Wii Game Reviews
Review Star Trek: Conquest (Wii)
It's time to boldly go where no man has gone before...
Back in the olden days (the nineties) there were a plethora of game choices for Star Trek fans. Most notable for fans of strategy games were Birth of the Federation and Star Trek: Armada. These games were essentially clones of earlier, better games. But they were redesigned with a Star Trek...
Go on, be a sport!
Following quickly after Hudson's Job Island is the sequel to last year’s Deca Sports imaginatively titled Deca Sports 2 (Sports Island 2 in Europe). The follow up is instantly recognisable and extremely similar to the original game with the same visual style but with ten new sports to play. If you haven't heard much of the first...
Does Namco's Klonoa remake manage to capture the magic of the original Playstation release?
Before true 3D platformers became all the rage, 2.5D platformers began showing up on Sony's Playstation console during the 32-bit era. These games featured 3D visuals, but kept the player on a 2D pathway through the game. This would allow developers the...
Review NASCAR Kart Racing (Wii)
Can NASCAR Kart Racing raise the bar previously set by Mario Kart Wii?
Mario Kart Wii has been on the market for over a year now and is regarded by many as the best racer on the platform. Due to its success it’s no surprise that some developers have tried to make their own clone of the game. While many of those clones have ended up pitifully,...
Ten sports in one - too good to be true?
Wii Sports has become a huge success for Nintendo: chances are if you’ve played a Wii, you’ve played Wii Sports, and it even wins our coveted Wii Game Most Likely to be Played at Parties Award. The easy-to-play multiplayer title is enjoyed by all demographics, and after a few quick matches, gamers and...
Review Excitebots: Trick Racing (Wii)
Excitebots is everything a great sequel should be - and then some!
When Excite Truck launched alongside the Nintendo Wii console it was the perfect showpiece for showing off the Wii console's motion controls while still providing a true arcade racing experience for gamers to sink their teeth into. While the game lacked the real-life physics and game...
Review Job Island: Hard Working People (Wii)
In the words of Sir Alan, You're hired!
After Hudson’s relative success with Sports Island, last June, comes the first of two new titles; Job Island: Hard Working People and Sports Island 2. Job Island (aka Help Wanted) has to be one of the most bizarre ideas for a mini-games title yet, working! Job Island has 3 main game modes: Employment office,...
Review Little King's Story (Wii)
Fit for a King!
We've all dreamed of being King or Queen of our own miniature Kingdom: sat upon our thrones, dishing out orders from on high, pleasing our loyal subjects and amassing loads and loads of money. Sadly, for anyone other than the bosses of Nintendo Life, this is destined never to come true, but don't despair, regal wannabes! Little...
Crashed and burned…
CID The Dummy from Oxygen Games is an action platformer that was released earlier in the year on Sony's PSP. The hero is a crash test dummy, CID, given special powers by inventor "Professor B.M. Werken" to go on a mission to save his apparently very beautiful daughter. From the outset the very idea of the game feels...
Review Pokémon Battle Revolution (Wii)
There’s a lack of evolution in this revolution.
Pokémon Battle Revolution was first announced back in June of 2006, and it sounded as though it was going to be the ideal console Pokémon game: destructible environments, Wii-DS connectivity, online battling – everything we wanted from the franchise. Satoru Iwata lived up to his promise of...
Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube765k Watch on YouTube Review Samurai Shodown Anthology (Wii)
Victoly!
You certainly can’t accuse SNK Playmore of ignoring its past. Recently we’ve been blessed with the retro-themed duo of King of Fighters Collection and SNK Arcade Classics, and the Japanese veteran is now following up with yet another compilation of top-notch vintage action. Samurai Shodown Anthology contains six slices of weapon-based...
Review Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time (Wii)
Can the Wii version echo the quality of the DS game it spawned from?
It’s not every day that you hear about a game being ported from console to handheld, let alone the other way around. That’s why when Square Enix announced their plans to do this with Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time many started scratching their heads. For...
Can Captain Rainbow save the day in this quirky action title?
Let's face it; whenever Nintendo announces a new project, we all grow a little skeptical. With Nintendo creating games that are more accessible and aimed at casual gamers, hardcore types end up feeling more and more sidelined. It's for this reason that when Nintendo of Japan announced in...
Is this the definitive version of Trivial Pursuit or does it raise too many questions?
Let’s face it: with the wider and more diverse spectrum of gamers that the console is now catering for, the Wii isn’t short of party-type games. We’ve seen countless conversions of popular board games springing up throughout the Wii’s life so far – many...
Review Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (Wii)
Does Guitar Hero: Aerosmith live up to the standards set by other Guitar Hero games?
After the huge amount of attention Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock received after its launch, it’s definitely no surprise that there was going to be a Guitar Hero IV. The most recent installment in the popular Guitar Hero series will not only utilize a guitar,...
Review Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon (Wii)
A fun spin-off in the highly acclaimed Final Fantasy series
When you think of Wii, you may think of very vibrant family friendly games – games that are very easy to pick up and play, as well as those that have little or no challenge. In other words, games that appeal to non-gamers more so than the hardcore veterans. Though Wii holds host to some...
Can the Dokapon Kingdom host a party for all ages?
In general, the Wii isn’t well-known for epic role-playing titles, nor is it famous for hardcore games. Though gamers are having fun playing Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, there hasn't been very much to quench gamer's thirst for RPG's. While Japanese Wii owners are getting a several...
Review Rygar: The Battle of Argus (Wii)
Tecmo's legendary warrior returns for another outing, but is this more than just a re-heated port?
Back in May of 2007, Tecmo stated that it had plans to port Rygar: The Legendary Adventure (a seven year-old PS2 game) to the Wii. Predictably, many gamers were very vocal with their opinion of this move. For starters, why would they want to port such...
The Sims franchise enters the animal kingdom
The forest is tranquil. The birds are flying peacefully in the sky and the bears are patrolling the ground. Swans swim swiftly downstream and rabbits hop around in the meadow. What could possibly go wrong in a paradise like this? But wait, the predator levels are increasing in the area, outnumbering its...
Get fit the Nintendo way!
Wii Fit isn't the first fitness application made for video game consoles, but it's unquestionably the biggest selling one. It's Exhibit A in Nintendo's case for the business logic behind expanding the gaming market and the message has been heard loud and clear. Much of the success must be down to the fact that the...
Review SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 (Wii)
One of the arcade world's most respected brands touches down on Wii with a 16-hit combo of a collection
Back when it was first released in the early ‘90s SNK’s Neo-Geo Advanced Entertainment System (or AES for short) was the undisputed Rolls Royce of video game consoles. Because the Japanese firm had decided to base the machine on the exact same...
Review Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars - The Director’s Cut (Wii)
The Broken Sword murder mystery adventure comes to Wii, but is this the definitive version?
It is with some fond memories that we review Broken Sword: The Director's Cut on the Wii. The original game proved to be a thoroughly enjoyable mystery adventure, with a tantalizing storyline, memorable characters and logical puzzles. This new release is more...
Battalion Wars advances onto the Wii…
Calling the first Battalion Wars an anti-climatic experience wouldn’t be too far off the mark: the spin-off from the highly acclaimed Advance Wars series was expected to be a smash hit success. Unfortunately, the distinct lack of tactical depth brought the game short of the mark in many people's eyes...
Creating your own city isn't nearly as fun as it sounds.
When the Virtual Console launched alongside the Wii in November 2006, SimCity was the flagship title for the SNES. Though the graphical limitations of the SNES resulted in a rather dated experience, the core gameplay held strong and the game managed to show newcomers to the franchise that it...
Review Wario Land: Shake It! (Wii)
Shake, shake, shake!
Over the past decade, Wario's platforming adventures have been drastically reduced in order to make way for his journey into the party genre with the much-loved WarioWare franchise. Though many enjoyed these party games, they never came close to achieving the same feeling created by the Wario platform games. When Wario Land:...
Review Ready 2 Rumble: Revolution (Wii)
Is Ready 2 Rumble Revolution capable of getting this brawl started?
Not all games are meant to be great, nor are they supposed to be blockbuster hits in terms of sales. With Ready 2 Rumble Revolution, it's obviously that the developers had high hopes - this is, after all, a sequel to one of the best-selling Sega Dreamcast games - but by toying with...
Review Marble Saga: Kororinpa (Wii)
Marble Saga proves that messing with a successful formula can sometimes end up doing more harm than good
The original Marble Mania took the simple idea of rolling a marble around a maze-like level and combined it with the innovative control of the Wii Remote to form one of the most unique and charming third-party Wii releases. The game had this...
His interests include drinking, women, cigarettes and cigars - but not necessarily in that order.
Ever since we saw the first batch of screenshots for MadWorld we've been intrigued by its overwhelming style. Clearly influenced by the dark ink of graphic novels such as Frank Miller's Sin City, MadWorld is presented in supremely pretty ultra...
Review Donkey Kong Barrel Blast (Wii)
Is Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast really a blast to play?
Originally a Nintendo Gamcube title, Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast quietly got moved to Wii in late 2006. When Barrel Blast was first announced, it was supposed to use the DK bongo drum accessory. By hitting the left bongo, your character would move right and by hitting the right bongo, your character...
Review Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars (Wii)
Is this mushroom based platformer so good that it will leave you wanting spore?
The humble mushroom seems like an unlikely protagonist to take the lead in a videogame, but our hero Pax is no ordinary fungus. He seems to have somehow gained the ability to absorb precious meteorites, much to his mushroom tribe’s dismay as they keep the giant moles...
