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.

Your Wii is about to get infected.

Gamers Digital announced that Zombii Attack, an arcade survival game that finds you cast as a survivor in a large city overrun with bloodthirsty zombies will hit Wii-ware this Spring.

Now I know what you’re thinking, and yes, there are a ton of zombie games out, but Zombii attack does things a bit differently. Armed with only a  controlled Wii-mote controlled slingshot, the game uses real life physics to initiate environmental kills.

Stick with Blast for more on Zombii attack.

Gamers and Wii owners who’ve been getting down with Heavy Fire: Special Operations, the WiiWare on-rails shooter, can now use secret codes gained in the game to submit their best results to the world rankings for free stuff!

The game’s developer, Teyon, has started a new competition for all who have downloaded the game. The 3 best Heavy Fire: Special Operations scores, and one randomly picked results will be rewarded with a 2000 Wii Points coupon!

For more information on the contest, go to the official website here, or the dedicated Facebook page, here.

For those of you who enjoy a good on-rails, light gun shooter (I know I do), Teyon games may have what you’re looking for. Here is the first official trailer for the very culturally sensitive, ‘Heavy Fire: Special Operations’:

You are able to run missions from the ground, a Humvee or a Blackhawk helicopter with 1 or 2 players. You will get additional points for smashing the environment. No mention if there are any bonuses for excessive civilian deaths.

As you rise through the military ranks, you will  get more and more powerful weapons that differ in features and controls. According to Teyon’s info, “You will need a quick trigger-finger to complete extremely dangerous levels and restore the balance of the terrorized region in the Middle East.” That last part doesn’t make a bit of sense, but it doesn’t have to because you’re about to peacefulize that ambiguous Middle-Eastern setting the only way you know how – with superior firepower, baby!

It is rumored that Teyon originally wanted to title the game, “America: Fuck Yeah!!”, but backed off of it due to  obvious copyright complications. No word on an official release date for Heavy Fire: Special Operations. You can check the website for additional info.

In a recent interview with G4, Harmonix GDRB lead, Chris Foster, confirmed that the ‘American Idiot’ album will appear complete in the retail release of the title. The game comes with 47 tracks, most of which remain unannounced outside of the content from American Idiot.

The UK retailer Play.com indicates that ‘Dookie’ will appear in its entirety on the retail disc as well. This has yet to be confirmed, but more official news will surely pour out in the coming weeks as Green Day Rock Band is set to release June 8th…

Gamelion’s “Furry Legends,” a game we’ve been watching with hopeful enthusiasm, will be out this year, but you want to see it in action…right?

No, we’re not talking about looking at the Polish developers in their natural setting, we’re speaking about actual gameplay here.

No more waiting. Here’s the teaser trailer.

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.

Capcom’s new court advenutre Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney will be releases on WiiWare next Monday, Jan 11, 2010. Players will collect evidence, weed through inconsistent testimonies and overcome corrupt agendas so that justice prevails!

You’ll present evidence with a wave of the Wii remote or press suspicious testimonies with a wiggle. The game is single player and covers a fairly basic plot.The story kicks off with Phoenix Wright defending his childhood friend Larry Butz from a murder charge. But this is only the beginning drama for the tenacious legal eagle as Wright faces unexpected tragedies that will test the limits of his incredible deductive prowess.

And that’s not all! When you buy the game on your Wii, you will be able to download the bonus episode which was in the original DS version of the game for 100 Wii Points in May.

But that’s not the only news we have from Capcom. Ace Attorney INVESTIGATIONS: Miles Edgeworth will be released on Feb 16. A Demo will be released on the DS in a few weeks.

If you want more information on the Ace Attorney games, check out their website here.

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.

According to the latest Nintendo Power issue, a tenth Mega Man is on the way to Nintendo’s WiiWare digital download hot-spot.

This latest installment is said to follow its roots and take a NES-style aesthetic approach, feature new and zany bosses, and Proto Man as a day-one playable character. And of course, another unknown character, that Nintendo will reveal later made his or her way into the game. Guess we’ll find out who it is later. Bummer.

We won’t take all the juicy tidbits from Nintendo power, just this glorious cover. Head over to Nintendo Power’s Web site to read the full story.

Epic..doesn't even describe this.

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.

Let’s get this out of the way right now: if you like the original Excitebike, the NES version from long ago, then you’re going to love Excitebike: World Rally. It’s the same game, only now with better graphics, an updated art style that fits developer Monster Games’ other two Excite efforts, enhanced controls and–wait for it–online play. The main question is whether or not it’s worth the extra $5 to pick up World Rally when the original is available on Virtual Console–as someone who had the classic version prior to this game’s release, I can tell you that it’s worth throwing the money down to have both versions.

Excitebike is an arcade style title. You drive on your bike, racing against your own time in order to earn a better grade. You spend your time popping wheelies, using your turbo boost, hitting jumps, avoiding pits, jumping hurdles, flying ahead of other racers–World Rally feels like the original in that sense, but tighter and more responsive. There are 16 courses where you switch lanes, hit boosters and jump over hills, and they are progressively harder. You may think you rock at Excitebike after you drive through the first few courses, but once you get to the Gold and Platinum cups, the game will let you know what it thinks of you. In order to earn the best grades possible on those levels, you’re going to need to hit every jump the right way, hit all of the markers to cool off your boosters, and avoid crashing at all costs–it’s a lot harder to do than it sounds.

World Rally also brings you back to the days when all you needed to have fun with any game was two buttons–2 is accelerate, 1 is your limited turbo supply, and the D-pad is used to switch lanes and perform a wheelie. You also use the D-pad to align your bike for landings so as not to interrupt your speed. That’s the classic style though, as you can use the updated version that lets you tilt the Wii Remote in order to align yourself. Both work, and work well, but I eventually went back to the D-pad to avoid accidentally shifting in mid-air.

The other racers on the course are there mostly to get in your way, as you aren’t actually racing them. You can bounce off of their heads as you come down from a jump in order to cool off your engine, and you can also take them out of commission by switching lanes directly in front of them at the exact right moment–be careful though, as crashing will ruin your times, though you can get back up from that and from your engine overheating more quickly than before thanks to shaking of the Wii Remote, just like in Excitebots or Excitetruck.

Completing all of the courses with a grade of S in a particular cup (B is passing, A is obviously better, and S is the best) earns you a few different colored bikes. Their performances are all the same, but if you’re not digging the original colors or just want a change of pace, they are your reward for a race well run.

The track editor from the original game returns, but there’s a twist now, as you can trade levels with your friends. No longer do you have to rely on your own imagination in order to have more fun than what came in the virtual box, which is appreciated.

Graphically, the game is 3D now, but it’s a fairly simple 3D. The art style is more impressive, as the courses actually resemble the areas they are based in now, like in Excitebots, rather than simply being listed by letters for differentiation. Another update Monster Games snuck in was the ability to alter courses by hitting items, creating jumps and hills where nothing was a moment before simply by driving into them. Little things like that go a long way towards enhancing the experience and making this the superior product.

The most significant addition is online play though. Once you’ve mastered taking on the AI, try taking someone on online and see how well you fare–you may be surprised at just how good people are at Excitebike. My one complaint about multiplayer is the fact that there is no local play–sure, the original didn’t have it either, but if you’re going to include online, then it seems natural to have split-screen for those of us who maybe just want to rub our friend’s noses in our superiority face-to-face rather than through a headset or silently, like many online games.

Blast Factor: Your first thought may have been, “$10? Really?” but Monster Games packed this WiiWare sequel full of value that easily trumps what the original offers. The updates to the graphics, controls, and track editor, as well as the addition of online play make Excitebike: World Rally a must-own for fans of the series, and gives Monster Games its second Excite winner of the year.

Excitebike: World Rally is available exclusively on the Nintendo Wii’s WiiWare service, and will cost $10 or 1000 Nintendo Points. A copy of this game was purchased for the purposes of this review.

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.

MACHINE Studios released its first look at the gameplay trailers for bittos+.

For those who are not familar with this game, it is a new arcade-style puzzle game.

Check out the trailers below so you can experience the trippy, multicolored puzzle packed experience (and a really cute cartoon animal)!

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!

Nintendo today announced Excitebike: World Rally, a bona fide NES Excitebike follow-up title due out Nov. 9 on Nintendo’s in-house digital download hub WiiWare.

The game will feature full-on 3D graphics and will employ the familiar from-the-side view to aid in all the racing mayhem you or I could ever imagine, and then some.

Additionally, enthusiastic racers can compete against buddies and strangers using the Wi-fi connection and can toy around with a track editor and even use motion, or normal controls to play the game.

Here’s the full announcement and trailer as seen on this week’s Nintendo Week show.

Source: Nintendo Life

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.

Frontier Games today announced that their Lostwinds sequel, “Winter of the Melodias” will debut in the United Kingdom tomorrow, October 9.

Nintendo of Europe welcomes the game to the WiiWare service and makes it the 100th entry on the download spot available in the UK.

David Braben, Frontier’s Chairman and Founder, said: “We launched the original LostWinds game on WiiWare with much anticipation, as it was such an exciting and new way to access games. We are now thrilled to be able to mark the 100th game launch on WiiWare with LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias.”

We sure loved the original, and you must have to, as it went on to win awards and remain atop the best-seller list on WiiWare, and the sequel looks even better.

In the sequel you control the seasons of Mistralis, and can instantly change a hot and sunny afternoon to a snowy blizzard, and of course the other way too.

LostWinds: Winter Of The Melodias will be available tomorrow in the UK at 1000 Wii Points and other regions later this year.

The horror-puzzle game we loved so much for WiiWare will finally debut in Europe and PAL regions the‚  night before Halloween on October 30 the publisher told us today.

From the makers of A Boy and His Blob, Contra 4, and Mighty Flip Champs, comes this horror-puzzle game, where you play as Jake on a desperate search for his girlfriend Rachael in a darkened highschool overrun with creatures.

Thirty levels, five boss battles, unlockable items, full utilization of the Wii Remote, and bonus characters await you in the WiiWare title if you live in PAL regions. Otherwise, consider this as a reminder of a great game you might have missed out on!

LIT sells for 800 Wii Points in the Wii Shop Channel. But for now, enjoy this mammoth gallery of screens from the game.

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 has published many a puzzle game over the last year plus thanks to their partnership with skip Ltd. on the Art Style series, and now they have another one for puzzle lovers in the form of You, Me and the Cubes. This physics based puzzler was developed by Kenji Eno and his most recent development company, fyto (from yellow to orange), and is enjoyable, accessible, but still difficult to master, just as a puzzle game should be.

In You, Me and the Cubes, you throw Fallos–men and women that you create in pairs by shaking the Wii Remote up and down once–onto cubes that are on the screen. It’s an easy process, too: simply point the IR at the two areas you want a Fallos to land on, press A to confirm, then flick the Wii Remote. You won’t fling them harder or softer based on your motion, so you don’t need to overdo it either, which is nice. Flinging Fallos onto a cube sounds easy though, and it is; the challenge comes from throwing them into places that will not upset the natural balance of the cube or cubes. If you succeed at this, the Fallos will stand there triumphantly for a time and the cubes will not move, but if you throw them into a place that upsets this balance, the cubes will shift accordingly, and your Fallos may fall.

There’s a little more personality and even humanity in these Fallos that make you want to do this right. First of all, they scream as they plunge to their death below if they fall off of a cube. Second, if there are two Fallos on a cube, and one begins to falter or is slipping off of the edge, the other Fallos will do their best to save them, lifting them back on to the cube. These Fallos have their own AI that you will see on display, but that AI makes them look like compassionate creatures that are trying to survive your flinging. It gives this puzzle game a bit more character and personality, and maybe even a little bit of a gamer conscience.

There are six stages, each with six levels, and each of those levels has six cubes that you must complete, one at a time. The first section will have one cube, the second two, and so on. You will need to place a certain number of Fallos on the structure for each section, and also at least one Fallos per cube, which gets tougher as you add cubes given the shapes created by the merging. There are also different types of cubes, such as the Freezing Cube, which freezes the entire structure when hit and keeps the balance of the cubes where it is, which is a big help to the next batch of Fallos if you can move quickly enough.

The game is also very difficult. While you may breeze through the first set of stages no problem, mastering them is another story, as the game keeps track of how many Fallos survived each round–if the Fallos is off-balance when you complete a round, they fall off as the next cube is added, deducting from your overall score despite your advancement. You will also start to have trouble when you create Pale Fallos in your Wii Remote; you’re basically throwing a playful imp onto the screen, one that likes to bully your other Fallos and push them off of ledges, though no worries, you can do away with Pale Fallos once they land as well by tossing another Fallos onto their head, which also adds 10 seconds to your timer.

That’s You, Me and the Cubes gameplay in a nutshell, but there is also a two-player mode that is markedly different. You have the same basic gameplay structure, except now instead of you tossing out two Fallos, you throw one while player two flings the other. You can synchronize your throws so that you both land your Fallos at the same time, which is a skill you will need to work on when playing multiplayer. If you pull off this synchronized toss, the two Fallos will not slip or fall for a short period of time, which will allow you to throw more Fallos before the cube’s balance becomes a problem.

That’s helpful, but it isn’t why you need the skill. You need it to repel the enemies found in the multiplayer mode. Shade Fallos appear when one of your Fallos falls off of the cubes, and they are very heavy, enough that they disrupt the balance of your cubes and start sending other Fallos falling to their doom. You can lock him in place with the A button just like the Pale Fallos–except this time as a team–then synchronize your flinging in order to take the Shade down. These additions make multiplayer the preferred mode, and gives this game loads of replayability.

Blast Factor: You, Me and the Cubes is a fascinating puzzler, given its physics-based gameplay and its very human puzzle “pieces”, the Fallos. The single-player alone would have made this a fun title, but the addition of multiplayer that forces you to work in concert in order to advance makes this one of the better WiiWare releases from 2009. If you’re into puzzle titles and quirkiness, then You, Me and the Cubes is a great place to invest your $10.

You, Me and the Cubes is exclusive to Nintendo Wii’s WiiWare services, and is available for 1000 Nintendo Points.

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.

The ESRB, or Entertainment Software Ratings Board is terrible at keeping secrets. They’re latest reveal? How does Castlevania the Advenutre Rebirth sound? Perfect, because that’s what the board let loose today alongside a T for Teen rating and its availability for Nintendo’s Wii via the WiiWare service.

We can’t say this is a total surprise, as Gradius ReBirth and Contra Rebirth showed up on WiiWare already this year, but we’re happy nonetheless.

The ESRB, as it so often does, describes a particular game in one long, drawn out sentence, and usually is quite funny. Have a look.

“This is a side-scrolling action game in which players battle against monsters in Dracula’s castle. Players use a chained whip to fight their way through halls and dungeons filled with zombies, skeletons, flying eyeballs, and bats. The enemy creatures frequently shoot projectiles and attack players in hand-to-hand combat. If players sustain too much damage, they keel over and emit a burst of red blood. Some rooms in the castle also have spikes or spears stained with red, blood-like splotches.”

Hopefully the game isn’t as heinously difficult as the original, otherwise we might lose it, like we did years ago!

SEATTLE — Seeing as this is a Bit.Trip friendly zone, I jumped at the opportunity to check out the latest in the series, Bit.Trip VOID, at the Penny Arcade Expo this past weekend. This one is very different from the other two titles in the series, yet retains the same cohesive feeling and look that those exhibited

In VOID, you are collecting black beats as they fly across the screen from the left, and avoiding the white beats that come along with it. As you collect more and more of the black bits, the black circle that you control will grow and grow. It becomes harder to navigate away from the white beats as it grows though, and here’s where the game gets interesting. You have to press the A button to shrink your circle back down to starting level before you can be hit by the white pieces — if you’re hit by the white, you shrink as well, but you don’t get to keep the points you have acquired. You basically use shrinking as a way to deposit your points, but you will earn more points by being larger — there’s a lot of strategy involved in this, and in a way, it reminds me of Blast Works: Build, Trade and Destroy, in the sense that you’re trying to collect things to grow larger while balancing the need for more points with the need to avoid being hit by objects in the level.

It wouldn’t be a Bit.Trip game without a high difficulty level, and even in this demo build of the game you could see where this will be hard to play. Sometimes there are tons of bits on the screen to collect and avoid all at once, and they move fast, so you’ll need to react faster. Luckily the game supports both WiiMote/Nunchuk and Classic Controller play styles, so you won’t have to navigate with the D-pad at high speeds or around corners, and in a first for the series, there are mid-level checkpoints, which should make completing this game a bit easier than it was with the other two, though you still have to reach the checkpoints before you can use them.

There are a few other things that make this title intriguing, the most interesting of which is four-player local co-op. Multiplayer improved the experience of Bit.Trip BEAT substantially, so I’m excited to give this game a shot in multiplayer, especially when the object of the game is collection. The game also sports a chip tunes soundtrack, which makes a retro nut like myself happy. The music in the two previous titles was wonderful, catchy and fit the games perfectly, and from what I heard of VOID, that holds true once again.

Bit.Trip VOID will be out this fall for WiiWare, as the third game in a six title series. We’ll have more info for you on the game as it nears release, but check out the trailer and these screens now as an appetizer for later retro goodness.

United Kingdom based game studio, Frontier, today announced a sequel to the original LostWinds, naming the new project LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias,and unleashed the first screens from the game.

Like the original, LostWinds: Winter of theMelodias will again be a WiiWare exclusive, though a price and release date have yet to be announced.

Gamers will again control main protagonist Toku through the guiding of‚  elemental powers of Enril the Wind Spirit, as he jumps, glides, and smashes foes on a route to dissembling the evil in the glorious little world.

A new and intriguing feature in “Melodias” is your newfound ability to summon Winter and Summer environment conditions at your command, thus facilitating the solving of the game’s many, many puzzles.

Furthermore, Toku will also be able to summon little cyclones to either aid in flying him around, or even smash through rocks and enemies.

David Braben, Chairman and Founder of Frontier thinks the new game will be a hit when he says:

“LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias will delight both new and returning players. Every aspect has been extended and polished, and the major new gameplay elements dovetail perfectly to give a fantastically rich, fun, innovative experience.”

The original was one hell of a good time, a refreshing indie game indeed, and this sequel sounds very exciting. For now, enjoy these debut screens depicting the game’s new environments as well as Toku himself.

Furry Legends, the soon to be released game for WiiWare, will also be making the jump to DSiWare.

The game for DSiWare will be called Furry Legends: Beginnings and will serve as a prequel to Furry Legends. It will show players what the world was like prior to the squarie invasion. The game will have new enemies, at least three different environments, new puzzles and more cheesy humor than Furry Legends. The games will feature beautiful 100% hand drawn graphics, physics, puzzle, action and more! For more information visit the Furry Legends blog.

Excited? Comment below with your thoughts.

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.

Platformers have started to see a resurgence in popularity, in no small part thanks to the advancements in digital distribution of video games across all major home platforms as well as on handhelds. Over the Top Games may have just given us one of the better titles in this platforming renaissance though, as NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits released this week on WiiWare.

There is very little to complain about in NyxQuest; it’s quite the looker, it plays very smoothly, and even though the game clocks in at roughly 3-4 hours, it is packed full of diverse puzzles and levels that require you to think and think quickly in order to progress. Before anyone complains about the game length, remember that it (A) costs $10 and (B) other platformers of this length have released at retail for three times the price this year (and not necessarily with the same level of quality either). You’re going to love every second of however much time you invest in NyxQuest, so there’s nothing to worry about.

You play as Nyx, who has herself a little crush on a human named Icarus. Icarus (and his famous wings) used to visit Nyx during the day and disappear at night so she could attend to her duties as a goddess. One day, Helios, a powerful Titan, decides that he doesn’t like humanity very much, and wants to wipe it off the planet and begin anew. The once beautiful and lively Greece becomes a ruined desert filled with a scorching heat, one you must avoid as you traverse the land looking for your lost love.

To find him, you will need to move through famous areas of ancient Greece that you will recognize in name alone, as the famous monuments and buildings are for the most part toppled and buried under the sand. You control Nyx through the environment by using the analog stick on the Nunchuk, and you fly (although briefly, with a recharging number of wing flaps) by pressing the A button. You can glide with Z, and you will need to become very good at timing all of these flaps and glides in order to reach the higher areas of the levels. You learn new skills every few levels–like the ability to use the wind to guide you through certain portions of levels, or the ability to carry around fire and fireballs in order to open up rooms and vanquish enemies–and you also see brand new puzzles that are always more difficult than the ones you previously finished.

The game stacks ideas and puzzles together, and by the last few levels you will find yourself doing three or four things at a time, trying to stave off enemies, fly over gaps, avoid spikes by gliding and control blocks or fireballs in order to move further. The game preps you for this very well though, by gradually bumping up the difficulty and intelligently introducing these ideas the way they have, so you will never feel helpless; rather, you will feel like the game is a very smooth and flowing experience, despite the somewhat slow pace. In short, the gameplay is wonderful. The pace is slow at first, but it’s because of the way puzzles are presented to you, so that you can figure things out on your own and for yourself. Methodical, rather than plodding, is one way to think of it.

As for how this game looks…well, you can see it in the screens we’ve included, can’t you? The 2.5D backgrounds are epic in their appearance, and Nyx is this tiny creature facing off against both the environment in addition to the enemies in her path. They are stunning to look at, and I’m not sure what magic of the Greek gods Over the Top Games employed to make all of those assets fit under the file size limit, but they did, and WiiWare now has a new competitor for top graphics on the service because of it. The music is also very fitting and improves the experience–it reminds me of the music from the Diablo series, in that it blends in with the background and then storms out at certain points just to remind you how good it sounds.

NyxQuest problems are small ones: there isn’t much variety in the enemies, and there is never any kind of large-scale boss fight, even at the end (though there are mini-bosses scattered amongst the levels, and a final confrontation is included). It’s more of a puzzle based platformer than a pure action title though, so it doesn’t bother you as much as you think it would. If the game was constantly throwing enemies at you, it would be different, but the environment is your biggest foe throughout. The levels themselves also stay very similar at least in appearance (never in gameplay) with a few exceptions. Neither of these issues is a game-breaker though, and the good far, far outweighs any bad you may encounter in NyxQuest.

Blast Factor: Over the Top Games’ first WiiWare outing is one of the service’s best. The pacing is fantastic, the platforming is some of the best from the 2D realm this generation, and the use of the Wii Remote’s IR function in conjunction with the Nunchuk makes Nyx easy and satisfying to use. Let’s not forget that it looks just as good as it plays, either. If you haven’t already sunk your $10 into NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits, it better be the first thing you do when you finish reading this paragraph.

If you’ve been sitting on any Nintendo points, today is a good day to spend them. While the DSi just gets the second entry in the Brain Age: Express series, the Wii picks up two brand new titles we have heard about as well as one little gem from my childhood. Let’s start with the new stuff: Rock N’ Roll Climber is a rock climbing game that also supports the Wii Balance Board. Nintendo has announced its existence previously, but there’s very little in the way of information available about the title.

NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits on the other hand is a WiiWare title we know a lot about, thanks in part to an interview with Over the Top Games. The game received some great reviews upon its European release, and we will be reviewing it for you shortly as well, so keep an eye out for that as this game looks promising.

As for the nostalgic release, LucasArts has begun to release Star Wars content on the Wii this month, and they are kicking things off with Super Star Wars for the SNES. Super Star Wars may be the first game I consciously remember going to buy, as my parents usually had Santa bring me games, or got me something for my birthday. I forget why I was loaded enough to buy a game by myself, but I was, and I put a lot of playtime into that cartridge. High scores and high difficulty levels will do that to you, but I could be tempted to go through that ordeal once again. Full press release for all of these titles is after the jump.

Let’s give Square Enix credit where credit is due: they made a few Crystal Defenders tower defense games that were pretty basic, but skinned with characters from the Final Fantasy universe. While entertaining enough, they didn’t add anything new to what has become an oversaturated genre. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord (the pseudo sequel to the nifty WiiWare launch title, My Life as a King) changes that pattern up though, and not only proves to be a worthwhile addition to the tower defense genre, but also brings some new and fresh ideas to the table that help to make this one of the top games on the WiiWare service.

Rather than building towers along a path to slow monsters down and guide them away from your home base or an exit, you instead build inside of a tower. At the top is the dark crystal, which you have to keep the opposition away from. You do this by placing floors in the way that the adventurers will have to stop and fight on. You have multiple kinds of floors that you unlock through the game–some offensively oriented, some defensive, some support–and they each have their own positives and negatives. You then place monsters on each floor–again, each with their own strengths and weaknesses–in the hopes of defeating the waves of adventurers before they reach the dark crystal.

Damage is done in rock-paper-scissors form, with ranged attackers besting magic, magic beating melee, and melee hurting ranged. There are also generic monsters that do the same amount of damage to all classes, which is useful if you’re unsure of just what you will be facing when. Be warned though: the adventurers can destroy your monsters, but can also damage and take out your floors too, meaning they can move up through the tower quicker than you anticipate. You get some healing monsters to alleviate this later in the game, but you still need to be aware of it or it will make winning difficult. Thankfully you can retry at any point, and even keep some of the karma points–which is used to upgrade monsters and your tower–when you do so.

You build with Negative Points, which are accumulated by defeating adventurers. You can increase your starting amount by collecting items that you find after finishing levels, some on the main path and others from optional side missions. The game warns you when you are running low, which will happen often, given you need to build new floors, add monsters and then level them up over the course of a match.

The game is very difficult at times, but it’s also very rewarding. You can retry as many times as you would like, and since you gain karma even in your failed attempts, none of your efforts are wasted. You can also replay levels you have beaten in order to beef up your tower or units, though the karma output will be lower the second time around.

The title has the charm and polish we have come to expect from Square Enix and the Crystal Chronicles series. Graphically, it’s pretty good looking for a WiiWare title, though it is basic at times–units don’t change appearance when you upgrade them, and Mira, the Darklord, is strangely static in her facial expressions much like the King in the first of these spinoffs. The music is catchy and well done though, and even if there is a bit of slowdown at times when the on-screen action is chaotic, it’s nothing that affects the gameplay.

There’s a bunch of DLC planned for this title, in addition to the initial $10 price tag. While a lot of it is meant to be for costumes and items, new stages will be available at some point in the future. Not all of the DLC may be for you, but it is optional, and there is plenty of game here for $10 to begin with.

Blast Factor: My Life as a Darklord is a worthwhile entry in the tower defense genre, one that takes its namesake literally by placing you in control of a tower in a vertically-based game. It’s polished, charming, and both difficult and rewarding. You can’t ask for much more than that for $10, but if you insist, Square Enix also has DLC available and more–including new stages–on the way.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord is available exclusively on Nintendo’s WiiWare service for $10, or 1000 Nintendo Points

Unless you like skipping over large amounts of our content at a time, you would know that we have a soft spot for the upcoming NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits. We like platformers, and we like pretty platformers with neat game mechanics, and from the looks of things, NyxQuest hits all three of those points. That’s why I’m glad we sat down to talk about the game with Roberto Alvarez de Lara Sieder of Over the Top Games, the developer behind Nyx’s first adventure. We’ve also included exclusive screens of the game for you, so if you haven’t seen the title yet, now is your chance for some visual learning as well.

BLAST: We want to know about Over the Top Games. Tell us who you are and what you are about.

Roberto Alvarez de Lara Sieder: We are a team of young developers with a lot of passion for the game industry! We have been making games for some time for other companies, and one year ago we decided to create our own studio to work on our own game designs.

BLAST: What kind of games do you play when you aren’t making them?

RADLS: In my case I like to play all kind of games. I’m a big fan of games like Katamari Damacy, Shadow of the Colussus and those that stand out for some reason. I’m a big fan of FPS like Counter Strike and Unreal Tournament.

In our office there are people that love RPGs and that are fans of Nintendo franchises like Super Mario Bros, Metroid and Capcom’s Mega Man. As you can see we are all players!

BLAST: We can see in the trailer and from screenshots that NyxQuest is a platformer. Tell us a little about the gameplay that you may not be able to glean from the media available.

RADLS: From the start we wanted to create a platformer that used the Wii Remote in original ways. The main concept was “a character that needs help from gods to advance in his adventure”. From there we chose to base everything in the myth of Icarus and Greek Mythology, because it was a nice mix.

BLAST: Visually, NyxQuest looks fantastic. The backgrounds give the game an epic look, as you control your relatively small character through the levels. What inspired Over the Top Games to implement this art style?

RADLS: We wanted the environment to feel epic. The adventure of Nyx is an enormous task. She leaves her realm to find her dearest friend, Icarus, and she finds herself in a hostile world. We wanted the sceneries to transmit that to the player.

Sources of inspiration are Dali and Giorgio de Chirico. They have awesome paintings that transmit just what we wanted.

BLAST: How does co-op gameplay work in NyxQuest?

RADLS: Co-op is big fun, because one of the players controls Nyx, the main character, and the other controls the powers from the gods. It requires a lot of synchronization! But it makes for fun gameplay and the best part is that it allows you to change positions for a different experience. We always laugh when we play the parts with big columns that one needs to grab for the main player to advance.

BLAST: When do you think the game will release in North America? Europe seems to having a great time with it, and we’re all jealous.

RADLS: We are sorry for that! My sources tell me you won’t have to wait a lot!

BLAST: Do you have any other projects you would like to tell us about? Is there anything else you want our readers to click away from this interview knowing about NyxQuest that we didn’t cover?

RADLS: We are now working on some new ideas for new games. ‚ We are discussing where to go next and for what platform.

I hope everyone has a good time playing NyxQuest and enjoys the game as much as we enjoyed creating it. We placed a lot of ‘love’ into that game

Robocalypse was a pretty funny game, with witty dialogue written by former Spongebob Squarepants writers Jay Lender and Micah Wright. While I never got into Spongebob, the pair did a great job with the first game in this series. My problems with the original stem more from control issues, which is why the idea of a tower defense game using the IR pointer of the Wii Remote is exciting to me. You still get the humor from Lender and Wright, but now you’ve moved it into a different strategy genre where I can safely say the controls work.

Three levels were available to play at Comic-Con, with the first being a tutorial type level. New towers were introduced on each stage as well, along with more powerful enemies. Here’s the basic setup: you have scrap to build towers, and you earn more of it by defeating enemies. You can sell or upgrade towers, and each tower has two different paths for upgrades. For example, with the basic tower, you can either improve its rate of fire or its range, but you can’t do both; if you decide you want to upgrade range after you’ve been upgrading rate of fire, you lose the progress for the latter. The final upgrade for each tower is a healing aura, which takes the load off of your repair bots a bit and keeps them from being stretched too thin. There were three towers I got to try out, the first being your basic turret type, the second a slowdown type tower–this one is my favorite, as rather than using ice or what have you to slow enemies like most tower defense titles, this turns the enemies into toasters and refrigerators so your other towers can blast them–and the third was a missile launching tower.

There are a few basic soldiers scattered across the field as well as medics and construction/repair bots, but you do not control them. They will respawn from your home base after a time though, so you don’t have to worry about them at all. You do control your commando, who, just like in the original RTS title, has a rage mode that allows him to attack with extra fury. This is good for protecting your base or a pathway you haven’t finished constructing yet, and let me tell you, you will need that extra defense, because the AI in this game immediately adjusts to your building if an easier path for them appears.

I was told they plan on introducing more enemy types into the mix before the game comes out (they are aiming for September) but the ones that are there are varied, which is nice. You have basic grunts, suicide bombers, flamethrower-wielding soldiers, and of course, the enemy’s commandos, which do not necessarily come at you one at a time to end a level. The third stage was exponentially harder than the previous two if you did not prepare for the last few waves properly, but it’s good to get some challenge out of a tower defense title. I’ve got my eye on this one, as you should; we’ll have a review for Robocalypse: Beaver Defense once it releases later this year.

We’re busy rushing around as we prepare for our trip to San Diego to cover Comic-Con, but there’s always time to bring you the weekly Nintendo Download. There’s no Virtual Console love this week, but two series I love see new entries, which I’ll take as an apology.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Dark Lord is a tower-defense style game that is also meant to continue the story begun in FFCC: My Life as a King, one of the debut WiiWare games. I love tower-defense, and I love Crystal Chronicles, so this one has my interest. Battle Poker is basically poker, but you fight to grab the cards first, meaning the best hands are made by those with the quickest hands. Last, we have 5 Spots Party, which sounds like one of those books you have as a child that lets you pick up on what’s wrong with a picture. This one seems suited towards the younger crowd, though I guess it would depend on what kind of things they are hiding in there.

DSiWare only gets one title, but it’s an Art Style game. You should know the drill by now, honestly. Chances are very good that the game is great and you’re missing out if you still have just a DS, etc. The full release for all four titles is after the jump, and we have screens for Art Style: ZENGAGE and FFCC: MLAAD (I’m not even sure that is shorter than the actual title) as well.

While I scored the initial chapter and first half of the main storyline of Final Fantasy IV: The After Years as a 7.5 (that’s comparable to “Very Good”), I also felt that the game had some potential to improve. The additional chapters Square Enix would release between the initial release and the conclusion of the main story could make or break the experience, since they focused on the established characters outside of Cecil, Rosa, and Kain, and what had gone on in their life both before this sequel and during the timeframe the game is set in.

Square has put out three new episodes out, at 300 points a piece, in addition to Rydia’s sidestory, which debuted along with the main game. Yang, Palom, and Edge are now all playable in their own sidestories, which, based on Rydia and my playtime withYang’s quest, appear to be about three hours a piece. Pretty good for $3, especially since the data and statistics are saved once you complete a chapter for use in other ones.

While Rydia’s story let you play as a fully-grown Luca, Yang’s story lets you play with not only his amazing facial hair, but also his daughter, Ursula. She’s trying to establish herself as a worthwhile monk, despite being a princess; this is part of the storyline, but it fits very well. You’ll visit some locations that fans of the original will recognize, but also some new ones, and you’ll also get to fight with some of Fabul’s fabled monks–they will last in battle for more than 3.5 seconds, for the first time in Fabul’s recorded history!

I haven’t played through Edge or Palom’s quest yet, but I plan on going through both of them soon. I think these sidequests are helping me to warm up to a game I already liked quite a bit, so by the time the complete story ends, maybe we’ll see a higher score to reflect that on the game as a whole. Let’s hope Square and Matrix Software keep putting out quality chapters for us to enjoy.

From the well-crafted title screen to the gorgeous backdrops and the cute lead character, you can tell that Eduardo the Samurai Toaster was a labor of love for Semnat Studios. It is a game meant to remind us of all of those times we sat in front of our Sega Genesis playing Gunstar Heroes, or those days when we pumped quarter after quarter into an arcade cabinet with Metal Slug in it; visually, the game has the same cartoony vibe to it that helped make those classics distinctive, as well as screens overrun with nameless foes sent to destroy you. The problem with Eduardo is that once you play for a little bit, you’re going to want to put down this tribute and head back to the real thing.

Eduardo plays like any other run-and-gun side-scroller, with your basic power-ups (a shotgun blast, a rapid fire gun, a homing cannon, etc.) but the difference is that rather than firing bullets, your rounds are pastries. You use these pastries to take out other pastries, as well as carrots throwing spears at you, or flying fruit that drop fuzzy, exploding pits on your head, and”¦that’s about it. Before you are even one-third of the way through the game’s 13 stages, you will have seen the entirety of your opposition.

Eduardo lacks actual boss fights, instead ending every level with a battle against more pastries, peaches and carrots than you faced on the previous few screens. The final fight of the game is a lot like the first major skirmish, except there is just more to deal with. This hurts your sense of accomplishment upon completing a stage, something already lacking given that the game simply boots up the next in a line of similar levels without a hint of story, progress or reasons given as to why our ponytail sporting kitchen appliance is on the attack.

What little game there is plays well, as the controls are very tight. If you own a Classic Controller, you will want to use that rather than the NES-style Wii Remote, as the fatter D-pad makes for easier eight-direction shooting. Eduardo moves fluidly, automatically unleashing his melee attack”"a swipe with his power cord”"when enemies are within range. You can also grab enemies and throw them, as in the aforementioned Gunstar Heroes. You can block incoming attacks while taking out large groups of enemies simply by jumping around and timing your shots, thrown enemies and melee attacks, which is the most satisfying aspect of gameplay.

You have a choice of four difficulty levels, and can also adjust how many lives you start with. This last part is somewhat meaningless, as the penalty for running out of lives is a trip back to the beginning of your current stage. There are no continues, and you can begin a game from any level once you have reached it. Truth be told, due to the sameness of it all, there isn’t much variance in the levels outside of which splendid background you enjoyed looking at while you fired off Pop Tarts from your head.

When you do finish, there are few reasons to go back and replay the game. You could crank the difficulty to 11 and invite up to three friends over to see if you can survive, but there is one major component missing from Eduardo that hinders the replay value of both the single and multiplayer campaigns: scores. There are no scores in this run-and-gun title, which is an odd decision given the genre. People do not play these games for story (though Metal Slug comes off like Shakespeare when compared to Eduardo’s nonexistent tale) so not giving them something as obvious as a scoreboard to work with is just strange. Gamers would be more inclined to go back and replay the game if they had some gauge of how well they did, and it would also be a great way to earn bragging rights amongst friends, making the multiplayer that much more enjoyable. Online leaderboards are a must for this genre, especially on a service that already has games with them, but Eduardo doesn’t even have local ones to browse.

Blast Factor: It is a shame that Eduardo the Samurai Toaster is not a great game, because Semnat Studios has a lot of talent on display in the audio and visual departments, and they also made it control as well as any of its predecessors in the genre. While those things on the periphery are in place, the core game itself is lacking. At just $8, it is not painful to your wallet, but you would be better served with the established classics in the field that are available for the same price on the same system.

Eduardo the Samurai Toaster is available exclusively on WiiWare for 800 Nintendo Points

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?