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Nintendo


Review
Cooking Mama 4: Kitchen Magic

By Jorge Figueiredo - January 24th, 2012

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At any given time, there will be at least one person playing a Cooking Mama title on their DS while riding the subway; this is a scientific law*. And why not? Cooking Mama is, essentially, a mini-game based cookbook, taking recipes and teaching them using a gaming interface. Cooking Mama 4: Kitchen Magic is the latest in the addictive series and is the first of the bunch made specifically for the 3DS – but it is not necessarily the greatest. Let’s take a look at why Cooking Mama 4 is not as tasty as it could have been.

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Review
Nano Assault

By Jorge Figueiredo - January 15th, 2012

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Shin’en Multimedia’s Nano Assault for the 3DS (published my Majesco) is what you get if you were to combine Starship Troopers with Inner Space*. Your mission is to pilot a small ship armed with lasers through a treacherous micro-verse (around and inside alien cell clusters) and destroy an out-of-control virus. Does this sound like a fun shoot-em-up? It should – because it is!

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Fashionably Late Review
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

By Erika Szabo - January 13th, 2012

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It’s hard to forget your first moments playing a video game. There were plenty of games that I truly enjoyed as I was growing up; the one that struck a chord with me very early on was The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past. At the time, the Super Nintendo was my console of choice, taking me on journeys I never would have imagined otherwise. Link to the Past was one of the first journeys I had the privilege of exploring, quickly sparking a deep passion within me that is still as strong today as it was when I was a kid. Sometimes, those first moments are pivotal.

By now it should be clear that this popular game series is something that is very important to me. For every title in the series that I found less-than-stellar, there would be one that wowed me. Initially, Skyward Sword was somewhere in between these two poles, mostly because I figured that a strictly motion-controlled experience would negatively affect the performance. Even so, I was fascinated by the fact that there were new environments (presented in a classic mood). My doubts were slightly eroded after getting a hands-on preview; but, even after my somewhat positive session, I still clung to my doubts about the finished product. I was so worried that the experience would end up being boring, repetitive and formulaic – a huge problem for many games nowadays. I was torn, so much so that it took ages to even finish this review!

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Review
Fortune Street

By Jorge Figueiredo - January 10th, 2012

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There have been a number if board games for the Wii. Inevitably, most usually involve moving around a board and then participating in a number of mini-games which, while fun, may not necessarily be ideal for those who want to sit back and relax. Absurd as it might seem, there are instances where playing a board game on the Wii is more fun than playing a physical version of the same game. Fortune Street (from Square Enix) doesn’t have a real physical form (that I am aware of), but it is an engaging and fun experience if you have the patience and the time.

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Review
Disney Universe

By Jorge Figueiredo - December 27th, 2011

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Boxing Week is upon us, which means that there are a few prime shopping days left in the year. This fashionably late review is well-timed, since it deals with a great game that the whole family can enjoy (aka: possibly a great purchase): Eurocom’s Disney Universe. Back during E3, we got the breakdown from Michelle Liem about this game; then we got to play it a few times since (once at X’11 Canada and then at Playstation Holiday). Now that we have spent some personal time with it, do we think that it will be to everyone’s taste? Perhaps not. Do we still think it is a great game? Yes. Yes we do. Read on.

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Review
Country Dance 2

By Kat Armstrong - December 18th, 2011

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There are a lot of sexy cowboys and cowgirls in this game.

Kat has been on an understandable hiatus for a while and decided to place dibs on this particular title. I could tell you what she has been up to and what she thought; but given her method of direct and entertaining communication, I figured I would just let her tell you herself…

I haven’t written a review in a long time because I had a kid; and seriously, it’s hard to hold a controller and a baby. I also really don’t want to drop the controller, because I’m sure as hell not letting go of my kid. However, now that my kid is getting bigger (and mostly sleeps and gives me some free time), I thought it would be a fun to review Game Mill Entertainment’s Country Dance 2 for Wii.

Oh brother.

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Reviews
The Black Eyed Peas Experience

By Jorge Figueiredo - December 18th, 2011

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Let’s get it started.

Earlier in the year, the gaming community was treated to The Michael Jackson Experience, a great dancing game chock full of fantastic music and a style of presentation that fit MJ. Both the Kinect and Wii versions were a lot of fun to play. Now, Ubisoft has released the next title in the “Experience” series: The Black Eyed Peas Experience. We take a look at the Kinect and Wii versions to see if they have the Boom Boom Pow that one would expect from a series where the bar has been set high from the get-go*.

* – A word of warning for those of you with kids: This game is rated T for Teen due to suggestive lyrics.

Review
Mario Kart 7

By Jorge Figueiredo - December 14th, 2011

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All pics in this article are 2D representations of 3D images.

A group of colourful characters, some good and some not-so-good, fight it out to establish their supremacy; MK7 is here! Of course, I’m not talking about Mortal Kombat; I am referring to the newest title in the other MK franchise: Mario Kart 7. In light of the awesomeness that is Super Mario 3D Land, does this latest foray manage to stay ahead of the pack? Or is it the pits?

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Review
Super Mario 3D Land

By Jorge Figueiredo - December 5th, 2011

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Remember: all pics here are 2D representations of 3D. Don’t complain or I will ground pound you.

It is always challenging to review Super Mario titles; while there are a whole whack-ton of them, they are all just so damned good. Of course, there is a big pile of expectation placed on our plumber friend’s shoulders due to the fact the his latest adventure, Super Mario 3D Land, is a first party title on a relatively new platform (that has some less-than-stellar titles available for it since launch). Of course, there are other great titles available already; but there is just something about Mario that brings out the best in Nintendo hardware; it really defies description. This 3DS title is no exception, no matter which dimension you’re looking at.

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Review
Rayman Origins

By Ricky Lima - December 4th, 2011

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Rayman is back you guys! Before the Raving Rabbids took over the series for some reason, Rayman games were solid 3D platformers that provided a great alternative to Mario. Rayman’s strange design and overall art direction was always a draw for people in the past; and it turns out that in Rayman’s return, things have not changed at all. Rayman Origins is developed and published by Ubisoft for the three major consoles and tells the tale of Rayman’s first adventures. You know, I’ve never done LSD before, but I’m pretty sure that after playing this game I know what it feels like.

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