IGN

• WII
• 5 / 10
• États-Unis

Shockman came to the US out of context. It was originally a game called Kaizou Choujin Schbibinman 2 in Japan, the sequel to a much more original and interesting 1989 Turbo title. The first Schbibinman had the same two-player co-op that this follow-up features, but also had better action. The characters had swords instead of blasters. The stages were laid out on a map screen, letting you choose your own order of progression from level to level. The presentation was much more humorous, and didn't take itself so seriously. Shockman lost all of that. This is an example of a game that lost its way, because it tried to copy the success of another company's franchise instead of continuing to build on its own, established, unique qualities. What resulted is a bust, a game that is just plain boring and not worth your 600 Points at all. Shockman serves one purpose – to make us wonder when the real Blue Bomber will arrive here on the Virtual Console. Save your money and wait for that day. You're not missing anything here.

• WII
• 7.5 / 10
• États-Unis

500 Wii points is an excellent price of admission for this NES classic. The game blazed the trail for its hugely successful successors, and exemplified challenging and rewarding gameplay. It gets a little tricky from here on out, though. Super Castlevania IV, for only 300 Wii points more, seems like a smarter purchase, as it improves on almost every facet of the NES original, including mechanical and graphical upgrades. If you've already (smartly) downloaded Super Castlevania IV, are looking for an even greater challenge, and want to see where the series gets its roots, then give this one a download. For newcomers, however, frustrations may be more efficiently inhibited by downloading the SNES version first.

• WII
• 8.5 / 10
• États-Unis

Anime is more popular than ever before, and manga can be found now in even the most mainstream of American bookstores. The culture of the United States, then, might be more ready now for the world of Goemon. Konami's watered down localization of this title as The Legend of the Mystical Ninja damaged its potential appeal in its first release, now 16 years ago. And, today, that's still the main negative to associate with the game. But that's just one negative, and there is a wealth of great, counterbalancing positive elements contained here that outweigh any faults. Two-player co-operative play, great graphics and sound, tons of depth and even lots of little mini-games to be found and played throughout all combine to make this one game you don't want to overlook again. Goemon's a great character, and his series deserves much more credit and respect than it's received over the years. Strong support for this title on the Virtual Console could mean more from the blue-haired pipe-fighter in the future, even a chance at seeing some of his unreleased Japan-only sequels come to our shores for the first time. So get on the Wii Shop, put down 800 Points and support this underappreciated adventure – help a ninja do his best. Ganbare, Goemon.

• WII
• 3 / 10
• États-Unis

Rapala Tournament Fishing is definitely a letdown for launch, as it had potential to be a sleeper hit for gamers looking for a casual alternative to countless hours of Zelda. With only a few fish per lake (sometimes only one) the game has almost no depth, and the need to constantly push the Rapala product becomes annoying after only a few minutes. The game’s transition to Wii was especially rough in the gameplay department though, featuring a reeling function that only works at one solid speed, a noticeable half second lag between any action and the on-screen result, and generally unresponsive Wii motion control. The audio/visual presentation it entirely average, the gameplay is as shallow and cookie-cutter as can be, and there’s literally nothing here to satisfy serious fishing fans for longer than an hour tops. Sure we get excited when a fish nabs our lure from out of nowhere, but that excitement quickly dwindles when we come back to the realization that Rapala is too basic for its own good and fails to immerse us at all in the sport of fishing. If you’re a hardcore fishing fan, go play The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, as it’s still the best fishing game* on the system, and comes with 50-70 more hours of a character-based “side quest” for you to enjoy when dropping lures becomes stale. *Note: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess isn’t actually a fishing game, though it does have superior control over Rapala Tournament Fishing in every department.

• DS
• 8 / 10
• États-Unis

• PS3
• 6 / 10
• États-Unis

• PS2
• 10 / 10
• États-Unis

• PS2
• 7.2 / 10
• États-Unis

Devil Summoner doesn’t get off to a strong start. Visually it’s rather unappealing and the lack of strong plot to begin with could easily turn some people away. However, do so and you'd be missing out on one of the PS2’s more interesting RPGs. The demons are certainly the stars of the show, making random battles seem almost interesting and adding a lot of depth to the gameplay with their elemental attacks and the ability to fuse them together. When the story does get going it’s genuinely interesting with a lot of twists and turns, all of which is helped along by the historical Japanese setting.

• X360
• 7.4 / 10
• États-Unis

• PSP
• 9 / 10
• États-Unis

• PS3
• 9 / 10
• États-Unis

• WII
• 8 / 10
• États-Unis

Fans of the series likely need no convincing, as they've doubtless already downloaded this delightful title. Similar to Super Paper Mario (without the 3D), but stressing more of the upgrading element, Wonder Boy in Monster World is a solid addition to the VC library. The stellar soundtrack, beautiful graphics, engaging story, and rewarding gameplay will keep gamers glued to this lengthy quest for quite some time. A marvelous matrimony between action and RPG, spending 800 Wii points on this game will be a decision you shan't regret.

• WII
• 6.5 / 10
• États-Unis

Wise old Lode Runner has been making puzzle/ action fans play "just one more" for almost two and a half decades now, and though Battle Lode Runner isn't the most exciting title in the series, it does have the occasional burst of fun. Just don't expect much more.

• PSP
• 8.5 / 10
• États-Unis

Burnout Dominator is best thought of as a "Greatest Hits, but Not All of Them" from the Burnout series. The racing is just as adrenaline pumping as it's ever been, and possibly even more so than what we saw in Burnout Revenge as you need to be afraid of traffic once again. However, the lack of standard features and modes like Crash are a rather big disappointment. It's more worthy of a pickup on the PSP than the PS2 however as its simply more impressive as a handheld game and the multiplayer features are much more robust.

• X360
• 6 / 10
• États-Unis

• WII
• 5.3 / 10
• États-Unis

• PSP
• 6.9 / 10
• États-Unis

• WII
• 8.5 / 10
• États-Unis

And that's really the vibe of this release. Gradius III stands apart from the crowd by retaining its depth over the years. Cash in those dollars now and invest in this shooter now -- it's one of the best and brightest stand-outs in a too-full genre.