All Wii Reviews

Agatha Christie - And Then There Were None (Review)

Feb 28, 2008

What’s your view on point-and-click games? Old-fashioned and tedious, or deliciously retro? Because this game is only going to be suitable for those who thrive on the kind of gameplay that has you filling a bucket with water drawn from the hand pump outside the kitchen, offering it to a goat so he’ll move to one side and grant you access to a remote part of the island, where you’ll then find a harness you must give to the ...

Alien Syndrome (Review)

Jul 30, 2007

You'll have to forgive us old timers for getting our bloomers in a twist over a new Alien Syndrome game. We who spent the mid '80s pumping arcade machines full of currency called "quarters" or praying to an ancient relic called the Sega Master System, carry with us very fond memories for the top-down sci-fi shooter. So it was comforting that the Wii's Alien Syndrome update plays a lot like the game we know and love, with a few RPG-style elements thrown in to reward our fifteen or so years of ...

Alone in the Dark (Review)

Jul 3, 2008

Alone in the Dark loves a good cliff-hanger – quite literally in the case of one helicopter crash sequence – but there’s no scenario more hair-raising than that of publishers Atari themselves. Teetering on the brink of financial disaster, they’ve put all their eggs in this gothic basket, expecting a company-rejuvenating three million sales across multiple platforms. Here’s hoping the next-gen version shifts a ...

Alvin and the Chipmunks (Review)

Dec 11, 2007

Dec 11, 2007 After some 50 years of existence, Alvin and the Chipmunks are no longer hip, relevant or cool. Hey, it happens - as times change, so do tastes, and modern youngsters may not see the appeal in a trio of warbling rodents painted with broad personalities and characteristics. But that didn't stop 20th Century Fox from prepping a new franchise film (starring Jason Lee as David Seville), and it sure didn't stop the aptly named publisher Brash Entertainment from making a quick buck off ...

AMF Bowling: Pinbusters! (Review)

Apr 25, 2008

The success of Wii Sports was always likely to spawn imitators but after numerous frames and tournaments with AMF Bowling: Pinbusters! we’re still left scratching our heads as to why this exists. It is, as a whole, considerably worse than what is one fifth of Wii Sports - in look, execution and enjoyment. ...

The Ant Bully (Review)

Jun 22, 2007

You know the drill: games based on movies tend to bite. The thinking here seems to be that younger children don't yet possess fully functioning crap filters, and are therefore more likely to squeeze some fun out of a game that adults would tire of within ...

Anubis II (Review)

Nov 26, 2007

Nov 26, 2007 The third installment of Data Design's cheapo reskinnable platform game has an Egyptian theme and sounds like some kind of ointment for piles. Strangely, there was no Anubis 1. Okay... It does look a little bit nicer than Ninjabread Man and Rock 'N' Roll Adventures but that's due to the shiny gold colours rather than any superior design, and it suffers from the same shoddy controls as its partners in crime. All three are small enough to keep running for a while without having ...

Avatar: The Last Airbender (Review)

Jan 19, 2007

Avatar: The Last Airbender, an anime-styled cartoon on Nickelodeon, has gained quite a respectable following for a show that was originally targeted at younger viewers. In a mythical world of four quarrelling nations (Air, Earth, Water, and Fire), the Avatar named Aang is the only one who can bring peace and stability through harnessing all four elemental powers. The show combines an entertaining mix of humor, drama, and likable characters that has drawn in a wide demographic of viewers. ...

Avatar The Last Airbender: The Burning Earth (Review)

Nov 14, 2007

Nov 14, 2007 Controlling Burning Earths characters feels like sloshing butter around a hot saucepan. But, really, thats the least of the game's worries. Like last years original Avatar, this is a game of fixed paths, repeated button-mashing, insulting switch puzzles and cutscenes where people's mouths dont move when they speak. The combat is tedious - and it only takes around 25 minutes to get so fed up you start running straight past enemies to the next door. No worries, though - 25 minutes ...

Balloon Pop (Review)

Mar 4, 2008

On most consoles, a simple, casual puzzler like Balloon Pop might not seem like a good deal for $20. But, when compared to the usual Wii dreck that goes for a pair of Hamiltons, this unassuming little game feels like a revolution of sorts. It isn't literally revolutionary in any discernable way, but it doesn't suck horribly, and in today's budget Wii lineup that's rare enough to vault it high above the pack. As "match three colored things" ...

Balls of Fury (Review)

Nov 14, 2007

Nov 14, 2007 Plick, plock, plick, plock, plick, plock, "Tell grandma to bring the car around". Plick, plock, plick, plock, "Tell grandma to bring the car around". Plick, plock, plick, plock, plick, plock "Tell grandma to bring the car arou - mwaaaaaaaah!" That last sound, in case you're wondering, is the noise of a normally happy-go-lucky gamer being pushed over the edge and having to commit a heinous act of physical violence upon a random hapless victim within reach. What preceded said sound ...

Barnyard (Review)

Feb 9, 2007

Here's a refreshing entry into the games-based-on-movies fad: instead of simulating a movie's plot, THQ's Barnyard offers up an open-ended Grand Theft Auto-style experience (minus the sex and violence, of course). In fact, Grand Theft Bovine would have been a fitting subtitle. Upon first glance, the open-ended elements are simply a vehicle to take you from one minigame to the next with little to do in-between. But then something unexpected happens: the game slowly transforms into a fairly ...

Baroque (Review)

Apr 21, 2008

If you’re hardcore enough to derive happiness instead of pain from the Roguelike convention of starting from scratch when you die, but not quite hardcore enough to have imported this dungeon crawler ten years ago for your Sega Saturn, we recommend this terrific remake of Baroque.

Baroque’s death mechanic dovetails neatly with the narrative - it’s by dying and revisiting that you start to piece together the intriguing ...

Battalion Wars 2 (Review)

Nov 1, 2007

Nov 1, 2007 Like its predecessor, Battalion Wars 2 is an action/RTS hybrid, similar to PC titles such as Savage. Instead of players assuming the role of General from a bird's-eye view, they are able to control their grunts, flamethrowers, anti-air tanks, bazookas or a number of other units that roam the field of battle. Controlling units, as well as performing other actions such as attacking, issuing orders and raising flags to assume control of mission objectives would require an elegant ...

Battle of the Bands (Review)

Apr 28, 2008

Any rhythm game that compiles the likes of Electric Six, Tenacious D, and Tag Team – yes, of "Whoomp! (There It Is)" fame – deserves some serious props, and we gladly send them in the direction of Battle of the Bands. Offering five distinct renditions (rock, country, Latin, hip-hop, and marching band) of each full song further sweetens the pot, but when the most interesting aspect of your game (by a wide margin) is the ...

Bee Movie Game (Review)

Nov 5, 2007

Nov 5, 2007 For all of the hubbub over shovelware and uninspired Wii ports of last-gen games, it's somewhat refreshing to see a Wii-specific version of a multiplatform release that significantly pales in comparison to the other iterations. Wait, did we say refreshing? We meant ...

Ben 10: Protector of Earth (Review)

Oct 30, 2007

Oct 30, 2007 Following in the cel-shaded footsteps of Dragon Ball Z and Naruto comes another cartoon-turned-game, Ben 10. And like those, this is an all out beat 'em-up featuring cartoon children. Playing as Ben Tennyson, you own an alien device called an Omnitrix - a watch-like object that when activated can transform Ben into all manner of interesting beings, each with their own unique abilities. Among his repertoire of alter-egos is a four-armed beast that's strong as a box of bears. ...

Big Beach Sports (Review)

Jun 24, 2008

Last month we had Deca Sports (Sports Island in the UK), this month it’s Big Beach Sports. Curious. It’s almost as if third-party publishers are trying to cash in on some hugely popular sports game collection that Nintendo bundles with the Wii. This time around the collection features six sports - cricket, soccer, bocce, volleyball, frisbee golf and football – and they’re all played on the beach, would you believe. ...

Big Brain Academy (Review)

Jun 27, 2007

On the surface, Wii Degree looks like a total cash-in for brain training and multiplayer minigames. It's an understandable blend though, as they're two of Nintendo's most profitable concepts these days - why not mix them into one title and sell a frillion copies of it? Even though the premise is an obvious grab for lots more casual-player cash, the game remains a fun, frantic and family-friendly piece of software. Challenges come in five flavors, each with three minigames apiece to test your ...

Bionicle Heroes (Review)

Jun 22, 2007

Developer Traveller's Tales has had an almost unreasonable amount of success translating LEGO blocks into successful game franchises. Despite what some would say, the much beloved blocks even gave the ailing Star Wars franchise a much needed shot in the arm. So it's a sad thing indeed that they've failed to provide the same treatment for LEGO's original property Bionicles, on a system desperate for solid ...