Nintendo Life

Nintendo Life

Narelle Ho Sang·Dec 22, 2015

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Just Dance: Disney Party 2is a party, with stipulations. If you're interested in getting an honest workout, this game is for you. If you're keen on challenging yourself to some tough choreography that'll take some memorization, it's also a game for you. If you want to have a dance party with your friends and don't care that you may all look silly trying to replicate dance steps, then this is the game for you too. If you have no idea who the current Disney stars are from their various shows, then it becomes a 'maybe'. It depends on whether or not you can get past hearing overly sugary and saturated pop songs you've likely never heard of before. Your definition of fun may vary, and Just Dance: Disney Party 2 definitely delivers to some degree; it just might not necessarily be the form of dancing fun you're looking for.

Nintendo Life

Thomas Whitehead·Dec 9, 2015

Critic90/100

Agreement—

SteamWorld Heist is an entirely different proposition to its predecessor, and that's no bad thing. Its quirky blend of a 2D perspective, allied with turn-based strategy and skill-based attacks, is a surprisingly addictive combination. There's impressive depth to the overall mechanics, and it's all topped off with a level of presentation that's both charming and accomplished. Whether seeking challenging strategy or an entertaining story, this title delivers both in its own unique way and has certainly stolen plenty of our time; we haven't even got all the hats yet.

Nintendo Life

Narelle Ho Sang·Dec 9, 2015

Critic40/100

Agreement—

Monster High: New Ghoul in School is a mixed bag. It's a game for a particular audience which includes some RPG adventuring and platforming elements to it, while maintaining its fashion doll sense. In a lot of ways it fails to do anything incredibly interesting, with the repetitive actions of fetch quests being one of its biggest offenders, and gameplay can become dull as it takes the most drab parts of RPGs and fits them in. The multiple narrative threads do make integration into its world fleshed out and interesting to a degree, though it should be noted once more that this would only be interesting for its specific target audience. Is it a downright terrible game? Not exactly, but it's definitely ghastly in various ways.

Nintendo Life

Tim Latshaw·Nov 19, 2015

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Typoman fashions a marvelous world full of wordy wonder, and those who feel it would be up their alley should definitely give the game a try based on that alone. However, the smudges that can come in the platforming, combined with the roller coaster difficulty, may very likely frustrate some when they find themselves caught in a death loop. The shorter length of the game is also a factor to consider, but the thought of a sequel with an expanded vocabulary and tweaked platforming makes us want to look up "enticing" in the thesaurus.

Nintendo Life

Narelle Ho Sang·Nov 19, 2015

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Movie and licensed game tie-ins may suffer a reputation for being half-baked, quick cash grabs. There's always the concern that originality of source material would be unjustly represented; after all, Snoopy's Grand Adventure was a simultaneous release with the Peanuts movie. The movie was one that was marketed hard before its premiere, even transforming the cast of NBC's The Today Show into creepy human counterparts of the Peanuts' characters. Luckily, the Snoopy game doesn't feel like a money grubbing attempt to cash-in on the hopeful success of the movie. It's actually a decent platformer, with collectibles and costume changes which add variety to backtracking and a drive to unlock all areas with new, fun powerups. That said it certainly isn't immune from some issues such as somewhat stiff controls, which keep it from being a great game. Still, as a game for younger crowds it's a fun and welcome option to further embrace the world of Peanuts.

Nintendo Life

Ryan Craddock·Nov 9, 2015

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Just Dance is the sort of title that most players will already have feelings about. For some, this game is their worst nightmare, being the centre of attention and dancing in front of a room full of people is a very different experience to sitting down for a night of snacks and shooting things. But this game isn't aimed towards that audience.It may not have ground-breaking graphics or a heart-string tugging storyline, but that doesn't matter. It achieves its purpose extremely well, allowing people to spend a night in together and have a great time. The soundtrack and the new features introduced this time around make Just Dance 2016 the definitive version of the series so far, meaning that it would be a great time for newcomers to the franchise to jump aboard, and also worth it for serious players from last year to upgrade.The Just Dance Unlimited Premium package seems a little stingy compared to other recent music releases such as FreeStyleGames' Guitar Hero Live, which doesn't force you to spend a penny, but other than that this is a very strong party game which does the job of being fun.

Nintendo Life

Steve Bowling·Oct 31, 2015

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Human Resource Machine is one of the most difficult puzzle games we've played in quite some time. It's not difficult for difficulty's sake though, it's difficult because it's different. It requires you to think less like a gamer and more like a developer. One of Human Resource Machine's only major fault is that there are far too few puzzles; its 38 puzzles go very quickly once you have the hang of how to program, leaving a game that could be completed in under an hour depending on your skill level. For those with no programming background, these same puzzles could take hours of your time. It's an excellent game, it'd just be better if there was more of it; that's not a bad problem to have.By their nature, the puzzles in this game are going to limit its potential audience, and the explanations the game provides don't do the best job of conveying how to order commands and do little to advise on how to optimize your code to achieve secondary objectives. That's appealing for some, but is worth acknowledging as a potential drawback for others.Human Resource Machine is a good game, bordering on great. It's just missing a few little tweaks.

Nintendo Life

Ben Bertoli·Oct 23, 2015

Critic80/100

Agreement—

If you own a Wii U and like to rock, Guitar Hero Live is your best bet. Not because it's the only game in town, but because it's actually a wonderfully addictive rhythm title with plenty to offer. With GH TV and a snazzy new controller players will find themselves happily diving head first into the best solo guitar experience since the series' inception. Break out the leather vest and fingerless gloves, Guitar Hero is back.

Nintendo Life

Tim Latshaw·Oct 22, 2015

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Although it suffers from some hiccups in presentation and a nearly needless combat system, Adventure Time: Jake & Finn Investigations plays to the strengths of the show by concentrating on its appealing world and characters. While it might prove too basic for more advanced players, younger players and families should have a fun time questing with dog and human. Big fans of the show, of course, should not feel so afraid to give this one a try, either.

Nintendo Life

Thomas Whitehead·Oct 14, 2015

Critic70/100

Agreement—

LEGO Dimensions is well worth consideration for those happy to invest in a new toys-to-life platform. The core content of the Starter Pack gives you plenty to do, though tolerance is required for occasionally overbearing in-game promotion of expensive add-ons. There are moments of brilliance, a few modest levels and some disappointing sections where design is questionable and performance struggles. The positives do outweigh the negatives, though, and in addition to some high points this also sets a new standard in how toys-to-life can bring NFC portals and a video game together in new ways. These toys actually come to life, which promises much for the future.

Nintendo Life

Narelle Ho Sang·Sep 30, 2015

Critic90/100

Agreement—

Overall, Nova-111 is a lot of fun for its smart mix of familiar gameplay elements. Discovering the weirdness of space has never been cooler.

Nintendo Life

Lee Meyer·Sep 29, 2015

Critic30/100

Agreement—

If this review seems similar to our review of Rock 'N Racing Off Road, it's because this is largely the same game with more tracks. Despite EnjoyUp's efforts to improve and refine the experience, Rock 'N Racing Off Road DX just doesn't do enough differently or better to warrant a purchase.

Nintendo Life

Steve Bowling·Sep 22, 2015

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Extreme Exorcism is an excellent example of why Nintendo's recent moves to embrace the indie scene are so great. Its quick, fun gunplay partnered with a fitting, if not groundbreaking soundtrack make for a game that's perfect to sit down and enjoy with three friends. It's a must-have title for Wii U indie supporters and fans of split-screen multiplayer.

Nintendo Life

Thomas Whitehead·Sep 10, 2015

Critic70/100

Agreement—

It's hugely clever, chaotic and funny, though there are downsides in the implementation of randomly generated stages and in some technical glitches and flaws. Despite some issues the premise, presentation, music and gameplay all work well together, making this a steal on the Wii U - just not the great heist it could have been.

Nintendo Life

Jose Acosta·Aug 26, 2015

Critic90/100

Agreement—

As mentioned in the opening, Runbow is easily one of the best games that has graced the Wii U; it's a game that is very Nintendo in every single aspect, from concept to art and sound direction, to the point that Nintendo itself has taken the liberty to celebrate a launch party for Runbow at the Nintendo World Store in NYC. It's an excellent party game with a solid single player campaign and more unlockables than the colours of the rainbow; you won't regret paying the admission for this gem on the Wii U.