For his latest Zero Punctuation review, renowned intertubes misanthrope Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw has cast his jaded eye over Activision's Guitar Hero: World Tour.
Things start off well between reviewer and game (though Rock Band's troubledrelationship with Australia undoubtedly has something to do with this) but Yahtzee soon finds assorted holes to pick at, with some of his targets including the pointlessness of Spanish language songs in an English language release, the new slide bar on World Tour's guitars, and the game's credentials as a karaoke simulator. Hit up The Escapist for the review in full or simply jump past the break.
The Famitsu 40/40 has lost some of its lustre in recent times. Since 1998, the magazine has awarded nine perfect scores, but three have come in 2008, including one for Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
However, even we found the latest game to receive the honor surprising. 428: The World Doesn't Change Even So is a "visual novel," a graphical text adventure from roguelike kings Chunsoft that keeps player interaction to a minimum. In other words, it's very unlike any other game to receive a flawless Famitsu grade. In fact, it's unlike mostother games, period.
We haven't posted a great deal about 428. That's not because we don't find it interesting -- we definitely do. It's because, as Alisha has noted, a game of its ilk is almost entirely impenetrable to our western eyes. Suffice to say, it has now been instantly promoted from "intriguing curio" to "must-own import." Not that a release outside Japan will ever happen.
Back when I got my hands on Guinness World Records at E3, I was surprised at how engaging and fun the title was. Whether that was due to sheer exhaustion or the game actually being that good is anybody's guess. Luckily, the fine folks behind the game sent us a copy to review so we could decide, once and for all, if I was just crazy or if the game really was that good.
Before we dive right into the review, there are a few things you should know. First of all, I was unable to test the game with the WiiSpeak peripheral. With Nintendo only sending us one bundle of the game, it was impossible for me to utilize the peripheral during my time with the game. With that in mind, also understand that our single press review copy meant that I was without individuals to enjoy the multiplayer side of the game. This is purely a review of my time with the single-player portion of the game Animal Crossing: City Folk.
So, head past the break and read about Nintendo's latest game in the Animal Crossing franchise.
Following the first, second, and third installments in SBCG4AP, I found myself wondering if the fourth episode could keep the pace of the first three. And it's pretty evident in the first few moments of the game that this is another episode that is setting the bar for humor a bit higher. Frankly, they gave me the whole tub of popcorn, but I only needed the edge.
Nyko's been manufacturing peripherals for awhile now. We've spent time with the Kama wireless Nunchuk, their wireless Nunchuk adapter and even the Perfect Shot. Now their latest peripheral, the Wing, attempts to best Nintendo's Classic Controller through wireless technology. Does it succeed? Read on and find out!
In an industry obsessed with spin-offs, it's amazing that this took so long: a Space Invaders game in which puny humans get to control the Invaders themselves. In the same year that the franchise celebrates its thirtieth anniversary, Space Invaders Get Even! lets you indulge in a spot of role reversal, giving us the chance to cruise above the cities of Earth and raze everything in sight.
I've been a huge fan of Naxat Soft's Alien Crush and otherCrushgames since they came out. It's no exaggeration to say that the availability of Alien Crush on the Virtual Console factored into my decision to purchase a Wii. When Hudson revealed plans for a 3D WiiWare update of Alien Crush, it definitely captured my attention.
Alien Crush Returns, it turns out, is much more than an update: it is a direct sequel to Alien Crush, and a very different game. While the new version doesn't outshine the original, there's certainly more of it. And it finally brings online leaderboards to the series -- along with direct online competition!
You know what? We were all kinds of ready to pick up All Star Cheer Squad. The day it released, we were waiting at the GameStop, with our money in hand, ready to pick up the title. In the end, we didn't, because, really, how were we to know if this was the ultimate cheerleading sim? Thankfully, a real cheerleader has stepped in and told us what to think!
Natalie, a cheerleader with the New York Jets Flight Crew, put the game through its paces, stomping on the Balance Board and using the Wiimote and Nunchuk to bust poses all over the place. Her final verdict? Well, she enjoyed it, but you're just going to have to watch the video past the break for the rest of her thoughts.
Seriously, though, somebody should tell her that Nintendo doesn't suggest wearing huge boots while using the Balance Board. Doesn't she know how expensive that thing is?
We've been waiting for the third installment of SBCG4AP for a little while now, jonesing for a new episode after thoroughlyenjoying the first two. For myself, this third episode is my favorite, as the combination of a "band off," and what I found to be the best writing in the series so far, have come together and dropped hot, delicious gaming action all over my face. Grab your leopard print pants and Squealin' Larry Limozeen Microphone and head past the break for the full review. Well all right!
When I first played Rotohex, I understood on a basic level how I was supposed to play the game, but I couldn't imagine a distant future in which I could play the game. I could not make my mind process the act of rotating triangles to create same-colored hexagons. I think it's the hexagons -- whatever it is, it felt a lot more mentally taxing than most puzzle games, and I failed within a few minutes on my first try.
Then, during subsequent attempts, I began to experience a bit more success. I started instinctively knowing how to position blocks, without consciously knowing what was happening. The world outside of my TV dropped away and I entered a prolonged Rotohex fugue state until the rush of falling triangles overwhelmed me and, half an hour later or so, I was dumped back into reality.
To me, that combination of total focus and trancelike hypnotism is the ideal result of a good falling-block puzzle game. You sort of forget about the world, and you even forget to think about what you're doing, and things just happen on the screen as your dinner gets cold.
If Disaster: Day of Crisis were a movie, it would be one of those big, dumb, summer blockbusters, the kind of feature where it's best to leave your brain at the door.
Although that might sound like a criticism, it's not intended that way, because just like over-the-top, thought-free action flicks, Disaster can serve as a guilty pleasure. It's got a Seagal-esque hero who must be one of the most resistant, hardened one-man armies of all time, tons of implausible "escaping death" scenarios, and a script that's cheesier than an explosion in a Roquefort factory. Yet despite all of this, I enjoyed it. Mostly.
The Incredible Maze is based on a simple, solid game concept: the wooden "labyrinth" toy. You know the one: you turn dials to tilt a wooden maze so that a ball rolls to the destination point without falling into strategically-placed holes. This concept is the basis for Super Monkey Ball, Kororinpa, and even (sort of) Mercury Meltdown Revolution. The Wii Remote, which can be physically tilted to control gameplay, seems like a natural for this sort of thing.
It's harder than it looks to implement good tilt control on the Wii, however. And The Incredible Maze's tilt controls take what would otherwise be a pretty benign game and ruin it.
Tetris Party on WiiWare is classic Tetris action. If you're expecting some kind of re-imagining or complete overhaul to the classic game, then you won't find it. What you will find is a very competent installment in the series, complete with several fun and exciting single-player modes and a very streamlined approach to playing online. If you're a fan of Tetris, then you're going to like what's here in Tetris Party.
Okay, so WiiWare is overrun with puzzle games. The download service is really the perfect venue for simplistic, single-screen games such as falling block puzzlers, and developers know that. The hardest part is coming up with the concept for the game, and then the work can be done on a small budget. For that matter, Nintendo hasn't even had to worry about coming up with new concepts -- they've got plenty of puzzle games in their past to remake.
It's a surprise, then, that Nintendo and developer Skip have introduced a brand new game in the Art Style series after only one remake. Cubello is a bit more of a traditional game than Orbient, but it's still worthy of the Art Style moniker -- and the interest of WiiWare puzzle fans.
