life-force
Latest
New Nintendo eShop releases: Mighty Bomb Jack, Life Force
So, two Virtual Console games this week. Careful Nintendo, you might pull something. We saw classic shoot-em-up Gradius hit the eShop earlier this month, and following it up this week is spin-off Salamander, or Life Force as it's known in our part of the world. That's on the 3DS, while the Wii U gets explosive-hungry NES-former Mighty Bomb Jack. That's it, except for sales: Shin Megami Tensei 4 is down to $30 between January 27 and February 3, while you have until February 6 to grab Fractured Soul for $6.
Wiikly Wares: Evasive Space and Life Force
Today, we've got two new games. On the WiiWare side, there's Evasive Space, which is a shmup without all of the shooting. Then, on the Virtual Console, we've got ... a shmup. Man, they sure love flooding the Wii with shmups. If you want to try Evasive Space for free, remember we're giving it away for a few more hours. WiiWareEvasive Space (Yukes Company of America, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone – Mild Fantasy Violence, 1,000 Wii Points): Players take on the role of Konki the Stellar Guardian, who is charged with recovering stolen Constellation Stones that make up the heavens. Dr. Dark Matter and his space thieves have nabbed them, and players must navigate 20 dangerous time- and collection-based missions to get them back. Check out some screens in our gallery below.Virtual ConsoleLife Force (NES, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone – Mild Fantasy Violence, 500 Wii Points): An arcade shmup ported to the NES in 1988, players must navigate the inside of a giant alien that is infected by a strain of bacteria, shooting down enemies and grabbing power-ups when they can.There's also a weird sort of riddle that Nintendo included in the press release this week. Find it after the break. Gallery: Evasive Space
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 Runner cover. 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)
