Adventures of Pip - Wii U Review

Indie titles are often plagued with sprite graphics, and I use the word plagued in the most reverent way; being a huge fan of them, but The Adventures of Pip takes that ball and runs in an entirely different direction with it.  The smooth sprites in this game leave you feeling quite out of place at first, being a single oversized pixel in a hi-res game world, and indeed, the townsfolk are quite ressist (prejudice against lower resolutions) to further drive this point home.  The beautiful princess is kidnapped, however, by the evil (more of a radical freedom fighter in hindsight) witch that most stories like this have.

Read More

Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures - Wii U Review

Whenever you have a video game based on some other property, you have to wonder how it will hold up. Is it a quick cash-in on a familiar name or face? The number of crummy super hero games out there is too much to count. Thankfully Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures would manage to be a an enjoyable action platforming title that calls back to the 8-bit days even without the familiar AVGN references - but the game is all the better for having them if you are a fan of the Nerd.

Read More

My Style Studio: Notebook - Wii U Review

My Style Studio: Notebook is not a game in the traditional sense. There are no bosses, no levels or really any kind of structure to it at all. It is more of an application, but it is the type of program that feels like a perfect fit for the Wii U.

Read More

Hyrule Warriors - Wii U Review

It is pretty safe to say that a few of us around here quite like the various Warriors releases that we’ve seen over the years. Personal favorite… and it hurts to say as much… USED to be Gundam Reborn. Now as much as I love giant robots and laser swords, they take a second seat to the incredible world of Hyrule. I’ve been a fan of Link’s adventures since the very beginning and anytime that a Legend of Zelda is announced, there may be a bit of squeeing involved. Taking all of that into account, when Hyrule Warriors was announced I was ecstatic. Merging the Warriors system with various characters from Zelda including the titular character herself, players take the 1vX amount of enemies to the fields of Hyrule.

Read More

Bayonetta 2 - Wii U Review

For those who say Nintendo is only interested in being a family-friendly console, I present Bayonetta 2. The first game took a lot of people by surprise (myself included) with its mix of over-the-top action, religious references and a lead character who is quite sexualized. For those who missed the first game? Relax, it is part of the package here (and also updated for the Wii U), but the real treat is in the sequel which offers a more refined experience this time around.

Read More

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U - Wii U Review

The Wii U got off to a rough start when it released, with a good number of people passing it over in favor of waiting for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One releases. A strange thing has happened since the release of Mario Kart 8 earlier this year, however. The Wii U seems to have found its stride. While both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One has had some exclusives, the Wii U has managed to differentiate itself from those two consoles because of games like Super Smash Bros., which cannot be found on other platforms. Super Smash Bros. offers a robust roster, tons of features and modes and plenty of reason to pick it up and battle it out online or with friends and family in the living room.

Read More

Master Reboot - Wii U Review

Atmosphere can do so much for a video game. Realism in an FPS, a sense of wonder and discovery in an RPG, amazing humor in a comedy point-and-click adventure and of course a sense of tension and terror in a game looking to bring a little horror into your life. The good news is that Master Reboot really seems to understand atmosphere well, creating a title light on gameplay mechanics and heavy on haunting visuals and interesting ideas.

Read More

SteamWorld Dig - Wii U Review

I’m back with another platformer! This time around, I played a title that is a real mouthful - SteamWorld Dig: A Fistful of Dirt. SteamWorld Dig is available on a plethora of platforms, making its most recent splash on the Wii U, where I was able to complete it. You can also pick it up for 3DS, Vita, Playstation 4, and PC via Steam or direct purchase. Given the theme of SteamWorld Dig, comparisons to other games like Spelunky may be natural, but I haven’t played enough of those to comment on how well it holds its own in such company.

Read More

BrickBlast U! - Nintendo Wii U Review

The old style brick breaking games are a classic for a variety of reasons. Fun power-ups, frantic and fluid gameplay and lots of levels - many of which are visually appealing - stand as some of the most popular reasons to play titles like Breakout or Arkanoid. Really, the formula tends to be somewhat easy to emulate, though the somewhat shallow, repetitious nature of the gameplay keeps this from being a style of game we see very often. When BrickBlast U! was announced for the Wii U, I was hopeful that it would at least pull off the necessary things that made those other games classic time-wasters. Unfortunately in the end, BrickBlast U simply serves to waste your time.

Read More

My Jurassic Farm - Wii U Review

With a title like this, one can generally assume that a game like My Jurassic Farm may be very similar to popular titles like Zoo Tycoon - but with dinosaurs. Turns out, my assumption there was wrong, as it feels very little like a Zoo Tycoon game. Given the recent talk about Jurassic Park, a game themed around raising dinosaurs was bound to happen, and as a result we get a decidedly average entry into the virtual life genre.

Read More

My Arctic Farm - Nintendo Wii U Review

Do you like games like Harvest Moon? Did you own a Tamagotchi or Dinky Dino in the 90s? Whichever experience you are looking for, refrain from getting your hopes up with My Arctic Farm. I have a hard time telling which target the developers were aiming for, but as far as I can tell, they missed both.

Read More

Color Zen Kids - Wii U Review

It is great to see indie developers bringing content to consoles now, especially one like the Wii U that often feels starved for more content. A title like Color Zen Kids is not going to move any consoles, but it is a pleasant, relaxing game that is reasonably priced and fits right in on the often family-friendly Wii U console.

Read More

How to Train Your Dragon 2 - Wii U Review

The Wii U has had its struggles, with a lack of third party support from major publishers. This means that outside of the big first party Nintendo games, it has fallen on smaller development and publishing teams like Little Orbit and Torus Games to try and fill the void. Unfortunately having the license to a great movie has been proven time again to be anything but a guarantee for a great (or even decent) game. How to Train Your Dragon 2 unfortunately continues the trend of mediocrity for licensed games.

Read More

Mario Kart 8 - Wii U Review

Things have been rough for Nintendo and their Wii U, which often feels like a console that was a step behind the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, despite actually having released before both of them. There have been plenty of solid titles for the Wii U so far, but for those looking for a shining example of what is right about this console, Mario Kart 8 should do the trick.

Read More

Swords & Soldiers HD - Wii U Review

It is really hard to believe that it has been about five years now since Swords & Soldiers first debuted on the Nintendo Wii. The timing of its updated release for the Wii U is no doubt linked to the upcoming sequel Swords & Soldiers II. The real question is if this updated version of the charming RTS game is still worth a play on the Wii U or not.

Read More

Color Zen - Wii U Review

Color Zen is a different sort of puzzle game. It has its roots in the mobile platform, and those simplistic visuals still carry over to the Nintendo Wii U's version of the downloadable title as well. No scoring, no game over, just trial and error until you complete a level and move onto the next one. The end result? A rare gaming experience that is more soothing than frustrating and an excellent diversion from the rest of your day.

Read More