Punch Out! comes back swinging. I’ve been waiting for this one to come and the wait is definitely worth it. It’s 15 years to be exact since the SNES version has been released (NES punch out codes, anyone?). Now Little Mac has returned with Punch Out! for the Wii.

Punch Out! fans will find the Wii version to be loyal to the original. The developer stuck with the old formula but incorporated motion controls to it. You’ll recognize each and every boxer in the game except for one. New to the Wii version is the Disco Kid.

Expect the same comic-like characters to come alive in your TV sets. Each boxer will have its own fighting pattern. Once you discover the pattern, beating the boxer will be easy. But as you progress through the career mode, the boxers will be more defensive or offensive. They will also beef up their weaknesses so you can’t beat them that easy. King Hippo will guard his soft spot with a manhole cover taped to his belly.

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Dokapon franchise’s entry to the North American market came via last year’s Dokapon Kingdom for the Wii and PS2. It was received well by RPG gamers. This must be the reason why Atlus decided to release Dokapon Journey for the DS.

Dokapon Journey arrived in North American shores one year after it came out in Japan. It has more strategies and RPG gameplay than Kingdom. The more battles you get into, the more experience you’ll get. The player must also liberate cities and collect items that can help him along the way.

The battle system of Dokapon Journey is turn based. Players get to choose among four actions – M Guard, Counter, Defend, or Give Up. There are lots of tactics and strategy one can do within the game. You can save other players by defeating the monster or KO them out of the battle to steal the victory for yourself.

But what it lacks is in the graphics department. The game looks like it was made for the GBA. Animation is limited. It looks too simple and low budget. It reminds me of the first Advance Wars. Dokapon Journey is something for those who loved Dokapon Kingdom on the Wii. At least they can bring the game wherever they want to. But if you’re new to the game, then I suggest you try out the Kingdom on the Wii or PS2 first.

Like I said before, I don’t think Don King Boxing would be a good game and I was right. Don King teaming up with 2K Sports churned out a game that I would want to play. The storyline is interesting but boxing on the Wii is still a bad concept. Technology-wise, the Wii isn’t capable yet of exciting boxing action. Maybe the gameplay would improve once Wii MotionPlus is available.

Some have thought the Don King Boxing will be the game that dethrones Wii Sports’ Boxing but it still lacks the precision controls. Punches don’t go where you want them to go. Even after an hour or two of playing it, I had a hard time hitting uppercuts. The only difference it has with Wii Sports’ Boxing is that it incorporates the Wii Balance Board into its gameplay.

The story mode lets you play as The Kid as he begins his journey towards boxing supremacy. What I like about this mode is that it features real footage in telling the story. There are clips in between fights where boxers and managers talk about The Kid and how his career is rising. To unlock big purse fight, you have to meet certain conditions, such as winning by KO in a given round or get the judges decide the match to your side. The cinematics is great but the in game graphics still have to make do with what Wii has to offer.
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If you enjoy music games then get Rhythm Heaven. Since I got a copy of the game, it has never left my DS. It’s like going in a time machine to the time when music games were played by a few. This is the time when Rock Band and Guitar Hero didn’t exist.

Rhythm Heaven features 50 mini games where you must tap the DS’ touch screen along with the song’s beat. The controls are that simple and could be addicting. But be warned. Don’t let the simplicity of its graphics fool you. Its learning curve is a little bit hard and can frustrate a lot of gamers. Good thing each game in Rhythm Heaven has a tutorial that would show you how to play the game. You can practice and master the game before playing it for real.

This is a music game so let’s talk about the music. There are no rock bands featured or pop songs in the play list. But that doesn’t mean that it is not good. You need to listen to the rhythm of the song in order to beat the game.

There are lots of Bejewelled clones out there but Puzzle Quest is the only one that incorporates it with role playing. The original Puzzle Quest was released in 2007 and a good number of gamers were addicted with its gameplay that’s a good mixture of quests, leveling, item creation, monster fight and of course, gem matching.

After you’ve chosen your pilot type, you’ll be doing a couple of tutorial missions to familiarize the players with its gameplay. This involves doing missions and side quests to gain experience along the journey in the huge Galactrix universe.

Players of Bejewelled would find the puzzle in Galactrix to be harder. Gems would replenish in different directions. You also have to look at your hull and your shields. But that does not mean that it is not fun. There are lots of elements in the game that would keep you playing it for hours.

It’s already been a decade since the first Metal Slug arcade game. I remember the time I used to play it after classes and felt proud of finishing the game with a single token. That was quite an accomplishment for me.

Fast forward to the present, I finally got hold Metal Slug 7 for the DS. For this edition, players get three new rides. There’s the Slug Gigant, which is a robot that features a powerful wave cannon. Then there’s the Slug Gunner, which is a mobile suit that players can easily control and has great fire power. Last but definitely not the least is the Slug Truck. This might be the most powerful vehicle in the history of Metal Slug. The Slug Truck lets players place additional cannons.

Another new feature introduced to the franchise is the Rush Blaster System. This lets the player string together attacks to bring up the Rush Blaster gauge up. The gauge has 4 stages, which are double, quadruple, times eight and times sixteen. The player’s score will be multiplied according to the Rush Blaster gauge.

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I was looking for a 3D action game to play over the weekend and I found Rygar: The Battle of Argus at the bottom of my Wii games pile. I popped it in the console and gave it a try. After a few minutes I’ve already arrived at a conclusion that it felt like an old game. I should have known that this is just an actual copy of the PS2 game. No modifications were made to modernize it in any way.

Rygar: The Battle of Argus is a bit outdated. To start with, it relies on button mashing for its combat with no need for strategy or defense. For a weapon, Rygar has a Diskarmor, which feels like Kratos’ Blades of Chaos in God of War. As long as you push the buttons, you’ll survive. And talk about a story not making any sense at all. The plot has too many holes. If it is a movie, the viewers would have walked out of the cinema and asked for a refund.

What’s new for the Wii version is the Gladiator mode, which lets the player use the Wiimote more than in the normal mode. In this mode, enemies would stream nonstop. I don’t like this mode. It’s boring and monotonous. Rygar’s attacks is limited and you’ll use up most of the skills quickly.

Rygar: The Battle of Argus is an enjoyable game 6 years ago and it didn’t warrant a resurrection to the Wii. I don’t know what Tecmo was thinking. They could have made a new Rygar game but instead brought back a mediocre one.

From the makers of last year’s Dementium: The Ward, Renegade Kid will be releasing a game called Moon. Just like their first game, Moon is a FPS that takes place in 2058. The premise of the game is that man is out colonizing the moon when they discover a hatch. Hmmm… smells much like it is influenced by Lost.

Renegade Kid used the same game engine thus the graphics is enjoyable. You get to see the sun, earth and stars in the background. The control is pretty much like Dementium. You move around with the D-Pad, look around with the use of the stylus and shoot by pressing the L-button. Not only that, the audio of the game is excellent. Be sure to use your headphones while playing the game.

After a short tutorial of the game play, you’re off to an action packed adventure on the moon. You start off with a Super Assault Rifle that has infinite ammo. That’s just one of 7 guns that you could use in the game.

The game is about 12 hours long. Then there’s a driving section that could break the monotony of shooting the bad guys. The game looks good and definitely a must buy for those waiting for a FPS game for the DS.

I have to be honest to you. I used to have a Neopets account. My nephews and nieces forced me to do so. But when Neopets went to the PSP and PS2 I did get copies of the game and gave it away to my Neopets influencers. They were adventure games that my nieces and nephews have already forgetten to this day.

Then Capcom was licensed to make a Neopets game for the Wii. But instead of making it an adventure game like the previous ones, they settled for a puzzle game. Thus Neopets Puzzle Adventure is born. The gameplay is a variation of Othello, or as most people know it as Reversi. Players would take turns and try to get the most space as possible.

What I don’t like about the game is its graphics. Though it’s style is taken straight out of the Neopets web site, there’s much improvement needed in the animation department. You could detect missing frames even in simple flip animations.

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2008 might be a banner year for Nintendo consoles but there were some misses along the way. Here are my top 3 disappointments of 2008.

3. CrossworDS
This simple game for the DS could have been a good puzzle game except Nintendo forgot to work on its puzzle design. I love solving crossword puzzles in the daily newspaper more than playing with this game. I hope that we would not get sloppy games like this in 2009.

2. Wii Music
Nintendo tried to recreate the success of Rockband and Guitar Hero in a simplified game called Wii Music. But what makes Rockband and Guitar Hero successful was the music and the instruments. Now why would you want to wave the Wii remote around to the tune of Material Girl? The song choices and the lack of instruments turned me off from this game.

1. Summer Sports: Paradise Island
I don’t want to see another mini-game collection again. Summer Sports and other games of its type, such as Six Flags Fun Park and Imagine Party Bratz, is waste of your money. One is enough. The mini-games are repetitive and only the characters differ in the game.