100 Word Review #7 – The Conduit

Let me get one thing straight before I write this review, I didn’t have much love for FPS’s before I played the Conduit (mainly because I suffer slightly from simulator sickness). So playing through The Conduit at first was a bit of a labour of love. Luckily for me my simulator sickness subsided (yay!) and I was able to play through to the end and let me say I enjoyed The Conduit thoroughly, the controls are tight and customisable, the graphics are detailed, sound is good and online is smooth and addictive (at least in the UK).

Verdict: Buy it!

100 Word Review #6 – Grand Slam Tennis

Wimbledon has come and gone but Grand Slam Tennis still takes pride of place near the top of my Wii games collection. To get the most out of this game you must use Wii motion plus just don’t expect it to be 1:1, the controls take a while to get used to but once you master them they feel right. GST has a strong campaign mode, clean, functional and pleasing graphics as well as friend code free online play (I’ve had many many epic matches). GST is engaging, challenging and fun!

Verdict: Well worth a buy especially the WM+ bundle!

100 Word Review #5 – Mad World

Madworld is an interesting game, the creation of Platinum Games (made up of ex Clover Studios members) the experience and skill of this studio shines through. Madworld is graphically impressive and oozes style, looking like a mix of Sin City and Mad Max. Controls are fun, intuitive and visceral which matches the dark humour and ultra-violence of the game well. Audio is impressive, well-produced rap tracks are complemented by strong voice work. My only qualms are that gameplay can become repetitive; the game is also very short and doesn’t boast much replay value.

Verdict: A strong rent or budget buy!

100 Word Review #4 – Lost Winds WotM

This game is a masterpiece, how the developers managed such a feat with the tiny Wiiware limit is beyond me! The art direction is exceptional, graphics are crisp and detailed with great attention to detail, characters exude personality and audio is unobtrusive and atmospheric, the Wii controls are also expertly implemented. If you are a Wii owner you MUST experience this game. Support it and hopefully there’ll be many more additions to this franchise, if all 2.5D games were this great I wouldn’t mind if I ever played a 3D game again, I honestly can’t recommend it enough!

Verdict: BUY!!!

100 Word Review #3 – Spyborgs

Spyborgs was one of my most looked forward to September releases; did it live up to the hype? Well yes and no. Spyborgs is a great game; the visuals are possibly some of the best on the system and drive home how good all Wii games should be looking. Combat is good but can be limited if you don’t upgrade and explore some of the deeper mechanics. Sadly the story isn’t really presented that well, cut-scenes are short and don’t tell you that much and searching for tapes (to expand the story) can be tiresome.

Verdict: Definitely worth a rent!

100 Word Review #2 – Academy of Champions

Simply put Academy of Champions is a great Wii game, as a standalone arcade football game it ticks all the right boxes with a great visual style, interesting concept and excellent Wii controls but where this game really shines is in its “story” mode, a mix of mini-games and matches coupled with “RPG-lite” elements. It’s hard to describe but trust me its great fun! Academy of Champions may not be the longest game but it definitely deserves a purchase and is evidence of what can be accomplished with a game built from the ground up for the Wii!

Verdict: Recommended

100 Word Review #1 – Mini Ninjas

Mini Ninjas has instantly become one of my favourite Wii titles. From the start it is evident that a lot of effort has been put into this game, the graphics are rich and colourful; characters are animated smoothly and display distinct personalities, sound is also impressive. Motion controls are implemented well and combat is satisfyingly deep especially as your “justsu” abilities improve. The only fault I found was that it was all over too quickly. Don’t think that this game is just another poor cross platform release; Mini Ninjas definitely deserves a place in you Wii collection!

Verdict: Highly Recommended