The nice people over a PDP sent me a cool accessory to review, and it’s something that is actually very useful for those who want to save some cash. This induction charging system for your Wii Remotes, keep your stuff charged and ready to go for your all night gaming sessions. What’s pretty interesting is there is nothing you have to plug the remote into, you just place it on a dock. To find out the secret of the charger (more…)

When I first saw Personal Trainer: Walking by Nintendo, it looked like a great idea.  You go out for walks, a little pedometer device measures how far you’ve gone, and then it syncs up to your DS to keep a record or create a fitness plan.  For the most part, it does what you’d expect, but it really lacks anything to inspire more excercise.

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Developer Next Level Games must have studied Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out for years. Because they have recaptured the spirit of that classic game and revived it with slick presentation, tight controls, and fresh perspective in the all-new Punch-Out for Wii. It doesn’t happen often, but Punch-Out not only lives up to the hype of the original, it surpasses it.

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Most video game and film enthusiasts have learned that a good movie does not always make a good game - in fact, as a rule almost all movies make bad games.  Unfortunately and unsurprisingly, X-Men Origins Wolverine on the Nintendo Wii is no exception.  It’s a prime example of the boring, uninspired, cookie-cutter and mediocre excuses for entertainment the vast majority of movie franchise games tend to be.  Let’s find out why this waste of great source material should never come anywhere near your Wii.

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“The Hobbit” was written, many people have been enthralled with the idea of warriors, with various traits and personalities, doing battle with some powerful force of malice in a medieval setting. As the years rolled by, strategy board games, such as Dungeons & Dragons, gained much popularity with kids (and many more adults) that were willing to devote their time to understand the game.

For the most part though, playing such games almost automatically gave you the “geeky kid” label as well. However, that all changed in the 80’s, when home consoles and arcades became the driving force of why we got out of bed in the morning. Sega eventually caught on to the idea and released Golden Axe in the arcades back in 1989. With its bright graphics, simple controls, and 2-player co-op action, Golden Axe became a big hit with avid gamers looking for a good challenge. Sega saw fit to make it part of their initial wave of games to be available soon after the launch of the Sega Genesis. Years later, Golden Axe had been made available on the Virtual Console, ready to fulfill your medieval side-scrolling brawler needs.
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If you don’t know how to pronounce it, don’t worry – neither does the rest of North America. Despite having been released in DOS, on the Famicom, and a slew of other platforms, the Ys RPG series only saw major stateside release on the Turbographix 16 - and even this version of the game was extremely difficult to find until it was finally released on the Nintendo Wii’s Virtual Console. After being remade and re-released countless times in Japan, the latest Ys remake has finally made it’s way to US shores on the Nintendo DS - and it’s very polished rendition - although it’s quirks might betray it’s age and leave you a bit frustrated.

Oh, and pronouncing the title? It’s somewhat like the word “ease.” Try pluralizing the “y” sound in “happy” and you’ve got it.

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Taking one scan through your local game retailer shows you just how many developers are deciding to make a quick and easy buck by simply porting an older title to the Wii. There’s no doubt Capcom is this generation’s game port king what with titles such as Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil 0, Okami, and more hitting the system within the past two years. Their newest retooled title is none other than the Xbox 360’s 2006 award winning Dead Rising. Does this port have what it takes to entertain newcomers yet keep returning fans pleased at the same time? Read our review.

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I had Puzzle Quest: Galactrix in my DS for a few hours this week and came away impressed.  As a fan of the first Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords for DS, the news that they were putting out “Puzzle Quest in space” got me salivating.  Galactrix is again an addicting game, but the story and world are much deeper than that in Challenge of the Warlords.  Characters have much more dialog than before and it’s mostly well written.  The universe you fly around in is much larger than the map from Warlords.  Even from the few hours I played, there was talk of aquiring more crew members (I already have four) and additional ships.  Along with this depth, there are additional load times which became a little frustrating, but actually gives you a break to stretch your stylus cramped hand.  Puzzle battles are basically the same, but using a Hexic style game instead of the Bejewled type of game from the first Puzzle Quest.

While it’s a relief that Galactrix isn’t just Warlords coated in sci-fi, it has a much bigger focus on the adventure and story.  This was slightly off-putting for me since the first one was more a matter of wandering around and battling without too much thought about who or why you were battling.  That said, it’s an excellent game and well worth checking out if you’re into puzzles or RPGs.

Gamers who grew up with the NES no doubt remember the controller smashing frustration of the 1980s.  Games were unforgiving and unfair, but we loved them anyway - extracting far more joy than anguish from our time with that little grey box, the Nintendo.  Playing Retro Game Challenge for the DS is a lot like reliving those lazy summer afternoons with the NES, but without the anguish.  Anyone who wants to recapture the excitement of the 1980s gaming culture, get in touch with the roots of the game industry, or to simply play a great self contained DS title shouldn’t pass this one up.

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Sometimes, the best games are the ones you didn’t see coming.

Those games are special. Without media hype or a franchise to which they can attach, they fly under the radar, and no one seems to notice.

Big Bang Mini is one of them.

I’ll be honest. After the game cartridge made that satisfying, springy click into my DS, the last thing I expected was to be blown away. The game’s generic title didn’t exactly help matters, either.

Big Bang Mini? It’s like one of the developers pulled a handful of wooden letters from a Scrabble bag and did the best they could.

But then I started playing.

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