This week we’re getting a double dose of Sega Virtual Console goodness, and one of these games had only been available in Japan until now. American Wii users can finally get to experience the classic Genesis game Monster World IV, while handheld owners can relax with some Sudoku or a game about twins with super powers – no, not the Wonder Twins.

3DS eShop
Sudoku by Nikoli (Hamster Corporation, $4.99)

If you constantly spend your morning commutes fidgeting with the newspaper finishing up your Sudoku puzzles, Sudoku by Nikoli may be for your. The game offers 50 different puzzles with two different modes to get your brain working: a structure Stage Clear mode and a Random Mode. At tens cents a puzzle, does it beat lugging a newspaper around?

DSiWare
Paul’s Shooting Adventure 2 (Agetec, ICM Japan, $1.99/200 pts)

While I did say this game isn’t about the Wonder Twins, Paul and his brother have powers that let them turn into enemy weapons. Using their special abilities, the two must stop an alien invasion from wrecking havoc on their world. The game features two player co-op play so you too can play alongside your brother.

Wii Virtual Console
Wonder Boy in Monster Land (Sega, 900 pts)

First released on arcades back in 1987, Sega is letting Wii owners experience one of their earliest action RPG titles. Taking on the role of Wonder Boy, players will travel through twelve linear levels, defeating enemies and purchasing weapons and equipment along the way. The game has seen several ports to PC, Genesis, and now Virtual Console. Clearly fans like their Wonder Boy.

Monster World IV (Sega, 900 pts)

It may have taken Monster World IV 18 years since its 1994 Sega Genesis release date to reach US shores, but the game is now available for everyone to enjoy. In this final chapter in the Monster World series, players will accompany Arsha on her adventures to become a master genie and help spirits that call to her from beyond. The game has been so popular, that a fan translation even exists!

At $1.99, Teyon’s Bird Mania 3D is one of the cheapest eShop games out there and hopes to answer all your bird migration questions in 3D! While this game goes on forever letting you crank up your score, the other eShop title tests your patience for real time strategy games and an amoeba’s meiosis rate. Oh, and you also get another Virtual Console game this week!

3DS eShop
Bird Mania 3D (Teyon, $1.99)

After his friends leave him behind, Mojo needs to catch up to them if he wants to join them in Africa. Collecting 20 achievements along the way, it’s your job to guide the little blue bird past obstacles as long as you can to beat your best scores. The game will go on for as long as you can keep Mojo safe, so be sure to steer him carefully.

DSiWare
Amoebattle (Grab LLC, $4.99/500 pts)

After a mysterious infection threatens their microscopic world, a group of amoebas have teamed up to fight for its safety. Implementing real time strategy elements, Amoebattle lets you control six different types of unicellular organisms and wage war against the evil bacteria. Battle for “Primordial Soup-remacy!”

Wii Virtual Console
Super Hang-On (Sega, 900 pts)

Super Hang-On will take you back to the arcades of 1987 when the game, not to mention leg warmers, was all the rage. Be sure to hang on and not fall off your bike as you race through 48 tracks and different four continents.

It’s a new month, but more importantly a Monday! That means we get to see what special goodies Nintendo has released for us this week. The centerpiece of this week’s release for Virtual Console, WiiWare and DSiWare is, naturally, the series finale of  Tales of Monkey Island. Chapter Five focuses on the Rise of the Pirate God and is sure to please fans of the series thus far. Any poker fans might also like to know that DSiWare also received Downtown Texas Hold ‘Em. I’ve never been a fan of online poker,  but for those of you who want to teach the basics to someone this game might be for you. Check out the press release below to see if there’s anything which piques your interest.

Nintendo DSiWare

True Swing Golf Express
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Pointsâ„¢
Description: Tee off with power, drive with accuracy and putt with precision. True Swing Golf Express is a realistic golf simulation that makes full use of the Nintendo DSi touch screen to offer in-depth control over your actions. Vary shot power, apply topspin or backspin and more, all with a touch of the stylus. Beginners and experts alike can choose from two main modes. Round mode offers play across 3-, 9- or 18-hole courses, each with varying difficulty levels and some in an exciting tournament setting. Challenge mode puts a unique spin on golf with a wide selection of special tasks to complete. Completing these tasks in Challenge mode allows you to improve your character’s skills and unlock new courses in Round mode. The fairway awaits!

Legends of Exidia
Publisher: Gameloft
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) – Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: An army of demons called Morgost has invaded Exidia, defeating Princess Sofia and capturing the Orb of Spell. The Morgost’s dark intentions include the resurrection of the almighty Daraka. Listen only to your courage and help Sofia drive back this threat. As a fearless warrior, you’ll fight the most evil of creatures. With every quest, you’ll get closer to discovering the source of the plague.

DOWNTOWN TEXAS HOLD’EM
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Players: 1-5
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) – Simulated Gambling
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Go all-in with EA’s DOWNTOWN TEXAS HOLD’EM. Sharpen and show off your poker skills in two exciting game modes and take on up to 20 players in authentic showdowns. Put on your best poker face and challenge friends who also have a Nintendo DSi system and a copy of the game to a multiplayer match. Start with a practice game, play a round of classic poker, then jump into turbo tournament to win the grand prize. Buy your way into gambling halls and casinos, each with its own unique background, realistic tables, cards and chips.

Move your Brain Rollway Puzzle
Publisher: Assoria
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Help the ball of Move your Brain Rollway Puzzle to find the way out of each level. To do so, you must solve riddles and use your dexterity to escape enemies without falling. Move your Brain Rollway Puzzle uses the Nintendo DSi system’s built-in camera to detect your movements. While playing, tilt the system to move the ball. Collect gold coins to open certain passages, activate switches to set off mechanisms, use catapults to jump over walls or use bumpers to climb ramps. Time to complete each level is limited, so hurry up!

5 in 1 Solitaire
Publisher: Digital Leisure Inc.
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Now you can take five of the most popular solitaire games with you on the go. 5 in 1 Solitaire features the always-popular Klondike, Spider and FreeCell games as well as the unique Golf and Gaps versions of solitaire. Each of these versions has a unique style of play that’s easy enough for novice players to enjoy but will also challenge experts. You can also view tutorials for each game, track your scores and view gaming stats to see your progress.

WiiWare

Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 5
Publisher: Telltale Games
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) – Alcohol Reference, Cartoon Violence, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes
Price: 1,000 Wii Pointsâ„¢
Description: Here’s a shocking series finale that’s sure to shiver your timbers. With the Monkey Island world in tatters at the conclusion of the fourth Tales of Monkey Island chapter, we were left to wonder: Who can save the Caribbean?! LeChuck is revealing surprising new characteristics yet again, Guybrush has met a shocking fate and Elaine must confront the ultimate evil with everything at stake. This adventure takes you far beyond the stormy isles as you experience the Rise of the Pirate God.

Tumblebugs 2
Publisher: Gameshastra Inc.
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: There’s a battle brewing in the backyard, and only you can save the day. Tumblebugs is the hit action-puzzler in which Black Bugs round up and trap the peaceful underground Tumblebugs. Now the Black Bugs are back – meaner, faster and nastier. They’ve crashed the garden party and are rounding up the colored beetles. Once again it’s Tumble to the rescue, but this time she’s got backup. Call on your friends to help you battle your way through 89 stunning new levels. Thrilling new power-ups can also help you free bugs like never before.

5 in 1 Solitaire
Publisher: Digital Leisure Inc.
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Now you can play five of the most popular solitaire games on your Wiiâ„¢ console. 5 in 1 Solitaire features the always-popular Klondike, Spider and FreeCell games as well as the unique Golf and Gaps versions of solitaire. Each of these versions has a unique style of play that’s easy enough for novice players to enjoy but will also challenge experts. You can also view tutorials for each game, track your scores and view gaming stats to see your progress.

Virtual Consoleâ„¢

Alex Kidd in Shinobi Worldâ„¢
Original platform: SEGA Master System
Publisher: SEGA
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Mild Cartoon Violence
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: What do you get when you combine the monumental SEGA classics Alex Kidd in Miracle Worldâ„¢ and Shinobiâ„¢? Alex Kidd in Shinobi World, of course! Though never released in Japan, this game has it all: Alex Kidd, kidnapped princesses and evil Dark Ninjas, all played to a rockin’, remixed Shinobi soundtrack. Run, jump, swim and slash your way through 12 stages teeming with monstrous foes from the world of Shinobi, plus some more lighthearted ones from Alex Kidd. Just don’t let the barracudas turn you into sushi!

Nintendo adds new titles to the Nintendo DSi Shop and the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time on Mondays. Users with broadband Internet access can redeem Wii Points or Nintendo DSi Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel. Nintendo DSi Points can be purchased in the Nintendo DSi Shop. A Nintendo Points Cardâ„¢ can be purchased at retail locations. All points from one Nintendo Points Card must be redeemed in either the Nintendo DSi Shop or the Wii Shop Channel. They are not transferable and cannot be divided between the two systems.

This week’s Nintendo Download has released several seemingly lack luster games for our entertainment. The one which seemingly stands out is bittos+, which looks like a trippy puzzle game that anyone can enjoy. For those of you who haven’t seen the trailer we released a few weeks ago, check it out here. For information on the other releases of this week, just read the press release below. While not all the games may seem appealing, there are a fair amount of puzzle games. If you’re looking to challenge your brain a little be sure to read the list carefully.

Nintendo DSiWare

NUMBER BATTLE
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Pointsâ„¢
Description: From Japan comes NUMBER BATTLE, a board game that invokes the ancient art of feng shui while challenging players to clear the playing field. Take turns against human or computer opponents to reach a target score by placing numbered tiles on the board and linking the arms of each tile in various ways. Watch for the Winds of Change to possibly blow over the board during a battle, resulting in special squares that will score bonus points or affect game play in new ways. Items that aid you in your pursuit of points can also be found, but they’ll cost you points and must be placed strategically. Go it alone in the main Story or Puzzle modes, or battle against up to three opponents from around the world via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection (broadband Internet access required). You can even learn from your past with History mode, which shows the moves recorded during previous contests. This unique combination of puzzle and strategy elements results in an exciting battle of wits. Can you guide your Warrior to victory?

AiRace: Tunnel
Publisher: QubicGames
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: AiRace: Tunnel is an invitation to the newly started Project Tunnel. It was created to examine the quickness and attentiveness of aviation rookies. Think you’ve got the skills? Put your reflexes to the test and see how swift, precise and predictive you are. Maneuver your aircraft safely through specially created tunnels that are full of traps. Be careful: Your plane will speed up with every second, making each turn and each barrier harder to navigate. It’s not just a game, it’s a challenge.

Escapee GO!
Publisher: Gevo Entertainment
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) — Mild Cartoon Violence
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: In Escapee GO!, players take on the role of Claire, who awakens with no memory of who she is. Save for her name, all information about her has been destroyed. In its place, something within her has changed. Hunted down by an unknown enemy, she must find a way to escape her pursuers using her newfound powers. Will she be able to survive? Using her heightened senses, Claire is able to detect enemies before they come into visual range. During her daring escape, Claire will find mysterious items that can temporarily enhance her abilities, allowing her to level the playing field.

Virtual Console

Ghoul Patrol
Original platform: Super NES
Publisher: LucasArts
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) — Mild Fantasy Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: The main attractions at the library’s Goblin exhibit have come to life! As the Ghoul Patrol, you’ll go back in time and de-spook an encyclopedia of zombified historic dudes. Vaporize garbage-can ghosts and ninja spirits, rescue bug-eyed librarians and wigged-out pirates, dodge flying books and adolescent-eating plants, and ultimately put the beastly spirit back in the history books.

WiiWare

UNO
Publisher: Gameloft
Players: 1-6
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 1,000 Wii Pointsâ„¢
Description: Get ready to call “UNO” on your Wiiâ„¢ system! The world-famous card game is faithfully reproduced for the Wii console with some exciting new rules. Thanks to a multiplayer mode (additional Wii Remoteâ„¢ controllers required) that’s playable on one Wii console or online via Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection (broadband Internet access required), UNO has never been so fun and easy.

bittos+
Publisher: MACHINE
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: The next big thing in casual gaming, bittos+ is all about rotating, moving and placing game pieces onto a game board to make squares and, more importantly, squares within squares. Playing bittos+provides hours and hours of entertainment for the whole family, with boatloads of challenge and replay value for even the most avid gamer. With luscious environments, multiple modes to unlock, game styles to suit every mood, multiple real-time reactive control methods, in-game Awards to collect and high-score boards for the entire your household,bittos+ is a new game-play experience that will sweep you away.

“Aha! I Found It!” Hidden Object Game
Publisher: Ateam Inc.
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: A hidden-object game for everyone has come to the WiiWare service. Try to find 12 particular items among a crowd of on-screen objects as fast as you can, from big fish to tiny earrings, easy-to-find items to well-hidden ones. Unlike most other hidden-object games, this one lets you play along with friends and family (additional Wii Remote controllers required) and compete to see who’s best at finding the hidden objects in each stage. With 10 stages and more than 277 different items, there’s plenty of searching fun to enjoy. Also, with items changing position each time you play, you can enjoy each stage again and again.

Nintendo adds new titles to the Nintendo DSi Shop and the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time on Mondays. Users with broadband Internet access can redeem Wii Points or Nintendo DSi Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel. Nintendo DSi Points can be purchased in the Nintendo DSi Shop. A Nintendo Points Cardâ„¢ can be purchased at retail locations. All points from one Nintendo Points Card must be redeemed in either the Nintendo DSi Shop or the Wii Shop Channel. They are not transferable and cannot be divided between the two systems.

Nintendo ushered in the new year this morning by adding a slew of new downloadable titles to the Virtual Console, WiiWare and DSiWare digital download destinations (say that three times fast!)

A total of seven new titles made their way to the three download spots including Hell’s Kitchen Vs. for DSiWare, Final Fight 3 from the SNES days on Virtual Console and a quintuplet of games I’m willing to bet you had no idea existed until today.

I could attempt to describe games I know nothing about, but I won’t. So here’s Nintendo’s official description of all seven.

Nintendo DSiWare

Trajectile
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Pointsâ„¢
Description: Trajectile is a puzzle game that’s as much about firepower as it is about brainpower, requiring you to line up your shot and launch a flurry of missiles at enemy targets. Three types of missiles are at your disposal, each one with its own characteristics – but all of them can bounce off walls on their path to smash, blast or drill through enemies and blocks. Along the way, you’ll find item blocks just waiting to be destroyed so that you can obtain special power-ups … and cause even more destruction. Be careful though, as missile type and position are predetermined and you get only a limited number of launches per stage. Complete multiple classes containing numerous individual stages, earning medals when you clear stages in fewer than the given number of turns. Are you ready to take aim at becoming a Trajectile master?

Animal Puzzle Adventure
Publisher: Aksys Games
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) – Mild Suggestive Themes
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Animal Puzzle Adventure is a simple puzzle game where you have to lead various animals to their respective barns placed on the map, while avoiding pitfalls and cliffs and using the objects on the field to your advantage. There are 10 stages per level with a total of five levels, creating 50 stages in all. After clearing a stage, you unlock a piece of a photo. Once you clear all 10 stages in a level, the wallpaper for that level becomes unlocked and you can then view it in the gallery. With so many puzzles to unravel, you’ll find yourself immersed in the puzzle-riffic world of Animal Puzzle Adventure.

Hell’s Kitchen Vs.
Publisher: Ludia
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Hell’s Kitchen Vs. is based on the U.S. TV phenomenon where world-renowned chef Gordon Ramsay puts aspiring chefs through rigorous culinary tests. The game recreates the show’s pressure-cooker atmosphere as two players battle head-to-head in an arcade-style kitchen challenge. Try to conquer your opponent in each time-management test, while taking the heat of Gordon Ramsay judging and rating your performance at every stage of the game.

WiiWare

Heron: Steam Machine
Publisher: Triangle Studios
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Wii Pointsâ„¢
Description: Heron: Steam Machine is a game about a factory where rubber duckies are being produced by a large steam engine. On this steam engine, there are four different gauges which you will have to watch carefully. By connecting the pipes, you will earn points and relieve some of the pressure, keeping the machine running just a little bit longer. If one of the gauges reaches its maximum, the machine will eventually blow up, and the game is over. If you were lucky enough to achieve a high score, make sure you enter your name in the list so other players can compete with you. In Multiplayer, you are able to cooperate with friends in maintaining the steam machine. When you play with two, three or four players, the screen is divided into sections with different background colors. Each player is able to solve his or her own part of the puzzle. Players are restricted to their own section of the screen, so you will have to work together to make the pipes fit properly. (Additional accessories are required for multiplayer play and are sold separately.)

Pub Darts
Publisher: Big Blue Bubble Inc.
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Alcohol Reference
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Pub Darts is a simple darts simulation which uses the Wii Remoteâ„¢ controller’s unique controls to mimic dart-throwing motion. The game is set in a local pub where the players will settle in to play some of their favorite dart games, including 501, Cricket, Around the Clock, Killers and Baseball. Controls function just like throwing a real dart. Players are able to create their own personal profiles, including selecting their avatar image from a collection of creative characters and the design they would like displayed on the dart flights.

Fast Draw Showdown
Publisher: Digital Leisure Inc.
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) – Alcohol Reference, Violence
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: When it comes to fast draw there’re only two types of people: the quick … and the dead! Now you have the chance to find out where you stand, or lie, as the case may be. You’ll go up against the best quick draws in the business, including one of the world’s fastest, Wes Flowers. Unholster your Wii Remote controller and show ‘em who the fastest draw really is, in this live-action shooter. You can even take on a friend in multiplayer modes, and see which of you has the quickest draw. You’ll need some serious speed and awesome accuracy to take on these gunslingers … so get ready for some real fast draw action.

Virtual Console

Final Fight 3
Original platform: Super NESâ„¢
Publisher: Capcom USA
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) – Animated Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: Following the defeat and subsequent disappearance of the Mad Gear Gang, a small group known only as “Skull Cross” is responsible for a new uprising of vandalism, terrorism and death. The government of Metro City is at a complete loss. Metro City’s mayor, Mike Haggar, and Guy are prepared to take on the new gang, but before they can act, the door bursts open, revealing Lucia, Cody’s old friend. “Metro City is under attack!” she shouts, “Skull Cross is loose, and they’ve got something up their sleeves.” But before any of them can move, a mysterious man appears in the doorway. “My name is Dean,” he says. “I know Skull Cross inside-and-out, and I hate them more than anything. I can help you, and you can help me. We must go!” All four fighters vow to bring Skull Cross down. It will be a tough assignment, and may even be their final fight!

11 new titles came to Nintendo’s 3-fold download marketplace today spanning the old, new, and the downright strange.

Every week on Monday, Nintendo adds games to the Virtual Console, WiiWare, and DSiWare, and this week, there’s lots to enjoy.

On the Virtual Console, Earthworm Jim 2, the SEGA Genesis title, and Blaster Master from the NES days are yours to enjoy for 800 and 500 Wii Points respectively.

This  week’s DSiWare offerings, an eclectic assortment of goodies, include Littlest Pet Shop, Miami Nights, Bejeweled Twist, Yummy Yummy Cooking Jam and Master of Illusion Express: Matchmaker.

But if WiiWare titles are your preference, you’ll be happy to learn Stunt Cars, Diatomic, Moki Moki, and Rubik’s Puzzle Galaxy: RUSH, have all been added to the digital destination.

Below are the games’ official descriptions, as written by Nintendo.

Blaster Master^â„¢
Original platform: NES^â„¢
Publisher: Sunsoft
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) — Mild Fantasy Violence
Price: 500 Wii Points^â„¢
Description: The New York sewers were never like this. You’ve fallen down a hidden manhole into a world of creatures so terrifying they’d scare the rats away. You can panic and perish, or blast your way through an endless maze of tunnels in search of secret passages to your escape. Masters of the Caverns lay waiting — prehistoric creatures so powerful and gigantic they literally fill your screen. Load your arsenal and get ready for Blaster Master.

Earthworm Jim 2^â„¢
Original platform: SEGA Genesis
Publisher: Interplay
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) — Cartoon Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: Superhero annelid Jim and his new sidekick, Snott, are back for an off-the-wall sequel in Earthworm Jim 2. Containing more action than your standard platformer from the Genesis era, each stage has a different style and mission, drawing on game play from different genres, including mazes, trivia contests and arcade-style levels. The game also features music composed by Tommy Tallarico. Do you have what it takes to rescue the Princess?

Nintendo DSiWare

LITTLEST PET SHOP
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points^â„¢
Description: Experience your favorite LITTLEST PET SHOP pets in a whole new way on your Nintendo DSi system. Play catch with your pets and their favorite toys, dress them up in adorable new accessories and keep them happy by brushing and feeding them. You can even throw a little dance party for your pets and help them rock out to cool songs.

Miami Nights
Publisher: Gameloft
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) — Comic Mischief, Mild Suggestive Themes, Tobacco Reference, Use of Alcohol
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: You won’t find a more complete life simulation than Miami Nights: Life in the Spotlight. Begin by designing your avatar with an unbelievable level of customizable physical detail. But it’s not your physique that counts. Instead, your life choices and your everyday behavior will influence more than 40 attributes that will make you a unique, progressive individual. The city of Miami is presented to you with no fewer than 30 places to explore. Plus, you’ll be able to customize your entire home and interact with your environment in many ways. The most important part of the game play lies in how you interact with other characters. They will be the ones who’ll help you achieve your goals. You’ll be able to establish and break off different types of relationships with them. It’s up to you to act like a bad guy or sweet girl, make friends or enemies, and choose the best way — honest or otherwise — to make your dreams become a reality.

Bejeweled Twist^â„¢
Publisher: PopCap Games
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Spin, match, explode — it’s a brilliant new way to play. Spin and match explosive gems for shockwaves of fun in this quick-play version of the award-winning PopCap game. Rotate jewels to set up electrifying combos, outwit obstacles like Locks and Bombs, and create high-voltage Flame and Lightning gems. Play the intensely fun Classic mode or take on a friend in the exclusive Nintendo DS Battle mode. No matter how you play, you’ll find endless ways to win.

Yummy Yummy Cooking Jam
Publisher: Virtual Toys
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) — Comic Mischief
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Have you ever asked yourself what it would feel like to be among the stoves of the best restaurants in the world? Do you want to become the best chef there is, preparing scrumptious dishes? Jump right in and enter the world of Yummy Yummy and its mixture of flavors and aromas. In Yummy Yummy, you’ll have to satisfy the hunger of the most diverse, colorful set of diners: vampires, extraterrestrials, mafia thugs, Vikings and more. Prepare hot dogs, hamburgers, pizzas and Mexican burritos as quickly as you can before your customers get tired of waiting and decide to leave the restaurant without giving you a good tip. Roll up your sleeves, don your chef’s hat and have a great time.

Master of Illusion^â„¢ Express: Matchmaker
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Master of Illusion Express titles feature mind-boggling magic tricks that you can perform with your Nintendo DSi system. Learn the illusions, practice up and amaze your friends. Master of Illusion Express: Matchmaker includes two tricks that use your Nintendo DSi system to reveal information about others. Use the Photo Diagnosis trick and stun others by taking two simple photos to pinpoint their exact age. Or have the Matchmaker trick show that another person has favorite dates or favorite foods that are similar to yours. Who knows? You could even land a date or make a new friend.

WiiWare

Stunt Cars^â„¢
Publisher: Icon Games Entertainment
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: Stunt Cars takes place on elevated racetracks with very little to stop players from accidentally driving off the side. Turbo can be used to make a car go faster, but it can only be used for a limited amount of time in each race. As you progress through the game’s four championship cups, you’ll unlock special features such as driver achievement awards.

Diatomic
Publisher: Grendel Games
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) — Mild Fantasy Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: Diatomic is a fast retro-arcade action game that takes place inside a set of petri dishes. The safe confines of your petri dish are about to be invaded by nine different diatomic creatures that seek to destroy you. Armed with your shield, tail, strategic intelligence and good reflexes, you stand a good chance of defeating the overwhelming odds. You must stay alive during 65 hectic stages spread over five chapters. The high score list shows what kind of player you are. Playing defensively and gaining an all-out defensive high score is harder to pull off than gaining an all-out offensive high score.

Moki Moki^â„¢
Publisher: Natsume Inc.
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) — Comic Mischief
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: It’s a mind-bending, gravity-defying puzzler. The Moki are being devoured by the voracious Gromblins, and it’s up to you to guide the hapless little guys to safety. Bend, twist and rotate the environment to herd the Moki through a series of brain-teasing puzzles. Along the way, you’ll have to contend with deadly pitfalls, spinning blades and shifting gravity. Roll Moki down ramps, grab them with hooks and blast them with jets to guide them safely to the portals. Challenge your skills in 100 unique levels.

Rubik’s Puzzle Galaxy: RUSH
Publisher: Two Tribes
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 600 Wii Points
Description: Rubik’s Puzzle Galaxy: RUSH is a 3-D puzzle game with more than 70 challenging levels. Players need to guide Cubes to color-coded exit points. Using the Wii Remote^â„¢ controller’s intuitive controls, players herd the colored cubes along by using Conveyer Belts, Warps, Stop Signs, Directional Signs and Splits. RUSH also includes the original Rubik’s Cube as a bonus. Players can attempt to solve one of the four different-sized Cubes alone, compete against a second player or learn how to solve the classic Rubik’s Cube.

Whether you like it or not, the Holiday shopping season is upon us. And by us, I mean the millions of gamers searching for video game-themed gifts this winter.

Nintendo today released a host of downloadable content in its now three-fold digital download destinations, only furthering the range of available options for gamers to spend their cash-ola on in the days leading up to Dec. 25.

A whopping total of 11 titles made their way to the Virtual Console, WiiWare, and DSiWare this morning, and unless you’re a green and perturbed Grinch, there’s got to be something here for you.

Notable additions, in my estimation at least, this week are the original Rayman for DSiWare (that one should keep you interested on those long, annoying, car-trips this time of year), as well as Street Fighter: Alpha 2, from the NES days, and Shinobi, the wondrous arcade title from SEGA, on the Virtual Console.

Nintendo DSiWare

Rayman
Publisher: Ubisoft
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points^â„¢
Description: The legendary first Rayman adventure is now available from the Nintendo DSiWare service. Play as Rayman and try to save his amazing world from the evil Mr. Dark. Discover a charming universe with colorful landscapes and meet funny characters who’ll help Rayman through his quest. Experiment with his abilities as you punch, hang or fly in the air and choose between two difficulty levels. Take advantage of new features in the Nintendo DSi version, such as the Nintendo DSi Camera, map selection on the touch screen and the ability to play against time to win bonuses.

Ball Fighter
Publisher: Teyon
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Ball Fighter is a puzzle game in which you take aim and blast groups of dropping spheres to create matches and clear the board. You can make chains to earn additional points or to make the game more difficult for an opponent. When you destroy spheres in a multiplayer mode, they will be added to the opponent’s board, making his or her task more difficult. You can find special bonuses like a Brush, a Rocket Launcher or a Bomb, which can be used to destroy spheres or to paint a line of them with the same color. You’ll find a variety of single-player modes, including Arcade, Survival, Brain Breaker and Player vs CPU, plus the unique multiplayer mode, all playable on one Nintendo DSi system.

Pop Island
Publisher: odenis studio
Players: 1-8
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) — Comic Mischief
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Discover a joyful universe where playing is always a pleasure with Pop Island. Colorful and fun, Pop Island is an action-packed capture-the-flag game. Pick a team to join, then run, jump and spin your way around the island in an attempt to collect the priceless flags hidden throughout it. Become a surfing penguin, a flying fish or a waterskiing crocodile as you go all out for victory, unlocking 12 more joyful animals as you rack up points across eight different planets. You might even end up competing as a skateboarding mammoth. Playing alone is plenty of fun, but the madcap action reaches a new level when your friends get involved. By sharing the demo of the game via DS Download Play, up to seven more people with their own Nintendo DSi systems can use a local wireless connection to join you for some head-to-head or cooperative action. With plenty of power-ups, you’ll need to concentrate on capturing more than just the rival team’s flag to claim victory.

ARMY DEFENDER
Publisher: MINDSCAPE
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) — Cartoon Violence
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Army Defender is an action shooter in which players must defend their base against enemy attacks by controlling a machine gun tower designed to eradicate enemy waves. As the player levels up, the enemy becomes more and more numerous and well-equipped. Attackers include soldiers, tanks, paratroopers, helicopters, jet fighters, bombers and elite commandos. Depending on the enemy type (red or green), players must switch between ammunition colors. The machine gun tower will fire where the player taps the touch screen. Power-ups are made available on a regular basis when a super bomber delivers them onto the base. When a power-up is retrieved, players will be able to upgrade their tower for a limited amount of time. Upgrades include flamethrowers, rocket launchers or concussion grenades that will help contain enemy progression.

myNotebook: Red^â„¢
Publisher: Nnooo
Players: 1
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: myNotebook allows you to take notes wherever you are. Just pop open your Nintendo DSi system and jot down your thoughts. Make a list and cross it off, or even play your favorite pen-and-paper games (games not included). You can even personalize your notebook by drawing on the cover and changing the paper type with 18 unlockable squared and lined paper styles. Use the pen or pencil to make your notes or doodles, then erase the bits you don’t like. With five ink colors, you’ll always be able to make your notes and doodles look stylish.

WiiWare^â„¢

My Dolphin
Publisher: T&S Ltd.
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Wii Points^â„¢
Description: You are a dolphin trainer. Use the magical stick (Wii Remote^â„¢ and Nunchuk^â„¢ controllers) to perform in lifelike dolphin shows. Teach your dolphin tricks and have fun watching your dolphin swim and play elegantly with different scenes, music and angles. This game lets you train your dolphin, compete in dolphin shows and watch your dolphin swim freely. Using Nintendo^® Wi-Fi Connection Pay & Play, you can become friends with other dolphins that have different colors and personalities. You can also buy new toys such as rings and balls for your dolphin to play with.

MAGNETIS^â„¢
Publisher: YULLABY
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: MAGNETIS is all about attraction. Connect the magnets to create electric explosions. Solving this frantic puzzle will require quick thinking and foresight. Anticipate connections in order to generate massive chain reactions to win the highest number of points. To get rid of blocks and score points, you must create lines by connecting left and right magnets of the same color by using conductor blocks. The longer the line, the more points you’ll get. Team up with as many as three friends in cooperative mode or play against them in battle mode and compete for the highest score.

Stop Stress: A Day of Fury
Publisher: Abylight
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) — Animated Blood, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: Jack’s dreams have become a nightmare, and only you can help him to get out. Climb into the skin of the most stressed-out man in the world, grab the baseball bat and prepare to let off more steam than ever before. Destroy everything around you, beat a path through traffic or at the office, and face off against incredible hallucinations. How far will a day of fury take you?

Flowerworks^®
Publisher: Nocturnal Entertainment
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 1,000 Wii Points
Description: While our heroine Follie is traveling to meet her auntie with a cargo of mystical Flowerworks seeds, her ship is pulled off course and crash-lands in a particularly dull area of the planet Elilia. Explore with Follie and help her recover her seeds to transform the world from drab to fab. You’ll encounter strange inhabitants, some of whom will help Follie in her quest. Others, such as naughty garden gnomes, will hinder it. Flowerworks is a single-player adventure which combines blooming flowers, colorful fireworks, exploration and a whole lot of fun. The game will have the whole family immersed in no time, but be warned: Becoming a Flowerworks master is not for the faint of heart. Flowerworks includes Adventure, FreePlay and Tutorial game modes, with three difficulty settings in a 20-hour adventure.

Virtual Console

Street Fighter Alpha 2
Original platform: Super NES
Publisher: Capcom USA
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) — Animated Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: Street Fighter Alpha 2 explodes with lightning-fast game play and amazing innovations. Quick Move Reversals, Alpha Counters and the incredible Custom Combo System create a new standard for all games to fight by. Push your talents to the limit as you discover new hidden moves and reversals for every character. Neutralize opponents’ attacks with high and low Alpha Counters and execute incredible Custom Combos to create your own rapid-fire assaults. All your favorite warriors are back for more. Previously hidden characters Dan, Akuma and Bison are joined by five new fighters: Rolento, Gen and Sakura, plus classic favorites Dhalsim and Zangief.

Shinobi^â„¢
Publisher: SEGA
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) — Mild Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: Here’s a bit of helpful advice to all you criminal organizations out there: If you’re going to hatch an elaborate plot that involves kidnapping children, don’t kidnap children who have ninjas for parents. That was the big mistake that a group called Zeed made when it went after the offspring of the Oboro clan. Now Joe Musashi is on the hunt to rescue the young hostages and take out Zeed’s leaders, the Ring of Five. As you scour each stage, leave no children behind — Joe can’t proceed to the next level without freeing them all. With an unlimited supply of shuriken, his sharpened katana and his deadly fists and feet, Joe will show Zeed why you don’t mess with family.

In today’s slice of awesome news, a report, issued by GameSpot, says Nintendo classics Mario Kart, Pilot Wings, and Smash Bros. are on their way to the Virtual Console, and will be there by year’s end.

To clarify, we’re talking about Super Mario Kart, the one from the SNES era, Pilotwings, again, the SNES version, and, much to my personal delight, the Nintendo 64 Smash Bros.

According to the report, Mario Kart will release this Monday and the other two at the cryptic “sometime this holiday season” timeframe.

I feel the only appropriate statement to be issued here is “It’s about freakin’ time!” But really, I’ll never be satisfied, as Goldeneye will likely never show up.

Source: GameSpot via Kotaku + Joystiq

It’s a little late, but we now have the latest info on this week’s Nintendo Download and it’s a doozy! We have several awesome game demos for WiiWare and the release of some interesting new games and a few classics.

This week’s breakdown:

WiiWare: Pokemon Rumble, BIT.TRIP BEAT (Demo), Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (My Life As A Darklord Demo), NyxQuest:Kindred Spirits (Demo), World of Goo (Demo)

Virtual Console: Indiana Jones’ Greatest Adventures and Street Fighter II:Champion Edition

Nintendo DSiWare: Art Style:DIGIDRIVE, Arcade Bowling, Robot Rescue

Fans of puzzle games will love Art Style: DIGIDRIVE and Robot Rescue. Both games focus on shifting puzzles and the application of logic. Art Style: DIGIDRIVE lets the player take on the role of a traffic controller. You move cars in order to create fuel to keep going through the game. Robot Rescue lets you play as a robot who needs to rescue his comrades from 45 different labyrinths. But when you move through the dungeon you move all robots so strategy is key.

Arcade Bowling is a straight forward bowling game for the DSi which will entertain fans of portable bowling.

Indiana Jones’ and Street Fighter II are the classic releases (from SNES and Capcom respectively). Indiana Jone’s Greatest Adventures takes scenes from his best movies (no Crystal Skulls here) and allows the player to play as Indy as he searches for fortune and glory (kid).  Street Fighter II needs no introduction: the fighting game we know and love, on virtual console!

And now onto WiiWare!

Pokemon Rumble allows players to battle against other Pokemon in order to gain access to the Battle Royale and fight multiple Pokemon at once. Sound interesting? While the game is available for purchase, there’s also a free demo, so check it out before you buy it so you know it’s a game you’d like.

The rest of the releases are demos for upcoming Wii games which may or may not interest you. Here’s the breakdown for each game:

BIT.TRIP BEAT: A rhythm game which uses the Wiimote to play out beats in this retro game. Check it out if you were a fan of Bop It! or other rhythm games.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (My Life As A Darklord Demo): We all love Final Fantasy, so this new game was automatically on our list of games to check out. The demo lets you play as the Darklord’s daughter as she explores her castle and installs traps while fighting monsters. The objective is to protect your Dark Crystal from the explorers who want to destroy it.

NyxQuest:Kindred Spirits: Nyx, a winged girl, comes down heaven to look for her missing friend, Icarus. With the help of the other gods, she looks for him while flying above Ancient Greece.

World of Goo: a physics based construction game in which construct things. Out of Goo. The Goo Balls who inhabit the game don’t know they’re in a game. Or how delicious they are with crackers.

Any of these games sound interesting to you? Check them out and let us know how you like them.

Nintendo’s released another batch of games via WiiWare, Virtual Console and DSiWare. Now let’s see what’s in this week’s package!

- Nintendo DSiWare: Sparkle Snapshots, Viking Invasion, and Battle of Giants: Dragons – Bronze Edition

- WiiWare: Carnival King, “Aha! I Got It!” Escape Game, Family Card Games

- Virtual Console: Fighting Street, R-TYPE

Sparkle Snapshots – Take photos and edit them to your hearts content. You can choose frames, backgrounds, stamps and funny outfits to decorate your photos or paint them to maniuplate them in detail. A must have for DSi owners

Viking Invasion – Defend yourself from the attack of the Vikings. Fortify your defenses and take back your freedom from Olaf from raiding your land and taking your treasur back to his fierce wife Olga.

Battle of Giants: Dragons – As the last of the Bronze Dragons, you must defeat the SALMU dragons and reclaim the 15 stolen gems. With customization, this game is something special and definitely worth checking out

Carnival King – Play classic carnival games on your Wii. Play through three different amusement parks for a set of 12 games.

“Aha! I Got It!” Escape Game – You’re trapped in a room full of puzzles and can only escape if you slove them all. This is a good game for fans of puzzles and brain teasers!

Family Card Games – Play card games with friends online in this family fun game which includes three card games!

Fighting Street: A port of the arcade version of Street Fighter! You can take control of Ryu or Ken and beat your opponents to win the game. This classic game is a gem, so you should definitely check it out.

R-TYPE: a side-scrolling arcade shoot-’em-up that was developed in 1987. It’s the 22nd Century and you need to save humanity from the evil Bydo Empire. Your ship comes with a gun and you use your reflexes to try and win the game. The game get’s an updated secret level never before released!

Each of these games are a great addition to a gamer’s collection. Check them out if any sound interesting!

This week’s Wii Ware releases are geared toward saving civilizations from Evil. A cool‚ theme, so here’s the break down.

LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias, the sequel to LostWinds is now available on WiiWare! As an evil adversary binds the fate of Toku’s mother and the ancient Melodia civilization, it’s up to Toku and Enril to fight off their enemies, make new alliances and save the world as they know it!

Shootanto: Evolutionary Maybe is another game where you fight for the future of the world and upgrade as you go through each level. Co-op Two player will make this game memorable, so check it out!

How would I summon this week’s DSiWare release? One word: Domo.

Five interestingly interrelated games have been released: Crash-Course Domo, Hard-Hat Domo, Pro-Putt Domo, Rock-n-Roll Domo, and White-Water Domo.

Follow Domo as he goes around on mischievous adventures!

Each game has a different objective:

Crash-Course: Help Domo win six bicycle races to get the gold!

Hard-Hat: Help Domo get to the top of a building by matching ladders to floors. Sounds boring, but has promise!

Pro-Putt: Domo plays golf too! Guide him through the nine-hole Small Classic or the 18-hole Big Open tournament.

Rock-n-Roll: Help Domo become a rock star! Following the Guitar Hero/Rock Band crazy, here’s an alternative!

White-Water: Domo is kayaking the river rapids, so steer him to the finish line asap!

Hopefully the Domo games will be interesting enough to inspire some people to check them out!

Virtual Console only has one release this week: RYGAR

The Beast Lord has returned and the world is danger. To save the human race, Rygar has been brought back to life. Guide him in this arcade side-scroller

Check out the full press release below.

WiiWare

LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias

Publisher: FRONTIER

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Mild Fantasy Violence

Price: 1,000 Wii Points¢â€ž¢

Description: LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias is a sequel to the award-winning WiiWare launch title LostWinds. Enril the Wind Spirit returns to protect and guide young Toku by powering his jumps, aiding his glides and smashing his enemies. An evil adversary binds the fate of Toku’s mother, Magdi, and the ancient Melodia civilization. To save Magdi, Toku and Enril must face new foes, enlist friends old and new, and wield incredible new powers – including the ability to switch the very seasons themselves – as they explore the diverse, richly interactive Chilling Peaks and Melodia City areas of the magical land of Mistralis. This enchanting, exhilarating, explorative game play experience is bursting with new ideas that make exceptional use of the Wii Remote¢â€ž¢ controller. The awesome power of the Wind is back in the palm of your hand.

Shootanto: Evolutionary Mayhem

Publisher: Hudson Entertainment

Players: 1-2

ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) – Crude Humor, Mild Fantasy Violence, Suggestive Themes

Price: 500 Wii Points

Description: Battle for the future in a world governed by the law of the jungle. As you move through the stages, your character evolves and your weapons and shooting abilities change. First, throw weapons by hand, then proceed to use tools and different types of projectiles. A cooperative two-player mode is also available. The controls are simple: Move the character with the control stick, adjust the crosshairs with the Wii Remote controller and shoot down targets while dodging enemy attacks. Getting hit by an enemy bullet or touching an enemy close to you will count as a miss. With each miss, you’ll lose one heart; losing all hearts will end the game.

Nintendo DSiWare

Crash-Course Domo¢â€ž¢

Publisher: Nintendo

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Comic Mischief

Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points¢â€ž¢

Description: In Crash-Course Domo, you’ll guide Domo across the finish line in six increasingly difficult bicycle races. Steer Domo around other racers and patches of rough terrain, pedaling as fast as his stubby legs will allow.

Hard-Hat Domo¢â€ž¢

Publisher: Nintendo

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)

Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points

Description: In Hard-Hat Domo, Domo is a construction worker trying to get to the top of a building. Match ladder colors to floor colors – using cans of paint, if necessary – to earn points and continue climbing higher. Reach the top floor to clear each of the four levels of difficulty.

Pro-Putt Domo¢â€ž¢

Publisher: Nintendo

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)

Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points

Description: In Pro-Putt Domo, Domo hits the green in an effort to win the world putt-putt golf championship. Domo competes to finish with the lowest number of strokes in either the nine-hole Small Classic or the 18-hole Big Open tournament. Along the way, he’ll collect coins and earn bowls of meat-and-potato stew while avoiding bunkers and water hazards.

Rock-n-Roll Domo¢â€ž¢

Publisher: Nintendo

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)

Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points

Description: In Rock-n-Roll Domo, you’ll control Domo as he takes the stage in search of fortune and fame. Hit the right notes in rhythm (using the touch screen, if desired) to rock the house. If your timing needs work, use the mixer to practice songs. Complete five different songs at a series of increasingly larger venues to help Domo become a superstar.

White-Water Domo¢â€ž¢

Publisher: Nintendo

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)

Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points

Description: Take control of Domo as he hops into his kayak and races the river rapids in White-Water Domo. Jump and paddle as you steer Domo through the treacherous rapids in an effort to cross the finish line as quickly as possible. Finish with one of the top three times to proceed to the next stage.

Virtual Console

RYGAR¢â€ž¢

Publisher: Tecmo

Players: 1-2

ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) – Mild Fantasy Violence

Price: 600 Wii Points

Description: The year is 19XX A.D. and the human race has been brought to its knees by the resurrected ancient Beast Lord. The people have brought legendary warrior Rygar back to life in order to save the human race. Armed with Diskarmor, a weapon that extends, you’ll also make full use of your jumping abilities to venture through and clear all 27 stages. Appearing at arcades in 1986 as a side-scrolling action game, RYGAR received high acclaim for its beautifully rendered graphics, including waterfalls and a setting sun. As extra features, players can collect the five Powers of Indra to obtain special bonuses or gain 1,000,000 bonus points for finding hidden items. Also, the number of lives and the level of difficulty can be altered.

Nintendo adds new titles to the Nintendo DSi Shop and the Wii¢â€ž¢ Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time on Mondays.

Hey all,

It’s Monday, so that means another Nintendo Download! This week’s selection is relatively short (only 3 new titles), but I’m sure you’ll love what’s been released. This week’s titles include Pinball Pulse: The Ancients Beckon, Gravitronix, and Final Fight 2. Pinball Pulse: The Ancients Beckon is pinball with a plot. You fight your way through a quest of mythic proportions, interacting with gods and goddesses in order to fulfill your quest to become a pinball champion. Gravitronix is a strategy game where you go head to head with your opponents throwing and dodging projectile attacks in order to best them and become the king of the Gravitronix arena. The gem in the release is SNES’s Final Fight 2 on the Virtual Console. Return to Metro City as Haggar in order to take on the Mad Gear Gang and rescue their hostages. One of those classic must play games, finally available on the Virtual Console. For more details, just check out the press release below!
Nintendo DSiWare

Pinball Pulse: The Ancients Beckon¢â€ž¢
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) “" Comic Mischief
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points¢â€ž¢
Description: Pinball takes on mythological proportions in this Nintendo DSiWare exclusive. Choose from two modes of play (Regular Game or Daily Game) and begin your journey to becoming a pinball champion. Conquer mythic quests, collect gifts from the 12 Olympians, and push your skills to the limit by facing Medusa, the Sirens and more. Your portable pinball table will give you a quick adrenaline rush as you watch the steel ball fly through ramps and carom off bumpers all over the playing field. Rack up combo points, open specific game modes and enlist the Oracle for some help. Will you accept Zeus’s challenge?

Virtual Console

Final Fight¢â€ž¢ 2
Original platform: Super NES¢â€ž¢
Publisher: Capcom USA
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) “" Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points¢â€ž¢
Description: It’s been several years since peace settled in Metro City. With Cody and Jessica on vacation and Guy resuming his training out of town, everything seems to be in order. But Haggar is feeling uneasy after learning that Mad Gear was not completely destroyed. Once again, the Mad Gear Gang has emerged, and this time they want revenge. They’ve kidnapped Guy’s master, Genryusai, and Genryusai’s daughter, Rena. Now Haggar must travel the globe in search of Genryusai and Rena. Hopefully, with the help of Maki and Carlos, the reign of the Mad Gear Gang will be destroyed.

WiiWare

Gravitronix
Publisher: Medaverse Studios
Players: 1-8
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: It’s time to claim your rightful place as the champion of the Gravitronix arena, but get ready to deal with up to seven other players who are all shooting for the same title. Vanquish your opponents with four different projectiles and the powerful beams of your gravity platform. Intercept attacks and take careful aim at exposed vulnerabilities. Deflect incoming projectiles or capture and charge them with energy for devastating explosive attacks. Team up with a friend and battle through campaign mode, or recruit up to eight players on a single Wii¢â€ž¢ system in versus mode for an all-out battle. Customize your matches with a variety of different options, such as flooding the arena with projectiles or making the game insanely fast. No matter how you like to play, grab your friends and have a blast.

Nintendo adds new titles to the Nintendo DSi¢â€ž¢ Shop and the Wii¢â€ž¢ Shop Channel at 9 a.m.

Continuing with where we left off the other day, here are five more Super Nintendo classics that deserve a place on the Wii’s Virtual Console. This one’s a bit less RPG heavy than the previous entry, so if you dig things other than role-playing games, you may be in for a treat. After going through my memories and the list of games I never got to play but want to, it’s looking more and more like this is going to go 15 deep rather than 10. Get cracking, Virtual Console. We’re waiting.

Star Fox

Star Fox was an impressive achievement when it first released for the Super Nintendo back in 1993. It utilized the Super FX chip, designed by Argonaut Games, in order to achieve Star Fox’s 3D style gameplay, and helped pave the way for future 3D titles thanks to its success. This chip was a microprocessor that could do things with 3D that the Super Nintendo could not–remember, the SNES was known for its ability to fake 3D with its Mode 7 capabilities, but true 3D was out of its initial abilities. Argonaut and Nintendo simply installed the chip in the Star Fox cartridge so that the SNES could handle the 3D held inside.

Even in caption form, Slippy is annoying.

In addition to its technical pioneer status, Star Fox also established yet another Nintendo franchise that would see sequels, spinoffs and appearances in games like Super Smash Bros. Though it is not utilized as often as Mario or Zelda, or as critically acclaimed as Metroid, it’s still one of the big boys from the Big N. Star Fox 64 is available on the Virtual Console, which may be why the original is not available; it’s still a fun game to play, but its sequel enhanced every facet of the game, and is the more famous one for a few reasons (Do a barrel roll!)

As for the gameplay, it’s an on-rails space shooter, though you can control your speed with thrusters and fly around to avoid objects and collect items. It has a very arcade feel to it, which makes it different than most Nintendo franchises. I also find it kind of funny that they have more 3D space shooters than old-school 2D shoot-em-ups, especially given how far back the company’s history and game development goes. Most of the games in the series have been this way–the exception is Rare’s entry in the series, the GameCube’s Star Fox Adventures. That’s a game people love or hate (or love to hate) thanks to its departures from the series norms, which you can’t blame people for given how strong those roots are. (Then again, a lot of the people that complained about Star Fox Adventures are probably the same people that complained that Namco’s GameCube entry was too similar to the Nintendo 64 game).

Pilotwings

Mode 7 was very impressive for its time, and helped show off the power of the SNES

This is a series that is screaming for a Wii sequel, especially given how neat the flying mechanic in Wii Sports Resort (Motion Plus!) is. The original was a launch title–you had this, Super Mario World and Sim City, three titles that still hold up today and are considered classics by many. Pilotwings did not utilize 3D like Star Fox did for its flying–this was a few years before the advent of the Super FX chip–but it was capable of rendering what appeared to be 3D thanks to Mode 7–when flying, objects on the ground appeared to be popping out of it naturally in three dimensions, but when you would land or come very close to the ground you could see that they were flat and on top of the ground–if you’ve ever watched the camera pan closer to the landscape in an SNES title utilizing Mode 7, you can picture what I’m talking about.

There’s a lot more to do in Pilotwings than just fly planes, as you can also use a hang glider, a rocket belt, or a helicopter, and you can also go skydiving (again, Wii Sports Resort makes me feel like Pilotwings Wii is necessary). Though the Nintendo 64 entry (also a launch title) may be the better game, the original is a lot of fun, and neither of them are on the VC. It’s been over 18 years since the original released and 13 since its sequel hit–it’s time to put them back on a Nintendo console, first Virtually, then maybe with a proper sequel.

Nintendo, in their usual weekly pattern, released new games onto their three-fold digital download service today, but really, all the attention is on one of them.

Final Fantasy, the original NES title from Square Enix, hit the Virtual Console this morning. Priced at 500 Wii Points and an undefinable nostalgic value, this one will likely fly off the digital shelves of the Wii Shop.

Falling in the shadows of Final Fantasy are‚  Thorium Wars (1,000 DSi Points) on DSiWare. This first and third-person shooter for the portable comes from developer Big John Games and pits you against waves of attacking Thorians.

Additionally, Word Searcher (500 Wii Points) on WiiWare comes from game-maker Digital Leisures, and is pretty much what it sounds like. A word search game with 100 themed puzzles for your continued enjoyment. Personally, I’ve always despised word searches. We had timed contests in elementary school and I like to take my time. Needless to say, it didn’t go well.

Have a look at the official game descriptions below, courtesy of Nintendo.

FINAL FANTASY
Original platform: NES
Publisher: SQUARE ENIX
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Mild Fantasy Violence
Price: 500 Wii Points¢â€ž¢
Description: The world lies shrouded in darkness. The winds die. The sea rages. The earth decays. But the people believe in a prophecy, patiently awaiting its fulfillment. “When darkness veils the earth, four Warriors of Light shall come….” After a long journey, four young travelers did at last appear, and in the hand of each was clutched a crystal.

Nintendo DSiWare

Thorium Wars
Publisher: Big John Games
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) – Fantasy Violence
Price: 1,000 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: In Thorium Wars, you must stop the Thorions, a super species of Thorium-based machines, from destroying mankind. Blast through waves of Thorions by controlling an arsenal of tanks, skyfighters, hovercrafts, gunboats and starfighters with either the standard or touch-screen controls. In 12 exciting missions, navigate through a variety of combat environments while viewing 360 degrees of the battlefield, fully rendered in 3-D. Toggle between first- and third-person views to destroy the terrifying army of Thorium beasts, from swarms of Redeye Drones to the bone-crushing Manticore Walker. This man-versus-machine battle proves to be the ultimate test for the survival of the fittest.

WiiWare

Word Searcher
Publisher: Digital Leisure Inc.
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: You’ll need a sharp eye and a quick mind to complete 100 themed word-search puzzles. Word Searcher contains fun words from multiple categories including anatomy, world cities and U.S. presidents. With a huge assortment of subjects to choose from, there’s sure to be a puzzle for everyone to enjoy. Help improve your vocabulary, memory and problem-solving skills with these engaging puzzles. Track and try to beat your own play-through times again and again-words are scrambled every time you play.

Nintendo added 5 new digital titles to their download hot-spots today ranging from an updated version of Araknoid to the grid-based strategy game “Dragon Quest Wars.”

DSiWare-

Art Academy: Second Semester (800 DSi Points, 1 player)- is the sequel to the original, however this time around it brings a larger set of tools and more in-depth lessons for you aspiring artists.

Dragon Quest Wars (500 DSi Points, 1-4 players)- this Square Enix developed grid-based strategy game features loads of Dragon Quest monsters you’ve grown to know and love as well as DSi Wireless and Wi-Fi play to put your skills to the test.

WiiWare-

Araknoid Plus (1-2 players, 600 Wii Points)- a sequel to the blockbuster arcade original, Plus features a plethora of new modes and settings including the “Arcade,” “VS,” and “Time Modes,” all of which will undoubtedly add to the replay value of the title.

DRiift Mania (1-8 players, 800 Wii Points)- a unique top-down racing title that amazingly, allows for up to 8 players to take part in the driving mayhem. The press release was extremely vague. But when we learn more, we’ll pass the information along.

Virtual Console

Altered Beast (1,000 Wii Points, 1-2 players)- The priciest addition of the week, this is the same beat ‘em up sidecscrolling adventure game you remember from those long lost SEGA Genesis days in which you control a centurion tasked with rescuing Zeu’s daughter Athena. You remember, right?

Remember, if you recently purchased a DSi, you have until October 5 at midnight to log onto the DSi Store and claim your 1,000 free DSi Points.

Look for our review of Dragon Quest Wars soon. It’ll show up. We promise.

Nintendo, you’ve done it again, following through on your promise of variance in offerings, but I’m still waiting for Super Smash Bros. Pretty please?

Alright everybody, it’s Monday so you know what that means: Nintendo Download Time! There were only five games released this week, so let’s see what they’re all about.

Two games were released via WiiWare: You Me, and the Cubes and Family Tennis.

You, Me and the Cubes is a physics based action puzzle game. You play as humanoid Fallos, creatures that can balance on a playing field of cubes. If you place them in the right position, they survive and make it into the next level. If their weight or locations are off, the Fallos will fall off. To add the gameplay, different cubes have different properties so gamers are going to need to be ready for surprises.

Family Tennis seems to be a run of the mill Tennis game. If you’re tired of Wii Sports Tennis, this seems to be a variation of it. I’m a big fan of Wii Tennis so I see this as a separately developed expansion. You play as members of a family playing tennis for fun. ‚ There are three levels of competition for variation and you’re allowed to play up to three other players.

Last Ninja 2 from the Commodore 64 was released on the Virtual Console. Evil Shogun Kunitoki has gathered all his mystic powers to take over 1988 Manhattan. You play as Armakuni, a ninja mysteriously transported into the future to stop Kunitoki and save the world. Anyone feeling nostalgic will probably want to purchase this game. I’ve never played Last Ninja 2, but the concept sounds interesting enough for a quick run through.

Finally, two games were released for Nintendo DSiWare. Clubhouse Games Express: Strategy Pack is a DSi pack which has Backgammon, Field Tactics, Turncoat, Connect 5 and Grid Attack. This seems like a game for long road trips and with the ability to play with up to 7 kids, it’ll probably be very entertaining for little kids. MySims Camera isn’t really a game as much as it is a camera application. It allows you to take pictures and then put 3D MySims characters into the photos which can be moved or animated. You can also edit the photos with the stylus and then share it with friends.

That’s all for this week’s Nintendo Download. Let us know what you think below in the comments.

Sega may have released them out of order, but no matter, as all four of the original Phantasy Star titles are now available on Wii’s Virtual Console thanks to yesterday’s update. The Master System classic is also the cheapest of the four, coming in at 500 Nintendo Points–the series as a whole will run you $29, with the other three costing you 800 Nintendo Points (or $8) a piece. Cost isn’t really what I want to get into here though; I just want to talk a little about one of my favorite RPG series, and maybe give those of you who are unfamiliar with it some background.

Phantasy Star: The Original

While Nintendo did not own Square or Enix back in the 1980s, the system of choice for those company’s RPGs was the Nintendo Entertainment System. Both Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest (or Dragon Warrior, as it was known in North America at that time) got their start on the NES, and both were set in a fantasy world of swords, armor and magic. When Sega released the Master System, they had their own RPG to counter Nintendo’s two-headed RPG beast in the form of Phantasy Star. While looking at it now, you may see a visually dated game, the first title in the Phantasy Star series arrived late in 1987 and wowed people with its graphical prowess, story and very difficult gameplay. In fact, it was one of the first story-driven RPGs in North America, with its storyboard anime cutscenes, pre-named characters and loads of NPCs to talk to that worked to enhance the story. The game also used a dungeon setup that was not returned to in later games, with a first-person, 3D-looking perspective that made each level into somewhat of a maze.

Story-driven in part thanks to storyboards, the original Phantasy Star was unlike anything seen in RPGs at the time.

You play as Alis, who has just seen her brother killed by the guards of Lassic, a tyrannical king who is causing problems on Palma, one of the three planets of the Algol solar system. You eventually recruit the warrior Odin, the Musk Cat Myau, and the Esper Noah (who in the Japanese version–and subsequent releases in which he is referenced–is known as Lutz) to your cause, and seek to put an end to Lassic’s reign. Lassic is, of course, not the source of the problem in the Algol system, as that role belongs to (is it still a spoiler when the game is 22 years old and counting?) Dark Force. Dark Force is one of the unifying themes that ties the Phantasy Star series together, as this incarnation of evil appears in each title in the original series–hell, the last boss in Phantasy Star Universe’s single-player story mode wasn’t Dark Force, but stylistically, that was the basis for it.

The game itself is famous due to the cartridge used and the price–the suggested retail was $69.99, but some places sold it for as much as $80. When the Master System II hardware released and was given a price reduction relative to the original, it cost just $10 more than this one game. While it seems like nothing now, the game used 512KB of ROM, while most Sega Master System titles used 128KB. The cartridge was also capable of holding five saves at once thanks to the battery-backed RAM chip. With this Virtual Console release, you can get the same sound quality that the original Japanese release had–North American and PAL hardware lacked a sound chip found in the Japanese Master System, but the Wii can emulate that just fine with the hardware it has, giving you the option for either version.

This week’s Nintendo download list is small, but has some seriously awesome gems. The first two games are interesting in their own right and appeal to people who are easily amused. 3-2-1 Rattle Battle! is a party game released as WiiWare which will entertain everyone with the “rattle” of a Wii controller. If you’re really good, you can compare your score with those of people around the globe. Puzzle League Express, a game released as DSi Ware, promises hours of entertainment. You simple need to connect the blocks that have the same color to clear them from the screen and keep the stack low enough to win. With four single player modes, you’ll be able to enjoy hours of varied game play. Now…the gems.

Virtual Console will be hosting the release of SEGA Master System’s Phantasy Star! Fans of the original RPG will be able to enjoy the game again! Guide Alis through her quest to avenge her brother’s death and defeat King Lassic to free the people of Agol. Available for 500 Wii Points, this game is a MUST have. Classic in every sense of the word and worth a replay.

Now, the main attraction…Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 2 is available for 1000 Wii points. Guybrush’s adventures continue as he must continue to defend the Mer-People and dodge pirate hunters so that he can catch up to his wife and despised arch-nemesis. He must eradicate the Pox of LeChuckbefore any more harm can be done. This is what people have been waiting for since Chapter One, so go out and buy it!

That’s all for this week’s Nintendo Download. For more details, check out the press release after the jump.

Hopefully you’ve been saving your Nintendo points, because this week’s Nintendo download has a few games which are worth dishing out a few bucks for. The highlight of the release is Nintendo’s release of “The Revenge of Shinobi”, the sequel to the classic Sega Genesis game. Musashi the ninja returns to put an end to Neo Zeed and his criminal empire before they take control of the world. Easily one of the most difficult and entertaining games I’ve played in a while. “The Revenge of Shinobi” is available via the Virtual Console.

Brain Age Express: Sudoku is now available for everyone who loves to play Sudoku in their free time. With three difficulty levels, and the low price of 500 Nintendo points, it’s too good an offer to pass up.

Guitar Rock Tour is sure to be the portable solution for Rock Band or Guitar Hero addicts. Using the touch screen, play as a guitarist or drummer to your favorite classic songs. Easy entertainment for long car rides for all DSi owners.

Nintendo has also released two family titles as WiiWare: Picture book Games: Pop-Up Pursuit and Family Slot Car Racing. Pop-Up Pursuit is a board game set in a picture book, which will keep young children occupied for hours. Family Slot Car Racing is a basic racing game for the family, with three circuit levels and loads of unlockable content.

For more details, check out the press release after the jump.

It’s certainly a varied week for the Nintendo Download. On WiiWare, you’ve got three games to choose from, and then two more from the Virtual Console service. DSiWare has a bit of a quiet week, with Gameloft releasing Brain Challenge and nothing else coming for the system.

For WiiWare, the titles are listed in order of exclamation points. Bit Boy!! makes his North American debut; if you want some more info on the title, we interviewed the developers after its European release. Incoming! is a cartoony tank fighter, with support for either one or two players. Last, we have the lone release without an exclamation point in Ant Nation, though that may be because the description of the game reads like a guide to torturing ants in order to toughen them up. If you’re the kind of person who put ants under a magnifying glass in order to set them aflame, then this game is for you. Apparently, you were toughening them up for their street brawls against the local spider thugs. You’re a hero!

On Virtual Console, you have one game for each Sega platform. I used to play Secret Command at an arcade that had home consoles behind glass, rigged to joysticks. That’s how I was introduced to Battletoads on the NES, as well. Next there is a Sega Channel release for the Genesis, which I have never played before. Pulseman was published by Game Freak though, the company that works on Pokemon, so maybe I’ll take a look all these years alter.

The full press release can be found after the jump. Picking anything up this week?

For those of you that have checked out either Bit.Trip BEAT or any of the Art Style games, this week’s Nintendo Download has to looking good. First, we have the second in a six-game series with Bit.Trip CORE on WiiWare (here’s our interview with the developers, if you missed it), along with Bust-A-Move Plus! and Heracles Chariot Racing. While the initial 135 stages in Bust-A-Move Plus! cost 600 points, there are another two packs that equal 270more‚  puzzles, awaiting your download as add-ons. That’s a whole lot of Bust-A-Move, for those so inclined.

There’s one title on the Virtual Console side, with California Games from the Commodore 64 library. The sports available are the kinds of things you would expect from an 80s game based on California, dude.

Last, on DsiWare, we’ve got another Art Style, with Art Style: Base 10. It sounds like some kind of Sudoku take-off with a different style of gameplay, so I’m willing to give it a shot. I’m used to Art Style games hurting my brain in a good way, so why not one more? If you would rather race, Gameloft, who supports the WiiWare service almost as much as Nintendo, has Asphalt 4: Elite Racing for you on the DSi.

Official press releases after the jump. Picking anything up this week? We’ll have reviews for Bit.Trip CORE and Art Style: Base 10 for you soon.

This week’s digital download gives us three new WiiWare titles and one game a piece for Virtual Console and DSiWare. First we have Water Warfare, Hudson’s second first-person shooter on the WiiWare service, though this time rather than alien worlds you are hanging out at the playground and beach. The concept is intriguing, and the game includes quite a few modes (single player, split-screen, and CPU match) for 800 points. Natsume releases Reel Fishing Challenge for 500 points, so for those of you that want to virtually fish but don’t want to shell out for a retail release, you have found your solution. Last on WiiWare is Silver Star Reversi, which is also called Othello by some, and is often found in board game form.

Next up is the Master System sequel to Fantasy Zone, Fantasy Zone II. There are a ton of shoot-em-ups to choose from on Virtual Console, but if you prefer yours to be sugary sweet and as colorful as the rainbow, then Fantasy Zone is where you want to be.

DSiWare gets Sudoku this week for 500 points, with 150 puzzles for both experts and beginners. It certainly qualifies as the perfect pocket time waster, especially at that price. Check the next page for the official release and more info on each title. Downloading anything this week? Or waiting for WiiWare title #100?

This week the Nintendo Download, Nintendo’s hot spot for digital downloads adds six new titles for gamers to download and enjoy.

Offerings this week are varied to say the least as a Samurai toaster named Eduardo, rainbow islands, a clock and calculator and a few more hit WiiWare, The Virtual Console and DSiWare today. No need to fret however, as we’ll explain each title with a tad more detail below.

DSiWare-

Mario Calculator (200 DSi Points) is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. A calculator for your DSi.‚  But why do you need one? Maybe tallying high scores? With its built in memory function, 13 digit display, a unit converter, and the familiar Mario coin pileup noise we’ve grown to love, sure, it could be useful.

Mario Clock (200 DSi Points) is a fully functional digital and analog, alarm programmable, and sound-recordable buffed application that also has, what sounds like, a very light coin collection mini mini mini game that has Mario and Luigi doing what they do best, collecting those gold pieces!

WiiWare-

Eduardo the Samurai Toaster (800 Wii Points, 1-4 players) is the most crazy awesome sounding game maybe I’ve ever heard. In this side-scrolling action-game you’ll play as Eduardo alongside fellow appliance brothers and you’ll shoot various pastries at enemy food products. Yes, you heard that right, but there’s more. You’ll hop onto laser mounted scooters and take the excitement to an even zanier level.‚  Stay tuned for our review.

Rainbow Island: Towering Adventure (800 Wii Points, 1-2 players) has players scaling colorful bows of rain (rainbows) to reach the heavens while defeating colorful enemies. The three gameplay modes are Story, Challenge, and Time Attack, all of which offering a different take on the game.

Let’s Catch (1,000 Wii Points, 1-4 players) is the next in the “Let’s X” series and will serve you well if your dad never threw the ball around with you when you were young. Use your Mii and toss the ball around in six unique single and multiplayer modes including Speed Catch and Bomb Catch. I cannot wait to play the latter as it’s basically hot potato, but you die.

And finally on the Virtual Console-

Space Harrier (800 Wii Points, 1 player) is the same SEGA game you remember from back in the day (which according to Dane Cook, was a Wednesday) and has all the fantasy, guns, and narrator statement of “you’re doing great” you’ll remember as you play as the Space Harrier throughout the 3D world blasting enemies to bits.

Every title will hit their respective download location beginning at 12 noon.

Still high off of the fumes of E3 2009, Nintendo, in their dedicated fashion, released new titles today for the now threefold download services “" WiiWare, DSiWare, and the Virtual Console.

On tap this week on DSiWare is the continuation of a battle for evermore pitting Italian man vs. ape in Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again (1 player, 800 DSi Points).

That’s it for hand-held love so what do we get on the console side of things?

How about two unique titles, Swords and Soldiers (1-2 players, 1000 Wii Points) and Fish ‘Em All (1-2 players, 800 Wii Points) on WiiWare? Sound good? Great, because both are alive, breathing, and ready for your purchase right now.

And on the Virtual Console Nintendo unleashed Ghengis Khan II: Clan of the Gray Wolf (1-2 players, 800 Wii Points) and is everything you remembered, or forgot, from those long lost SNES days. All the strategy and all the Ghengis are right where you left them. So have at it!

via Joystiq

Today is the first day of June, who knew?‚  Nintendo knows, that’s who, and unveiled their weekly plans for their now three-fold download services today adding Mighty Flip Champs! To DSiWare, Final Fantasy IV: The After Years and Texas Hold’em Tournament to WiiWare, and revisiting the Commodore 64 days with Boulder Dash on the Virtual Console.

DSiWare-

Mighty Flip Champs! (1 player, 800 DSi Points) is a tricky puzzle/platforming title that will test not only your wits, but also your mind by way of traversing a series of “action-packed” mazes. Confused? So am I.‚  Try this developer video on for size.

WiiWare-

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years (1 player, 800 Wii Points) is the sequel to the hit original Final Fantasy IV.‚  Square Enix fans and Final Fantasy fans have been salivating over this title for quite some time, and the same dramatic RPG elements from the original return in this sequel as “Now, monsters are reappearing in a world that had finally attained peace. The second moon has returned anew. What tidings does this ominous harbinger bring?”‚  Fire up your Wii and find out!!

Texas Hold’em Tournament (1-6 players, 500 Wii Points) is just the type of game you’re likely imagining, where you’ll start on the small side of things at local Nevada gaming halls and eventually make your way to the championships in Las Vegas where your keen mind and gutsy reactions will determine your eventual fate. ‚ Also, take yourself and your Mii to the expanses of the internet to take on the world by competing in global tournaments.

Virtual Console-

Boulder Dash (1-2 players, 500 Wii Points) is just as you remember it from those long, lost Commodore 64 days of 1984.‚  You still play as the brave prospector Rockford and must battle all sorts of dangerous creatures and the predictable falling rocks.‚  Think the days of Boulder Dash are gone?‚  Think again, as now you can relive those moments of gaming elation, and, if you live in Connecticut, can jump on the thrill ride bearing the same name at Lake Compounce.

All games go live on their respective download locations today at 12PM EST.

Memorial Day, today, marks the unofficial beginning of the warm summer months, and if this week’s boxed retail offerings don’t float your boat and you have a Wii or DSi, Nintendo has some “hot” downloadable goodies for you.

DSiWare-

American Popstar: Road to Celebrity (800 DSi Points) is just what it sounds like, and on the road to stardom you’ll first audition at your high school, but oh no, your crush and rival are also trying out!‚  Your character is fully customizable and the game utilize both the DSi’s camera and sound alteration functionality.

Photo Clock (200 DSi Points) looks to be actually a very useful application as it allows for photos taken to be displayed, either statically or in a slideshow form, on the top screen while a clock, either in analog or digital fashion shines on the bottom.‚  Up to three programmable alarms, with the snooze capability are also at your fingertips ensuring that you’ll never be late.‚  Maybe.

WiiWare-

Bubble Bobble Plus! (600 Wii Points) is a 1-4 player simple action game where you control the bubble-blowing dragons Bub and Bob, trapping enemies in bubbles and then popping them.‚  In the ranked online mode, you can take the competition to the world and show what you’ve got (or don’t) and interestingly a whopping 100 additional rounds contained in “Expert Mode 1 + 2″ will be available for purchase as DLC.

Adventure Island: The Beginning (800 Wii Points) has players exploring “Adventure Island” while searching for Golden Melons (shhh) via progressing through stages and via the obvious mini-game component. ‚ ‚ Mini-games, on the Wii? No, that can’t be.‚  Oh wait.

Virtual Console-

Clay Fighter (800 Wii Points) is exactly the 2-4 player SEGA Genesis title as you remember from all those years ago.‚  The same zany interstellar clay slams into earth turning the circus employees into bizarrely super powered versions of themselves.‚  Man, somehow I skipped over this title years ago, but that description is enough to force me to spend my Wii Points that have been searing a hole in my jeans for quite some time.

Anyone picking anything up this week from the three-fold Nintendo download service?

Nintendo released the award winning, and altogether amazing “Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask” this morning on the Virtual Console, marking the 300^th available classic title on the service.

Every single Monday for the last 2.5 years, Nintendo has diligently released one or more classic titles to the ever-growing Virtual Console, and with “Ocarina of Time” already in the ranks, fans have patiently (or not) awaited this day.

It is near impossible to shine in a week with anything Zelda in the headline, but not to be overlooked, three additional titles found their way onto DSiWare and WiiWare this Monday morning.

Art Style: PiCTOBiTS (500 DSi Points) released on the handheld download service today but what is it?‚  The basic gist of the simple title is that you’ll move colored blocks around the bottom half of the screen while more blocks rain down from above.‚  You guessed it, you’ve got to match the colors to win.

Crystal Defenders R2 (800 Wii Points) was announced back in March at GDC as part of an onslaught of Square Enix titles coming to the DSi, and this iteration is just what it sounds like.‚  You’ve got a crystal, and you must defend it. ‚ Sensible huh?

Rounding out the download possibilities is Silver Star Chess (500 Wii Points) also available on WiiWare and also very self explanatory.‚  Play chess either against the computer or a human opponent, review previous played games, alter background music, or ultimately become the next Bobby Fischer.‚  Maybe.

In case the headline didn’t blow your mind away, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (1,000 Wii Points) hit the Virtual Console this morning, needs no introduction, and is undoubtedly being downloaded a gazillion times, lagging the servers as we speak.

Nintendo skimped on quantity this week as only three downloadable titles hit the Japanese video game makers’ three-fold download service-are any of them worth it?

On DSiWare Real Soccer 2009(as opposed to fake soccer?) drops this morning complete with the “never before seen” ability to manipulate both screens and the touch functionality on the pitch.‚  Interestingly, utilizing the cameras built into the DSi system, pictures of anything can be snapped and applied to anything from the soccer ball itself, to your likeness.‚  This downloadable title from GameLoft will set you back 800 DSi Points, but with the aforementioned details and the ability to choose from any of the 198 teams, complete with full and real rosters, may just be worth it.

Joining the army of titles of WiiWare this week is Family Pirate Party (500 Wii Points).‚  Apart from the seemingly contradictory name the ill-timed release (given our issues with Somalian pirates), Pirate Party sounds interesting.‚  Play as Daddy, Mommy, Sarah and Billy, roll the dice, sail through the many islands, and the family member with the most gold wins.

If piracy or soccer aren’t your things, take a trip down memory lane with Galaxy Force II (800 Wii Points), as the single player SEGA Genesis title is now available on the Virtual Console.‚  It’s the same arcade, Martian-blasting arcade title as you remember it.‚  What’s not to love?

And remember, if you recently purchased a DSi, you’ve got 1,000 free DSi Points-use them wisely.

DSi owners holding out on spending those gratuitous points from Nintendo may have to wait another week, as this week’s Nintendo Download doesn’t contain the most exciting titles.

A measly total of four titles hit the now three-fold Nintendo download service spanning DSiWare, WiiWare, and the Virtual Console.

DSiWare:

Clubhouse Games Express: Card Classics (1-8 players, 800 DSi Points) is a watered down gambling title that allows up to eight players to take part in Black Jack, 5 Card Draw and the fast paced Last Card, Last Card Plus and President.

Paper Airplane Chase (1-2 players 200 DSi Points) challenges players to guide their paper airplane through an “increasingly tricky” slalom course, either in a clam, collected and slow manner in Endless mode, or crazily in Time Attack. ‚ ‚ The downloadable title also allows for single-card multiplayer in two-player race mode.

WiiWare:

Cocoto Platform Jumper (1-4 players 700 Wii Points) is indeed a unique indie game set in a far away fantasy land full of mystery and complete with a myriad of interesting creatures to discover and interact with.‚  You play as Cocoto and must embark on an epic journey to save your kidnapped friends and vanquish the sinister Zaron.

Virtual Console:

Nobunaga’s Ambition (1-8 players 800 Wii Points) is the classic Japanese strategy game from the Super Nintendo era set in Japan’s Warring States period.‚  Do you wage war? Work for democracy? Playing as a mighty rule you make all the decisions and ultimately decide the fate of Japan.

Nintendo also kindly reminds DSi owners that joining the ranks of Club Nintendo is not without its benefits.‚  By registering your games, system, and providing feedback on your experience you’ll earn precious coinage with alluring exchange possibilities.

Club Nintendo

Nintendo released the third revamp of the popular portable gaming machine, the DSi yesterday alongside the DSi shop, a place to travel to and spend those precious or not so precious digital monies on various downloadable titles.‚  Similar to the Wii Shop Channel, the DSi Shop will act as a living, breathing way to bring enthusiasts games of all genres and production values, as well as possible system features in the future.

What was once our Wii-kly update for all things Wii morphs this week into the Nintendo Download, busting full of both Wii and DS digital wares.

Nintendo brings the faithful 5 DSi titles, 1 system feature, and one title on both WiiWare and the Virtual Console this week and marks the advent of a new era.

DSiWare:

Nintendo DSi Web Browser (free): If you hated the fact that you had to pay for sluggish internet access in the past, this new Opera based browser promises faster load times, simplicity and intuitive browsing wherever Wifi can be found, which is pretty much everywhere these days.

Birds & Beans (200 DSi Points): In this unique title you control Pyoro, a small bird with an elastic tongue and an insatiable appetite for beans. Scramble to catch beans that fall from the sky, racking up points as you go. The farther away the bean, the more points it’s worth.

Master of Illusion Express: Funny Faces (200 DSi Points): What we have here is essentially magic tricks pulled from the popular DS game and goes as far as using the DSi itself as a prop in one of the card tricks.
Art Style: AQUIA (500 DSi Points): is a fast-paced underwater puzzle game that asks you to think fast and move even faster. Help a scuba diver reach the ocean’s floor by matching three or more colored blocks horizontally or vertically. The more blocks you match, the faster the diver will descend. Fail to clear blocks and the diver’s air supply will start to run out, causing darkness to creep in from above and cloud your vision.

WarioWare: Snapped! (500 DSi Points): Wario is at it again, turning the world upside down with his antics this time utilizing the camera functionality of the DSi to incorporate gamers’ faces into the mini-games themselves, challenging games to move their faces and bodies along four wild roller coasters.
Brain Age Express: Math (800 DSi Points): Can learning math be fun?‚  This watered down version of its big brother would love to say so and aims to train your mind on the go with new and familiar exercises including Change Maker, Triangle Math, Sum Totaled and Multi Tasker.

WiiWare:

EQUILIBRIO (500 Wii Points): This Labyrinth-type puzzle game challenges gamers to guide a ball around a fantastical world toward an exit via directional movement of the Wii Remote or the Wii Balance Board.‚  DK games, creators of Equilibrio designed 64 levels of varying artistic style and difficulty, and with four player functionality, the replay value may just warrant the forfeiture of my Wii Points, what about you?

Virtual Console:

Uncharted Waters: New Horizons (800 Wii Points): is comparable to Sid Meiers type games in terms of game play and theme with a cult following among enthusiasts, most of them in the far east. ‚ ‚ Choose between six different characters with varying personalities and motives, board ship and take to the open seas in search of treasure, pirates, and ambitious discovery.

Anyone with a brand spankin’ new DSi has been granted 1,000 DSi Points to spend and while some title this week sound somewhat exciting, waiting another week isn’t going to hurt either.

Nintendo created the aptly named Wii-kly update some time ago and if you’ve gotten used to the clever adage, I’m sorry to say that today marks the conclusion of the moniker.

In correspondence with next Sunday’s release of the Nintendo DSi hardware and matching DSi Shop, where gamers will be able to download a growing wealth of titles, the Wii-kly update will morph into the Nintendo Download.

Don’t bury the name before its last hurrah however, as this week Super Punch Out!! on the Virtual Console and Bonsai Barber on WiiWare are readily available for download.

Super Punch Out!! (800 Wii Points) the SNES boxing classic returns this week and offers up the same fighting challenges, triumphant moments, and plentiful sweat you remember from days past.‚  With the revamped Punch Out!! launching on the Wii in mid May, this nostalgia filled memento will certainly hold any boxing fan over until then.

On WiiWare, Bonsai Barber (1,000 Wii Points) sings quite a different tune.‚  You play as the new barber in town and it is your duty to create the latest in foliage fashion.‚  An interesting set of characters with varying personalities as well as a number of tools including scissors, clippers, and spray-cans await you in this newly founded genre of the “first-person-groomer.”

Next Monday morning check back for the very first Nintendo Download update informing you of the week’s Nintendo DLC now spanning both the Wii Shop and DSi Shop services.

As we reported earlier today, a slew of Final Fantasy titles will make their way onto WiiWare and the Virtual Console later this year bringing a mix of old and new to Nintendo’s popular download service.

While the original announcement came from Nintendo President Satoru Iwata’s mouth earlier this morning, Square Enix made it official today announcing “Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles My Life as a Dark Lord” joined on WiiWare by “Final Fantasy IV: The After Years”, a port of the sequel released and exclusive to Japanese cell phones that was downloaded over 3 million times.

In addition, fans of the series can rejoice over the addition of the original “Final Fantasy” to the Virtual Console sometime in 2009.

This week’s additions to the popular Wii Shop Channel include one WiiWare and one Virtual Console title, Gradius Rebirth and Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars respectively.

Gradius Rebirth breathes invigorating new life to the 1985 horizontal shoot ‘em up debuting on Arcades and eventually ported to a number of consoles, most successfully on the NES.‚  Developed and published by Konami, Rebirth has you blasting your way through levels filled with alien spaceships and otherworldly creatures utilizing a full range of upgradeable space-age weaponry to rid the universe of the alien scum.‚  Furthermore, every killer high score you accumulate can be uploaded to the online leaderboards to see where you rank among other Rebirth fans.

Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars, the 1980′s classic SEGA Master System platformer, debuts on the Virtual Console today and is everything you loved and remembered from yesteryear.‚  Alex must traverse the same zany enemies and environments to find the missing 12 Zodiac signs among the 6 challenging levels.

Gradius Rebirth is available on Nintendo’s WiiWare service for 1,000 Wii Points and is rated E with mild fantasy violence.

Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars can be purchased on the Virtual Console for 500 Wii Points and is rated E with comic mischief and crude humor.

From Nintendo:

WiiWare

Gradius ReBirth (Konami, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone-Mild Fantasy Violence, 1,000 Wii Points): Blast your way through levels filled with alien spaceships and otherworldly creatures in this retro side-scrolling shooter. Pick your weapons carefully and upgrade them to create a devastating arsenal of space-aged weapons that will aid you in your challenging mission. Players can post their high scores to worldwide leader boards via Nintendo‚® Wi-Fi Connection and see where they rank against all the other Gradius ReBirth players. Test your skills with Gradius ReBirth and see if you have what it takes to beat this action-packed arcade shooter.

Virtual Console

Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars^TM (SEGA MASTER SYSTEM, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone-Comic Mischief, Crude Humor, 500 Wii Points): In this platformer from the 1980s, help Alex Kidd in a race against time to find the 12 missing zodiac signs hidden in six challenging levels-including toyland, the robot factory and an outer-space level-all complete with crazy enemies.

For more information about Wii, please visit wii.com.

Nintendo continues to add to its already robust collection of both new and classic downloadable titles this week with the release of SNES title: Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen on the virtual console, as well as Family and Friends Party, an interactive board game for up to 8 players available via WiiWare.

Last week saw the debut of three Commodore 64 titles as well as the long-awaited co-op FPS Onslaught, and while this week lacks the excitement of the former, Nintendo has done an incredible job releasing titles from all sectors so that every gamer will have something to spend their precious Wii Points on.

Ogre Battle, which saw its stateside release in 1995, is a strategy game where you play as the leader of a band of rebels commanding a full-blown army with total control of hundreds of characters, magic items, weapons and mystical Tarot cards.‚  Oh and if you didn’t know, the fate of the entire population rests on your shoulders, no pressure or anything.

Family and Friends Party is a horse of an entirely different color.‚  Developed by Gammick Entertainment, this brand new party game allows for up to 8 players to compete either cooperatively or in a versus fashion on the interactive virtual game board.‚  Details on the core game-play of the title were brief, only that each turn will offer a different challenge that need be tackled by members of the same team for “single” challenges, or head to head with the opposing faction for “versus” challenges.‚  I might just stick with my Mario Party, but who knows; even a crystal is born in harshest of circumstances.

Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen, the one player E rated strategy game will cost you 800 Wii Points on the Virtual Console.

Family and Friends Party, perfect if you just birthed a set of octuplets, also rated E, will run you 1,000 Wii Points and is also available today on WiiWare.

Maybe, just maybe we’ll see Super Smash Bros next week to coincide with Brawl’s birthday, doesn’t hurt to hope.

About Nintendo:

WII-KLY UPDATE: ONE WIIWARE GAME AND ONE VIRTUAL CONSOLE GAME ADDED TO WII SHOP CHANNEL

March 2, 2009

In like a lamb and out like a lion, or vice-versa? Whether March finds you digging out from a late-winter blizzard or reeling in the spring thaw, the fun is both mild and wild at the Wii^TM Shop Channel. Even the littlest lambs in your household can take part in a cool new family-friendly WiiWare^TM game, while strategy-loving gamers will be roaring like lions as they battle evil foes in a classic Virtual Console^TM title.

Nintendo adds new and classic games to the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time every Monday. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points^TM to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week’s new games are:

WiiWare^TM

Family & Friends Party (Gammick Entertainment, 1-8 players, Rated E for Everyone, 1,000 Wii Points): Have fun with all your friends and family as you take on some very exciting challenges. This is an interactive board game for as many as eight players of all ages. The goal is to be the first to complete a series of challenges. During each turn, a challenge will be played by one or two players per team depending on the type of challenge you’ve been given. (Other players on your team can still help and support you). There are six different “Single” challenges that must be played cooperatively by members of the same team. Family & Friends Party can also suggest “Versus” challenges, which must be played competitively by all teams at the same time.

Virtual Console^TM

Ogre Battle^TM: The March of the Black Queen^TM (Super NES^TM, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone, 800 Wii Points): It’s up to you to defeat the Empire. It’s been nearly a quarter of a century since the Zetegenian Empire first conquered the Kingdoms of Zenobia with a wrath of fear and bloodshed. You are the leader of a band of rebels who’ve fought to preserve the last shred of honor in this desperate time of treachery. Manage the ranks of a full-blown rebel army, complete with hundreds of characters, magic items, weapons and mystical Tarot cards. You must succeed in ousting the evil usurpers-your fate, and that of the entire population, depends on it.

For more information about Wii, please visit wii.com.

Nintendo continues to fuel the fire this week with a slew of Commodore 64 titles available on Virtual Console as well as the highly anticipated futuristic first person shooter Onslaught via the growing success that is Wii Ware.

Onslaught, developed by Hudson Entertainment, puts you in the shoes of an Elite Interstellar Strike Force agent in the war against the alien insurgency.‚  Wave after wave of alien combatants relentlessly push forward and it’s your duty to send them to an early grave.‚  The weapon arsenal in Onslaught utilizes the Wii’s motion controls for a full sense of immersion.‚  In addition to the campaign lie two additional game modes, Free Battle mode, and Ranking Battle mode.‚  The former allows up to three others to team up and progress through the campaign cooperatively, while the latter is played on special maps with players competing for the most kills before the clock runs out.

Those wishing to relive past gaming glory on the Commodore 64 can finally do so.‚  Three popular C64 titles, The Last Ninja, INTERNATIONAL KARATE and Pitstop 2, are all part of this weeks Wii-kly update.‚  As you may remember, last week Nintendo released a coded press release teasing what is now known to be the advent of Commodore 64 titles.‚  Hints like “You might enjoy this news whether you live in a brick house or Vanderbilt dorm.”‚  As it turns out Brick House was referring to the song with the same name by the R&B group the Commodores, and Vanderbilt athletic teams known as the Commodores.‚  Ah, I see what you did there Nintendo, sneaky, sneaky.

The Last Ninja and INTERNATIONAL KARATE sport hand to hand combat, the latter in a more formal tournament style.‚  Those looking to shed those pugnacious tendencies can break out Pitstop 2, the first game that brought serious auto racing to the comfort of your living room.‚  Split screen multi-player, hairpin turns, and third person graphics make Pitstop what worth a revisit.

Get your alien killing fix for 1,000 Wii Points and relive those memories of C64 days for 500 points each.

Stay tuned for our hands-on written review of Onslaught, we promise it’ll be here soon.

As Nintendo promised, the solutions to the devious clues are listed below.

• In the second paragraph, each sentence contains exactly 64 letters and numbers (not counting spaces or punctuation).
• U.S. Route 64 runs from Arizona to North Carolina.
• The third sentence ends with a comma and the word “door,” hinting at the name Commodore.
• “Brick House” was a hit for R&B group The Commodores.
• The athletic teams of Vanderbilt University are known as the Commodores.
• Pennsylvania’s Route 286 passes through a town called Commodore.
• The phrases “birthday greetings” and “who could ask for more?” are found in the classic Beatles tune “When I’m 64.”

From Nintendo:

Wii-kly Update

One WiiWare Game and Three Virtual Console Games Added to Wii Shop Channel

Hang onto your hats – and your Wii Remote controllers – as we unveil a set of exciting firsts for the Wii Shop Channel this week. For starters, the new Onslaught marks the first-ever first-person shooter to be released via the WiiWare service. Using the intuitive wireless controls Wii is known for, the game puts players at the center of a pulse-pounding adventure that fans of futuristic sci-fi and multiplayer action will love.

The other big news this week is the hotly anticipated launch of Commodore 64 game titles on Virtual Console. Starting with two classic martial arts games and an awesome car racing title, we’re thrilled to add yet another old-school gaming platform to the mix. Virtual Console already offers classic games that originally appeared on a variety of platforms, and with the addition of Commodore 64, Wii owners can expect even more vintage games to rediscover and enjoy. (Congratulations to those of you who deciphered our hidden hints in last week’s Wii-kly Update – you’ll find a key to all the clues at the end of this installment.)

Nintendo adds new and classic games to the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time every Monday. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week’s new games are:

WiiWare

Onslaught (Hudson Entertainment, 1-4 players, Rated T for Teen-Animated Blood, Violence, 1,000 Wii Points): Onslaught is an FPS that puts you in the middle of a futuristic war between humans and insectoid aliens. Become part of the Elite Interstellar Strike Force and fight against an overwhelming onslaught of alien life forms. Enjoy the rush of mowing down wave after wave of aliens with machine guns, grenades and more. Feel your heart pound as you battle gigantic boss aliens. Beyond the normal game, Onslaught includes additional modes that let you play with rivals from around the world using Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Team up with as many as three other players in Free Battle mode, or compete on special maps to see who can get the most points by killing enemies before time runs out in Ranking Battle mode. (Router and broadband access required for online play. For more info, go to www.nintendo.com.)

Virtual Console

The Last Ninja (Commodore 64, 1 player, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older-Animated Blood, Mild Violence, 500 Wii Points): The evil Shogun Kunitoki has long envied the powers of the Ninja brotherhood and would do anything to acquire their knowledge. To this end, he has sworn an oath to their total destruction. Once every decade, all Ninja must travel to the Island of Lin Fen, where they pay homage to the Shrine of the White Ninja and receive further teachings from the Koga Scrolls. Seizing the opportunity, Kunitoki summoned forth all the spirits from the depths of the Nether World and flung their full force against the amassed Ninja. None escaped the wrath of Kunitoki. Word of this unnatural disaster soon reached Armakuni, the last Ninja. Gathering all his courage, he has sworn to wreak a terrible revenge on the Shogun and all his followers. What unforeseen hazards await him?

INTERNATIONAL KARATE (Commodore 64, 1-2 players, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older-Mild Violence, 500 Wii Points): INTERNATIONAL KARATE is a simulation of a karate tournament in which one person can play against the computer or two players can compete against each other. During the game, you’ll fly to various locations around the world. In all stages of the game, a wise old judge will watch over you and award you either a half-point or a full point, depending on how successful a hit has been.

Pitstop II (Commodore 64, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points): Pitstop II was the first game that brought serious auto racing action to the computer screen-the thrill of battling an opponent, the excitement of fighting for the lead out on the track, and the suspense of struggling to be the first out of the pits. Third-person graphics and a split-screen display allow one or two players to experience the challenge of car racing head-to-head. Six of the world’s toughest tracks are waiting, from Brands Hatch and its hairpin turns to the mile-long straight of Vallelunga. You can practice against the computer, but nothing will compare to the fun of racing against another person. Indeed, Pitstop II proves that car racing was never meant to be a solo sport.

As promised, here’s a list of the Commodore 64-related clues that were embedded in last week’s newsletter:

• In the second paragraph, each sentence contains exactly 64 letters and numbers (not counting spaces or punctuation).
• U.S. Route 64 runs from Arizona to North Carolina.
• The third sentence ends with a comma and the word “door,” hinting at the name Commodore.
• “Brick House” was a hit for R&B group The Commodores.
• The athletic teams of Vanderbilt University are known as the Commodores.
• Pennsylvania’s Route 286 passes through a town called Commodore.
• The phrases “birthday greetings” and “who could ask for more?” are found in the classic Beatles tune “When I’m 64.”

Interplay announced Monday that four of its Sega Genesis titles are slated to appear on the Nintendo Wii Virtual Console later this year

Earthworm Jim, Earthworm Jim 2, Boogerman and Clayfighter will be available for download in the coming months, confirmed Luke Haase, spokesman for the game developer. Haase could not confirm a release date on the games.

Interplay is on the verge of a comeback. They are one of the oldest operational video game developers. They ran into serious financial troubles in 2004 and stopped developing games shortly afterward. In November, they announced that they would use the proceeds from selling off their property, Fallout, to Bethesda Softworks — of Elder Scrolls fame.

On April 8, Interplay confirmed it was working on sequels to Dark Alliance, Earthworm Jim, Descent and MDK.

Interplay is responsible for not only those titles in video game history but also Baldur’s Gate, Battlechess, Descent and Alone in the Dark.

Nintendo’s Virtual Console makes games from NES, SNES, N64, NEOGEO, Sega Genesis and TurboGrafx 16 titles available for cheap download and play on the Wii.

There’s nothing you can do about your Game Gear TV tuner, which will be rendered useless in the digital conversion of television in February 2009, but you will soon be able to relive the classic color handheld games and original 8-bit Sega Master titles on Nintendo Wii’s virtual console.

The Nintendo Wii Fanboys report the first two games will be Fist of the North Star for 600 points and Fantasy Zone for 500 points. The 100 point fluctuation is due to licensing costs.

So why Master and Game Gear at the same time? After all, Game Gear will become the first handheld console represented on the Wii — before Gameboy or DS. Sega Master and Game Gear used similar hardware, and it’s easy to do both at once.

This move isn’t a huge surprise considering all the Sega Genesis titles available on Virtual Console, but it’s welcome news for those that want to experience vintage Outrun, Shinobi and Alex Kidd.

The games are coming to Japanese Wii’s next month. No American release dates have been announced, but we’re waiting with bated breath.