So with so many new titles flooding into the Wii Shop each week -- and with Wii owners having the ability to easily and immediately download the games for themselves -- we've decided to approach the latest batch of new arrivals a bit differently than the usual software review structure. We're going to cover each of this week's new WiiWare releases in shorter, more concise reviews. And instead of applying our ten point scale to these games, we'll break them down into one of two choices:
Get It! -- This is one of the great games in the Wii Shop, and you can be sure that you'll have a good time with it.
Skip It! -- Pretty much a waste of time or waste of cash. We can appreciate all sorts of WiiWare games, but these are those you can be comfortable just leaving alone.
There will also be the occasional downloadable game that really knocks our socks off. For the absolute cream of the crop, something that just can't be missed, we'll note it with a Love It!!! seal of approval. And some more major WiiWare releases will still warrant full, focused, in-depth reviews -- we'll point those out when they come along. Now, with all that said, on to this week's new releases.
WiiWare Releases:
Week of May 10, 2010
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Price: 1000 Wii Points
Review By: Lucas M. Thomas
Capcom still hasn't bothered to right Wright's wrongs in this latest WiiWare re-release of a DS Ace Attorney game -- Trials and Tribulations, like Justice for All and the original Phoenix Wright game before it, is a cheap, lazy port-up to the console from the portable. It's still a good game, and a nice value at just ten bucks since its DS cartridge version has gone out of print and can be difficult to find. But it's just disappointing that the graphics, sound and content are all exactly the same as we first saw on the handheld three years ago -- the presentation isn't nearly as attractive when blown up to fit on the big screen.
Trials and Tribulations mixes up the courtroom drama formula a bit in its casting of primary players, as title character Phoenix Wright isn't your lawyer to start out -- instead, he's the defendant. The case takes place five years before the events of the first Ace Attorney adventure, and features Phoenix being accused of murder. The lawyer you're playing as is a younger Mia Fey, just a rookie attorney herself in this time period, and it's fun to see the origins of the teacher/student dynamic that would later go on to play out with Phoenix deciding to pursue the legal profession himself with Mia as his mentor.
So the story is there, and just as engaging as ever -- it's just everything else that's rough. The graphics, zoomed in and blown up but still running at DS resolution, look pixilated on a TV. The sound seems tinny, coming out of larger speakers. And the control -- the one area that's been modified a bit -- is kind of worthless. Capcom's shoehorned Wii Remote motions into the mix so that swinging or waving the controller activates your interjections during cross-examination sequences -- but you're just never going to match the magic of screaming "Objection!" into the DS mic by waggling your hands around.
Altogether, Trials and Tribulations appeals and disappoints in just the same way as Capcom's first two WiiWare ports in the series -- still worth purchasing as a good adventure and a good value, but also worth shaking your head over since it hasn't been given any extra love and attention at all.
Chess Challenge!
Publisher: Digital Leisure
Developer: Digital Leisure
Price: 500 Wii Points
Review By: Lucas M. Thomas
Digital Leisure's Chess Challenge! launched on both WiiWare and DSiWare this week, and while the portable version is recommendable as it is, this home console edition expands its appeal with several more impressive features.
You get a deep single player experience here to start -- a truly challenging set of A.I. opponents across three different difficulty settings, with each match able to be customized with a variety of timing options, visual choices and stakes (in that you can choose to play for "practice," or you can select to play for rankings). The game also offers Mii support, which might not have been such a notable inclusion if it weren't for the DSi edition illustrating the possible alternative -- without Miis there, the developers dropped in some really poor character art. It's nice to not have to see that again here, on the big screen.
Where this WiiWare edition really shines is online, though. The DSi version only supported local two-player play, but here on Wii there is full compatibility with Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection -- you can set up matches with registered friends, take on random strangers across the country and rise in the ranks of the online leaderboards.
Even beyond that, though, there's one last use of online here that I think is brilliant in its simplicity, and its callback to a simpler time before video games even existed -- the WiiConnect24 option. Using it, you set up a chess match with a friend you've registered on your Wii console and play a game one move at a time. By sending messages. You select your move, it gets sent to their Wii system to see the next time they turn it on, they respond, their response gets sent back to you -- it's amazingly slow-paced, and a wonderful inclusion. You all probably think I'm crazy, but playing chess matches that last for months or even years, by correspondence through the mail, is an old-timey practice that our grandparents probably all greatly appreciated. I think it's a ton of fun that Digital Leisure would include such an extraneous feature as this, emulating that old experience. Who knows if anyone will actually have the patience to use it -- but just the fact that it's there earns a ton of my respect.
So Chess Challenge! is a solid purchase on both Nintendo download formats. Grab the DSi edition if you value portability, but upgrade to the much more feature-complete WiiWare version if you want a deeper, more thoughtful design.
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WiiWare Releases:
Week of January 25, 2010
UNO
Publisher: Gameloft
Developer: Gameloft
Price: 1000 Wii Points
Review By: Lucas M. Thomas
Ever since UNO first arrived in digital form for the Xbox 360's Live Arcade service back in 2006, the popular casual card game's been making the rounds to pretty much every other platform you can play games on. It's on the iPod. It's on the DSi. It's on the PS3, and the PSP. And now it's come to WiiWare.
UNO WiiWare is just as well-presented and addictive as any of its other video game versions have been, taking the core style and play mechanics of the classic Mattel product and making into an easy-going point-and-click affair that you can play alone, or against human opponents through Nintendo's Wi-Fi Connection. In either mode, the game plays beautifully -- on your turn, you toss out cards from your hand that match either the number or color of the last card played by the person before you. If you can't make a match, you're forced to draw -- but somebody will eventually run out of cards completely, and that's the winner for the round.
UNO's basic gameplay might've been enough on its own, but developer Gameloft has also outfitted this package with tons of different custom rules options -- pretty much any variation the game's ever had can be replicated through these robust options menus. Add in unlockable extra backgrounds, deck designs and the inclusion of Mii and WiiSpeak support, and overall you've got an old classic that's definitely worth a look in its new form.
bittos+
Publisher: Machine Studios
Developer: Unconditional Studios
Price: 800 Wii Points
Review By: Lucas M. Thomas
bittos+ is like Tetris from another dimension. It uses the same seven shapes you've seen in so many Tetris games over the years, but instead of having them fall from the sky to make lines in a pit, bittos drops them onto a playing field to make square boxes. You try to place each piece in such a way that it forms 2 x 2 squares with the pieces you've placed before, you go for chains and combos by not leaving gaps between your placements and, eventually, the whole thing explodes and gives you tons of points.
Impeding your progress are any bits you accidentally leave unattached to the greater structure, which eventually turn red and start multiplying themselves to take over the empty spaces on the board -- but, they're easily dealt with by building boxes next to them, as they'll be destroyed when the boxes explode. You continue on building and blasting as the speed gets faster and faster, and each level flows seemlessly into the next until you either choose to quit or crash out from an overwhelming onslaught of the evil red bits.
I think puzzler fans will love this design -- it really is like a version of Tetris that was never made. It could've even been designed by the Tetris Company and released as "Tetris Bit Blaster" or something and no one would've known the difference. Because of that familiarity with the seven standard shapes, the control can take a bit to get used to -- you expect the pieces to rotate the same way, but the buttons aren't assigned exactly like Tetris here. Even so, that's a small complaint for a really stylish, well-made puzzler that's certainly worth 800 of your Wii Points.
"Aha! I Found It!"
Hidden Object Game
Publisher: A-TEAM
Developer: A-TEAM
Price: 500 Wii Points
Review By: Lucas M. Thomas
A-TEAM's first effort on WiiWare was the equally oddly named "Aha! I Got It!" Escape Game, which converted the popular "escape the room" style of puzzle games you can find and play for free all over the Internet into a colorful Wii diversion. This follow-up does the same thing, using the same kind of whimsical cartoon graphics and cheesy, far-too-happy smiling characters to host another conversion of an Internet freebie -- the Where's Waldo-esque "hidden object game." Unfortunately, this second effort isn't nearly as appealing as the first.
You'll strain your eyes in a constant staring contest with your television screen as you attempt to visually discern the locations of a dozen different items hidden against a static background, then occasionally lift your hand to direct an IR-controlled cursor over each object and press A to grab it. If you got it right, it'll get marked off your list. If you got it wrong, you'll incur a five-second penalty and the game will buzz at you.
You're doomed to hear nothing but buzzing in the end, though, because these objects' positions are so subtle that there's no way anyone but an optometrist could properly pick them all out on a first attempt. And that's just no fun, at all. Support for four-person multiplayer doesn't help either, as you'll just end up frustrating your friends too. So steer clear of A-TEAM's second "Aha!" game -- let those objects just stay hidden.
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WiiWare Releases:
Week of February 1, 2010
Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 5
Publisher: Telltale Games
Developer: Telltale Games
Price: 1000 Wii Points
Review By: Lucas M. Thomas
It's taken a little while longer than we might've preferred, but Telltale's first season of point-and-click Monkey Island adventures has finally come to a close on WiiWare. The fully titled "Tales of Monkey Island -- Chapter 5: Rise of the Pirate God" is the season's final installment, and it picks up the storyline right where Chapter 4 left off a little over two months ago. To speak to the story any further than that might be straying into spoiler country, though, so we'll leave it at that -- just make sure you're playing these games in order, otherwise you'll miss out on significant plot points.
Gameplaywise, Monkey Island's fifth chapter is perhaps a bit too straightforward -- fans who've already breezed through Guybrush's four previous outings will probably find the first half of this one a bit too simple. The ultimate showdown, though, is a satisfying one, involving some complicated multi-part puzzles that lead to a great payoff -- and, all the while, the writing and jokes will give you some of the biggest laughs you've had throughout the entire season. So this one's an easy "Get It" recommendation in the end, as 10 bucks is easy to justify when you're having this much fun and you're getting resolution on story elements that started way back in Chapter 1 (which released on WiiWare now over half a year ago), even if its early puzzles are a bit easy.
If you'd like a more in-depth analysis of what's on offer with Rise of the Pirate God, click over to Steve Butts' full review of the game's PC edition from a couple months ago. Then play the game, enjoy it, and hope that Telltale decides to do a second season -- and that the WiiWare versions of that season won't trail the PC editions by such long periods of time.
5 in 1 Solitaire
Publisher: Digital Leisure
Developer: Digital Leisure
Price: 500 Wii Points
Review By: Craig Harris
You shouldn't expect much out of a download that costs 200 points in the DSi Shop (or 500 points on WiiWare), and this Digital Leisure-published compilation of single player card games looks just as budget as its price tag.
You're really going to buy a Solitaire download for what's known as Klondike Solitaire, and with Nintendo's own version hitting DSiWare just a few short weeks ago, Digital Leisure already has an uphill climb. This version has an incredibly poor interface: rushed programmer art makes everything look sloppy, and on the DSi the point and click control requires too much precision when dropping cards on top of each other. It also suffers from the Solitaire no-no: you can't pull cards off the Ace stacks once you drop them there, which kills half the strategy of Solitaire.
Granted on the DSi version you're getting five Solitaire over Nintendo's two for the same price -- and on WiiWare there isn't much in the way of competition for Solitaire at all. But it's a sloppy production clearly rushed through development, and you're better off putting the money towards a couple decks of cards instead.
Tumblebugs 2
Publisher: GameShastra
Developer: Wildfire Studios
Price: 800 Wii Points
Review By: Lucas M. Thomas
Tumblebugs 2 is just a different version of Nintendo's Magnetica. Magnetica, of course, was just a different version of Zuma, and Zuma was a different version of Puzz Loop -- so this game design's pretty much in the public domain anymore. It's the ball-launching puzzler you've probably played before in one of those previous editions -- you control a launcher somewhere in the middle of the screen, a swirling line of rolling balls surrounds you on all sides, and you've got to launch your own balls one at a time to make matches of three like colors in the line. Succeed, and the line shortens until it ultimately disappears and you win the level. Fail, and the balls take a tumble into a pit.
Tumblebugs 2 plays out just like the older versions of the design, only everything's insect-themed. Your launcher is a big ladybug named Tumble, the balls you're clearing are other, smaller bugs with red, blue, yellow or green bodies, and there's an evil Black Bug rolling the whole line along like a dung beetle. There are also a couple of animal friends that help you out on occasion, like a frog who lashes out his tongue to clear some bugs away.
But that theme is the only thing that's really different about Tumblebugs, making it difficult to recommend over Nintendo's Magnetica Twist -- a first-party WiiWare version of this same idea that's been available in the Wii Shop for over a year and a half. What's more, Tumblebugs 2 has been ported to WiiWare from a PC source -- and you can play the PC game for free. There's no need to spend eight bucks to play this game on your Wii when you can just type "Tumblebugs 2" into Google and get ten different destinations offering you the same design at zero cost.
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WiiWare Releases:
Week of February 8, 2010
Blaster Master Overdrive
Publisher: Sunsoft
Developer: Sunsoft
Price: 1000 Wii Points
Review By: Lucas M. Thomas
Blaster Master is back. Well, Blaster Master was back already -- the classic NES original relaunched on the Virtual Console just this past December -- but now's it back again. This surprise-announced WiiWare sequel's existence was made known to the world just two days before it went on sale in the Wii Shop, and the quick turnaround from reveal to availability should certainly shock longtime fans of the franchise into action. Thankfully, those fans shouldn't be too disappointed by what they find here.
Blaster Master Overdrive is like a long-lost SNES sequel that Sunsoft's series never saw, a WiiWare game crafted in similar style to the ReBirths Konami's given to Gradius, Contra and Castlevania: The Adventure. It sticks close to the design established on the NES, giving you a side-scrolling vehicular platformer half the time, then turning the camera up to a birds-eye view for overhead, on-foot action when protagonist Alex exits his mighty battle tank. The half-and-half hybrid design is once again engaging, and the addition of some much-needed extra features, like save points, eliminates some of the annoyances players had to deal with in the old NES game.
Overdrive plays it safe in presentation, though, and might ultimately let down some Wii owners hoping for a bit more flair -- it runs exclusively in 4:3, for one thing, it supports only the lone Wii Remote as a control option and its environment and enemy design are all a bit repetitive as you progress through the adventure. Those issues aren't enough to defeat the appeal of the game as it is, as its blasting action is solid and satisfying -- so established Blaster Master fans can still feel confident in making a purchase right away. Those of you still on the fence, though, might want some more information before making a decision -- in that case, you can click over to our full review of the game (with numbered score) right here.
Tomena Sanner
Publisher: Konami
Developer: Konami
Price: 500 Wii Points
Review By: Craig Harris
It's crazy, it's quirky, and hell yes it's worth the five bucks it costs to download the game to your system.
The game's a simple one button affair where you time the A button while you on-screen hero runs from left to right. He'll encounter maids, sumo wrestlers and crazy people in fursuits, and if you time the button just right you'll get to see some crazy animations specific to the characters he meets. The challenge is to get to the finish line before the time runs out, all the while collecting coins and power-up pick-ups that are within reach (and many times without reach).
It's got single player, four player split screen, a turbo mode and an unlockable endless mode. And, here's the zinger: online leaderboards. That's right, you can show off your high scores to the world after every level.
Don't get me wrong: it's silly and simplistic, and it's certainly not the most addictive of game designs. But it's absolutely worth the 500 points to see all the wild and wonderful things this video game hero does simply by hitting the A button. And I totally dig the old-school Prince of Persia Classic-like rotoscoping animation style.
Bloons
Publisher: Hands-On Mobile
Developer: Ninja Kiwi
Price: 500 Wii Points
Review By: Lucas M. Thomas
Ninja Kiwi's simple trajectory puzzler Bloons has made the rounds to nearly every platform that can play a video game, and now it's here on WiiWare. Expectedly, this is the same game it's always been -- you control a cute, dart-throwing monkey trying to pop a playing field full of balloons, adjusting the angle and strength of each toss to make every dart connect with as many of the colorful, helium-filled orbs as possible. It can be a bit strategic, figuring out how to properly use your limited number of darts to match or excede the target number of pops -- but it's mostly just a monkey throwing pointy things.
It doesn't help this game's case, either, that it's yet another WiiWare you can play online for free. Clicking over to Ninja Kiwi's website gives you the original web browser version for no cost, along with a litany of sequels too. Our own Free to Play collection of games here at IGN even has a Bloons title you can try out for zero dollars -- Bloons Tower Defense 3.
So why someone would pay five bucks for this, I couldn't say. Running on Wii doesn't give it any kind of gameplay boost, as motion control is tacked on for throwing the darts -- but you'll probably just end up pressing B instead, since it does the same thing. And the front-end of this edition is horrid -- some screens use the cursor to select menu options, while others are D-Pad only. So, yes, this one's a solid skip. (Though you should give the free Flash version a minute or two of your time, if you've never played it before.)
Hubert the Teddy Bear:
Winter Games
Publisher: Teyon
Developer: Teyon
Price: 500 Wii Points
Review By: Lucas M. Thomas
Polish developer Teyon recently made its DSiWare debut with an impressive, low-priced puzzler called Robot Rescue -- it's definitely worth a look. The studio's first foray into WiiWare, though, doesn't look like it's going to be nearly as successful.
Hubert the Teddy Bear: Winter Games is an average, rough-around-the-edges mini-game collection the likes of which we've seen countless times before on Wii. You take command of a cuddly bear competing in a variety of outdoor winter activities. Not winter sports, mind you -- other winter activities, like throwing snowballs, riding your sled and building a snowman. It's a fair idea, but the execution is questionable -- every single activity has a wholly unique control scheme using some combination of the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, and the control never feels natural in any of them.
What's worse, this game has a strong Christmas theme that's just way too out of place now that it's February. The single, looping soundtrack piece is a remix of Jingle Bells, and a voiceover clip of Santa Claus pipes in every two minutes -- no matter what you're doing -- to remind you that "It's the time for peace, and to be jolly!" No joke. There are a couple of redeeming points here, like a good custom character creator, but it's almost all forgettable in the end. Here's hoping Teyon's developers stick with their strengths, with games like Robot Rescue, going forward -- we don't really need any more Hubert.
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WiiWare Releases:
Week of February 15, 2010
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney -- Justice for All
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Price: 1000 Wii Points
Review By: Craig Harris
We've done this song and dance already with the original Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney release on WiiWare: it's a shockingly lazy console version of a fun and clever (and out of print) Nintendo DS game.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney -- Justice For All is a continuation of the same point-and-click adventure design that was first established on the Nintendo DS (which was, essentially, a dual-screen port of a Game Boy Advance original that was never released outside of Japan). Clever writing, fun puzzles, and that same aggressive courtroom drama style all really make Phoenix Wright stand out.
But it's just disappointing that this is just a direct DS-to-Wii translation, resolution and all. It's a cheap, efficient way of bringing back a fun Nintendo DS game, but at the same time it makes the experience feel very un-Wii like. Sure there's motion control to call an "Objection" but that's just as useless as speaking into the microphone on the handheld to do a simple button-press.
Yes, you're getting a fun adventure on Wii, and it's worth it if you can't track down the cartridge. But just like the original, it's better suited for the Nintendo DS because the WiiWare version is just a rushed DS port.
Art of Balance
Publisher: Shin'en
Developer: Shin'en
Price: 800 Wii Points
Review By: Lucas M. Thomas
Shin'en Multimedia is probably best known to Nintendo fans for the high-energy shoot-'em-up action of the Iridion and Nanostray series on the Big N's handhelds over the past decade or so, but the studio's latest contribution to WiiWare is a far cry from that frantic feeling -- it's almost relaxing. Art of Balance is a calm, simple, physics-based piece-placing puzzler where you do nothing more than stack blocks on top of each other. And it works.
The simplicity is addicting as you work out the proper way to balance circles, rectangles, triangles and other shapes on top of one another above a pool of water, seeking to create structures stable enough to maintain their integrity and not cascade down into the drink below. The gameplay and control is spot-on, the challenges get progressively more difficult to solve at the exact right rate and the presentation wrapping the whole thing together is just plain slick -- this team knows its stuff. Any puzzler fans looking for their next fix can find it easily right here -- and who knows, your mind just might end up a little more "zen" after you're done.
WarMen Tactics
Publisher: Calaris Studios
Developer: Calaris Studios
Price: 800 Wii Points
Review By: Lucas M. Thomas
"WarMen Tactics" is a misnomer. You see "Tactics" appended to the title of a video game and you think turn-based strategy, like Final Fantasy Tactics -- you don't think boring, poorly designed stop-and-pop shooting like what WarMen actually offers. So don't let the name fool you.
This game is a low-grade, shoddily presented shooter that uses the Wiimote's pointer functionality for everything -- both aiming the targeting cursor on the screen, and also pointing and clicking on menu options that are also constantly displayed. Want to walk forward, duck for cover or reload your weapon? You point and click the buttons on the screen. It's a different interface concept for an on-rails shooter experience, but it just doesn't work well here.
Probably because the rest of the package is so pitiful. Poor grammar, crazily compressed video, an incredibly short campaign and oppressive loading times all serve to draw you out of whatever sense of involvement you might have otherwise established, and you just end up annoyed. Limited visuals, sound and uninspired basic gameplay seal the deal -- this one's just not worth your time.
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WiiWare Releases:
Week of February 22, 2010
GhostSlayer
Publisher: Gevo Entertainment
Developer: Gevo Entertainment
Price: 600 Wii Points
Review By: Lucas M. Thomas
If you've played Wii Sports Resort's Swordplay Showdown mode, you know how GhostSlayer plays -- it's an on-rails "slasher" where you control a lone swordsman who walks forward, stops to slice some baddies with his sword, then walks forward some more, then slices more baddies . . . and so on. The controls are a spot-on copy of Resort's, right down to including support for Wii MotionPlus, centering your aim by pointing and clicking with the A Button before a round and taking a defensive stance with the B Trigger. The enemies get more creative than just an endless swarm of Mii characters coming at you with foam swords, but the foundation's exactly the same.
And your reaction to that fact will determine whether or not this is six bucks you want to spend -- personally, I think it's a smart move. The Showdown mini-game was one of the highlights of Nintendo's Resort package for me, and carbon-copying its control scheme into a design skinned with more adult-oriented subject matter is an easy and intelligent move. More developers should learn from Gevo's approach here, at least in the area of Wii motion control -- instead of wasting time trying to reinvent the wheel with every new game, just let Nintendo take the lead, copy what works from those efforts and add your own spin to the rest of the package.
So GhostSlayer isn't wholly original, but it doesn't need to be -- and 600 Points for something new to do with your dust-collecting MotionPlus peripheral isn't bad at all.
Mouse House
Publisher: Big John Games
Developer: Plaid World Studios
Price: 600 Wii Points
Review By: Lucas M. Thomas
Somebody at Plaid World Studios has played a lot of The Adventures of Lolo. Like that classic NES logic puzzler, this port-up from the iPhone casts you as a small, rotund cartoon character trapped in a series of single-screen mazes. You've got to safely navigate each screen, avoiding enemies, pitfalls and traps to collect bits of cheese and unlock the exit door -- before doing it all again, in the next room.
It's a fine homage to games like Lolo, but, unfortunately for Plaid World, doesn't do enough to trump those originals -- and you can get both The Adventures of Lolo and The Adventures of Lolo 2 in Virtual Console form, each for a buck less than the asking price for Mouse House. I'd recommend going that route instead, as this one just isn't as appealing in the end -- especially since it has a couple of glitchy moments in its programming of character and object movement, it weirdly uses both the Wiimote's D-Pad and pointer functions at the same time (instead of just supporting a more traditional NES-style usage of the controller) and it's got a thin presentation with no extras beyond the main game.
Family Go-Kart Racing
Publisher: Aksys Games
Developer: ARC System Works
Price: 500 Wii Points
Review By: Lucas M. Thomas
And here I thought they were gone for good. But, no, the Aksys Games' WiiWare "Family" has returned for this, their eighth different release for Nintendo's download service -- and it's their most ambitious outing yet. Mommy, Daddy, Billy and Sarah are joined by new Family characters Auntie and Gramps for a full-on, six-way kart racing adventure. It's definitely got a grander scope than such past failures as Family Card Games and Family Pirate Party, but that's about all it's got going for it -- because, as always, it's a letdown nearly from the start.
Control is sloppy and slippery, as you're constantly slamming into the sides of each race course like a kid's bowling ball bouncing off bumper rails. The graphics are low-detail and hard to make out when the screen's been split for multiplayer matches. And the basic gameplay is -- like every other kart game ever made that isn't Mario Kart -- a shameless copy of Mario Kart. Run over item boxes, attack your opponents, rinse and repeat. You've seen it all before.
Had this design been given a more traditional control option, like Classic Controller support, it might have been a bit more worthwhile -- and actually playable. But, as it is, it's yet another low point for the Aksys Family. Sorry, Auntie and Gramps. You probably didn't know what you were saying yes to.
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WiiWare Releases:
Week of March 1, 2010
Mega Man 10
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Inti Creates
Price: 1000 Wii Points
Review By: Lucas M. Thomas
For the first time since we began a transition to the "capsule reviews" round-up format for WiiWare releases, we actually have a full, complete, standalone review finished and already available prior to the writing of this mini-blurb -- our resident, dedicated Mega Man super fan Colin Moriarity already clocked in his opinion on the Blue Bomber's latest adventure right here, awarding Capcom's effort an excellent score of 8.5 and an Editor's Choice Award. So I direct you to Colin's much more thorough thoughts on the game there -- while saying that, for my part, I agree completely with his assessment of the game.
Mega Man 10 is another classic return to form for Capcom's helmeted hero. It's once again satisfying to revisit the look and feel of gaming in the '80s through its 8-bit visual style and punishing level of difficulty, and developer Inti Creates has once again managed to recapture the magic of what once made Mega Man so great in that age -- just as they did in Mega Man 9. I'm having a blast playing through this one, and you will too.
I'd love to gush over the game some more, but, again, we've already got Colin's full review for you. So go check that out if you're undecided -- but really, you shouldn't be. Mega Man 10 rocks and it's easily worth 10 of your bucks.
Dart Rage
Publisher: JV Games
Developer: Raging Skull
Price: 600 Wii Points
Review By: Lucas M. Thomas
When I reviewed the last darts game to come to WiiWare just earlier this year, I was significantly unimpressed by its poor conversion of the game's core concept to Wii Remote motion control -- so much so that I said "darts just may be one of those casual sports that never gets its due as a Nintendo video game in this generation." Well, less than two months later, the generation might well be redeemed.
JV Games' Dart Rage isn't perfect, but it's an incredible improvement over every previous darts game to come to the Wii. The difference is in its throwing interface, which gives you an hourglass-shaped targeting reticule to line up your shots, then relies entirely on the motion of your hand to set each dart flying. The no-buttons-at-all approach works, and after just a few games you're able to be consistent enough with the placement of your shots to really have fun -- but not so consistent that the game loses all its challenge. It strikes the right balance and it works, which is a grand achievement compared to the trash we've seen in darts-based Wii games before this.
Dart Rage is rounded out by a decent amount of gametypes and customization options, along with a pretty snazzy two-player versus mode that splits the screen and has you racing against a friend to see who can be the fastest to hit a target score. Throw in a nice soundtrack and a Guitar Hero-esque aesthetic, and this is a darts game I can actually recommend with a clear conscience. Never would have believed that, just two months ago.
Happy Hammerin'
Publisher: Gamebridge
Developer: Agenda
Price: 500 Wii Points
Review By: Lucas M. Thomas
Happy Hammerin' is Whack-a-Mole on WiiWare. Developed by the same team who handled the classic Clubhouse Games for Nintendo, this design is also based on an old standby -- the mechanical, mallet-equipped animatronic mole mashing machines you remember from birthday parties at Chuck E. Cheese when you were seven.
The nostalgia works and the idea's converted well enough, but the game's just a bit too thin all around to recommend. It all just boils down to the same repetitive pounding motion with the Wii Remote, again and again, in every mode. The moles are presented in a variety of settings, and there's even support for up to four players -- but no matter how it's dressed up, the gameplay's still just a constant flailing of your wrist. Add in the fact that the game will sometimes lose track of your on-screen cursor's position for extended periods of time and you've got a total package that accomplishes little more than bringing back memories of the good times you had eating pizza and earning prize tickets as a kid.
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WiiWare Releases:
Week of March 8, 2010
Max & The Magic Marker
Publisher: Press Play
Developer: Press Play
Price: 1000 Wii Points
Review By: Lucas M. Thomas
We've been waiting for Max for a while. This inventive, creative and frequently puzzling platformer equips you with the ability to draw your own objects directly into stages using the titular Magic Marker, a floating orange lifeline that can generate bridges, staircases, umbrellas and pretty much anything else you can dream up on the spot.
But I'm not going to go any more in-depth that just that general description, because, coming soon, is our full review of the game. Steve Butts, who wrote the review of the PC edition of the design just a few weeks ago, is currently tackling this new WiiWare version and will have his complete and thorough thoughts available to you soon. You can check out the PC review to get a headstart on his opinion going in, if you want, and you can also go back to read Matt Casamassina's hands-on with the Wii build too -- also from just a few weeks back.
My personal view is that this one's an easy "Get" recommendation, as its innocent visuals combined with some truly perplexing puzzle moments make for a cool combination that's certainly worth the asking price of 1000 Wii Points. But if 10 bucks is too steep a price for you to make an impulse buy, stay tuned. That full review is coming soon.
Dracula: Undead Awakening
Publisher: Chillingo
Developer: MoreGames Entertainment
Price: 1000 Wii Points
Review By: Lucas M. Thomas
Dracula: Undead Awakening first arrived on the iPhone a little over a year ago. There it was called iDracula, and it impressed us thoroughly -- as an homage to classic dual-stick arcade shooters like Robotron, it matched manic blasting action with a classic horror monster theme and offered an addictive, if not incredibly deep, action experience. Now, as a Nintendo download, its appeal is repeated -- but in two different ways.
Dracula shipped simultaneously to both WiiWare and DSiWare yesterday, the first time any game design's arrived on both services on the same day -- and while both versions are worthwhile, they're worthwhile for different reasons. On the Wii, control is king. Compatibility with the system's Classic Controller gives the game the dual-stick set-up it's always wanted to have, and using the left stick to maneuver your vampire hunter while the right one aims and blasts your weapons feels natural and very easy to get into. The Wii edition also supports the Wiimote/Nunchuk combo and the GameCube Controller (with rumble enabled), giving a lot of different control options to a design that was originally developed for a platform that has no buttons at all.
On the DSi, though, portability is restored -- the take-it-with-you appeal of the iPhone edition is retained, and control still works well with the D-Pad used for movement while the stylus points where you want your bullets to go. The second screen also reads out tons of stats and extra info as you face the endless onslaught of the undead, and the price is just five bucks -- meaning you'd spend only half as much as you would on Wii, where it's on sale for 10.
So this is a solid arcade shooter design that I definitely recommend you download -- you'll just need to pick which version to get.
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WiiWare Releases:
Week of March 15, 2010
Rage of the Gladiator
Publisher: Ghostfire Games
Developer: Ghostfire Games
Price: 1000 Wii Points
Review By: Lucas M. Thomas
Rage of the Gladiator is like Punch-Out!! with weapons. It's a one-on-one fighter, played from a first-person perspective, pitting you against a wide variety of colorful opponents in combat -- just like Punch-Out!! did. But instead of just being equipped with your fists, this time you've got a sword, a shield and an arsenal of magic spells to unleash against your enemies.
Unfortunately, they do too.
Daemon already checked in his full review of this new design from Ghostfire Games, awarding it a "Great" score of 8.5 and calling it "up there with the best that WiiWare has to offer." That's high praise that isn't given out lightly, and you can click right here to jump over and read his complete breakdown for yourself. To sum up, though, it's like what I said to start -- it's Punch-Out!! with weapons, and it rocks.
Triple Shot Sports
Publisher: Code Monkeys
Developer: Code Monkeys
Price: 500 Wii Points
Review By: Lucas M. Thomas
Sometimes you can tell a game's going to stink before you even see its title screen, just by reading its instructions first. Case in point, Code Monkeys' Triple Shot Sports, which opens its WiiWare Operations Guide's control explanation by saying "Shake your Nunchuk to draw an arrow. Then shake your Nunchuk again to draw your bow." "Great," I said to myself, "waggle." And sure enough, that's what this poorly presented package offers.
You weirdly waggle your left hand to set up archery shots in Triple Shot Sports, before watching your horribly stiffly animated human avatar take aim. You then line up your shot with the Remote's pointer functionality and let it fly -- after which time you'll watch your arrow veer widely off course. The controls are woefully imprecise, feeling like some pre-alpha discarded demo build from Wii Sports Resort.
Then the other two sports on offer -- both using guns instead of a bow -- are equally frustrating. The Running Target mode has you waggling to reload a single bullet after every single shot, while the camera randomly pulls away from the targeting viewpoint against your will. Then the Rapid Fire Pistol challenge will give you a zero score and a "fault" for not raising and lowering your weapon at the exact right time -- which is nearly impossible, thanks again to the poor control recognition.
Triple Shot Sports is a port-up from the iPhone, so it's understandable that its chief challenge was in finding a new control scheme while making the transition from a system that has no buttons -- but an understandable failure is still, in the end, a failure. This final product feels so worthless at the five dollar price level, in fact, that I wonder whether the Apple owners who downloaded the original version didn't feel a little ripped off after having spent just 99 cents.
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WiiWare Releases:
Week of April 5, 2010
Fishie Fishie
Publisher: DK Games
Developer: DK Games
Price: 500 Wii Points
Review By: Lucas M. Thomas
Fishie Fishie is designed to be played with just one button. You're in control of a constantly swimming little fish, and pressing the central A Button on the Wii Remote directs all of his movements. By default, he'll just swim in circles to the left. But if you press and hold A, he'll switch to the right. Alternating between pressing the button and releasing it gets him moving forward (sort of), and rapidly tapping the button gives him a burst of acceleration.
If that all sounds ridiculous, it is. There have been other games to fall into this same trap in the past -- like Nintendo's own Kirby Air Ride. Trying to have one button do everything sounds simpler on the surface, but ends up being more complicated and frustrating than if the developers had just mapped the different commands to separate triggers. Fishie Fishie is a frustrating experience as a result, and it's made even worse by the fact that most all of its levels demand pretty pinpoint precision in directing your fish -- precision you just can't achieve with this control scheme.
Fishie Fishie is a flop. Swim right on past, and keep playing games that dare to use more than just one button on the old Remote.
Learning with the PooYoos: Episode 2
Publisher: Lexis Numerique
Developer: Lexis Numerique
Price: 500 Wii Points
Review By: Lucas M. Thomas
Edutainment programs targeting young children have been a staple of television networks for decades, as we can all remembering growing up with Sesame Street or Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, while kids today spend their time with newer concepts like Dora the Explorer or The Backyardigans. Learning with the PooYoos attempts to offer that same kind of experience, as this WiiWare release (intended for ages 3 through 6) is presented in much the same way as an episode of one of those shows. And, though it'd be easy to imagine such an idea falling flat in this format, PooYoos doesn't -- it succeeds admirably, largely thanks to a truly excellent presentation.
The animation, sound design and attention to detail in this toddler-targeted package is inspired -- it's vibrant, boisterous and playful in all the right ways. The characters are rendered so well that they look just like they've stepped out of the rotation on Nick Jr. -- they're cel-shaded and given a ton of personality. And the content is right on track, too. Kids will pick one of two paths to follow, each lasting about 15 minutes, and during that time will encounter easily accessible mini-games, dance sequences and educational moments narrated by a pleasant woman's voice.
A purchase of Learning with the PooYoos shouldn't be considered for anyone who doesn't have a 3- to 6-year-old at home to sit down and experience it with, but I know there are tons of moms, dads, aunts, uncles, grandparents and babysitters out there who'd love the chance to turn the TV off its usual fare for the kids and turn it over to the Wii instead for a more interactive alternative -- and while there's not a ton of content here for your five dollar investment, the little boy or girl in your life will probably want to play it again and again.
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WiiWare Releases:
Week of April 26, 2010
5 Arcade Gems
Publisher: Nordcurrent
Developer: Nordcurrent
Price: 700 Wii Points
Review By: Lucas M. Thomas
A title like 5 Arcade Gems might inspire an initial bit of confidence for some, as compilation packages of coin-op greats have become pretty common in recent years -- and it might be cool to get five for the price of one, bypassing the Virtual Console entirely. Unfortunately, that's not what this is at all. Instead, these are five weak and boring mini-games that wouldn't have had a chance at any kind of audience if they were sold individually, so they've been unceremoniously dumped into the same download together.
None of these five is any good. You've got Lumberjack Trials, which uses a weird combination of Wii Remote targeting and Nunchuk shaking to have you throw axes at bouncing targets while banjo music plays in the background. It's a chore to try to control, and not any fun.
You've got Pizza Jungle Delivery, which has the funny premise of four pizza delivery boys being chased through a rain forest by a tribe of irate natives, but ridiculously employs the old double-waggle control scheme of constantly shaking the Remote and Nunchuk up and down, up and down. Tiresome.
You've got RC Buggy Madness, which reminds me of an old web browser game I once programmed for a beginner's Flash class in college. It controls about like a first-year student's best effort would, and is painfully slow as you scoot your little car around collecting batteries.
You've got Templar Bashing, which might have made the cut as a single mini-game included in a Mario Party sequel -- you control a medieval knight knocking a giant mace around in circles, and your opponents must either leap to avoid it or try to knock it back toward you themselves. It's decent, but thin on replay value.
And, lastly, you've got Whirling Rangers. Which is so visually convoluted you won't have any idea what's going on at all. It's a bit like Tempest, in that you're controlling a spaceship spinning around the inner circumference of a cylinder and blasting things coming at you -- but it's twisting and gyrating constantly, and you'll never really know what's happening until your ship's exploded and you're staring at the Game Over screen.
So, 5 Arcade Gems? Not at all. 5 Weak Mini-Games All Dumped Into One Download. Not worth your cash.
Brain Drain
Publisher: Enjoy Gaming
Developer: Visual Impact
Price: 500 Wii Points
Review By: Lucas M. Thomas
Brain Drain should have had a different name. Farm Swapper. Animal Spinner. Anything else. Because Brain Drain sounds kind of cool and fun, and this wimpy puzzler is anything but.
You're given a grid of animal-shaped icons in this one, and you've got to spin them around in groups of four at a time to make their positions match a pre-set goal that's displayed on the left side of the screen. So if the goal is to get four frogs on top and four ducks on the bottom, you'll move the cursor around and spin frogs and ducks until they line up that way. It's a bit like a Rubik's Cube -- you know the goal you're working for there, with each side displaying only one color. The game is just to spin the pre-set pieces the right way to get them to that end state.
It's a decent premise, but the presentation is a total mismatch -- the name, the animals, the music behind it all. Brain Drain feels like it was slapped together in about a week, and the diverse array of errors in grammar found in its Operations Guide lend further support to that theory. The gameplay stays too simple for too long, too -- some levels actually get less complicated as you move forward, instead of more difficult. You'll be able to solve several in, literally, less than five seconds. And the challenge-increasing tricks that do end up getting thrown at you, like pieces that turn invisible, are more annoying than they are challenging.
So skip right past Brain Drain here, and consider joining me in my new campaign -- ensuring that bad games don't have access to names that good designs might have wanted to use.
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