Fourth Game Review - Super Mario Galaxy

Super Mario Galaxy is one of the few games every Wii gamer has been waiting for!
Nintendo promised a lot with this new platforming title, and you can clearly see it is an enormous upgrade from Mario's last outing the first time you start it up.

When I first picked up this game last year I remember being shocked. I never expected any Wii games visuls to make my jaw drop, but this one literally did just that.

For me this game was a real feast for both the eyes and the ears. The soundtrack is truly amazing, and I feel it really lives up to Nintendo's standard. Most of the music is made up of classic and remixed Mario tunes that will have you humming along eventually.

As expected the game starts off with a letter from Peach inviting Mario to her castle, because she has a special gift for him and he arrives to walk straight into chaos as Bowser and his son arrive in a fleet of airships and they use a giant UFO to haul the Princess' castle out of the ground. Mario chases but isint able to rescue her before Bowser and son jet off into space. From then Mario groups up with a group of creatures called the "Luma", they sort of look like stars and are led by a woman called Rosalina, who lives with these creatures on a large spaceship called the observatory. From there you must explore galaxys and collect power stars to help blast the observatory into the center of the universe in order to battle Bowser and save the Princess.

In short, the story is like Super Mario 64, but with a twist.
As with all Super Mario console games, the objective is to collect as many power stars as possible to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser. Even after you have collected enough power stars to rescue her you can keep on collecting until you have every single one in the game.

I found that every galaxy in the game is an absolute joy to run through. The level designs are top notch in every way, with tons and tons of clever traps and puzzles for Mario to get through. The difficulty level isin't very hard at the start, but as you go through you can expect to face a bit of a challenge.

Most players would come to expect fidgety controls with the Wii remote and Nunchuck, but believe it or not I found the controls to be flawless and easy to use.

The game even features different suits! Such as the Bee suit which allows Mario to hover for a short period of time over gaps and obstacles, but be careful when around water, as if you get wet you'll ruin the suit.

However, my favorite suit is the Boo suit, a Boo in the Mario universe is a ghost, but this suit lets you float around and pass through some solid walls.

I wont ruin the surprise for you by mentioning any more of the suits, as you'll probably want to find out for yourself if you've not played this awesome game yet.

Before I started writing out this review I tried to think of a few flaws I could point out, but to be honest there are none! The game is lengthy enough to last you for ages, the graphics are flawless, the audio is a real treat for your ears, I had no problems with controls, and the game even features a small multi-player mode where one other player can point their Wii Remote at the screen and take part in some of the basic fun like collecting and shooting stars at enemies on the screen to help the other player.
If ever there were a must-own Wii game, Super Mario Galaxy is it.

Just to summarise I will go over the games qualities:

Graphics: Superb, from start to finish you will notice how smooth and colourful everything is. Possibly the best on the Wii.

Sound: Awesome, I don't think many other games could possibly contend with the soundtrack of this game.

Gameplay: This game really lives up to previous Super Mario games, Nintendo have been really innovative and taken their time on certain aspects like the puzzles and obstacles throughout the game. The level design is pure genius.

Lifespan: It will take you a long time to even collect enough power stars to finish the main story of the game, overall there are 120 power stars to collect and even a few special hidden stars. If you're the type who has to unlock everything in a game then this will take you a long time to complete.

Third Game Review - Super Smash Bros. Brawl

For my third game review I have selected to write about Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Nintendo Wii.

This game is of the fighting genre, and is rather interesting because it features Nintendo characters (as well as some non-Nintendo characters) duking it out in many various and interesting stages.

Right off the bat I felt Brawl was a huge upgrade to the previous game in the series (Super Smash Bros. Melee) with the addition of tons of new and classic characters and stages. The first time I got into a match I really noticed how the graphics and physics had changed (in a good way).

In all Super Smash Bros. games, the objective is to knock your opponents off the screen to K.O them. As you hit your opponenets they gain a higher chance to be knocked off the screen and K.O'd.

The Smash Bros. series has always been focused on multi-player and not so much single-player.

However, in Brawl you can enter the Subspace Emissary mode, where you must fight through mobs and bosses with an assortment of characters as a story unfolds, and alternativley you can play this mode in co-op.

A new addition to the multi-player mode is Wi-Fi, which allows you to play online with friends or strangers. However I felt that the online play is quite slow, the game often lags while playing in this mode.

Basically this game is for anyone that loves Nintendo, I enjoyed playing as my favorite characters, and my personal favourite is Link, from Zelda. Everything you see in the game is from a classic Nintendo game, and you gain a collection of Nintendo related trophies and stickers just by playing the game. The game was in development for a very long time, so if you're the type of person who has to collect and complete everything in a game then you'll be playing this for a long time.

The games rating is 12+, but the violence is comical and features no blood so I think the game should've been rated as 7+.

Not many players should have a problem with controls, as the game has a lot of input for controllers, for example you can hold the Wii remote sideways and use it that way, but you can also plug in the Nunchuck to the Wii remote and play with it, alternativley you can use the GameCube controller or the Wii classic controller. Personally I think the best choice is to stick with the GameCube control, or else the Wii classic control.

I really enjoyed listening to the soundtrack as it had a lot of classic Nintendo tunes that you can tap your feet to, and if you're anywhere close to being a true Nintendo fan then you'll be doing the same thing.

In regards to the Graphics, I think this game is a real treat for the eyes. I loved seeing even older Nintendo characters in full realistic 3D graphics.

Overall this game is a must buy for any Wii owner.

To summarise I'll just go over the games qualitys:

Graphics: Superb, I don't think you can get any better on the Wii, everything is colourful and cartoony, but yet remains somewhat realistic.

Sound: Again I don't think it could get any better, the game features a ton of classic Nintendo tracks and you can even unlock more.

Gameplay: To be honest you'll find the game shines brightest in the multi-player mode, however I don't think the Wi-Fi mode is up to standards as it does lag and run slowly quite a lot in my experience. The new single-player/co-op modes are awesome as well, I really enjoyed running my way through the single-player story.

Lifespan: It'll last you for a long time to say the least, especially if you're the type who has to collect everything in a game. You will probably tire of it after a few months though and only turn it on now and again.

Overall I'd say this game is a necessary if you have a Wii, its playable by the whole family and succeeds at fulfilling what it promises.

Second Game Review - Call of Duty: World at War

Call of Duty: World at War is the latest addition to the Call of Duty (or CoD as its more commonly known) series.
This entry takes the series back to World War II, but it focuses on the Pacific and Eastern Front. The game runs on the same engine as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (CoD:4) but slightly enhanced.
Like anyone would expect the game really shines when it comes to multi-player. When I got the game I found myself struggling to compete with others in the online multi-player as I hadn't played a Call of Duty game in a long time. However, after playing the game for a while, getting some experience, learning some strategies and unlocking some of the better weapons, attachements and perks, I found it a lot easier and I was able to keep up with some of the more experienced players. The great thing about the multi-player is the amount of weapons, attachments, perks and challenges there are to unlock. Also, when you get 3 kills in a row without dying you unlock a Recon plane, which then shows the positions of all enemies to you and your team mates for 30 seconds, which really does help a lot. After a kill streak of 5 you unlock artillery, which lets you fire artillery on a specific location for around 15-20 seconds. Then at a kill streak of 7 you can release a pack of dogs on the opposing team. I find that if the dogs are after you they can be very irritating.

The single player campaign isin't bad, but I find it does get rather tedious when compared with the online play, but I feel that you should only buy the game if you're going to play online as thats where it really shows its true value.

Just to summarise, I will go over and evaluate the games graphics, sound, controls, story, gameplay and lifespan

Graphics: Some would say the graphics haven't improved much since the last installment and I would agree with that, but there is no doubt that the graphics are still decent for todays standards.

Sound: The sound adds a lot to the atmosphere of the game, running through a battlefield and hearing gunshots, explosions and shouting obviously adds a lot to a war game. The voice acting is top notch throughout the story as well.

Controls: Like most games after half an hour of player you should be used to the controls, so I would say the controls are fairly easy to manage for most players.

Story: I think a lot of players are tired of the World War II theme and preferred Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, so its down to prefrence. I can't comment too well on the single-player mode as I've not gotten too far yet, but from what I've played so far its fine.

Lifespan: Well, if you are only interested in the single player then I wouldn't waste my time with this game. I feel the game only really lasts in the multi-player mode, particularlly the online play. The online mode has so many challenges, weapons, attachments and perks to unlock that it'll last you at least until the next installment

Overall I really enjoyed Call of Duty: World at War, the single player may have been fairly average, but it definitly makes up for it in the multi player.

First Game Review - Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition

A few weeks ago I borrowed Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition from a good friend of mine, so I thought it would be a good idea to make it the first game I would review.

Basically, Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition is a remake of a survival horror game that orginally came out for the Nintendo Gamecube a few years back.

The thing that really makes this game really stand out from the original is the motion controls. I found aiming around with the Wii remote made the game feel more interactive and challenging.

I actually had pre-ordered and bought the original for the Gamecube, but when I borrowed the Wii Edition version from my friend, I found that I really enjoyed playing through it again. Not only that, but the Wii Edition also adds additional chapters to the original plot.

Aiming in the game is easy and maneuvrable, meaning you can aim at a target with ease. I feel that with controls like these it makes the game more appealing to younger and older people, or people who aren't really into gaming.

I found the game as addictive as I remember it on the Gamecube, and even though I have played through the Gamecube version many times before, I still think this would be worth a purchase considering the controls, updated visuals, and even the fact that additional chapters have been added.

Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition Gameplay
by playWii-de

To evaluate, I will go over the games graphics, sound, controls, story, gameplay and lifespan (how long the game will last you).

Graphics: Even now, the games visuals are still amazing in my opinion. Not much has been changed, however they do look a bit more clean and sharp than the original.

Sound: I think the sound is really good, the voice acting is top notch throughout the game. I actually felt the characters stood out more because of the superb voice acting. I felt the sound really adds to the suspense.

Controls: I feel with the motion controls it makes the game more interactive and easier to manage.

Story: The game has an in-depth story, which follows on from the previous games and the film. I found that it seemed to reel me in, and you do get quite into it as the game progress's. You'll find yourself wanting to know what happens next, which makes you want to play through the game even more.

Lifespan: It will take you a good 24-ish hours to play through the story. However, I haven't yet played through the additional chapters, so the game does last a good while. Not forgetting the extra times you'll want to play it. The game also has a survival mode, which involves you fighting against hordes of zombies in one stage, and you must survive before a helicopter comes to pick you up.

I feel the only way the lifespan could be improved is with multi-player, which is apparently being added in Resident Evil 5, which will make that one to buy.

Overall Resident Evil 4 is a fantastic game, almost flawless. I found the game gripping from start to finish, and I can't wait for the sequel.