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NintendoWare Weekly: Castlevania ReBirth, Pilotwings, Oregon Trail
Nintendo's been on quite the roll recently, providing plenty of content in its weekly offerings -- and today is no different. There are ten new titles to check out, including high-profile downloads such as Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth, Oregon Trail and -- finally! -- Pilotwings on the Virtual Console. Head past the break to check out the full list.
NintendoWare Weekly: Tales of Monkey Island, Bookworm, The Combatribes
If you thought last week's NintendoWare Weekly update was huge, well ... you'll probably think the same thing about this week's update! That's mostly because Nintendo provides quite the overweight offering this time, with a total of ten new titles available for your post-Thanksgiving download. Loosen that belt and make some room for more by heading past the break for the full list of this week's releases.
VC Friday: Swords & Soldiers suffer a Magical Pitfall
Those of us in North America are very jealous today, because Europe receives the very unique and downright good lookin' Romino title, Swords & Soldiers. Not only is it one to keep an eye on based on its art style, but its odd combination of strategy elements and hack-and-slash gameplay also make it noteworthy. We don't know how else to describe it other than unique. Okay, maybe adorable works, too ...Here's your goodies available for download this week: Swords & Soldiers (WiiWare, 1 - 2 players, 1,000 Wii Points) Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure (Sega Mega Drive, 1 player, 800 Wii Points) A Little Bit of ... Magic Made Fun: Shuffle Games (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points) %Gallery-29716%
VC Friday: Travel from Rainbow Islands to Fantasy Zone
If we really stretch, we can see a bit of a theme in this week's PAL downloadable releases. Both Fantasy Zone II and Rainbow Islands: Towering Adventure are classic franchises known for being super-cute and brightly colored, and both titles feature locations (Islands, Zone) described by very cheery, but intangible, visions (rainbows, fantasies). We said it was a stretch. Okay, here's another, less tenuous connection: both series are totally great.There's also one of those Master of Illusion/Magic Made Fun tricks this week. Fantasy Zone II (Sega Master System, 1player, 500 Wii Points) Rainbow Islands: Towering Adventure! (WiiWare, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points) A Little Bit of ... Magic Made Fun: Deep Psyche (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points) %Gallery-46292%
NintendoWare Weekly: Dr. Mario Express, Deep Psyche, Crystal Defenders, and Wonder Boy
Another week and another slew of content is available for your Nintendo consoles. DSi enthusiasts receive Dr. Mario Express, while WiiWare lovers can check out Square Enix's Crystal Defenders. Let's get to the full rundown, which you can find resting comfortably past the break.%Gallery-39567%
Virtual Wares: Pirates suffer a Masterful Pitfall
It's Monday, which means that the Nintendo faithful get a slew of new downloadable content. DSiWare is the place to be this week, with two new titles available for download, one of which is the first third-party offering on the service. For the Wii, both WiiWare and the Virtual Console each have one item available for download this week.
DSiWare Master of Illusion, Brain Age, Art Style rated by OFLC
While we can't be sure what the launch lineup for the DSiWare shop outside of Japan will look like, we can guess that the Australian shop will feature at least one of these games, thanks to OFLC ratings: Master of Illusion Express: Shuffle Games Master of Illusion Express: Funny Face Master of Illusion Express: Deep Psyche A Little Bit Of ... Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training: Maths Edition D-Code (probably Art Style: Decode) The standard ratings board disclaimer applies: we don't know when these will be out, or if this release implies other regions. But if you wanted to know if Nintendo planned to localize any of its Japanese DSiWare lineup, here is evidence that yes, it is. Also found on the OFLC: The WiiWare version of Rainbow Islands (yay!) and Adventure Island: The Beginning. Also, Karate Phants. %Gallery-39571%
Amazon makes most of Master of Illusion's price disappear
Amazon.com has pulled a Deal of the Day out of its hat, in the form of Nintendo's Master of Illusion. The magic trick sim, er, magic training game -- or whatever you want to call this weird software -- has had its price halved today, and today only, to an impulse-level $9.98. That's very cheap for a first-party Nintendo game -- or very expensive for a deck of cards, if you choose to look at it that way!Much like Clubhouse Games and WarioWare: Touched, Nintendo of Japan plans to break out individual tricks from Master of Illusion for sale as DSi downloads. We figure that if you're into e-magic, you might as well grab the whole thing now instead of waiting for the DSiWare version that may not even appear in North America!%Gallery-10368%
DS Fanboy's DSiWare screen round-up
Thirteen DSiWare titles will be released to Japan's DSi Shop on December 24, so we thought we'd construct a one-stop post where you can gawk at games most of us can't have. Past the jump, you'll find screens for all launch titles, as well as the price and size of each. How would you spend the free 1,000 DSi Points you get with the system? Because we love the series, we'll kick proceedings off with a look at A Little Dr. Mario (500 DSi Ware Points, 29 blocks required): %Gallery-39567%
DSi Shop opens Christmas Eve, new trailers available right now
Nintendo has released a new video advertising the downloadable offerings on the Japanese DSi Shop, which will become available starting December 24. This new trailer gives us a better look at a few of the games we knew about, and introduces a few we didn't. Thrillingly, we now have names for two of the Art Style games: Aquario and the very cool-looking Decode. There's a brief look at the Brain Age DSiWare games; Utsusu! Made in Wario, the 500-point WarioWare game that uses the DSi camera; and the separate WarioWare minigames like Paper Plane and Bird and Bean. Awesome new stuff includes Chotto Dr. Mario (A Little Dr. Mario), a 500 Point downloadable Dr. Mario game; single magic tricks from Magic Taisen/Master of Illusion; and Chotto Asobi Taisen Odegaru Trumps, which contains a small variety of card games from Clubhouse Games. Combined with the known offerings, this is the whole launch lineup, and it's all Nintendo! After the break, you can see a longer trailer for the downloadable Brain Ages, and a really, really cool look at Ugoku Memo-chou, the flipbook/notepad software. %Gallery-36348%
Master of Price Cuts
We're losing count of how many times we've brought you news of Master of Illusion being offered at a lower price, and now it's cheap again! Newegg.com has the quirky (and rather decent) magic trainer on sale for $15.99, plus $2.99 postage.We know that this has been even cheaper in the past, but we also know that magic continues to be serious business. So buy Master of Illusion today, and no longer will your bungled card tricks be greeted by awkward, slightly pitiful silences at dinner parties; indeed, we expect you all to be sawing siblings in half by the end of the week.%Gallery-10368%[Thanks, Ernest!]
Here come Amazon's Gold Box deals [update 2]
Just a reminder to all you friendly folks in the U.S. -- Amazon is having crazy DS deals today. The retailer kicked off its Gold Box sales awesomely, offering Advance Wars: Days of Ruin for $16.99. If we don't say so ourselves, that is damn sweet. You have until 12am Pacific time to bite on this, but we recommend getting it sooner rather than later because we doubt supplies will last.As for the lightning deals, we've listed them here (with our guesses for ones that haven't been confirmed yet). Keep in mind, these are in Pacific time, and each deal lasts for four hours (assuming they don't go out of stock): 6am-10am: "Will you answer the call?" - Confirmed: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for $18.99 10am-2pm: "Dazzle your unsuspecting friends with your magical prowess." - Confirmed: Master of Illusion for $14.99. 2pm-6pm: "Protect the Earth, destroy the invaders." - Confirmed: Tranformers: Autobots 6pm-10pm: "Your destiny awaits. Experience the power." - (Our guess: Naruto: Ninja Destiny) We suppose that with such an awesome "Deal of the Day," we can forgive Amazon for everything else being subpar. Keep in mind, though, that these are just our guesses. We'll update the post as other sales are confirmed.[Update 1: Master of Illusion was confirmed as the second lightning deal and was added to the post.][Update 2: Transformers: Autobots is the third lightning deal. And, would you look at that -- Master of Illusion sold out. Who would have thought?][Via CAG]
Another Week in Europe
Featuring charts from across the region, Another Week in Europe documents the buying habits and quirky tastes of a whole continent of DS lovers.After a gray, unrelenting winter (for most of us in the unglamorous northern bits, anyway), the clocks went forward for Europe earlier this week, which we suppose means we're now fully immersed in spring (hence the daffodils, you see -- we really think long and hard about those pictures). Fittingly, the European sales charts are full of the joys of spring themselves!Wait, no, hold on, we're lying again. Must stop lying. In reality, they're still pretty much unchanged from last week, with the one notable exception being Magic Made Fun (known as Master of Illusion in the U.S.) which debuted on the continent this week, where it reached 8th in Germany, and 7th in Spain -- we expected a little more from this sorcery sim, considering its catch-all appeal. Anyhow, here's to April, when Assassin's Creed, Draglade, and The World Ends With You should arrive to help shake things up. Make the jump for this week's charts.
Magic Made Fun conjures up screens, possible PAL release date
Master of Illusion hit the U.S. back in November, but PAL gamers are still waiting on Tenyo's magic simulation, where it will carry the far more approachable moniker of Magic Made Fun. The mystery surrounding the game's European and Aussie release date may have been solved, however, as Jersey-based retailer Play.com now has the game listed for release in the UK on March 14th.On a possibly related note, thirteen new screens of the game appeared in a puff of white smoke were distributed today by Nintendo, which makes us think that the official unveiling of a PAL release date is imminent. Rabbits and hats at the ready!%Gallery-10368%[Via press release]
Finally, magic is fun
In the U.S., magic is serious business. The art of illusion is a skillset to be mastered, as evidenced by the North American title for Nintendo's magic trainer, Master of Illusion. But what if magic tricks could be a recreational activity? Something that people could do for entertainment?That's the idea Nintendo of Europe came up with when they branded the game: much like Brain Age makes brain exercises fun and Flash Focus makes looking at stuff fun, Magic Made Fun takes magic, which is an important life skill, and makes it fun. No longer will you have to force your kids to practice their card tricks!%Gallery-10368%[Via GamesPress]
A cheap trick? No, a half-priced Illusion!
Joys be thine, amateur magicians! If you thought that twenty-buck bargain from earlier this week was the best deal Amazon could conjure up for Master of Illusion, prepare to be amazed -- the online shop has sawed the magic kit's original price in half, bringing it down to a mere $14.99 only two weeks after its release in the US! This deal won't last long, however, as it's scheduled to end at the stroke of midnight (or whenever Amazon's stock runs out), so grab this one before it disappears in a puff of smoke. See also: Metareview: Master of Illusion
Metareview: Master of Illusion
Since it popped up on Amazon's sale yesterday, and since it's an intriguing title (at least, to this blogger), even though it's been out for a while, we thought we would take a critical look at Master of Illusion -- or at least, a look at what the critics are saying.Game Informer: 80% -- At GI, they dig the freebies and the attention. "You might think the Wii is perfect for parties at your house, but this game and its magic tricks will make you and your DS the center of attention. Master of Illusion not only shows you how to perform tricks of various stripes, but also has practice exercises and performs some of its own magic tricks on you (the game also comes with a specialty deck of cards)."IGN: 70% -- At IGN, they see Master of Illusion as the new magic kit: "Visit any toy shop and you're faced with a few "magic kits" that will teach kids how to perform feats of illusions using the props that are included in the box. That's exactly what Master of Illusion is: this generation's magic kit. But instead of the trick hankies, cup and balls, and collapsible wands, you use the Nintendo DS as the tricks' "prop." Master of Illusion is easily one of the most unexpected products on the Nintendo DS. Use your Nintendo DS to perform magic tricks? All right! It's certainly unique, and there's entertainment value in Master of Illusion, but keep in mind it's not a game; most of what you get out of this product is what you put into it."Game Daily: 70% -- At Game Daily, it's all about performance. "The most enjoyable mode is Magic Show. Here, you can take your practice and tricks on the road, so to speak. While a lot of these tricks are pretty nifty, especially the ones where you pretend to be psychic, most verge on a tad obvious. Luckily, Master of Illusion's manual instructs you on how to deal with mistakes you might make or problems you might have with your illusions without spoiling the atmosphere or the show. Your deck of cards will soon become your best friend."
Amazon gives us a reason to be jolly
Amazon has put over two dozen Nintendo DS games on sale, some of them marked down as low as 50% of their original price! Some of the titles are trash, but there are more than a few that you should consider picking up. We've listed below the ones that stood out to us, but make sure to check out Amazon's page for the full selection of DS deals. Front Mission - $24.99 Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck - $19.99 Master of Illusion - $19.99 Nintendo DS Headset - $9.99 Prism - $19.99 Spanish for Everyone - $14.99 Don't forget that orders totalling over $25 are eligible for the online shop's Free Super Saver Shipping. Joys be thine, frugal readers![Via CAG]
WRUP: Final Countdown edition
Considering the big release this week is Master of Illusion, we figured there would be no better anthem to herald the beginning of the magic act than Europe's "Final Countdown." Gob taught us many things, but most importantly he taught us the best magic is done to Europe's masterpiece.So, will you be honing your skills at illusion or do you have some other game you plan on sinking your teeth into? What are you playing?
DS releases for the week of November 26th
Finally, gamers in the U.S. get a break from the deluge of releases. Draw a breath and hoard your pennies, DS fans ... there's more to come soon, and this lull won't last long. This might also be a good time to catch up on some of the games you've got lying around. Unless, of course, you're going to be picking up one of this week's releases! Gamers in the rest of the world aren't as lucky this week -- or are luckier, depending on your point of view -- and Japan in particular faces a spectacular array of DS games. Importers might want to take a closer look. Boogie Geometry Wars Galaxies Master of Illusion
