Sandy Beach is an extremely simple, casually-focused creation tool with a flimsy little tower defense mode added on. The sound effects and music are really bland, the visuals are nothing special (though they get the job done for what's already a very basic offering), but the game works for what it is.
Presentation - 5.0
Graphics - 5.0
Sound - 2.5
Gameplay - 5.5
Lasting Appeal - 4.5
Overall -
Summer’s here and the Nintendo DSi Shop and Wii Shop Channel have got a selection of scorchers on offer this week, available today, Friday 6th August. Whether you’re defending sandcastles from crafty crabs on a Sandy Beach, or flaunting your fighting technique in Aero the Acrobat 2, WiiWare and Virtual Console have got plenty to keep you occupied.
1up writes: "Now here's a sandbox game that uses the term quite literally -- Sandy Beach is one part sandcastle building, and one part tower defense (sort of) against scimitar-wielding, pirate-hat wearing crabs. That the game is also equal parts shallow and hard to control make it seem like little more than a tossed-off curiosity, which is probably why it's found in the five dollar pile on WiiWare."
Wii Fanboy writes: "While not all of Hudson's WiiWare offerings are necessarily successful in terms of sales or critical response, they've been responsible for some of the best, and best-selling, games on the service. And even when they don't do so well, effort is evident. So why can't Hudson's parent company, Konami, take a lesson from their subsidiary? Since the launch of the service, they've released only two games: Critter Round-Up and this. So they've released, like, one and a quarter games.
Sandy Beach is a baffling release -- in that I can't fathom how Konami saw this and decided there was enough game to be worth releasing. It's really two games, but the sum fails to provide enough value for the 500 Wii Point cost."
