Ninjas are awesome, and this game certainly contains them. However, this alone isn’t enough to make the game worth buying. The game, known as Tenchu 4 in Japan, is the next instalment in the stealth/action series that dates back to the original PlayStation.
You control both Rikimaru and Ayame who attempt to restore peace blah blah, all set in 13th century Japan. The story is well presented through cutscenes which feature surprisingly well done voice acting. Well, except for the occasional cockney enemy guard, and the fact that they all spout the same three phrases when looking for you. Overall production values are quite high, which is unusual for a Wii game. Character models look good and animate well, though there is a distinct lack in variety of enemy models (the bad guys must be investing in a clone army), and the lead protagonists and enemies are fantastically designed. Music is also great, and really does a good job setting the mood. Unfortunately, as soon as you are placed in control of the ninja, cracks start to show.

For many years now, videogames have had this weird fascination with zombies. We’ve seen games where you shoot them, games where you run over them, and even games where you play as them. There’s something about the undead that really captures the imagination of players and developers alike, and Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop, a port of an Xbox 360 game, continues this fine tradition on the Nintendo Wii. But a fine tradition does not automatically equal a fine game, so I have been given the task of finding out if Dead Rising makes the cut, or ‘chop’ as it were.

I’m going to start this review with something bad, but important. This game is short. Damn short. Got it? Good. Now onto everything else.

Most of the supposedly ‘kid-friendly’ Wii games that are reviewed for this website are panned for being cheap shovelware with bad controls, hardly any content, and gameplay so dull that not even kids would enjoy it. That is why I was more than a little nervous when I received a copy of NERF N-Strike. This game appeared to be no more than a cheap ad for NERF (the toy company that specialises in guns that fire foam projectiles) aimed at kids, and made by the one-time champions of cheap cash-ins, EA. Further analysis suggested it was a mini-game compilation. All signs pointed to another massive failure.

The moral of this story is that first impressions can be deceiving, because Nerf N-Strike is actually a good game.

When Rare released Viva Piñata on the Xbox 360 many Nintendo fans cried out for a Wii release; unfortunately, this did not happen. Some time later, however, Microsoft Game Studios, Rare, Nintendo and THQ announced Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise for the Nintendo DS. Nintendo fans rejoiced. The title received positive reviews and Nintendo fans were left wanting more. Sadly, Rare could not deliver anymore and as a result the fans’ hunger was never satisfied.

With a name like SimCity Creator, I wasn’t expecting much from the latest instalment in the popular city building series, but it seems my judgement was incorrect. Hidden beneath this dodgy cover title is a game that rivals its predecessors. Well, almost…

Metal Slug had always appealed to me, having been a child who spent many days playing Sunset Riders. Many magazines had also recommended the series as a high point of the Shoot ‘em Up genre. So as Christmas rolled around the Earth waiting for the perfect opportunity to present itself I waited with fair anticipation. The opportunity to play all six of the arcade games plus X was too good to pass up. Hopes for #3 were especially high. But would the game be too hard, too short or could it possibly live up to the enormous hype? Read on to find out.

As a huge fan of Tales of Symphonia on the GCN, I was eagerly anticipating the release of this sequel. I wasn’t expecting anything revolutionary – just more Tales and fan-service for those who enjoyed the first game – and that is pretty much what you get with DotNW.