Wii U eShop Game Reviews
Review Crash 'n the Boys: Street Challenge (Wii U eShop / NES)
Crashing with the boys
After another success at the track-meet Crash and the Boys from Southside High are issued a street challenge by a jealous rival; now they and teams from four other schools compete in a series of no-holds barred sporting events to find who really is the greatest. Crash ‘n the Boys: Street Challenge differs from other sporting...
Review Alphadia Genesis (Wii U eShop)
Alphadia Generic
Like every other game genre, there's no one set of generally agreed-upon rules for what makes a Japanese RPG good. Some people simply can't stand turn-based gameplay, feeling it's an obsolete relic of an era gone past; others get misty-eyed with nostalgia and/or prefer its more deliberate pacing. Then there are gamers who debate...
Review Snake Den (Wii U eShop)
Snake? Snake?! SNAAAAAAAAAKE!
When revisiting a well-worn concept, it's important to bring something new to the table. After all, we've reached a point in the gaming industry where certain genres — first-person shooter, platformer and adventure, just to name a few — have been pioneered and perfected over the years by generations of developers...
Review Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! (Wii U eShop / SNES)
Donkey wish your girlfriend was Kong like me?
Having stunned audiences with Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest, Rare had an awful lot to live up to on the final entry of the original Donkey Kong Country trilogy. Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble! sees the titular hero take centre stage after being second to the delightful...
Review Thomas Was Alone (Wii U eShop)
Simple brilliance
We're in the middle of one of the most diverse, intriguing periods in video game history. The rise of download games, small 'indie' developers and stores like the Wii U eShop have shifted how we think about content; we're a long way from the retail-only culture of the '90s or even early 2000s. One modern trend is for low-fi...
Review Natsume Championship Wrestling (Wii U eShop / SNES)
Tapped out
Let's be honest here: wrestling is essentially one big television drama, and that's no way an attempt to belittle the incredible athleticism of the men and women involved. It's Eastenders with a mullet and tight pants, complete with plot twists and a cast of larger than life characters to root for. These heels and faces are the reason we...
Review Sportsball (Wii U eShop)
No harm, no fowl
Nintendo has been highlighting TOO DX's Sportsball at various shows and conferences as one of several particularly strong "indie games" available on the Wii U eShop, promoting it as a quality party game. Though at first it looks like a primitive, simplistic Joust clone, its charms quickly become apparent with fast-paced gameplay and...
X-cruciating
In the world of platformers, the name of the game is control. That is to say, nothing speaks to a platform game's quality quite like the level of control the player feels they have over their character. Of course, control alone does not guarantee a successful product — creative level design that makes intuitive use of the mechanics is...
Review Mario Kart Super Circuit (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Good for another lap
When the Nintendo 64 hit the market and suggested that 2D games had gone the way of the dodo, many of us that were fond of fancy sprite-work were forced to dust off elderly hardware to scratch our itch for the classic genres we held dear — until the Game Boy Advance came along, that is. Often reflected upon as the second...
Review Shuttle Rush (Wii U eShop)
Breath and taxes
Sometimes a game comes at you and everything seems fully as you expect… almost. It looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck. It’s definitely a duck. But then it moos a little and you’re forced to take a step back. That’s Shuttle Rush. General gameplay here is very straightforward: this is a...
Review PING 1.5+ (Wii U eShop)
All over the place
Ping 1.5+ is a puzzle game that’s all about aiming and shooting a tiny white cube at a circular orange target. Of course that’s easier said than done, as you’ll need to judge the right angle, bank the cube off walls, and avoid colliding with obstacles to reach the target within the indicated number of bounces and/or moves...
Above the fold
Development studio Nyamyam prides itself on being founded with the primary purpose of making games that are fun and meaningful. This is a company that openly states that through great love and attention, it strives to create beautifully crafted games that bring a little magic into people’s lives. This is a small band of Rare alumni...
Review Angry Bunnies: Colossal Carrot Crusade (Wii U eShop)
Colossal Clone Catastrophe
More and more cheap titles on the Wii U eShop are being released with amateurish production and design, and Cypronia's Angry Bunnies: Colossal Carrot Crusade is only a half-step up. A port of a 3DS Angry Birds clone, Colossal Carrot Crusade contains the exact content of its 3DS counterpart, but with added online...
Review The Swapper (Wii U eShop)
A clone in the dark?
With the Wii U eShop’s recent flurry of sci-fi titles such as Master Reboot and The Fall finding a home on the digital service, what does it take for yet another game set in space to stand out from the crowd? Puzzles. Yep, but not just any old puzzles — spatial physics-based conundrums that’ll give your brain a thorough...
Review SDK Paint (Wii U eShop)
Just OK Paint
SDK Paint has an interesting history. Its developer, Hullbreach Studios, began making JavaScript applications for Wii, Nintendo DSi, and Nintendo 3DS using their respective Internet browsers. These include both the initial versions of SDK Paint — DSi Paint and 3DS Paint — as well as a full-fledged browser-based MMORPG called...
Review Chests O' Booty (Wii U eShop)
Pieces of 2048
You can hardly swing a stylus without hitting a match-three game on the 3DS eShop these days, but so far the relentless tide of phoned-in puzzlers has mostly sidestepped the Wii U’s digital storefront. And while Chests O’ Booty might at first look like a pirate-themed take on more of the same, it’s actually a surprisingly unique...
Review Costume Quest 2 (Wii U eShop)
Fine, but not double fine
As RPGs go, the original Costume Quest was never a particularly complex affair. The same thing can be said about its sequel, Costume Quest 2, which takes the two trouble-seeking children into another Halloween adventure, but this time in different periods of recent history. You control Wren and Reynold, two marginally...
Review Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (Wii U eShop / GBA)
The best for last?
Konami's Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow is the third and final Castlevania title for the GBA, and arguably the strongest. A departure from the typical period drama involving the extended and ever-complicated Belmont clan, Aria of Sorrow introduces new characters and mythology into the series while also building on what has made...
Review Flapp & Zegeta (Wii U eShop)
What the Flapp?
On Denysoft's official website, Flapp & Zegeta comes with a disclaimer reproduced here verbatim: "Warning: this may be one of the most challenging games of all times it may require a high level of intelligence and reflexes to get through." Rest assured, Flapp & Zegeta is challenging. In fact, it probably does meet its lofty...
Review Rock Zombie (Wii U eShop)
B movie beat 'em up
It's always a pleasant surprise when a game surpasses your expectations. Suffice it to say, this reviewer's expectations were modest going into Rock Zombie — the goofy synthesized guitars, expressionless character models and mangled English dialogue all seemed to lead in one direction: pain. But you can't go into every game...
Review Falling Skies: The Game (Wii U eShop)
Falling to pieces
Video games have relied on the standard 'alien invasion' plot since the very beginning. It takes a unique twist to make it work in this day and age, whether it's a new gameplay style or a refreshingly original storyline, and that isn't an easy task. Falling Skies: The Game takes fun, tactical gameplay and blends it with the...
Review Pixel Paint (Wii U eShop)
Almost pixel-perfect
Let’s face it: at some point, every gamer has been caught off guard by the alluring retro beauty of pixel art. Say what you will about its overuse in today’s onslaught of independent games — chances are you still love it. There’s something majestic about the way tens, hundreds, or thousands of tiny dots come together to...
Review Tetrobot & Co (Wii U eShop)
Acute brain-bending pleasure
Many puzzle games – particularly on mobile devices – can be argued as being insultingly easy or too mind-numbingly obtuse to even be comprehended by human minds. Luckily *Tetrobot & Co. doesn’t fit into either of these categories. The story of this game revolves around an intelligent young lady who spends her...
Review Pier Solar and the Great Architects (Wii U eShop)
Build me up and tear me down
While playing Pier Solar and the Great Architects, it’s important to consider what a labour of love the title really is. With origins as a Sega CD homebrew project from the now-defunct Sega fansite Eidolon’s Inn, it was originally meant to star members of that website’s "Tavern" message board before evolving into a...
Review My Style Studio: Hair Salon (Wii U eShop)
Bad hair day
In the grand scheme of things, hairdressers can seem pretty insignificant, but deep down they hold the secret, terrible capacity to utterly ruin your entire week. You put your faith into them and trust that they know what they're doing, or else just one bad haircut will stick with you for a month. If a new generation of these stylistic...
Review Demon's Crest (Wii U eShop / SNES)
Fire-grand
Fans of the Ghosts 'n Goblins series should be familiar with the rather annoying little demon Firebrand; he would be the main reason Arthur would spend his time walking around the many levels of the games in his underwear. Capcom obviously thought enough of the guy to give him a series of his own, which began life on the Game Boy systems...
Review Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (Wii U eShop / GBA)
A perfect harmony?
The Wii U eShop is becoming an embarrassment of riches, with a robust library of indie titles complemented by a growing lineup of strong Virtual Console games. Konami's Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance is the second of three Castlevania titles released on the Game Boy Advance, and while it controls and plays similarly to its...
Review Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (Wii U eShop / SNES)
The ape escape
Rare managed to do something incredible with Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong-Quest; it took the well refined gameplay and style of the first Donkey Kong Country game and made it even better. This second entry in the series features gameplay almost identical to its predecessor’s, but this time everything’s been streamlined...
Review Lone Survivor: The Director's Cut (Wii U eShop)
Where is your mind?
Lone Survivor:The Director's Cut seems to have arrived on the Wii U eShop as a sudden apparition; creeping unnaturally under the radar during a slew of indie title announcements that emerged from E3 this year. Now, Jasper Byrne's twisted horror is ready to infect your mind just in time for the Halloween season, and it will not go...
Review Stealth Inc 2: A Game of Clones (Wii U eShop)
A sneaky classic
Stealth Inc: A Clone in the Dark was — after a name change from its risqué PC début — a well-received puzzle platformer on various platforms. Its simple but cute aesthetic was matched by some lovely level design, making it a surprise when Stealth Inc 2: A Game of Clones was announced as a Wii U exclusive by Curve Studios,...
