Retro News

May2011

  • Review Whack-A-Friend (DSiWare)

    Totally wack

    Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, step right up and see Whack-A-Friend, Agetec’s latest incarnation of the ever popular arcade game Whac-A-Mole! Or don’t. Either way, you won’t be missing out on much. The game starts with you choosing to either play using the picture provided, or you can use your own...

  • 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...

  • News Miyamoto Explains the Chubby Appearance of Mario

    Nothing to do with ordering extra cheese

    How many rotund heroes can you think of? Okay, it doesn't actually matter how many you can think of, the only chubby hero that matters for the sake of this article is the one and only Mario, and Shigeru Miyamoto explains why the plumber looked the way he did when he first appeared on our screens. During the...

  • Review Chronicles of Mystery: The Secret Tree of Life (DS)

    A pleasant, if stumpy, puzzler

    Many puzzle games that originated on the PC have made a successful transition to the DS; following their lead is City Interactive's latest handheld release, a scaled down version of Chronicles of Mystery: The Tree of Life from 2009. Especially in the case of one that's as well-crafted as this, there's nothing wrong...

  • Review Ikibago (DSiWare)

    Ahoy, mateys!

    So, you’re already thinking “really? Another puzzle game? Really?” But wait! Ikibago, the latest DSiWare title from Neko Entertainment, has got pirates in it! It may be lacking in the ninja, robot, zombie and unicorn territories, but there are plenty of pirates in this fun and addictive puzzler to go around. In the...

  • Review Anonymous Notes Chapter 2 - From The Abyss (DSiWare)

    Second verse, same as the first

    Anonymous Notes Chapter 1 - From the Abyss turned out to be a mechanically sound albeit slightly aimless dungeon crawler with a couple of interesting ideas up its sleeve. Save for a different main character, this is the exact same game as before. Not that we were expecting anything else — both games selectively pull...

  • Review Ice Hockey Slovakia 2011 (DSiWare)

    Wayne not-so-greatzky

    Many people are familiar with table football – sometimes referred to as "foosball" — that consists of a table containing little miniature football/soccer players on rods with handles sticking through the case that you can pull, push and twist. A ball is dropped in the centre of the table, which the opponents must...

  • Review Successfully Learning English: Year 3 (DSiWare)

    Are these A, B, Cs as easy as 1, 2, 3?

    It seems that Tivola’s campaign to bring educational entertainment, or edutainment, to Nintendo consoles is yet to run out of steam. Successfully Learning English: Year 3 is the second entry in this DSiWare series, and the sixth ‘Successfully Learning’ title overall. The first Successfully Learning...

  • Feature Lads of the Rising Sun

    How two unassuming British programmers succeeded inside the halls of Nintendo

    As a nation, the Japanese have gained a reputation of being particularly insular; despite their wholehearted acceptance of many aspects of western culture, they tend to regard their own products, traditions and population as superior. Bearing this in mind, the success of...

  • Review The Ignition Factor (SNES)

    It burns, but it doesn't crash

    Ask anybody to name some firefighting games and you'll be lucky if they name one. Despite the games about the profession generally being quite good, there's not many of them, and they're not very widely known either. The Ignition Factor is one of only two on the SNES, the other one being the more well-known The...

  • Review Zoonies - Escape from Makatu (DSiWare)

    A great escape?

    New developers have gravitated towards DSiWare since it launched, resulting in a broad variety of titles on the service. Kiloo Games is another developer making its DSiWare debut, having previously focussed on developing for smartphones, entering the fray with puzzle platformer Zoonies – Escape from Makatu. In Zoonies you play as...

  • Review Ubongo (DSiWare)

    Nothing funny rhymes with "Ubongo"

    Ubongo is a board game that's won its fair share of awards in continental Europe, and came to WiiWare via a not-so-great adaptation. Shrinking the game to the DSiWare platform doesn't do it any favours either, sadly, and comes with a host of new problems. As opposed to the four-player original board game and...

April2011

  • Review GO Series: Tower of Deus (DSiWare)

    Prince of Persia Lite

    With the absence of any Prince of Persia titles on Virtual Console, there's not really anything available for download in the way of acrobatic platformers in which the objective is to nimbly climb up ledges and perform almost pixel-perfect leaps. DSiWare's GO Series Tower of Deus somewhat fills this empty space, but mostly...

  • Review Word Searcher Deluxe (WiiWare)

    Word down

    It's hard not to question the practicality of a game like Word Searcher Deluxe. Word search books are almost literally a dime a dozen these days, and even the cheap-o books are becoming a little unnecessary considering the number of free options there are on the Internet and mobile app stores. As if that wasn't enough, Digital Leisure...

  • Review Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters (Wii)

    A master stroke?

    The seasoned PGA Tour Golf series shoves Tiger out of the way this year, instead choosing to put “The Masters” tournament front and center. The case, promotion and advertising for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters are all Masters-centric, perhaps in a first step toward abandoning the long-running Tiger Woods branding...

  • Review Ubongo (WiiWare)

    They should keep it in the Congo

    Ubongo is a board game popular in continental Europe, but its video game counterpart doesn't hit the target. The mechanics of the game are simple: up to four players play simultaneously, each with their own "plate", which is a shape that must be completely covered with Tetromino-like objects; imagine Tetris...

  • Review Airport Mania: First Flight (DSiWare)

    Smooth skies

    Good news, everyone! The wait for the DSiWare port of Airport Mania: First Flight is finally over. Combining aspects of both the WiiWare version and the watered-down Airport Mania: Non-Stop Flights — already available on their respective services — this is definitely a game worthy of closer inspection. As stated above, this game...

  • Review Inchworm Animation (DSiWare)

    Animazing!

    When Flipnote Studio burst onto the DSiWare scene back in 2009, it quickly became one of the most popular releases on the service, although it is worth noting that the title was available free of charge. Sites dedicated to hosting the animation creations began popping up across the Internet and remain active almost two years later. Now...

  • Review Valet Parking 1989 (DSiWare)

    A crash course in parking

    The DSiWare service certainly has the ability to surprise with its diverse variety of genres and concepts. Developer Zordix AB is throwing its hat into the ring with Valet Parking 1989. The title is self explanatory, and the concept of valet parking has been envisioned as a time management puzzle game with a distinctly 80s...

  • Review Conduit 2 (Wii)

    It'll take more than a new lick of paint to save this franchise

    When High Voltage Software first decided to enter the Wii first-person shooter space, competition wasn’t exactly something they really had to worry about. Sure, there had been a few half-hearted ports of popular franchises, but The Conduit was the first proper FPS developed...

  • Review Music On: Learning Piano Volume 2 (DSiWare)

    Beautiful harmony or sour note?

    Abylight has already released seven Music On titles for the DSiWare service that teach basic instruction for such musical instruments as the keyboard and the guitar. While the Spanish studio has already released one title covering the piano, it's obviously decided that the instrument needed a follow-up with the...

  • Review Hellokids - Vol. 1: Coloring and Painting (DSiWare)

    A decent artist's toolbox

    With the free title Flipnote Studio available on DSiWare, it's kind of hard to really create anything that would be able to top it. Hellokids - Vol. 1: Coloring and Painting, however, does offer some decent options and might be fun for younger kids. The main draw for the young ones is probably the colouring mode, in which...

  • Review Mega Man X (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)

    X-ceptional

    Spinoffs in popular franchises have delivered historically mixed results over the years, but when Capcom spun the X series off of Mega Man, not only did they create a new line every bit as intense and engaging as the originals, but arguably even more polished and fun to a certain degree. And now, after a rather lengthy wait, Capcom have...

  • Review Where's Wally? Fantastic Journey 2 (WiiWare)

    Spot the difference

    Where's Wally? Fantastic Journey 2 is the second slice of the stripey one's retail appearance, so it shouldn't come as much of a surprise to you that it follows the exact same template as previous release Where's Wally? Fantastic Journey 1. Sadly, you can't carry your profile over from the first game, though it wouldn't make much...

  • Review Adventure Island II (Wii Virtual Console / NES)

    Higgins returns

    The first Adventure Island was nothing more than a copy of Wonder Boy with some redone graphics. While Wonder Boy quickly became more of an Action RPG series, Adventure Island stuck to the platformer formula for a while before eventually following the same path. The general mechanics are still the same. Higgins' girlfriend has been...

  • Review Successfully Learning English: Year 2 (DSiWare)

    Vocabu-scary or the definition of fun?

    After four entries in the Successfully Learning Mathematics WiiWare series, Tivola is now turning its attentions to studying English, and this time Freddy the Vampire flies – at night, of course – over to DSiWare instead. It’s time to start a new class, but will this help young gamers learn their ABCs?...

  • Review Escape Trick: The Secret of Rock City Prison (DSiWare)

    Far more frustrating than fun

    Despite the system's unique touchscreen feature, we've seen very few point-and-click adventures for the system. Intense Games hopes to remedy that situation with the release of its mystery adventure Escape Trick: The Secret of Rock City Prison on DSiWare. Combining a story full of plot twists with point-and-click puzzle...

  • Review Art of Ink (DSiWare)

    Awesome ink

    All right, let’s be serious for just a minute. Who here hasn’t dreamed about the glitzy and glamorous lifestyle that comes with being a tattoo artist? Well, now you can finally fulfill your fantasy with the release of Art of Ink from Sabarasa for DSiWare. Though it’s obviously not a completely accurate representation of life in...

  • Review Slingo Quest (DSiWare)

    Some folks call it a Slingo

    Remember Slingo, the popular, fun and highly addictive internet game that had you wasting most of your work hours trying to get the high score? Well, thanks to MumboJumbo, this incredible browser game is now available on DSiWare in the form of Slingo Quest, a reincarnation of the classic with a few extra surprises...

  • Review Anonymous Notes Chapter 1 - From The Abyss (DSiWare)

    Non-stop grind

    There's nothing quite like a good dungeon crawler to waste away an afternoon. All that hacking and slashing and magicking and looting and leveling — when these gel together, why, yes, please. These are all traits found in Anonymous Notes Chapter 1 - From The Abyss, but sadly the glue keeping the game together lacks a very vital...

  • Feature The SLG3000 and the Glorious Return of Scanlines

    How to get that authentic retro look from your modern flatscreen TV

    Sometimes, outdated technology has a quality which seemingly defies description. For example, those of you that are old enough may harbour a strange nostalgic affection for the monochrome Game Boy’s blurry LCD screen, even to the point of spurning the updated Game Boy Color...

  • News UK Museum Celebrates Handheld Gaming with New Exhibition

    Full disclosure: it's in Swindon

    Nintendo fans have a better grasp on handheld gaming than many, but Swindon Museum of Computing in England is about to plot the history of the portable with a new exhibition. The new 'Gaming on the Go' exhibition charts 35 years of handheld history, starting with Mattel's 1976 Auto Race, a game running on a...

  • Review 3D Twist & Match (DSiWare)

    Not a perfect match

    There are quite a few games on DSiWare which started off as part of another title but have been released seperately. However, there's also quite a few games that seem like they really should've been part of something else, and 3D Twist & Match undoubtedly falls into the latter category. The sole objective here is to rotate...

  • Review Physiofun: Pelvic Floor Training (WiiWare)

    Are you sitting comfortably?

    On a service practically overflowing with niche games, Physiofun: Pelvic Floor Training is the undisputed champion: a game designed to help prevent postnatal urinary incontinence. 99% of you can stop reading now, unless you really want to know how successfully a video game can strengthen your pelvic floor, in which case...

  • Review Successfully Learning Mathematics: Year 5 (WiiWare)

    Your number's up

    No sooner did the bell ring to signal the end of Successfully Learning Mathematics: Year 4 then it's time to buy a new uniform — figuratively speaking — and sit at the front of the class for Successfully Learning Mathematics: Year 5, the final game in this particular series. Continuing to guide you through your numerical...

  • Review Play with Birds (WiiWare)

    Play with Turds

    Last year, the revamped WiiWare version of the beloved indie game La Mulana was delayed upon its submission by publisher Nicalis, as it was deemed "not good enough” by Nintendo's quality control team. Nicalis must have sent Nintendo a dirty diaper with the words “La Mulana” scrawled crudely on the side instead of an actual...

  • Review Trollboarder (DSiWare)

    A slippery slope downwards…

    If there is one thing missing from the video game world, it’s a snowboarding game starring goblins and dragons, and Enjoy Gaming is aiming to fill the void with Trollboarder. It’s been marketed as the ‘craziest snowboard game in history’, but is this zany fun or an experience that will drive you mad? The premise...

  • News The GameBoy Makes Beautiful Music Even When Switched Off

    There's nothing it can't do

    Forget about actually having the GameBoy turned on to make music; the video below proves that its components can sing in their own right. While we've seen countless Nintendo beatboxers, it's far less common to see the machine itself take centre stage, but that's precisely what's happened here. YouTube user MrSeberi has...

  • News Fan-Made Super Mario Bros. 3 in 3D is A Little Bit Awesome

    See a classic in a new light

    We've already seen hints that Super Mario on 3DS will include the famous Tanooki suit from Super Mario Bros. 3. What would the entire game look like in 3D, though? Let user Kevin Zeeff show you. As part of Zeeff's "Game Cubed" series, Mario's best 8-bit adventure has received a retro 3D makeover, and while it's...

  • Review Successfully Learning Mathematics: Year 4 (WiiWare)

    A game you can count on?

    This is the third entry in Tivola's educational series, representing another year/grade of maths puzzles to help your youngsters pick up the basics. Previous entries haven't been quite up to par, and that sadly continues with Successfully Learning Mathematics: Year 4. Freddy the Vampire returns to help guide players through...

  • Review GO Series: Captain Sub (DSiWare)

    Diving to the murky depths

    DSiWare has seen quite a few ‘GO’ titles during its lifespan, and the latest in the series is GO Series: Captain Sub. This title marks another departure in the series with a combination of puzzling, shooting and exploration. The question is whether this game is worth the expedition undersea. The premise of the game is...

  • Review Absolute Baseball (DSiWare)

    Foul balls

    What happens when you take baseball, America’s favorite pastime, and mix it with Japan’s favorite pastime, the turn-based RPG? You get Tasuke’s newest DSiWare game, the Frankenstein-esque genre crosser titled Absolute Baseball. While the idea here is nothing less than genius, does an RPG in which you take control of a baseball...

  • Review Planet Fish (WiiWare)

    Take the bait

    Hey there! Do you want to play some WiiWare game called Planet Fish? Didn't think so. Well then, do you want to play a highly original and puzzle-based spin on the fishing genre that's big on fun and creative problem solving? Ah, well then you do want to play Planet Fish, a game that is able to transcend its unappealing title and...

  • Review Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest (Wii)

    “It is but a shadow and a thought that you love. I cannot give you what you seek.”

    As a hack-'n-slash game based on the famous movie franchise, Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest enters a field that is already well-plowed by earlier releases. But with it's unusual twist on storytelling, is there something here worthwhile to nudge burned-out fans...

  • Guides Upscaling Your Retro Consoles for HDTV Sets

    The quest for the perfect picture

    Getting a pin-sharp, colourful image on a modern gaming console is about as hard as falling off a log. Both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 support HDMI output for true HD gaming, and although the poor old Wii is still stuck in the land of 480p, it’s still capable of kicking out a pretty decent image via component...

  • Review Brawl Brothers (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)

    A marked improvement

    Jaleco released several beat 'em ups on the SNES, although you may not know that three of them are actually related. Exclusively in Japan, the games Rival Turf!, Brawl Brothers and The Peace Keepers were all part of one series called Rushing Beat, but for their North American releases they were retitled, and the story and...

  • Review Dancing Academy (DSiWare)

    Uh-oh, I’m dancing with my stylus

    Tivola’s ‘Academy’ series of games is becoming a prolific presence on DSiWare. In consecutive months we've had Model Academy and Beauty Academy. These titles have targeted pre-teen girl gamers and the latest entry, Dancing Academy is no different. We’re dusting off our dancing shoes to determine whether...

  • News This Custom N64 Has a Hidden Secret for Multiplayer

    Surprise, a control port!

    Custom consoles are all the rage these days, and the Nintendo 64 is particularly ripe for fan-made hardware revisions. The portable machine below might look oddly familiar to those who've seen the iNto64, but it's got an ace up its sleeve: a controller port. The combination of N64, screen and control port means split-screen...

  • Review A Fairy Tale (DSiWare)

    A fairy solid puzzler

    We've seen a fair share of puzzlers on DSiWare, so any time a new title from the genre is released, it's generally met with a cautious approach, especially considering the number of mediocre releases we've seen so far. Having initially made its rounds on the PC and Mac, A Fairy Tale makes its way onto DSiWare and brings all of...

  • News Celebrate 15 Years of Resident Evil With This Special Trailer

    According to Wesker, things are just warming up

    In celebrating 15 years of Resident Evil, Capcom has released a trailer that takes us back to where it all began, as well as where the franchise will be taking us in the not-so-distant future. Narrated by Albert Wesker, the trailer compiles footage of games both old and new. From the upcoming...

  • News Fan-Made Metroid Game Miniaturises Our Beloved Heroine

    Minitroid tech demo now available

    It must be one of those enigmatic laws of the universe, that if you shrink something, anything, then it instantly becomes cute. Thanks to three Metroid fans, that's exactly what they've done in their interpretation of the retro platforming series. The Metroid Database has unveiled the Minitroid tech demo, developed...

  • News Capcom Brings New Super Mario Bros. Wii to the Arcades

    With a twist, or shall we say "spin"?

    A Mario game from Capcom? That's what Japanese arcade gamers will be playing, although it's not exactly what you would expect. Capcom has announced its medal machine New Super Mario Bros. Wii Coin World has hit arcades in Japan. Based on New Super Mario Bros. Wii, the cabinet supports four players and the object...

  • Review DodoGo! Robo (DSiWare)

    Domo arigato, DodoGo! Robo

    With two games already available on DSiWare — DodoGo! and DodoGo! Challenge — you'd be forgiven for thinking that each DodoGo! game is simply a level pack expansion to the previous game. This was true for the second title, Challenge, but things are a bit different here, as while the first two titles were very similar...

  • Review Where's Wally? Fantastic Journey 1 (WiiWare)

    Lite stripes

    The world's most famous stripe-wearing recluse is making his first appearance on WiiWare following a trio of outings on DSiWare. Where's Wally? Fantastic Journey 1 (known as Where's Waldo? in North America) is all-but identical to the DSiWare release Where's Wally? Travel Pack 1, with the same stages and objectives, but it works much...

  • Review WWE All Stars (Wii)

    Oooh yeaahh!

    There's something undeniably special about a wrestling match. Combining colourful characters, high-flying acrobatics and riveting rivalries, it's an exciting spectacle that too often gets the shaft for being a fake sport than a real piece of theatre. At least, that's the sentiment you might share at a live event, your enthusiasm and...

March2011

  • News The Brothers Mario 2 Trailer Introduces Us to the New Don

    One pastiche you don't want to mess with

    When the trailer for the fictitious film The Brothers Mario was released, it gave us a good chuckle at how many video game and cultural references were crammed so beautifully into the space of 5 minutes. How might a sequel turn out? The Country Club shows us how. Another exclusive from The Game Station, The...

  • Review Simply Minesweeper (DSiWare)

    Simply, Minesweeper

    Engine Software doesn't exactly have a track record of making amazing games for DSiWare, all of its output has at the very least always been mediocre at worst and average at best. The studio has previously released Simply games for Mahjong, Sudoku and Solitaire, all of which were quite functional, but ultimately all very basic...

  • Podcast NLFM Episode 19: DS Swan Songs

    Not with a whimper, but a bang!

    So 3DS is out in places other than Japan now, hooray! But just because its successor is stealing the spotlight, that doesn't mean the DS is content with resting on its two-dimensional laurels. Why, it's not even April yet and it's already seen at least five fantastic games this year with some fantastic music to go...

  • Review Street Racer (Super Nintendo)

    Road to joy?

    On rare occasion, a game so revolutionary will appear that not only will it receive the usual much deserved critical acclaim, it’ll become responsible for the creation of an entirely new genre. Take Super Mario Kart for instance — the title single-handedly responsible for the birth of the console kart racer. Following its huge...

  • Review 7 Wonders II (DS)

    Not much of a sequel

    A few years ago, MumboJumbo published the Hot Lava-developed 7 Wonders of the Ancient World, a very average Bejeweled clone. Since then, our standards for DS puzzle fare have gotten a little bit higher, and MumboJumbo has updated its previous release to hopefully meet these standards. Enter 7 Wonders II. The formula remains the...

  • Interviews Richie Knucklez - The Kong Off

    "the most important person in video gaming right now"

    In the documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, Steve Wiebe travels to FunSpot Arcade to put a stop to all the naysayers disputing his record-setting Donkey Kong skills. To the amazement of everyone watching, he achieves the first ever kill screen on the Funspot Donkey Kong machine...

  • News Retro Handheld Games Now Digitised on the Internet

    Game & Watch titles included

    Fans of the old handheld games like the ones in the Game & Watch series are in for a treat when they find that several in said series ― as well as others not related to Nintendo ― have been "digitised" and put on the Internet for all to enjoy. Games like Donkey Kong Jr., Mickey & Donald, Merry Cook...

  • Review Okamiden (DS)

    A celestial pup worthy of your praise

    Back in 2008, a two year old PS2 ‘game of the year’ was ported to the Wii amid much critical acclaim. Okami, an epic adventure boasting a glorious art style, was perfectly suited to the Wii’s capabilities, and Capcom has once again embraced a Nintendo console for a follow-up adventure on the DS. With such...

  • Review LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (DS)

    A little too familiar

    For whatever reason, LEGO games on Nintendo handhelds are never as good as their home console counterparts. Rather than harness the handheld's unique strengths from the ground up, they too often opt for creating a more compact version of the larger adventure. LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars is no exception, providing an...

  • Review LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (Wii)

    Not just a clone

    A long time ago in a development studio not terribly far away, the idea was hatched to combine a beloved children's toy with a paradigm-shifting film franchise to make one of the most innovative licensed games to date. Since then the LEGO train has kept chugging along, claiming series after series as it goes to which to add its...

  • News Discover Nintendo's 3D Legacy with Our Virtual Boy Coverage

    3DS's granddaddy featured

    You might be getting all geared-up for the new 3DS, but it's not the first dedicated 3D console from Nintendo: that honour belongs to the good old Virtual Boy, the now notorious machine that launched in the mid 1990s. Now is the perfect time, with 3DS just around the corner, to revisit the machine's creation, games and its...

  • Podcast NLFM Episode 18: Rageful Streets and Happy Dinosaurs

    Missed weeks? What?

    Remember when we said NLFM was going to be weekly? Well, we kind of fudged that for the past couple of weeks. Sorry! But we're back with a fiery fever in this episode, where gangsters are punched, pianos diddled and dinosaurs remembered. 1. MONSTER! MONSTER! — Penny Arcade2. Yuzo Koshiro — Go Straight (Streets of Rage 2,...

  • Review BINGO PARTY Deluxe (WiiWare)

    Bing-oh…

    Developers Ateam Inc have seen a gap in the download game market: bingo. For those who thought this pastime was restricted to bingo halls and retirement homes, think again. Bingo Party Deluxe is now available on WiiWare; does it succeed and scream ‘house’ at the top of its voice, or frustratingly bemoan the drawing of all the wrong...

  • Review Rabi Laby (DSiWare)

    Down the rabbit hole

    These days, with the recent release of Paul’s Shooting Adventure and Paul’s Monster Adventure, it seems as though Agetec is trying to claim the title of "most bizarre games available on DSiWare". Keeping the tradition alive, now the company's released Rabi Laby, a hybrid puzzle platform game that has players...

  • Live Text The Kong Off

    The doctor, the teacher and the saucier go head-to-head

    1,090,400 points. That's the record to beat, set by the cheerful Dr. Hank Chien just last week. Now the New York plastic surgeon joins the double-decade champion and hot sauce tycoon Billy Mitchell and the mild-mannered schoolteacher who toppled his throne, Steve Wiebe, to duke it out for...

  • Review 7 Wonders of the Ancient World (DS)

    Don't be fooled

    There are many ways to play Bejeweled on the go, though when it comes to the DS catalogue, you're mostly looking at clones rather than the real deal. 7 Wonders of the Ancient World is one of those clones. It does more than just imitate the gold standard, however – it attempts to innovate as well. But what it adds to the mix takes...

  • Review Final Fantasy III (Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)

    Still one of the best RPGs to come out of the 16-bit era

    What can you say about the Final Fantasy series that hasn't already been said a thousand times before? The titles have become one of the best-selling video game series in history and have been largely responsible for making the RPG genre so popular with fans across the globe. After having...

  • News Street Gangs Return in River City Ransom 2

    NES classic gets sequelised

    NES brawler River City Ransom is showing its age a little now, though it's still a fun little title, with fans of the game no doubt hoping the newly-announced sequel will feature the same quality playability. Miracle Kidz has proudly announced River City Ransom 2 is in development for home consoles this summer, with a...

  • News World's Finest to Compete This Weekend at the Kong Off

    Join us for live coverage

    You've seen the movies. You've read the interviews. You've designed the shirts. You've cheered for the former champion. And to top it off, the bar just got raised by 20,000 points. This weekend is what it's all been building up to: The Ko

  • Review Shapo (DSiWare)

    Three in one

    With so many puzzle games on DSiWare already, it's kind of hard to invent a completely new concept for your game. So why not combine the concept of several other games into one? Shapo is pretty much a combination of Lonpos, Tetris and Art of Balance, with key elements from each coming into play during the game. There's a classic and...