Retro Reviews
Review Tetris (3DS eShop / GB)
From Russia with fun
Saying that Tetris shifted a few Game Boys is like saying caffeine sold a few energy drinks. Already an established favourite by the time Nintendo's handheld hit the market in 1989, Tetris proved to be the perfect pick-up-and-play experience to go along with the fledgling portable system; while many people initially questioned...
Review F-Zero Maximum Velocity (3DS eShop / GBA)
Gotta go fast
F-Zero has always been Nintendo’s way of flaunting how on the cutting-edge of technology it can be when it so chooses. Like a bat out of Hell, the original F-Zero launched alongside the Super NES to draw a clear distinction between where 16-bit Nintendid and SEGagged. Later on N64, F-Zero X boasted 30 on-screen polygonal racers and...
Review Carmen Sandiego Adventures in Math: The Lady Liberty Larceny (WiiWare)
Where in the world is the rest of the game?
Remember Carmen Sandiego? That mysterious woman in red who would steal precious and historical items from throughout the world all while teaching kids about history and geography? Well, she’s finally back and up to her old tricks. Except this time, rather than geography, it’s going to take all of...
Review Mario Kart Super Circuit (3DS eShop / GBA)
Short circuit
It’s hard to believe that the Mario Kart franchise has been around for nearly 20 years and appeared on eight different consoles. Mario Kart: Super Circuit may have been first released in 2001, but now it’s back for a whole new generation of players ten years after release through the 3DS Ambassador program. There are four cups to...
Review Metroid Fusion (3DS eShop / GBA)
Like cold fusion, only cooler
Metroid Fusion slipped out of the airlock between two behemoths, simultaneously having to live up to the legacy of its predecessor Super Metroid, which is a big Power Suit to fill, and keep the advancing Metroid Prime at arm cannon's length. It would have been easy for Fusion to have become lost in the vacuum created by...
Review The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (3DS eShop / GBA)
Small but mighty
Those poor Hylians just can't have any fun, can they? Just when everything seems to be all well and good, some creep with bad skin comes along, unleashes a whirlwind of evil and shrouds the land in darkness. It's tough for us to feel too bad for them, though. Because as history has shown, bad news for Hyrule means great news for...
Maybe it’s a fruit cake
Nintendo’s handheld consoles face the ever-growing prominence of smartphones, particularly in terms of the games on these devices. Cake Ninja is undoubtedly influenced by a thoroughly popular game on Android and iOS that involves slicing fruit: this ninja, however, has lost his way. The gameplay within this title...
Review Elite Forces: Unit 77 (DSiWare)
Definitely forcing it
On paper, Elite Forces: Unit 77 sounds great. A number of high-profile and wealthy individuals have gone missing all over the world, and it's correctly assumed that this is just the first step in a global terrorist plot. Desperate, the world turns to a renegade troop of no-nonsense butt-kickers: Unit 77. Unit 77 consists of...
Review Christmas Wonderland (DSiWare)
Cruel, cruel Santa…
Christmas is here, with endlessly looping festive songs on the radio, frazzled and angry shoppers seeking toys that are always out of stock, and themed downloads appearing on DSiWare. Christmas Wonderland has arrived: is it a land full of magic and goodwill, or a cheap resort with dogs dressed as reindeer? Christmas Wonderland...
Review Paper Wars: Cannon Fodder (WiiWare)
Not the worst game ever
At the back of every game shelf, at the bottom of every YouTube favourites list, in the dark recesses of every gamer's heart, they live. Games with which we are far too familiar, games that some of us have taken a near-masochistic pride in seeking out. Superman. E.T. Super Noah's Ark 3D. These are some of the worst games ever...
Review Word Searcher 4 (DSiWare)
It’s more word searches… again
You know the old adage “less is more?” Well, it’s pretty obvious that Digital Leisure takes this saying to heart with its Word Searcher series. Word Searcher 4 marks the fourth game in the series of word search puzzle games, and it’s not much of an advancement from the last one, or the one before that, or...
Review House, M.D. - Episode 5: Under the Big Top (DSiWare)
Not-so-grand finale
If you’ve been keeping score at home, then you should know by now that playing the House, M.D. games is about as fun as being hospitalised. Fortunately, the suffering can finally end now that the fifth and final installment in the series has arrived. If you’ve played any of the previous games and enjoyed them, then stop...
X-cceptable
Less than a month ago, EnjoyUp Games released Pinocchio’s Puzzle, a jigsaw puzzle game that proved to be good fun for the whole family. Now, just in time for the holidays, EnjoyUp’s second jigsaw puzzle videogame emerges as Xmas Puzzle. But is this puzzle worth finishing and framing, or is it just a cheap Christmas cash cow? If you...
Review Castle Conqueror - Against (DSiWare)
Another day in paradise
Another Castle Conqueror game? If CIRCLE Entertainment keeps this up, this just might turn into a monthly tradition. It's worth reading our previous reviews of Castle Conqueror and Castle Conqueror — Revolution as the gameplay here is largely the same as its real-time predecessors. The basic concept remains untouched:...
Review Blaster Master: Enemy Below (3DS eShop / GBC)
Underground hit
When the original Blaster Master made its appearance on the NES in 1988, it was lauded for its unique gameplay style and vast environment. Sunsoft would follow up the game with releases on Sega's Genesis and Nintendo's Game Boy, but it wasn't until it decided to create a sequel for Nintendo's Game Boy Color that Nintendo fans really...
Review Lock 'N Chase (3DS eShop / GB)
Puzzle Pac-Man
Data East had quite a few relatively unknown Game Boy games back in the day. Much BurgerTime Deluxe, released a few weeks ago, Lock 'N Chase is essentially a "sequel" to the original arcade game, with the same general gameplay but with many more levels and even a few new gameplay mechanics. If you've played the arcade game,...
A sound investment
Mario and friends are no strangers to the board game scene: the Mario Party series is a perennial favorite, and rightly so. Those games are colourful, exciting and, most of all, fun. But it may come as something of a surprise to find our favorite denizens of the Mushroom Kingdom sharing a board with characters from the Dragon...
Review Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (Wii)
Olympic shames
It was four years ago that the old 16-bit rivals teamed up for the first time: Sonic appeared in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and the two took their tussle to the track in Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games. It wasn't exactly a high watermark for either mascot, but it felt right at home on the Wii at the time: motion gaming was taking...
Review Power Rangers Samurai (DS)
Go go Power Rangers
Centuries ago, dark forces threatened to destroy civilisation in Japan. The danger was thought to have been destroyed by a clan of fearless warriors wielding power symbols that had been passed down for generations. Now these dark forces have returned to finish the destruction they started so long ago, and the survival of Earth...
Wii salutes you
Some things in life never change. When you're in a rush in your lunch hour, there will always be a massive queue outside the bakery. If you trip on a loose bit of pavement, you will always attempt to turn it into a jog to appear completely in control to the strangers around you. Failed sneezes are forever disappointing, there's never...
Bloobin' boring
For those who aren't aware, Double Bloob was actually announced over four years ago as a DS retail title. After disappearing for a few of those years, the game has now resurfaced on DSiWare. It'd be easy to assume that those four years of development time were used to make sure that the game was polished and enjoyable. That...
Review Play & Learn Chinese (DSiWare)
Might leave you hungry for more a few hours later
DSiWare isn’t just for games, you know. Comprising a small, inconspicuous corner of the market, a handful of language applications serve to assist those who can’t quite afford a pocket translator or a class at the civic centre. So far we’ve seen entries in German, French and Spanish, and now...
Review Battle of the Elements (DSiWare)
Elementary, dear Watson
Lists. Who needs 'em? Whether it's a shopping list or a year-end "Best Of" list, you just know when you're writing it that you'll end up forgetting something important. When the year ends, Battle of the Elements probably won't be on our Best Of list. If you're the kind of person that makes lists of games to buy,...
Review Big Bass Arcade (WiiWare)
Cast from the past
Just six months back, Big John Games released Big Bass Arcade on DSiWare, offering up pick-up-and-play fishing action on the go. While the game certainly did what it said on the box, the overly simplistic design left us wanting a bit more content-wise. Enter Big Bass Arcade on WiiWare, a revamped port of that game offering updated...
Review Just Sing! Christmas Vol. 3 (DSiWare)
Ho! Ho! Oh…
The festive season is almost upon us, so that means presents, sparkly lights, too much food to eat and another entry in the Just Sing! series. Just Sing! Christmas Vol. 3 has arrived, the third festive entry in DTP Entertainment’s karaoke franchise. As this particular set of games is now in its third year we can look forward to some...
This platformer's got legs (even if Rayman doesn't)
As the gaming industry moves onwards and upwards and each genre evolves, it's interesting to observe how the platformer has come around full circle since its debut. Whereas the rest of the industry strives for more expansive and photorealistic environments or interactive storytelling, the...
Review Come On! Heroes (DSiWare)
Arrowsmith
Hot on the heels of the similarly named Castle Conqueror - Heroes comes CIRCLE Entertainment's Come On! Heroes. It's similar in title only, however, as the gameplay and presentation hearken most closely back to the first Castle Conqueror game. This isn't a bad thing but, unfortunately, a lack of variety really lets this release down...
Review Metroid II: Return of Samus (3DS eShop / GB)
Exploring colourless lands
When Metroid was first released it was a unique game: with a lot of exploring to do across a giant map and with plenty of hidden items and paths, those willing to spend the time to find everything were well rewarded. The original title has aged fairly poorly though — the game lacks many things we take for granted...
Review Pinocchio's Puzzle (WiiWare)
Pinocchio goes to pieces
Chances are, when you're deciding to pick up a puzzle game for your console of choice, you don't think of actual jigsaw puzzles. They just don't fit easily into the genre's landscape. Popular puzzlers like Tetris and Angry Birds have an immediacy to them that encourages quick play and gratification, while a real jigsaw...
Review Escape Trick: Convenience Store (DSiWare)
Convenience snore
We've already seen two Escape Trick releases on DSiWare, each taking place in a unique environment ranging from a musty prison to a oriental-themed castle. And while the games feature a point-and-click gameplay system that would seem to fit the DS touch screen quite perfectly, the execution in both titles has been severely lacking...
