Street Fighter 2 Hyper Fighting Xbox Live Arcade Review!

Name: Street Fighter 2 Hyper Fighting
Company:Capcom/Microsoft
Format: Xbox 360
Price: 800 Xbox Live points
Players: 1 to 16 online

Street Fighter 2 Hyper Fighting on Xbox Live is a conversion of the world famous Street Fighter 2 game that was a big hit in the Arcades about 14 years ago.

This new version features all the characters that were in SF2 Turbo on the SNES, from Ryu and Ken to Chun Li, Blanka, E Honda and the Bosses Balrog, Sagat, Vega and M Bison.

Graphically the game is very true to the original arcade version in style, as is the sound.. My only gripe with the game really is that the Xbox 360 controller is not really suited to this kind of fighting game, and this spoils an otherwise classic game, as the difficult controls make the game border on unplayable even to an SF2 expert like me.

Overall, if you're a fan of the genre and of the Street Fighter series, and you have the patience to put up with the annoyingly cumbersome controls, I recommend you download Street Fighter 2 Hyper Fighting from Xbox Live Arcade on your Xbox 360 console.

Final rating for SF2 Hyper Fighting: 79% (loses points because of the annoying controls)

Super Mario 64 DS review!

Name: Super Mario 64 DS
Format: Nintendo DS or DS Lite
Company: Nintendo
Price: £29.99 or variable
Players: 1

Super Mario 64 DS is a conversion of Super Mario 64 which was the title which launched the Nintendo 64 console back in the mid 1990s.

Even if you've got the original though it's still worth getting this DS version if you've got a DS, as it has enhancements and features that weren't in the original game such as new levels etc.

Graphically the game is very true to the original, but unlike normal Mario games this time it's all in 3D! The sound effects and music are also very true to the original, with excellent musical scores throughout the game.

Overall, if you're a Mario fan, this and New Super Mario Bros should definitely be on your shopping list when you're in Town buying games.

Final score for Super Mario 64 DS: 89%

Mario Kart DS review!

Name: Mario Kart DS
Format: Nintendo DS or DS Lite
Company: Nintendo
Players: Up to 4 via link up or 16 via Wi-Fi

Mario Kart DS is the new version of the popular Mario themed racing game which has been on the SNES and N64 consoles. It's the perfect multiplayer game for DS really, with fun races involving your favourite Mario game and other Nintendo characters.

Basically if you like racing games, and are a fan of Mario games as well, you'll like this game a lot.

It looks the biz, has great sound and is highly playable as a single player game, or via multiplayer link up of up to 4 Nintendo DS consoles, and you can also play online via Wi-Fi at the various Wi-Fi "hotspots" or via the USB Wi-Fi adaptor I mentioned in the Tetris review.

Final score: 90%

Super Princess Peach DS review!

Name: Super Princess Peach
Format: Nintendo DS or DS Lite
Price: £29.99
Company: Nintendo
Players: 1

Super Princess Peach is a Mario style platform game, but in this case the role is reversed, usually the Mario Brothers have to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser Koopa, this time she's rescuing them!

In the game you traverse the various levels of Vibe Island, and you have 4 different "Vibe" powers to use, happiness, anger, crying and something else, which you can use to get past varying obstacles on each of the levels.

Princess Peach also has a special Umbrella which enables you to float round the levels, which adds to the fun.

Graphically the game is typically a 2D platform affair a la the norm for Mario style games, and the sound is equally tops.

So if you fancy a different spin on the Mario genre starring a girl, I recommend Super Princess Peach.

Final score: 85%

New Super Mario Bros DS review!

Format: Nintendo DS or DS Lite
Price: £29.99
Company: Nintendo
Players: 1 or 2 via link up

New Super Mario Bros is the next game in the popular Super Mario Bros series from Nintendo.

Usual Super Mario gameplay on offer here, you as Mario or Luigi traverse 8 worlds of platform action to save Princess Peach from the evil Bowser Koopa.

There are some new features though, including Mega Mario, where you become a Giant Mario and can stomp on baddies, collect coins etc...

Graphics and sound wise the game stays true to Super Mario Bros's 2D origins, and makes full use of the DS's audio capabilities as well.

Overall, if you're a fan of old school platform japes (and who isn't?) I heartily recommend New Super Mario Bros to you.

Final score: 96%

Tetris DS review!

Game: Tetris DS
Price: £29.99
Company: Nintendo
Players: 1 or up to 16 via Wi-Fi multiplayer (Wi-Fi adaptor sold seperately)

Well what can I say? Everybody knows what Tetris is, it's been on almost every games format ever invented... And now it's on the Nintendo DS!

In Tetris DS, there's the classic Tetris game everybody loves, plus various other modes to have fun with, all to the backgrounds and tunes of classic Nintendo titles such as Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong etc...

There's also the option of playing online via Wi-Fi, either by going to the various Wi-Fi "hotspots" around the world, or by buying the Nintendo USB Wi-Fi adaptor, sold for varying prices at several online and high street retailers.

Overall, if you love Tetris and have a DS or DS Lite, you NEED to invest in this game!

Final score for Tetris DS: 95%

Pheonix Wright: Ace Attorney DS review!

Format: Nintendo DS or DS Lite
Price: £29.99 new or variable on eBay
Company: Capcom
Players: 1

Pheonix Wright: Ace Attorney is a game where you, as the titular Attorney of law, have to gather evidence and then go to Court to try and win a "Not Guilty" verdict for your clients over 5 different "cases".

The first case is a fairly simple Murder charge, the guy being charged didn't do it, he was just an unfortunate sap who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and you owe him a favour...

Throughout the game you collect various pieces of evidence to try and prove your client's innocence, and then there's the exciting Courtroom drama parts of the game where you have to listen to witness testimonies, cross examine witnesses and produce evidence to disprove the Prosecution witness's claims.

Graphically the game is pretty excellent, fully utilising the DS's potential, and the audio features of the game are equally tops... In fact it's pretty hard to fault any aspect of this game to be honest, probably the best DS game I've bought so far in the 2 months I've had my DS.

So overall, if you're tired of constant Mario themed platformers and licensed movie tie-ins on your DS, give Pheonix Wright a try, you'll probably really like it, beware though it does take quite a bit of patience to get through the cases and it's not always blitheringly obvious what to do...

Overall final score for Pheonix Wright: Ace Attorney - 89%

Welcome to richysgamereviews, the blog where games from a variety of formats including Xbox, Xbox 360 and Nintendo DS will be reviewed.

Titles reviewed will include New Super Mario Bros, Pheonix Wright Ace Attorney, Mario Kart DS, Nintendogs and others on the DS and stuff like Rumble Roses XX, WWE Smackdown versus Raw 2007, Quake 4 and others on Xbox 360.

Wherever possible I will also include screen grabs as well as text reviews.

I hope people enjoy reading my reviews.