News - 2011, Week 52

Sunday1st Jan 2012

  • Review Soccer Up! (WiiWare)

    Shoots too narrow

    On the Wii Shop Channel, EnjoyUp! Games describes Soccer Up! as being "a funny soccer game." We're willing to bet you and EnjoyUp! Games have different senses of humour. But we're also willing to bet you have different definitions of "total control," "inertia" and "soccer." Indeed, much of...

  • Review Nintendo Letter Box (3DSWare)

    A note to remember

    Until mid-December, the only online communication built into the 3DS was a 16-character status message on your friends list. Even by Nintendo standards, that's extremely constrictive. Now we all have the chance to download Nintendo Letter Box — aka Swapnote — for free. The first thing to note about Nintendo Letter Box is it is...

  • Review Chronicles of Vampires: Origins (DSiWare)

    Not so original

    If we made a list of things that we've seen just a little too much of in recent years, vampires and hidden object games would sit somewhere near the top. If that weren't enough to temper our excitement over Chronicles of Vampires: Origins, it happens to have one of the clumsiest titles we've read in recent memory (maybe because The...

  • Charts 1st January 2012 (UK)

    Happy New Year edition

    It's the first chart of 2012 and a watermark for the coming year. One day we'll look back at this chart and laugh — were we ever so young? — but for now let's see what we all bought at the end of 2011. denotes last week's position. indicates game is a new entry. indicates a non-mover. Popular Last Week — All...

  • News Happy New Year from Nintendo Life!

    Here's to 2012

    It's the very first day of 2012, and we want to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy New Year. 2011 was our best year yet — we were featured in the 3DS eShop, teamed up with Eurogamer and even won a Mario Kart 7 medal — but we wouldn't be able to do any of this without the support of a great number of people

Saturday31st Dec 2011

Friday30th Dec 2011

  • Game of the Year Nintendo Life Staff Awards 2011

    What won our votes this year?

    With the launch of 3DS in March, the Wii U's unveiling at E3 and a Christmas period that included new Zelda, Mario and Mario Kart games, we rather think 2011 was a pretty good year all in all. But what were the very best stand-out games of the year? What moments will we think of when we reminisce about 2011? The...

  • Review VVVVVV (3DS eShop)

    VVVVVVery impressive

    When VVVVVV burst onto the indie scene in 2010, it was immediately lauded for its simple, addictive gameplay and unique vector visual style. After enjoying quite a bit of success on PC and Mac over the past two years, the game is now making an appearance on a dedicated game system for the first time via Nintendo's 3DS eShop...

  • News SEGA Confirms No WiiWare Outing for Sonic 4: Episode II

    Sad times

    SEGA's digital brand manager Ken Balough has confirmed that Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II will not make it to Wii. In a post on the SEGA forum, Balough confirmed it wouldn't appear on Nintendo's home console: But no - the reason Episode I was on the Wii was because we wanted to bring the Sonic 4 saga to the widest possible audience...

  • Rumour New App Store in Development for Wii U

    We're not stating the obvious, promise

    Though we're yet to receive an exact release date, we know the Wii U will hit during the second half of 2012. One guarantee as release approaches is that wild speculation and rumour will run rampant. Today's contender: a Wii U 'App Store'. It goes without saying that there'll be an equivalent to the current Wii...

  • News Disney Newsletter Accidentally Outs Epic Mickey 2

    It's bound to happen

    Rumours of a sequel to Disney Epic Mickey continue to swirl around the Internet like paint in a pot, with a Disney newsletter seemingly outing the game before its official announcement. The email mentions a brand new Epic Mickey 2 in development for Wii, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, with a release set for fall 2012: Disney Epic...

Thursday29th Dec 2011

Wednesday28th Dec 2011

  • Review Wario Land 4 (3DS eShop / GBA)

    A treasure

    Wario is pretty good, for a bad guy. To look at him you wouldn’t think he’d have a heroic streak at all; he’s got the squiggly moustache of a pantomime villain and a nose that would put any alcoholic to shame. Despite all this he’s secretly a sweetheart: considering that the rotund treasure hunter started life as an antagonist to...

  • News Link's Awakening DX is 2011's Best-Selling 3DS VC Game

    The results are in

    It's official: The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX is the 3DS Virtual Console's best-selling game of 2011 in Europe and North America. Link's legendary adventure tops the all-time Virtual Console charts in the UK and North America — live later today — beating off competition from Mario, Samus and Kirby. In fact, the game...

  • Charts 28th December 2011 (North America)

    2011's top sellers

    We already know that Link's Awakening DX is the best-selling 3DS VC game of 2011, but here's the round-up of what's hot and what's not in the eShop world. denotes last week's position. indicates game is a new entry. indicates a non-mover. Popular Last Week — All Downloads: 3D Classics: Xevious and Mario vs. Donkey Kong...

  • News Sonic 4: Episode II Teaser Trailer Due Tomorrow

    It's got a nice ring to it

    Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I seems all but a distant memory now, but SEGA is ready to revitalise your nostalgia for 2D Sonic games by officially revealing Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II tomorrow. Gamespot will have the exclusive teaser trailer tomorrow, with SEGA brand manager Ken Balough keen to emphasise its...

  • Competition Win a Metallic Red 3DS!

    Get it while it's red hot!

    If Father Christmas didn't bring you the 3DS console you asked for, Nintendo Life is here to save the day. We've got one of the highly sought-after Metallic Red Nintendo 3DS consoles (European) up for grabs in our exclusive competition. All you have to do is answer the question, cross your fingers and wait.

  • Competition Win "A History of Nintendo: Volume 1" (5 Copies)

    Brush up on your history

    If you want to learn more about where it all started for Nintendo, we've got very good news for you. We've teamed up with Pix'n Love Publishing, the company behind some of our favourite gaming-related tomes, to bring you this exclusive competition to win its superb History of Nintendo: Volume 1. You can read our History of...

Tuesday27th Dec 2011

  • Nintendo Download 29th December 2011 (Europe)

    Bionic Commando!

    Just because the Christmas celebrations are winding down doesn't mean we can't feel all festive and excited about the final Nintendo Download of 2011. What choice delights does Nintendo Europe have lined up for excited eShoppers this week? Read on, dear reader, and find out. 3DS Virtual Console: Bionic Commando (Game Boy, Capcom,...

  • Charts 27th December 2011 (UK)

    Check out the Christmas sellers

    It's the last time to take a look at 2011's 3DS eShop charts, so savour the numbers below; they may very well hold the secret to the future. At the very least, they explain how well games sell relative to each other. Let's just get on with it, shall we? denotes last week's position. indicates game is a new entry...

  • News Fire Emblem to Start Japanese 3DS DLC Service in 2012

    Get more quests

    We haven't heard much about Fire Emblem on 3DS for the past few months, but Nikkei (via Andriasang) report the game will kick off the system's add-on DLC service in early 2012. Now called Fire Emblem: Awakening, the game will release in Japan on 19th April, with a new "free map" system letting you explore the world with a...

  • News Japanese 3DS Sales Hit New High in Christmas Week

    How high can it go?

    3DS sales have been steadily growing in Japan over the past few weeks, with the week leading up to Christmas the busiest for the console yet. Enterbrain (via Andriasang) reports Nintendo sold a staggering 510,629 3DS consoles in the week before Christmas, topping the record of 367,691 set in the previous week. Since February,...

  • Review WordJong Arcade (DSiWare)

    Will it put a spell on you?

    A DSiWare shopper with yet another mahjong solitaire game is like a mule with a spinning wheel – no one knows why he got it, and darned if he knows how to use it. But WordJong Arcade stands out from the pack as it gives the game a Boggle twist; instead of removing matching pairs of tiles, you'll form words as you clear...

Monday26th Dec 2011

  • Talking Point Your Nintendo Christmas Presents

    What was in your stocking?

    By now you've unwrapped (and probably discarded most of) your Christmas presents and digested your Christmas meal. It's time to talk what you got this year. No, we don't mean the Christmas meal: tell us about your Nintendo Christmas presents. Was Satoru Claus good to you this year? Drop us a comment below and let us know...