WiiWare

Pokemon Rumble

Friday, 11 December 2009 00:00 |

Written by Davidlee Jolley |

Reviews - WiiWare

Pokemon Rumble

Saying that Pokemon Rumble is one of the strangest Pokemon spinoffs is probably an understatement. It's a Pokemon inspired brawler (...pause for effect) that stars wind-up toy Pokemon instead of actual Pokemon. It's a fun, shallow (read: repetitive) gaming experience that has a very unappealing price-tag and not a whole lot of substance.

In this Pokemon outing players do not take control of a trainer and roundup a team of Pokemon. At the start of this little journey players start off as weak Ratatta that tries to prove its strength by sneaking into a Battle Royale arena. Things don't work out too well for the toy Ratatta, so he has to go out and befriend stronger Pokemon so that together they can rise through the ranks of the Battle Royale, and become known as the strongest toy Pokemon.

Befriending other Pokemon is done by going to one of the game's six levels and beating up every Pokemon in sight. If a Pokemon falls onto its side you can walk into it and collect it like a battle trophy, which also mean that Pokemon is your new buddy and will join your quest to win the Battle Royale. The majority of the Pokemon will just disappear once their HP hits zero leaving nothing behind except for some coins, which can be used to buy things such as previously encountered Pokemon. The toy Pokemon do not evolve; no matter how much you use your Bulbasaur, it isn't going to become an Ivysaur. If you want the evolved form of a Pokemon, you'll have to go out and find it. You can have up to 1000 Pokemon at a time, but good luck finding the Pokemon you want to switch to in a timely manner.

The six levels do not change as one progresses through the game, they are same from rank C all the way to rank S. Different Pokemon do appear in different ranks. Each of the six level have their own theme and corresponding Pokemon. Go to the beach level and you'll encounter a ton of water Pokemon. At the end of each level is a boss battle against a giant version of a Pokemon as well as continuously re-spawning normal Pokemon.

Gameplay can get repetitive even when switching between Pokemon, because you'll still be walking around spamming an attack. Pokemon can learn new moves, up to two at time, for a price and also at random. Sometimes you'll fork over your money and get a good move, and then there will be times that you'll spend every last cent and get nothing but useless moves, or moves that you already know. You'll also be doing the same thing over and over, which is continuously playing through each level until you befriend a Pokemon with a power level that is high enough to open the current rank's Battle Royale.

Pokemon Rumble does feature all of the generation one and generation four Pokemon, and they can all be collected. If your favorite Pokemon is limited to generations two and three, then you're out of luck. Shiny Pokemon are also obtainable, but are also very rare like they are in the main series. The game also features co-op so up to four people can team up and beat down other toy Pokemon.

If you're a Pokemon fan then you'll probably enjoy this game, but don't expect it to last you as long as one of the main games. By the time you reach the end of game the charm starts to disappear, and unlocking the generation four Pokemon isn't a big enough incentive to replay the game. The game running for 1,500 Wii Points - $15 exactly – is also a big turn-off, but luckily there is a demo available. It's can be fun, but there are better WiiWare titles available.

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Dr. Mario Online Rx

Saturday, 19 September 2009 19:00 |

Written by Uryiah Shalom |

Reviews - WiiWare

dr-mario

Dr. Mario Online Rx is the 3rd full installment of the Dr. Mario series, which had is origins on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Like its predecessors, Dr. Mario Online Rx is a puzzle game that allows the player to play alone, against the CPU, or against a friend. The main aspect of Dr. Mario Online RX is to match the colors of the pills against a virus in order to kill it. There are three viruses and three pill colors to match up--red, yellow, and blue. Once the player match up four or more either diagonally or horizontally, it will destroy the virus and the pills. Any pill colors above the match-up will fall straight down.

Like most puzzle games, there is a limited amount of variety, but the challenge comes from the strategies you use. If the player selects Dr. Mario setting, he or she will access the main game. Two players can play or the player can play against the CPU. Accessing the Wifi Connect for online battling is also available in this game mode. The two modes available to play are the Normal mode, which requires the player to kill all of the viruses on the screen by tossing pills on them. The next mode is called Flash, which requires the player to compete against either a friend or the CPU in order to kill 3 or more selected viruses before his or her opponent does. Whomever kills the targeted viruses first will win. These viruses are noted flashing on the screen.

The other main game is called Virus Busters. It works much the same way as the normal game in Dr. Mario, except that it uses the functionalities of the Wiimote in that the player points at the pills on the screen as they drop and can slow them down or speed them up. Also, when pills are destroyed leaving others to fall, the player can grab the falling pills and move them over. The level starts out with one pill falling at a time, but after a short time, it will drop two pills at once, requiring the player to maneuver both independently of each other.

The online competition is probably the major selling point of Dr. Mario Online RX. Sure, most players are familiar with Dr. Mario, but why get it on the Wii? Well, Dr. Mario Online RX allows you to play against friends or random opponents online. It utilizes the Friend Code system for matches against friends, but the player can also play random matches against others. There are some really tough opponents out there, so definitely practice before you jump into a game. Even if a friend does not have Dr. Mario Online RX, the player can still send a demo version of Dr. Mario Online RX to his or her friend so that they may be able to battle online in a limited mode.

There is not much to Dr. Mario Online RX as it is a WiiWare title. It is fun and can be easy or challenging depending on the settings the player is allowed to adjust before the start of a game. Human opponents definitely add to the challenge of Dr. Mario Online RX. The music is very repetitive, though you get about 4 songs in Dr. Mario and 2 songs in Virus Busters to choose from, or you can simply turn off the music. The graphics are good for a WiiWare title and a puzzle game, but there is really not much to it, nor does this type of game need exceptional graphics. This is a good title for the launch of the WiiWare platform, and at such a small price, the amount of fun you receive is well worth the cost.

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