VC Tuesday: Atomic Home Runner

While there's no doubt in our mind that the most interesting game this week is Salamander (the Gradius pseudo-sequel known as Life Force in the U.S., appearing here in its Japan-exclusive PC Engine release), the most interesting box is definitely that for Chelnov.

Looking more like a mid-80's Marvel comic cover than a game cover, it certainly would have done a better job of drawing our attention than the seemingly designed-to-be-ignored U.S. Atomic Runnercover. With such a strong visual aid to stare at, we probably wouldn't be as stricken as we are with a total inability to distinguish between this and Atomic Robo- Kid.

This week's Japanese Virtual Console releases:

• Moero! Pro Yakyuu (Bases Loaded) (Famicom, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points)

• Chelnov (Atomic Runner) (Mega Drive, 1 player, 600 Wii Points)

• Salamander (PC Engine, 1-2 players, 600 Wii Points)

• Gaiframe (PC Engine, 1 player, 600 Wii Points)