DSiWare Game Reviews
Review Kung Fu Dragon (DSiWare)
Since you're climbing a waterfall, you're more of a Kung Fu Salmon
If there's one thing we can say about Kung Fu Dragon, it's that there's really not much to say about Kung Fu Dragon. It's a game that's content to limit itself in nearly every respect, and that's going to earn it its share of detractors, but it's also a game that makes surprisingly...
Review Extreme Hangman 2 (DSiWare)
Extreme Sequel
If you’ve played the first Extreme Hangman game, then you know exactly what to expect with Extreme Hangman 2. While the word categories and visuals may have changed a bit, the core gameplay remains exactly the same. Though there is little different between the two games, that doesn’t necessarily detract from what Extreme Hangman...
As good as Bill Nye, or would it make him cry?
Pokémon and its ilk channel a sense of wonder as players explore new worlds to learn about their inhabitants. It seems that someone over at Abylight had the revelation that our own planet is filled with fantastic creatures as well – they're just too small to see. AfterZoom has you go about collecting...
Review Successfully Learning German: Year 4 (DSiWare)
What’s the German for deja-vu?
Successfully Learning German: Year 4 has arrived, looming on the DSiWare landscape with a sense of inevitability. The decision by Tivola to convert a retail release into multiple downloads means that fans of edutainment titles have been spending a lot of money on their DSi. Moving on from Year 3, Freddy the Vampire...
Review Jewel Keepers: Easter Island (DSiWare)
Semi-precious stones
No one knows what it is that makes match-three puzzle games so fun and addictive to play, but it’s unavoidable. Wherever you turn, match-three puzzles exist, and it’s clear that DSiWare is no exception to that rule. With games such as Bejeweled Twist and Ikibago already available, Jewel Keepers: Easter Island is in good...
Review Make Up & Style (DSiWare)
Shaky foundation
Looking good is hard work. For those who want to learn or just enjoy playing around with lipstick and powder comes Make Up & Style, attempting a fun and informative take on facial beautification. But is this title good enough to make you blush, or is it only the eye-shadow of a good game? While Beauty Academy went for a...
Cock-a-doodle-don't
Running a farm is hard work – there are animals to feed, goose eggs to collect and bears to capture and sell to market. Such is the setting of Farm Frenzy, an agricultural time and resource management adventure. But is this a prize pig or should it be put out to pasture? The small, symbiotic playing field divides between...
Don't catch it
Cast your mind back a few months to the launch of Ubongo on DSiWare. In that instance, Korner Entertainment took a popular board game and turned it into a mediocre puzzle/board game; here, Korner has removed the board game licence, the story and the gem-grabbing puzzle mode to reduce the package right down to its barebones. Is it...
Review Roller Angels (DSiWare)
Angelic
Roller Angels doesn't know what it wants to be; it's torn between Canabalt's forward-moving platforming action, Jet Grind Radio's alt-rock rebelliousness and de Blob's sense of beautification, without really committing fully to any one of them. Maybe that's a good thing. Yes, it lacks the first's pitch-perfect mechanics, the middle one's...
Review The Lost Town - The Dust (DSiWare)
Diamond in the Dust
Quite a few attempts have been made at producing a good DSiWare action RPG by now. Some of these games turned out to be top-notch, and others not so much. Thankfully, The Lost Town - The Dust falls into the category of games that are definitely worth their weight in Nintendo Points. This lengthily titled action RPG combines...
Motorcycle platforming?
Motorcycle racing games have long been a staple of video gaming over the years, and while we've seen some extremely unique gameplay ideas injected into them, there's probably never been one quite like Moto eXtreme. Rather than stick to the traditional racing action, developer Chillingo has instead crafted a motorcycle...
Review Successfully Learning German: Year 3 (DSiWare)
Freddy is back, and tougher than ever
It’s another week and another Successfully Learning title from edutainment specialists Tivola. This relentless schedule of language learning titles on DSiWare continues with Successfully Learning German: Year 3. Young German speakers are once again led to the classroom by the smiling and freckled vampire...
Review Hearts Spades Euchre (DSiWare)
A game with a lot of heart
Card enthusiasts searching for quick and casual DSiWare fun are in luck with Hearts Spades Euchre from Cosmigo, the same company that brought us the surprisingly high-quality 505 Tangram. The studio returns here with another above average title with a modest, to-the-point name that risks seeing potential customers...
Review Boardwalk Ball Toss (DSiWare)
Not quite as big a rip-off as the real thing
For as long as humans have stacked milk bottles in pyramid formations, people have yearned to topple them. Salvation for these individuals came by way of the carnival – but what's a toppling enthusiast to do on the walk home, or on the bus the next day? Enter Boardwalk Ball Toss, the perfect solution...
Review Just Sing! 80s Collection (DSiWare)
Shoulder pads and mullets optional
DSiWare has seen some glorious titles since its launch, but for wannabe pop stars, there's been something missing. Stepping forward is DTP Entertainment, filling the void in the DSiWare catalogue with Just Sing! 80’s Collection. Time to get busy with the hairspray, dig out those old shoulder pads and return to...
Review Pro Jumper! Guilty Gear Tangent!? (DSiWare)
There is no tagline for a title like that
If you’ve never been confused by a video game’s title, now’s your chance! With all of its punctuation and absurdity, Pro Jumper! Guilty Gear Tangent!? is easily one of the most interesting titles on the DSiWare service. As the name suggests, this is a spin-off of the Guilty Gear series of fighting...
Review Stratego: Next Edition (DSiWare)
Stratego on the go
Ah, Stratego. A game with rules so simple you'll understand them fully the first time you play, and yet so open to strategy and cleverness that you'll never play the same game twice. With its fast setup and addictive play style, it's the kind of game you find yourself playing twenty rounds of when you only wanted to play one or...
Review Successfully Learning German: Year 2 (DSiWare)
Mein Name ist Freddy, ich bin ein Vampir
It seems that Tivola is keen to make the humble DSi the definitive language learning tool of the 21st Century. Perhaps that is an exaggeration, but Successfully Learning German: Year 2 has arrived to help young German speakers improve their language skills. Freddy the Vampire returns as the series mascot,...
Review Zimo: Mahjong Fanatic (DSiWare)
Nah-jong
Legend has told of a Mahjong game that would stand out above the rest. This game would be different, original, and would finally bring an end to the dull and lifeless Mahjong games of the past. This game would be unlike the usual Mahjong Solitaire games that have players simply matching pairs of tiles, but would instead be like the...
Turns out hell is actually pretty fun
Long, long ago, in a place no one remembers, a young maiden was praying to the heavens to bring back her lover, who had perished. All at once, she was surrounded by an infinite number of glittering crystal orbs. A voice from above called out to her, "...These crystal orbs hold the secret to your lover's...
Shutterbug fun, or shudder and run?
Two of today's most cherished timewasters are fun with photographs and hidden object puzzles, so it's a wonder that it's taken so long for someone to combine the two. Continuing on their recent trend of porting retail DS titles to downloadable DSiWare, Most Wanted and Subdued Games bring us Hidden Photo – but is...
Review Beach Party Craze (DSiWare)
Worth the day trip?
Though Diner Dash has yet to make an appearance on DSiWare, other publishers have stepped up to offer fans similar action on the platform. Alawar Entertainment is now bringing Beach Party Craze to the service, but is this PC port worth a download? The storyline in Beach Party Craze is simple, as you fill in for a friend as an...
Review Crazy Cheebo: Puzzle Party (DSiWare)
Just crazy enough to work
If there’s one thing that can certainly be said about DSiWare games, it’s this: no matter how ridiculous the name of your game is, it can be made. Proving this point with much gusto is Crazy Cheebo: Puzzle Party, the latest addition to the countless puzzle games already available on the service. But, beyond the title,...
A dream come true
We all know that there are plenty of puzzle games available on the DSiWare service, but every now and again one pops up that has just the right amount of charm to merit attention. Dreamwalker, the intriguing new puzzle game from Code Mystics, fits that description perfectly. From a silly concept to engaging and endearing visual and...
Puzzles rock
Cinemax has seen both highs and lows on DSiWare — its Rytmik games have proven to be excellent composition tools, but games like Snakenoid, a bizarre mix of Snake and Arkanoid have missed the mark. Puzzle Rocks is a puzzle game, but we're not quite sure it's really similar to anything else, except maybe Connect Four. It's one of very...
Review B Team - Episode 1: Dust & Steel (DSiWare)
Run and gun and not so fun
Run-’n-gun shooters usually wind up one of three ways: either they’re totally crazy awesome with intense action, really really boring, or rock-solid efforts that do no real wrong but regardless fail to spark much of anything in players. B Team - Episode 1: Dust & Steel is the heart-breaking latter kind of game. It...
Review House, M.D. - Episode 1: Globetrotting (DSiWare)
The doctor is out
Everyone’s favourite sharp-tongued, cane-wielding, drug-addicted TV doctor has finally arrived on DSiWare in House, M.D. – Globetrotting Episode 1. In this game it is your job to join the medical team at Princeton-Plainsboro Hospital and uncover the truth behind a mysterious ailment afflicting an elderly television host...
Review Successfully Learning English: Year 5 (DSiWare)
Saved by the bell…
Tivola’s campaign to help young DSi owners master the English language has reached its finale, with Successfully Learning English: Year 5 bringing the series to a close. It’s time to pack up your pencil cases, give the teacher a farewell gift – if you’re a gold-star student – and take your new English language skills...
Review Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (DSiWare)
All of the pieces fit
In many cases, the idea of combining two unlike video game genres into one game can be very off-putting. The result usually consists of clunky controls, confusing gameplay, overbearing tedium, or any combination of these factors. Sometimes, however, a game comes along that finds a way to balance out the genre differences and...
Blast or dud?
The shoot 'em up genre hasn't exactly seen a lot of love on the DSiWare service to date, but EnjoyUp! Games is looking to change that with the release of 99Bullets. While the basic core of the game does revolve around an old-school shooter premise, there's a unique twist that injects a very puzzle-like atmosphere into the mix. The...
