Author Profile
- Username
- Gabbo
- Articles
- 54 (54 reviews)
- First Article
- Tue 27th, May 2008
- Avg. Review Score
- 5.9
Review Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters (Wii)
A master stroke?
The seasoned PGA Tour Golf series shoves Tiger out of the way this year, instead choosing to put “The Masters” tournament front and center. The case, promotion and advertising for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters are all Masters-centric, perhaps in a first step toward abandoning the long-running Tiger Woods branding...
Review Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest (Wii)
“It is but a shadow and a thought that you love. I cannot give you what you seek.”
As a hack-'n-slash game based on the famous movie franchise, Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest enters a field that is already well-plowed by earlier releases. But with it's unusual twist on storytelling, is there something here worthwhile to nudge burned-out fans...
Review Scooby-Doo! and the Spooky Swamp (Wii)
A Scooby Snack's worth of fun
The latest game based on the hit animated franchise now creeping into its fifth decade, Scooby-Doo! and the Spooky Swamp, is a platformer that should feel familiar to fans – as a licensed game, it taps into the huge built-in audience of the show that has, over the years, demonstrated a very high tolerance for...
Review Disney Epic Mickey (Wii)
A well painted canvas or a thin premise?
The very trademark of Disney itself, Mickey Mouse personifies the company's library of cartoon characters. How ironic then, that over the years Mickey himself has at times teetered on the brink of falling into the “Wasteland” of seemingly forgotten Disney characters no longer in use. In an effort to...
Review HB Arcade Disc Golf (WiiWare)
A discontenting discappointment
The sport of "disc golf" (so named here to subtract the more well known trademark, “Frisbee”) is perhaps played more often on the Wii than in real life. Even so, the sport itself is an obvious good fit for Wii owners as the entire sport essentially boils down to players standing in place and taking turns...
Review NBA Jam (Super Nintendo)
The very definition of Boomshakalaka
Released amid a surge in the popularity of professional basketball during the early 1990s, NBA Jam rode the wave along with many other basketball video games. In spite of all the competition, it became a legend in its own time and is still remembered fondly today. Often sport-based games become obsolete a year...
Review Target Toss Pro: Lawn Darts (WiiWare)
Flying Wii Remotes: less likely to cause injury than flying lawn darts
A sequel to Target Toss Pro: Bags, released on WiiWare in 2008, Target Toss Pro: Lawn Darts brings the same style of play to a different variety of games, this time using lawn darts. We thought the previous release was good but needed some work – did Incredible Technologies hit...
Review Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem (GameCube)
To think that once I could not see beyond the veil of our reality to see those who dwell behind
When Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem was released, there was a glut of Mature-rated horror games on the market from which to choose. Between the endless sequels to Resident Evil, Silent Hill and others, it was easy to overlook this newcomer. But...
Review Triple Throwing Sports (WiiWare)
It’s not hammer time and it never will be
Please have your Wii Remote and Nunchuk handy. You’ll need them to read this review. Ready? Okay, first, begin by spinning the Nunchuk around in a circular motion. Any direction will do, just spin it really fast, then faster still. Then, when the time is right, press the B button. Are you with us so far?...
Review Pearl Harbor Trilogy - 1941: Red Sun Rising (WiiWare)
The dawn of a promising new WiiWare franchise
Pearl Harbor Trilogy - 1941: Red Sun Rising, one of the most anticipated WiiWare games of the year, wowed observers with screenshots that seemed far too impressive to be possible in a downloadable Wii title. In a field mostly populated by mini-game collections with simplistic graphics, Pearl Harbor...
Review Arcade Sports (WiiWare)
Jack-of-all-trades, master of none
Perhaps better named, “Bowling Alley Sports”, Arcade Sports is a collection featuring pool, air hockey, and of course bowling. All of these games are available elsewhere on your Wii, but here you can get all three for one download. We’ve seen plenty of minigame collections on the Wii before, but is this...
Review Chess Challenge! (WiiWare)
The “challenge” must lie in making a good chess game
From the makers of Sudoku Challenge comes Chess Challenge in all of its public domain glory. In our earlier review of Silver Star Chess, the first chess game on Wiiware, we advised to wait “until a better version of the game comes along later.” Is Chess Challenge that gold star chess game...
A drain on your brain... or on your lifespan?
Brain Drain asks you to look at a pattern of objects, then scrambles those objects and tasks you with the job of unscrambling them. It's rather like having your Mom throw all of your stuff on the floor and then tell you to pick it up. Some people enjoy this sort of treatment, masochists and puzzle fans...
Review Family Go-Kart Racing (WiiWare)
A pit stop on the road to hell
The family that just can’t get enough of each other is back in their eighth outing on WiiWare. By now, Aksys has had plenty of time to figure out what works and what doesn’t in this series of games. And it was becoming pretty obvious that if these games have a fault (and they’re all pretty flawless) it’s that...
Review Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice For All (WiiWare)
“Sustained!”
This second game in the Phoenix Wright series brings more of the same intriguing puzzle solving game play mixed with addictive storytelling that made the first game a runaway success when it was released. And like the first game, Phoenix’s second outing is one of the best experiences to be had on a handheld. But as we pointed out...
When the bugs come tumbling down
Originally released on the PC, the first and second Tumblebugs games were relatively well received. However the series failed to attain the mass popular appeal of similar games such as Zuma and Luxor as well as others. Tumblebugs is not even the first in this genre on WiiWare: that distinction goes to Magnetica...
Review Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (WiiWare)
“Objection!”
Renowned primarily for its storytelling and unique style, it’s hard to say for sure whether the Phoenix Wright series are games at all or rather interactive short stories, but the medium in which they exist lumps them into the game category, and so as a game we must review it. There’s nothing we can say about the Phoenix Wright...
Review Fast Draw Showdown (WiiWare)
“Keep it in your holster!”
Fast Draw Showdown is a game set in the distant past…the year 1994, to be precise. In those days, arcades were lit up with light gun games; even as other genres drifted into console-only territory, there was still a ready supply of them. But where most of these games were frantic on-rails, shoot-everything-that-moves...
Review TV Show King 2 (WiiWare)
A significant improvement over a trivial predecessor.
One of the very first Wiiware titles at launch gets a much-needed sequel in TV Show King 2. The original was a decent trivia vehicle that we thought was okay, if somewhat overpriced for what it offered. There was so much room for improvement that we were glad this got a second chance. But is...
It may not feature Tiger Woods, but it does let you beat up golfers with golf clubs.
With the advent of the Wii Remote and Wii MotionPlus, older golf games may seem obsolete by comparison, but a few exceptions are still worth checking out for the extra content they bring besides just golf. One such exception is Outlaw Golf with its irreverent take...
Now you’re playing with power. Dolphin power.
My Dolphin is the dolphin training simulator for the Wii for which everyone's been clamouring for years. Using the Wii Remote, players guide their aquatic pal through a performance to carry out jumps, spins, back flips and other tricks in order to perform for your audience like…well, like a trained...
Review Excitebike: World Rally (WiiWare)
Will this remake kick the tires out from under the competition?
Nintendo’s often-overlooked Excite racing series kicks in the turbo and has released not one but two new games this year. This time, the series returns to its roots with a remake of the original NES classic. But with so many other “excite”-ing options to choose from on the Wii, is...
Review Family Card Games (WiiWare)
The family that plays drinking games together, stays together
Worn out from extended sessions of Table Tennis, Mini Golf and Slot Car Racing? Feeling like if you have to look at Mommy, Daddy, Billy, or Sarah’s plastic smiling faces one more time you will throw your Wii Remote through the TV? Why not unwind with a few pleasant card games?...
Review Shootanto: Evolutionary Mayhem (WiiWare)
An evolutionary step for light gun shooters?
In the grand tradition of so-called “light gun” games, Shootanto uses the pointer function of the Wii remote to task the player with shooting targets onscreen as quickly as possible. Given the strengths of the Wii remote in this regard, the Wii should provide fertile ground for this genre. But is...
