Retro Reviews
Safe, but solid
We've seen a wide variety of shoot 'em ups on the DSiWare service, some obviously better than others. Galaxy Saver is the newest entry and takes quite a few influences from early arcade shooters, while tossing in a few twists in an effort to make the experience stand out. So while there might not be a lot of originality when it comes...
Review Shock Troopers 2nd Squad (Wii Virtual Console / Neo Geo)
Trigger happy
Much like the original Shock Troopers game, 2nd Squad is very much inspired by the early days of arcade gaming, when overhead run-and-gun titles like Capcom's Commando were in vogue. While the game has a very Metal Slug feel to it, the multi-directional scrolling and 360 degree movement and firing make for quite an intense and engaging...
Review Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?! (DS)
I'm ready for you now Brad
Back in March 2012 fans of the cult TV series Adventure Time rejoiced around the world, as series creator Pendleton Ward announced via a doodle on his Twitter page that WayForward Technologies and D3 Publisher would be working on a video game adaptation for the DS and 3DS, the absurdly named Adventure Time: Hey Ice King!...
Review World Heroes 2 (Wii Virtual Console / Neo Geo)
Global gathering
ADK’s World Heroes series is one of the Neo Geo’s lesser-known fighting dynasties, and is usually pushed to one side when people get all nostalgic about the likes of King of Fighters, Art of Fighting, Samurai Shodown and Fatal Fury. This is probably because the franchise never really took itself all that seriously; the cast was...
Review Snowboard Xtreme (DSiWare)
Xtremely lacklustre
Sometimes a game company develops a game that doesn’t turn out to be nearly as well received as they expect it to be. After that, the very same game company will sometimes take that sorry excuse for a game, change the theme, fix the controls, re-skin it to look like something different, and then release it as an entirely new...
Review Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (3DS eShop / NES)
Lost levels = lost sanity
It's a story so well known now that we'll just summarise it for you: what is now known as Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels was actually released in Japan as the sequel to enduring classic Super Mario Bros. Western gamers instead received the subconscious vegetable buffet that we more traditionally think of as Super Mario...
Review Jump Trials Extreme (DSiWare)
Aiming higher
It's only been a little over a month since G-STYLE's Jump Trials hopped onto the DSiWare service, but its sequel Jump Trials Extreme has already made the long leap over from Japan. Like 10 Second Run, the Jump Trials games are all about performing daring feats of platforming in under 10 seconds. We thought the original was an enjoyable...
Review Goooooal América (DSiWare)
New World, old game
For all the emphatic 'o's in its title's iconic interjection, Goooooal América is not a game about football. Nor is it a foosball game, as you might think. If you happen to have owned a certain toy as a child, however, you'll recognize the game's inspiration right off the bat. It's based on a particular small-scale...
Review Vampire Crystals (WiiWare)
Vampires, they don’t always suck
One fact that we all need to face is that fast-paced and frantic video games will never go out of style. Whether they’re classics being played on an arcade cabinet or new entries on a home console, intense action coupled with multiplayer mayhem can be downright addictive. Another fact that we all need to face is...
Review Cake Ninja XMAS (DSiWare)
Christmas is cancelled
Long time readers of Nintendo Life will be acutely aware of the fact that we’re not the biggest fans of Cypronia’s Cake Ninja series. The two titles released so far have both received scathing critiques from our staff, which is why we approached this festive edition with a fair degree of trepidation. As the title plainly...
Review Rytmik World Music (DSiWare)
Bring the beat back
Cinemax has cooked up a number of flavours of its Rytmik music production suite, allowing the musically-minded playgrounds with which to explore dance, chip tunes, hip hop, rock and now world music. Rytmik World Music is a fun little musical tool tha
Review Anonymous Notes Chapter 3 - From The Abyss (DSiWare)
Return of the Abyss
Things have been quiet on the Anonymous Notes front — after a year and a half the series returns for a hat trick with Anonymous Notes Chapter 3 - From The Abyss. Not much has changed in that time, really: save for a new protagonist, Chapter 3 is still the same mechanically sound and somewhat aimless dungeon crawler as Chapter 2...
Review Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two (Wii)
Golly gosh, Mickey
When Disney Epic Mickey arrived on Wii in time for the Holiday season in 2010, it attracted a lot of attention due to its concept and the development leadership of Warren Spector, one of the industry's most respected figures. Its relatively late arrival in the system's lifespan meant it pushed attractive visuals "for a Wii game",...
Review Castle Conqueror - Heroes 2 (DSiWare)
Another heroic effort
Just over one year ago CIRCLE released Castle Conqueror - Heroes for DSiWare. We weren't stingy with the praise in our review, awarding it a solid 9 out of 10 and holding it up as the strongest title in a very strong series. Now we've received a sequel, and we couldn't be happier. For those who haven't played the first game,...
There is no eskape
If you haven’t noticed by now, then we’re just going to have to come right out and say it: zombies are popular. There’s no real way to trace the resurgence that zombies have had in popular culture, but it doesn’t seem to be slowing down. That being the case, there have been a whole lot of video games featuring zombies in...
Review Wizard Defenders (DSiWare)
We have but a fool's hope
On the surface, Wizard Defenders seems like a promising blend of match-3 puzzling and tower defence; in its best moments it's a concept that works well. Unfortunately these moments are rare, and despite its budget price this title lacks the magic to make a gamer happy. This is a good example of a reasonable idea being...
Review Real Bout Fatal Fury (Wii Virtual Console / Neo Geo)
In the beginning...
After several releases in the Fatal Fury franchise, SNK decided to create a sub-series with the release of Real Bout Fatal Fury. The game didn't deviate too far from the experience that fans had come to expect, but there was a certain intensity and flair that needed to be explored and perhaps that was the reasoning behind the...
Review Chuck E. Cheese's Alien Defense Force (DSiWare)
In space, no one can hear you regret your purchase
Earlier this year, DSiWare had the misfortune of becoming home to Chuck E. Cheese's Arcade Room. A joyless collection of five dull mini-games and additional gimmicks such as achievements and an outfit customisation feature, the game was a disappointment in nearly every possible way. Now we have a...
Review BurgerTime (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Burger building bonanza
When the coin-op release of BurgerTime hit arcades in 1982, it was praised for its quirky theme and wildly unique gameplay design. Given the game's popularity at the time, it garnered a port on just about every home game system and personal computer of the period. The NES release came a bit later, but it was a fairly accurate...
Review Wario Land 3 (3DS eShop / GBC)
Warioid
Nintendo loves to experiment with the Wario Land series. The second game diverted from the first in that it was more of a puzzler than a platformer, as Wario was invincible, and the third game continues that trend by offering yet another twist: an almost Metroid-like exploration system. This time, Wario finds a mysterious music box in the...
Review Crystal Adventure (DSiWare)
In which "adventure" is revealed to be a relative term
If there's one thing RPG fans enjoy, it's a good story. The quest should be epic, the characters should be interesting, and there should preferably be a few surprising twists along the way as well. Here is the story of Crystal Adventure: you get bored quickly and delete it. Okay, you caught...
Review Christmas Wonderland 2 (DSiWare)
Roast it on an open fire
A textbook example of a sequel nobody asked for, Christmas Wonderland 2 has graced DSiWare. We guess, however, that we should be somewhat grateful. After all, last year Microvalue released two awful holiday-themed hidden object games: Halloween: Trick or Treat and the first Christmas Wonderland. This year it only left one...
Review Invasion of the Alien Blobs! (DSiWare)
Houston, we have a bloblem
At this point it's unlikely that anybody with a DSi or 3DS is in need of an inexpensive time-waster, but Invasion of the Alien Blobs! is here to provide one more option. And while it's not exactly a great game, it certainly provides some mindless fun along the way. The best thing about Invasion of the Alien Blobs! is its...
Pop it and drop it
Last year the DSiWare service saw the release of Bloons TD. It was an unimpressive but acceptable entry into the overstuffed tower defence genre, and this year we're leaping ahead three sequels to Bloons TD 4. If Bloons TD 4 is at all representative of the course the series has taken, we can safely say we haven't missed much by...
Tonight we're going to party like it's 1989
Ah, the eighties: a time of dodgy haircuts, peculiar outfits and synthesizers dominating the airwaves. In truth, the Nintendo Life office is still a bit like that, but never mind. What we have here with We Sing 80s is a singing game dedicated to that decade, making oldies or retro-minded youngsters all the...
Review Ninja Master's: Haō Ninpō Chō (Wii Virtual Console / Neo Geo)
Something old, something new
Not only were there a huge number of fighting games throughout the lifespan of the Neo Geo system, there was also a serious amount of variety in the styles and executions of those games. While most Neo Geo fans will associate developer ADK with its popular World Heroes series, it was its final release for the system,...
Review Pac-Man (3DS eShop / NES)
Ghost gobblin' on the go
If you were to ask one hundred people to make a list of the most classic video games of all time, you shouldn't be surprised to find Pac-Man on every one of those lists. It's an unrivaled masterpiece of gaming simplicity, an experience that involves nothing more than moving endlessly around a single maze, yet which somehow...
Review Spirit Hunters Inc. Shadow/Light (DSiWare)
Bustin' makes us feel bored
Announced way back in May 2010, Nnooo's Spirit Hunters Inc. — available now in both Light and Shadow flavours — promised, in Nnooo's own words, "a Role Playing Game set in the real world." That's both a tall order and an idea with enormous potential, which is why it's a shame that the finished product mistakes "role...
Review Working Dawgs: A-Maze-ing Pipes (DSiWare)
Working class
Taking a page almost directly from the book of Pipe Mania, the hilariously titled Working Dawgs: A-maze-ing Pipes is a puzzle game that involves moving water from one place to another using a complex series of tubes. If you've played this type of game before, then you know exactly what to expect, while newcomers to this particular form...
Review Skylanders Giants (Wii)
Big friendly giant
Fe, fi, fo, fum, we smell the coins of dads and mums. Since its first release on consoles last year, Skylanders has exploded into a multi-million dollar franchise and a children's favourite. What would have been a fairly standard hack-and-slash game by itself was taken to new heights thanks to a clever reliance on collectable...
