to truly gain the love of the public in the gaming vein. Its first stab on a Nintendo system was the snappily-titled Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why’d You Steal Our Garbage?! and played very similarly to Zelda 2: The Adventure of...
October2014
Review Shantae And The Pirate's Curse (3DS eShop)
A pirate’s life for me
It’s interesting to track the progression that WayForward's Shantae series has undergone over the past decade. Beginning in 2002, the original title was released on the Game Boy Color, an unfortunately timed release that was mostly overshadowed by the recent introduction of the Game Boy Advance. Despite an attempted sequel...
August2014
Review Xtreme Sports (3DS eShop / GBC)
Like, totally awesome
While WayForward is busy cooking up the latest instalment in the wonderful Shantae franchise, fans are sure to get a little bit impatient for more of that half-genie action. Although the original is available now on the 3DS Virtual Console, we’ve also recently been treated to something completely different in the form of the...
June2014
Review Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark (3DS)
A decent game in disguise
After reviewing the absolutely horrid Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark on Wii U, it would be hard to get our hopes up for the 3DS iteration if it weren't for the name on the back of the box. Unlike every other version of the game, Rise of the Dark Spark on 3DS was produced by the handheld experts at WayForward...
February2014
Review Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON'T KNOW! (3DS)
Size doesn't matter
D3Publisher, Cartoon Network and WayForward were definitely onto something in Adventure Time: Hey, Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?! Though the title was over too soon, it took players all over the Land of Ooo on a true-to-series nonsensical quest using Zelda II-like gameplay, with a top-down overworld and side-scrolling...
December2013
Review Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON'T KNOW! (Wii U)
Mathematical?
D3Publisher, Cartoon Network and WayForward were definitely onto something in last year's Adventure Time: Hey, Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?! Though the title was over too soon, it took players all over the Land of Ooo on a true-to-series nonsensical quest using Zelda II-like gameplay, with a top-down overworld and...
November2013
Review Regular Show: Mordecai and Rigby in 8-Bit Land (3DS)
Regular Show game for 3DS, send it to the moon
When we heard that WayForward was developing a Regular Show video game, we were optimistic. Not only does the studio generally pump out better-than-expected licensed games, but last year it produced Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?!, which ended up being a loving tribute to the...
October2013
Review Mighty Switch Force! 2 (Wii U eShop)
Watered down or a sequel on fire?
WayForward’s puzzle-platforming series first debuted on the Wii U eShop back in November of 2012, when the developer gave the original Mighty Switch Force! an HD facelift and deemed it the Hyper Drive Edition. This time, the sequel — which released for download back in June on the 3DS — has been ported to...
August2013
Review DuckTales: Remastered (Wii U eShop)
Tales of derring-do
It’s difficult to determine exactly who video game remakes are geared towards. On one hand you have generations worth of gamers who played the original and would love to experience it again on a modern console with updated graphics. It’s possible, however, that these people are no longer playing video games or don’t own...
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...
July2013
Review Shantae (3DS eShop / GBC)
Whip ya hair
Just over 11 years since its original release in 2002, Shantae has finally made it onto the 3DS Virtual Console – and it's the first time that it's been available in Europe too. Despite the long wait, WayForward's tricky 2D platformer is sprinkled with enough genie-magic to keep it fresh and interesting for a modern audience. Shantae...
June2013
Review Mighty Switch Force! 2 (3DS eShop)
The sequel, the sequel, the sequel's on fire
In late 2011, WayForward released Mighty Switch Force!, one of the first eShop titles to make significant use of the 3DS's capabilities. You took control of Patricia Wagon, a cop in search of the ostensibly criminal Hooligan sisters, and the puzzles were all based in some way around the 3D effect, popping...
January2013
Review Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?! (DS)
I'm ready for you now Brad
Back in March 2012 fans of the cult TV series Adventure Time rejoiced around the world, as series creator Pendleton Ward announced via a doodle on his Twitter page that WayForward Technologies and D3 Publisher would be working on a video game adaptation for the DS and 3DS, the absurdly named Adventure Time: Hey Ice King!...
November2012
Review Mighty Switch Force: Hyper Drive Edition (Wii U eShop)
Arresting development
When Mighty Switch Force was released for the 3DS eShop it was quickly heralded as not only one of the service’s best games but also one of the best games on the stereoscopic handheld period. Faultless controls, addictive puzzle platforming and a healthy dose of WayForward’s trademark charm made it shine, and now with the...
October2012
Review Hotel Transylvania (3DS)
Stab it with your steely knives
Released as an obvious tie-in with the movie of the same name, Hotel Transylvania aims to provide an experience evocative of some classic Castlevania titles, particularly the DS games and that influential masterpiece Symphony of the Night. That's the good news. The bad news is that, as with many movie tie-ins, Hotel...
December2011
Review Mighty Switch Force! (3DSWare)
The mighty gets mightier
While Shantae will likely always be the series WayForward is best known for, its Mighty series has enjoyed a sizeable degree of success on Nintendo's DSiWare service. Now, the developer is looking to carry that success over to the 3DS eShop with the release of puzzle-platformer Mighty Switch Force. While the game is once...
November2011
Review Centipede: Infestation (3DS)
Covered with scorpions
Modernised versions of old school arcade games are quite common; we've already seen two on 3DS so far, Frogger 3D and Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions, the latter comprising even more classic call-backs of yesteryear, but one game that hasn't seen much love in the remake department is Centipede. Bucking the trend, Centipede:...
October2011
Review Aliens: Infestation (DS)
"Another glorious day in the Corps!"
Of the four main Alien films, it's James Cameron’s action packed 1986 movie Aliens that provides the most explosive source material for a video game conversion. Konami knew this when it picked up the licence and released a fun arcade game, enabling players to blast pink xenomorphs in 1990. SEGA fans have...
June2011
Review Thor: God of Thunder (DS)
Way to go, Way-Thor-ward
At a SEGA press event in March this year WayForward’s Director for Thor: God of Thunder, Austin Ivansmith, noted that it is the company's “love letter to the DS” and considering its back catalogue of well received DS and DSiWare titles this game caught the attention of gamers normally hesitant of a movie licenced game...
Review SpongeBob SquigglePants 3D (3DS)
Are you ready, kids?
Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? So begins the theme song to one of the longest-lasting cartoons to come along in some time, SpongeBob SquarePants, enjoyed by kids and adults alike for 12 years and running. But a license is only as good as the developer handling it, and luckily SpongeBob SquigglePants 3D comes to us...
May2011
Review Mighty Milky Way (DSiWare)
Très amusant
WayForward's first DSiWare release Mighty Flip Champs was arguably the first must-have title for the service, and given the game's popularity it's understandable that fans have been clamouring for a sequel ever since. But rather than create a direct sequel, the developer has instead chosen to throw gamers into a completely new gameplay...
January2011
Review Despicable Me: The Game - Minion Mayhem (DS)
Forgettable game
Like its home console counterpart, Despicable Me: The Game – Minion Mayhem refreshingly constructs an original experience around elements from a film rather than rigidly attempting to follow the source material and fit it to a game framework for which it was never intended. Unfortunately, beyond that it shares the status of subpar...
October2010
Review Shantae: Risky's Revenge (DSiWare)
Stop reading now and go buy this game
When the original Shantae was released in 2002 on the Game Boy Color, it was lauded for its amazing animation and challenging platforming action. Unfortunately, this was after Nintendo had launched its new Game Boy Advance system, and sales of the unique title never really reached the level many expected them...
September2010
Review Batman: The Brave and the Bold (Wii)
Cartoon crime never sleeps in Gotham City. Good thing bats are nocturnal.
As far as pop culture is concerned, there are two types of Batman. Batmen, if you will. One is the gritty, serious Dark Knight that’s been Chris Nolan’s Hollywood blockbuster success of late and the star of Rocksteady’s excellent Batman: Arkham Asylum. Then there’s the...
