Game Reviews
Latest Reviews
Browse our collection of reviews.
Latest Reviews
Review: Onslaught (WiiWare)
Can Hudson really pull off an FPS game on WiiWare?
Japanese developers are not known for creating first person shooters. After all it is far from being a popular genre in the land of the rising sun. The few Japanese FPS games that spring to mind failed to compete with their Western counterparts. Considering the limitations of the WiiWare service, can Hudson succeed where so many other Japanese..
Review: Pop-Up Pirate! (WiiWare)
Pop-Up Pirate! - a barrel of fun or a total wash-out?
Many of us will remember Tomy’s successful ‘board’ game, Pop-Up Pirate, from our childhoods. Cautiously inserting mini-daggers into the pirate’s unsuspecting torso in an attempt to avoid murdering the poor one-eyed soul – that’s what being a kid is all about! Well, perhaps not, but it sure was an entertaining activity during heavy..
Review: LIT (WiiWare)
Is LIT a light in the dark or just running up the electricity bill?
Turn off the lights and grab your controller because it’s up to you to - erm - turn them back on. That’s the basic premise behind WayForward’s spooky puzzle game LIT. LIT puts you in the shoes of Jake, your regular pale-faced emo teenager, whose girlfriend is missing in a school that has become overrun with a mysterious..
Review: Snowboard Riot (WiiWare)
Is Hudson's Snowboard Riot a riot to play, or just a wipe-out?
There's no denying that Hudson is one of the more talented developers on WiiWare. All of their games to date have done much to impress and show other devs how it’s done. In Snowboard Riot they have turned their hand to creating a racing game with the added bonus that you can use items to get revenge on fellow boarders. The question..
Review: Pop Them, Drop Them SameGame (WiiWare)
Is Hudson’s puzzler a worthy purchase or just more of the same?
SameGame is a bit of an unusual one. It was first created way back in 1985, but was never really all that popular. Nevertheless, it went on to spawn a large number of clones and remakes over the years, with Hudson’s effort being the latest.The basic concept of SameGame is quite simple. You are presented with a large grid filled..
Review: High Voltage Hot Rod Show (WiiWare)
Will this highly anticipated WiiWare racer take pole position, or will it merely drive us to distraction?
High Voltage Hot Rod Show is all about taking control of large trucks and racing them against each other, which is all well and good. However, because of certain game design choices, the trucks themselves handle more like a cross between an R/C car and a skateboard. In real life, not too many..
Review: Family Glide Hockey (WiiWare)
Does Family Glide Hockey capture the fun and excitement of a real air hockey game?
Let's face it, there are some recreational games that lend themselves perfectly to the Wii Remote's motion controls. We've already seen such games as billiards, miniature golf, and even a table tennis release make use of these motion sensing capabilities with varying degrees of success. So how is it possible to take..
Review: Lonpos (WiiWare)
Does this WiiWare puzzler have what it takes to stand out from the crowd?
Having been available since WiiWare launched in Japan, Lonpos' Western release has been a long time coming. The game itself has been adapted from a popular logic puzzle game of the same name. The question, of course, is how well does it fare against the many puzzle titles already on WiiWare?At its core, Lonpos is a pretty..
Review: Jungle Speed (WiiWare)
How does this unique card game of quick thinking and reflexes translate to WiiWare?
For those of you out there who aren't familiar with it, Jungle Speed is a unique card game that's recently become quite popular among card game fans. It’s essentially one of the "first one to get rid of all their cards" style and not only requires the players to be very observant, but also to have fast..
Review: Planet Pachinko (WiiWare)
Can you really ever have too much of a good thing?
You have to admit, a shooting/platforming game that takes place inside of a Japanese pachinko machine is indeed an original concept. Not only do you get all of the chaotic action of the pachinko balls dropping down through the various pegs in each level, but you find yourself smack dab in the middle of it all, armed to the teeth with just about..
Review: Sandy Beach (WiiWare)
Hopefully that’s just sand in your pants and not crabs…
Konami is well known in the gaming world and is a much larger game company than the typical WiiWare studio. With their resources, a simple budget title should be something they could throw together in a weekend. Unfortunately, Sandy Beach (developed by Frozen Codebase and published by Konami) looks and feels exactly like a game that was..
Review: Tiki Towers (WiiWare)
Will Tiki Towers build Wiiware to new heights or crash under its own weight?
Some might see this jungle themed construction game as a bit of a cash in on the success of World of Goo. After all, both games command you to get from point A to point B by building a structure. However, this is where the similarities end. For starters, the structures are more conventional here and resemble traditional..
Review: Fun! Fun! Minigolf (WiiWare)
So much fun they named it twice, but it is really up to par?
Wii Sports golf - which, lest we forget, comes bundled for free with the Wii console - offers a taste of what playing golf with a Wii Remote can be like. However, with only nine holes and a clunky putting mechanism that can often feel inaccurate, the game is just not satisfying enough to capture the hearts and minds of hardcore putters..
Review: Niki - Rock 'n' Ball (WiiWare)
Is Bplus on the ball with Niki or will it leave you rolling your eyes?
Bplus’ second offering hopes to breathe some life into the action-platform genre. Niki Rock'n' Ball's premise is very simple: taking the role of the titular Niki, the player is thrown into 2D platform stages in which the goal is to defeat every enemy and collect each of the 6 ZeLeLi pearls. Being a ball, Niki carries out these..
Review: Big Kahuna Party (WiiWare)
Is WiiWare puzzler Big Kahuna Party a beach party or a shipwreck?
Big Kahuna Party is a "match-three" game in the style of Bejeweled. This style of play has been around for a while now and there is not much left to add to the genre, though this doesn’t mean there isn’t room in your collection for a fun variation on the theme. So is Big Kahuna Party worth a try? To its credit, Big..
Review: Strong Bad Episode 5 - 8-Bit is Enough (WiiWare)
Strong Bad goes 8-bit in the final installment of the SBCG4AP series
Dry those tears, folks - it’s finally time for the last episode of Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People! Surely they’ve saved the best for last?At the very least, they do tie up some loose ends. For example, we’ve seen a broken Trogdor arcade cabinet in the last four episodes, which finally comes into play when..
Review: Bruiser & Scratch (WiiWare)
Does Steel Penny Games debut WiiWare puzzler have that Naughty Dog magic?
It seems only natural that a game being developed by former members of such an accomplished developer as Naughty Dog would garner some serious hype when it's announced. While it's always nice for a developer to get some type of recognition ahead of time, it can also prove to be a double-edged sword when it comes time to judge..
Review: Hockey Allstar Shootout (WiiWare)
Nevermind hitting the post, this "allstar" barely makes it onto the rink
It's easy to see why hockey fans will feverishly download Hockey Allstar Shootout. The only alternatives for Wii-toting rink rats are a half-baked port and a few crude NES classics that you had to play back in the day to appreciate now (Blades of Steel and Ice Hockey, in case you were wondering). So, you have to sympathize..
Review: Bang Attack (WiiWare)
Will Engine Software’s WiiWare debut give you much bang for your buck?
Bang Attack is a puzzle game involving hammers, fruit and other random objects. The concept is very simple. Your screen is loaded with refilling objects: fruit on the first level, seaside objects on the second level, etc. To clear the objects from the screen you must “hammer them” by pointing at them and pressing the..
Review: Pit Crew Panic! (WiiWare)
Is Hudson's crazy pit crew game a hit or is it the just the pits?
Pit Crew Panic! marks the sixth WiiWare release from Hudson and easily their most unique release to date. While the title of the game would lead you to believe that you're in for a little auto racing pit crew action, you'll quickly find that you're in for a very different pit crew experience altogether. Instead of whipping tires on..
