Game Reviews
Latest Reviews
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Latest Reviews
Review: You, Me, and the Cubes (WiiWare)
Are these cubes worthy of Rubik, or just rubes?
Anticipation for this title has been somewhat high 'round these parts, thanks to some excellent first impressions by our own Sean Aaron. The only question was whether or not we would ever get our hands on it, but as of this week, we have. And so should you. Brainchild of the mad genius Kenji Eno, You, Me, and the Cubes is a game of balance and..
Review: Family Tennis (WiiWare)
By downloading this game, you agree to get served
One of the very first Wiiware games was also the first in Aksys’ “Family” series: Family Table Tennis. We gave it a fairly generous 5/10 score considering we labeled it “outclassed,” “hard to recommend” and even “un-loseable.” Well, it seems that someone at Aksys was paying attention as nearly all of our criticisms have been..
Review: Learning with the PooYoos - Episode 1 (WiiWare)
Who said gaming was just for big kids?
Children’s games and WiiWare – a coupling that hasn’t really been explored. Well, that was the case until Lexis Numérique released Learning With the PooYoos Episode 1 on the WiiWare service. Designed for children between the ages of 3-6, this game set out to captivate the minds of the youngest gamers, but did it succeed? The first thing that struck us..
Review: Magnetis (WiiWare)
A magnetic arcade experience with plenty of attraction.
Whilst it seems that there is a surfeit of puzzle games on Nintendo's WiiWare service it has to be said that their overall quality goes a long way to making their numeracy forgivable. Magnetis is developer Yullaby's first offering on WiiWare and definitely deserves a place in the list of worthwhile puzzlers for the Wii. Falling block games..
Review: Mart Racer (WiiWare)
Will you have the patience to shop till you drop?
Kart racing has a long and illustrious history on Nintendo consoles. Now replace “Karts” with “shopping carts” and “racing” with “be the first to complete a tedious task” and you have Mart Racer, arguably the most unsatisfying racing game on WiiWare. Mixing the usual suspects of clumsy controls and ugly graphics with a classic..
Review: Spaceball: Revolution (WiiWare)
Balls in Spaaaaaace!
The primary attraction of the arcade puzzle game is the immediacy of the arcade experience. Unlike a game like sudoku or a crossword, there's no taking time to figure out what to do next, you simply play out the game reacting to events and aim for the highest score possible. Of course the key to a good arcade puzzle game is having a solid play mechanic and good controls;..
Review: Contra ReBirth (WiiWare)
Still separating the men from the boys.
The Contra series has always been one of gaming's greats: incredibly simple yet fun gameplay, top-notch design, and of course, what the games are most known for, a hard-as-nails difficulty level. After multiple failed attempts to create a good 3D Contra game, the DS recently got a brilliant new 2D entry that, surprisingly, wasn't developed by series creator..
Review: Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 2 (WiiWare)
Guybrush continues his piratey misadventures
It's almost pointless reviewing this second chapter in the Tales of Monkey Island story - you should absolutely not play it unless you've played the first, because it continues where that left off, meaning you will be missing potentially vital plot information. If you've already played the first and liked it, then you should already know what to expect..
Review: Texas Hold'em Poker (WiiWare)
Can't read my, can't read my poker face, p-p-poker face!
Apologies to Lady Gaga (well, actually to everyone reading this who may have heard that song and will now have it stuck in their heads), but you will be wondering exactly that after playing any amount of the latest Texas Hold 'em game from Gameloft. Before going further it's important to emphasise that Texas Hold'em Poker is a one trick pony:..
Review: Mr. Driller W (WiiWare)
Drill, baby, drill!
That Mr. Driller W would be among the better puzzle games on the WiiWare service was somewhat of a given. It's a close relation to Dig Dug - a classic arcade series if there ever was one - and its own line of releases spans more consoles than you might have known existed. Mr. Driller has a long, rich and well-established history, and if you haven't been a part of it yet, there's..
Review: Arkanoid Plus! (WiiWare)
Another breakthrough for Taito?
Taito's doing a fine job reviving its classic franchise on WiiWare - Space Invaders was revived with a completely different, fun gameplay style, while three games from the Bubble Bobble series all got decent to great remakes. This one's more like the Bubble Bobble games, in that it's a straight-up remake of the original arcade game, Arkanoid. Like the previous..
Review: PictureBook Games: Pop-Up Pursuit (WiiWare)
Feeling board? You will be!
If there's one thing WiiWare spotlights so well, it's the beauty of simplicity. Many of its best releases (World of Goo, Toki Tori, Art Style: Orbient) are deceptively deep showcases for simple - yet addictive - concepts. PictureBook Games: Pop-Up Pursuit, however, reminds us all that simplicity without a strong central concept is just downright limiting.Pop-Up..
Review: 3-2-1, Rattle Battle! (WiiWare)
Will this party game keep everyone entertained, or will it just tire you out?
Another minigame collection - as if the Wii isn't already overflowing with them! When done right, they can be quite entertaining, but Tecmo seems to have missed the whole point of the "minigame" concept by... well, by not offering a lot, really. This game only includes twelve minigames, some of which are..
Review: Family Slot Car Racing (WiiWare)
Slot car racing fun for the whole family...or is it?
Arc System Works is clearly enjoying some success with the "Family" series of games because they just keep on putting them out. Considering what real life slot-car racing is all about a video game version could offer some improvements, so is it possible that this game is worthwhile?Americans who were children enticed by Tyco adverts in..
Review: Rock N' Roll Climber (WiiWare)
Does this rock climbing simulation really rock?
When word came down that Giles Goddard, the man who had a hand in creating such legendary game titles as Starfox and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was creating a WiiWare title, speculation began growing as to what type of game it could actually be. So to say it was shocking when it was announced that the game was a rock climbing simulation..
Review: OVERTURN (WiiWare)
WiiWare's first Mech-based fighting game enters the arena, but is it a champ or a chump?
WiiWare is very sparse when it comes to games that feature massive, hulking robots battling it out in an enclosed arena. Studio Zan therefore don't have to face much competition in the genre, so with that in mind let's delve into this game and see if they've taken the time to make this one worth owning. Upon..
Review: Sexy Poker (WiiWare)
Put on your Wii gloves…
Filling the hole in Wiiware’s library of card games is Gameloft’s Sexy Poker, the self-proclaimed “first sexy poker game on the Wii.” It certainly is unique, but has Gameloft dealt their latest offering a winning hand? The first thing that must be said about Sexy Poker is that this is an M-rated game. For many of us this means we’ll finally get a chance to put..
Review: Driift Mania (WiiWare)
Super Sprint and Super Off-Road had a baby and it's soooo cute!
If you were a gamer in the mid-late 80s you'll probably remember a couple of arcade games called Super Sprint and Ivan "Ironman" Stewart's Super Off-Road, both of which gave 1-3 players the chance to compete in a series of races against human or computer-controlled opponents seen from a 3rd-person view, resembling a..
Review: HB Arcade Cards (WiiWare)
You know what this game of Rummy needs? Gin. And lots of it.
HB Arcade Cards has one thing working for it, and three things working against it. Let’s start with the good news: it’s six great games for one low price, but you don’t need to read a review to tell you that. So now on with the bad news.The first problem the game has is that there is no multiplayer function. Of course, the lack of..
Review: The Three Musketeers: One For All! (WiiWare)
This week, Alexandre Dumas makes his WiiWare debut. Next week: Crime and Punishment Party!
When it was first announced, The Three Musketeers: One For All! was the subject of much anticipation on the part of the WiiWare community, simply because it belonged a mysteriously under-represented genre: the action platformer. This earned it a lot of attention, but does it live up to its own hype?The..
