WiiWare Games 2008 + (IGN Reviews)

Dr Mario & Germ Buster

Category: Puzzle

Multiplayer mode: Simultaneous

Players: 1-4

Age rating: 3+

Publisher: Nintendo

Developer: Nintendo

Release date: 20/05/2008

Wii Points: 1000

Wifi Connection

IGN Rating : 8.5 Great

7.5 Presentation
Basic, with a somewhat odd mix of d-pad and IR interface. Both "Dr. Mario" and "Virus Buster" play like full experiences, but each are also a bit shallow as far as options go.

6.5 Graphics
It's almost all 2D, but for WiiWare it's a solid design, despite being very simple. There isn't a lot of animation or action on-screen, but the addition of 480p and 16:9 help.

7.0 Sound
cl@ssic Dr. Mario tunes make a return, as do traditional sound effects. It's exactly as you'd expect it; nothing more, nothing less.

8.5 Gameplay
Dr. Mario is a cl@ssic puzzler for a reason, and the addition of online, and the new Virus Buster mode makes this package a must-play. Fun gameplay goes a long, long way. 8.5

Lasting Appeal
The core game is timeless, online works great, four player Virus Buster is chaotically awesome, and everything just seems to work in the package. Buy it.

Lostwinds

Category: Platform

Multiplayer mode: Simultaneous

Players: 1-2

Age rating: 7+

Publisher: Frontier

Developer: Frontier

Release date: 20/05/2008

Wii Points: 1000

IGN Rating : 8.2 Great

7.0 Presentation
Simple, intuitive menus, predictable storyline, but a great mix of 2D-$tlye platforming values with updated Wii remote mechanics.

8.0 Graphics
A beautiful WiiWare game. Polished quasi-3D environments come to life with $tlye and effects like depth-of-field and bloom. Framerate occasionally hitches.

8.0 Sound
Different, refreshing. Lots of flutes and birds. Fits beautifully with the theme and $tyle of the game.

8.0 Gameplay
Great fun. Controlling the wind with the Wii remote feels good and there are lots of clever puzzles designed to challenge your mind and hand.

5.0 Lasting Appeal
Fun while it lasts, but way too short -- about three hours. No ranking or leader board system, no WFC support, no online, shallow coop multiplayer. Of course, it's only $10.

Strong Bad Episode 1

No. of players: 1 player

Release Date: Aug 11, 2008

Publisher: Telltale Games Developer: Telltale Games

Genre: Adventure, Action, Puzzles, Other

Wii Points: 1,000

ESRB Rating: T

IGN Rating : 8.1 Great

8.5 Presentation
Strong Bad's Cool Game does justice to the proud tradition of Homestar Runner. This is how you make a licensed game.

7.0 Graphics
The Homestar cartoons aren't wildly detailed to begin with. Here, the look of the show has been pretty accurately recreated, but some of the environments are a little too sparse.

9.0 Sound
Excellent voice work from Matt Chapman. All of the 8-bit and Casio keyboard tunes are fantastic. The opening number has to be one of the best game intros ever.

8.0 Gameplay
As a point-and-click game, Homestar Ruiner doesn't do anything revolutionary. But most games only wish they had half as much personality and humor as this one.

6.0 Lasting Appeal
The experience is short lived, but that's kind of the point of episodic gaming. There are only a couple hours of gameplay here, so if you're not a Homestar fan you may be a little disappointed.Toki Tori

• Category: Puzzle, Adventure
• Players: 1
• Age rating: 3+
• Publisher: Two Tribes
• Developer: Two Tribes
• Release date: 20/05/2008
• Wii Points: 900

IGN Rating : 8.0 Great

7.5 Presentation
Though the game does lack a handful of features, it's pretty obvious that the developers put a lot of effort into bringing back its Game Boy Color hero for Wii gamers.

8.0 Graphics
Bright, vibrant, and colorful 2D environments with characters that animate fluidly.

8.0 Sound
The cartoony soundtrack is surprisingly catchy and fits the visual $tyle and kooky theme.

8.0 Gameplay
A great throwback to platforming puzzle games that works extremely well with Wii controls. The level designs are challenging and can get extremely tough in deeper levels.

6.5 Lasting Appeal
The game's 40+ levels will take you only so far, but the developers created harder variations of existing levels to keep you challenged.Defend Your Castle

• Category: Strategy, Action
• Players: 1-4
• Age rating: 7+
• Publisher: XGen Studios
• Developer: XGen Studios
• Release date: 01/08/2008
• Wii Points: 500

IGN Rating : 7.9 Good

7.0 Presentation
The Defend Your Castle Internet game reborn on Wii with added options and enhancements.

3.0 Graphics
Intentionally bad. But bad nevertheless. Although, we had to admit there's a certain charm to the design and everything runs in 480p at a solid framerate.

6.0 Sound
Simple but funny. All the effects are done with voices via foley. Not much music to speak of.

7.0 Gameplay
Seemingly shallow concept with hidden depth. Starts off slow but gets frantic and fun, especially with multiple players. Good control and some strategy. More than meets the eye.

7.0 Lasting Appeal
You can play forever since the level selection is infinite. If you've got friends over, you'll keep going and going. If you're playing alone, the mechanics will eventually wear thin.Block Breaker Deluxe

• Category: Puzzle
• Players: 1-2
• Age rating: 3+
• Publisher: Gameloft
• Developer: Gameloft
• Release date: 20/06/2008
• Wii Points: 800

• Category: RPG
• Players: 1
• Age rating: 7+
• Publisher: Square Enix
• Developer: Square Enix
• Release date: 20/05/2008
• Wii Points: 1500

IGN Rating : 7.5 Good

8.0 Presentation
cl@ssic Square Enix polish. You spend a lot of time navigating menus, but everything is laid out well and includes a lot of detail. 7.5 Graphics
The character designs are interesting and everything looks nice standing still. But when they start moving they look very robotic, and there is no facial animation.

7.0 Sound
Pleasant fantasy tunes, but you'll be hearing them over and over. Some voice acting would have been nice.

7.5 Gameplay
It takes a bit to get into the flow of My Life as a King, but once your kingdom gets going you'll find a surprisingly deep management experience.

7.5 Lasting Appeal
The initial download will keep you going for hours and hours, and there's always the downloadable content for those that want to keep going

Gyrostarr

No. of players: up to 4 players

Release Date: Jun 23, 2008

Publisher: High Voltage Software, Inc.

Genre: Arcade, Shooter

Wii Points: 700

ESRB Rating: EI

GN Rating: 7.2 Good

7.0 Presentation
Controller swapping is done in an odd way, but the general interface is slick and simple. More modes would be nice though, as would a higher difficulty and speed option. 7.0

Graphics
There are some decent animations and effects included, and overall Gyrostarr squeezes a nice look out of such a small size limitation. The sense of speed in the main game is too slow.

7.5 Sound
A few techno tunes accompany some limited VO and a full list of expected sound effects.

7.5 Gameplay
The game needs to be faster, ramp up in difficulty at a quicker rate, and offer more defined multiplayer and scoring. The core experience is still a blast though.

7.0 Lasting Appeal
It'll take a few hours to get through all 50 levels, but the game isn't built with the "high scores, online leaderboard" mentality. Multiplayer is fun, but simple as well.