This is a sequel to Ocarina of Time, and while it is really quite different in some respects, it’s very similar in others, giving it a good blend of old and new. In this game you are a new Link and Ocarina of Time happened thousands of years in the past and has become a legend. After Link’s sister is kidnapped by a giant bird he sets out across the seas to rescue her. Unlike most Zelda games, where you have a big world of fields, forests, swamps and mountains to explore, this time you sail across the ocean and visit a variety of islands. I think that the fact that you are exploring the ocean, rather than a carefully mapped out countryside, makes it feel like you have an awful lot of freedom. The sailing side of things is definitely an upside.

But of course, as I said, several things are still the same. You still get to venture through large and interesting temples and dungeons, you still collect lots of items and figure out the ways in which you can use them to reach new areas and there are still a large number of side quests for you to do. They seem to have taken all of the excellent things from past Zelda games and mixed it with original features to make it especially good!

One thing that might bother some people is the change in graphic style that Wind Waker has. When you play previous games in the series, you get the impression that they were trying to be realistic with their graphics, but were just limited by the consoles they were on. In this game, they were clearly not aiming for realism: everything is cell shaded and very bright, the characters all look like cartoon characters. This doesn’t bother me in the slightest, but I know some people might have trouble with it.

On the whole, this is a very good game, but for me, I’m not quite sure why, but it just somehow doesn’t seem as good as Ocarina of Time (or Majora’s Mask.) Perhaps it’s just nostalgia? Though I’d still rate it highly at 9.4/10!

Buy it here.

Donkey Kong 3 is probably one of the lesser known titles in the Donkey Kong series and the third of the arcade games. Donkey Kong was the first, where Donkey Kong kidnaps Mario’s girlfriend Pauline and he has to rescue her, then came Donkey Kong Jr. where Mario kidnapped Donkey Kong as revenge and his son Donkey Kong Jr. had to go and rescue him, this is the third instalment in the Mario/Donkey Kong conflict. The story for this is a little odd actually; we are introduced to Stanley the Bugman a previously unseen relative of Mario’s. Stanley owns a large greenhouse full of plants, and Donkey Kong has decided to invade it along with an army of insects.

In this game, you play as Stanley as he tries to drive Donkey Kong out of his greenhouse. The gameplay is very different to what you might expect, instead of running though levels or jumping over obstacles, you have to shoot Donkey Kong (who’s hanging by vines) and the insects with a bug spray gun. It’s loosely similar to the gameplay of Space Invaders, but the enemies in this game are far more agile.

The game may be a fun way to spend half an hour or so if you get bored, but I can’t imagine it being played for any extended period of time. There are only three levels and after you finish the last one (and defeat Donkey Kong) it just loops back to the first and you play it again. The main appeal seems to be trying to get the highest score you can. Unfortunately, I think the game is a little too hard and while you’ll probably finish the story, you won’t get a very high score. There’s also a multiplayer mode where you both take it in turns to do the exact same thing, it’s not that great. That’s all there is to the game.

On the whole, I’d say curiosity may make Mario or Donkey Kong fans buy the game, but it doesn’t have that much appeal so I would rate it as 5.7/10

Buy it here.

This game is one which is often listed as the greatest video game ever, which is something I would say is a bit of an over exaggeration, but I do agree that is a game which is certainly worthy of very high praise.

In this game, you take on the role of Link, just like you do in every game in The Legend of Zelda series (or, at least, one of the Links, but that’s totally irrelevant to the game), and he’s just a simple forest child living in the woods. Link is different from all the other children because Link does not have a fairy. The enthralling tale begins when he finally gets one… This is the start of a quest which will take him into the belly of giant fish, the centre of volcanoes and even through time! But I shan’t go into any more details because I don’t want to spoil it!

It features very nonlinear gameplay too, which is a nice thing, I think. There is an unchangeable storyline, and the first three main tasks have to be completed in order, but you get more freedom after that. You’re also given a very full world to explore; there are loads of secret areas to be discovered, hidden objects to be found and peculiar people to converse with. There is definitely an awful lot for you to do in this game, even if you get stuck with the main story, you can just fill up on side quests which are also very fun.

I suppose the only downside some people might see, is that the graphics of this Nintendo 64 game are beginning to seem a little dated, but if you have no problem with a game’s graphics (as I don’t) then it wouldn’t matter either way.  The game also has a very nice soundtrack.

A very good game, I would rate it 9.5/10

Buy it here.

Tetris for the original Game Boy, is something which is really very enjoyable indeed. I’m sure everybody knows the timeless gameplay of slowly rotating the tetriminos as they gracefully fall to the ground, and hoping to get them in a straight line so that they can graciously fade from existence. But that’s not the only appeal of this game.

But of course, saying all that, it’s only something which will persuade you to buy a Tetris game, as opposed to THIS Tetris game. Well, let me just list off all of the things which make this incarnation of the beautiful puzzle game the one which you should buy:

• The 8-bit Tetris Theme A is amazing and very catchy too.
• There are a large number of variables to the general Tetris gameplay, but none of them alter it too much. You can merely increase the pieces’ speed of decent or the height that you start at.
• The game is not made too easy by additions such as the ‘hold’ function found in later instalments.
• A simple background of white behind the pieces, no unrelated pictures of animals (which some later games have) to distract you.
• Very basic three button controls.
• This is the version which would most probably be called the definitive Tetris.
• Also, very easy to get hold of cheaply.

Trust me; it’s worth your money! While not as enthralling as a game with a large expansive world or deep storyline, I play Tetris very often indeed, so I would rate it at 9.4/10

Buy it here.

Endless Ocean is a video game which sets out to try and recreate the experience of diving. Basically, you’re give a big map of an ocean and you click on any spot, your boat sails out to the spot, then you walk around on deck (looking at any birds or things which might be on board) before going ahead and diving in.

When you’re in the sea, there’s a large circular area you can explore around the boat, you can only go so far away from it but you still have plenty of space. There’s no real goal to the game beyond exploration, there are hundreds of species of fish in the water (I think, quite literally hundreds) and you have to examine all of them three times in order to fill in their information in your log book, and there are also lots of exciting secret areas to find too. For example, you might just find yourself swimming through a vast underground cave… I shan’t spoil any of the others though!

There is a very loose storyline about a woman who is searching for a mythical sea creature, but other than that, the gameplay is entirely open and you just choose a new place to swim about and explore every single time. The longer you explore for, and the more you do, all lead to you eventually getting improvements made to your equipment which allow you to venture into areas you otherwise could not access. You are also given the optional task of taking people down below the water to see their favourite sea creature. Plus, there’s also the nice, though slightly pointless, additional feature of an aquarium. You own a giant tank which you can put a limited number of your favourite species in and then swim around with them.

On the whole, this is a very nice and open game. The graphics are very good, so the underwater wilderness all looks beautiful. There are no real constraints, you are allowed to explore where you want and when you want. The only down side is that I think it could be MORE open.

I’d rate it an easy 9/10

Buy it here.