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Wiikly Wares: Gradius Rebirth, Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars
With the release of a glorious, space-faring shooter this week, we're subtly reminded just how much the Wiiware service has in common with the limitless and largely unexplored realm of outer space. Though there are several bright spots, most of it's just a cold, empty void. And you shoot everything in it.WiiwareGradius ReBirth (Konami, 1 player, 1000 Wii Points): A retro and peculiarly capitalized side-scrolling shooter, Gradius ReBirth tasks you with dodging death and blasting all manner of deformed space monstrosities. Reminder: Bullets are bad for you!Virtual ConsoleAlex Kidd: The Lost Stars (Sega Master System, 1 player, 500 Wii Points): This is the one where Alex Kidd is searching for the twelve zodiac signs. It's easily confused with the one where he's searching for Matthew Fox and Terry O'Quinn.
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
Wiikly Wares: Family Glide Hockey, High Voltage Hot Rod Show and Musha
It's Monday again, and you know what that means: A new rogue's gallery is easing its way onto the Virtual Console/WiiWare. Let's take a look.WiiWare:High Voltage Hot Rod Show (High Voltage Software, Inc., 1-4 players, 1,000 Wii Points): It may not be saying much, but this is as close as we usually get to being excited about a WiiWare game. It's not a great title, but the video we put after the break of this stunted and stunty racer actually looks like fun. If you're gonna pick up one thing this week, we'd recommend this.Family Glide Hockey (Aksys Games, 1-4 players, 500 Wii Points): On the other hand, we were able to get through about 20 seconds of this video before we told Damien it was all for him and hung ourselves.Virtual Console:M.U.S.H.A. (Sega Genesis, 1 player, 800 Wii Points): Seven levels of classic shmuppy madness. Oh, in case you were curious, it stands for Metallic Uniframe Super Hybrid Armor. ... It's OK, we needed a second to absorb it too.
Wiikly Wares: Phantasy Star IV faces Tiki Towers, Fun! Fun! Minigolf
For Christmas 2006, Nintendo gave us Super Mario Bros., Street Fighter II, Super Castlevania IV and an overpriced R-Type. Last holiday, we got Blades of Steel, Rolling Thunder 2 and Donkey Kong Country 3. This year's gifts from Nintendo are one decently sized retro outing and two stocking stuffers.WiiWare Tiki Towers (RealArcade, 1 -2 players, 500 Wii Points): Think World of Goo, but less sticky and with more bananas. Worth noting that the game is also available on the iPhone, without multiplayer but at only $0.99. Video of the game embedded after the break. Fun! Fun! Minigolf (Shin'en Multimedia, 1-4 players, 900 Wii Points): It's minigolf. We're not going to help you figure that one out. Virtual Console Phantasy Star IV (Sega Genesis, 1 player, 800 Wii Points): This marks the last in the series on Sega's console, before remakes hit the PlayStation 2 and the whole series went online. The only way for Virtual Console to go now is backwards, as we still haven't seen Phantasy Star I come out.
Wiikly Wares: Strong Bad 5, Big Kahuna Party, Enduro Racer
Before we get to the actual information, we have to take a moment to give Curtis his promised momentary fame for coming up with the name for this weekly feature. So without further ado: CURTIS! Now, with that behind us:Strong Bad Episode 5: 8-Bit Is Enough (Telltale Games, 1 player, 1,000 Wii Points): In this final (for this season, at least) installment, Strong Bad does battle with Trogdor. Our money's on the dragon with a man's arm.Big Kahuna Party (Reflexive Entertainment Inc., 1-4 players, 700 Wii Points): "So, it's a match three game with a few bells and whistles, how much do we think we can get away with charging? Pearson?" "Umm, how about eight dollars?""Well, let's not go crazy."Enduro Racer (Sega Master System, 1 player, 500 Wii Points): We like Enduro Racer, if for no other reason than the title espousing the value of endurance over speed. "Just hang in there," Enduro Racer says, "just hang in there and you'll eventually finish the race." That's the kind of tortoise-beats-hare logic we can get behind.
Wii Post: Bruiser and Scratch, Sonic, Hockey Allstar Shootout
We'd like to begin this new feature, this amalgam of new offerings on the Virtual Console and WiiWare by asking for your help: We really need a catchier title than "Wii Post." Sure, it's practical, but it's not exactly "sticky," to drop some marketing lingo on you. Leave a great new one as a comment on this post and you'll win momentary fame and the satisfaction of a job well done.WiiWare: Bruiser and Scratch (Steel Penny Games, Inc., 1 player, 1,000 Wii Points): Bruiser and Scratch is a game about a dog and a cat who solve mysteries together. In addition to its irrefutably ridiculous premise (a dog and a cat working together?), B&S also features the above image, which is literally a screenshot from the game. Hockey Allstar Shootout (Big Blue Bubble Inc., 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points): You can't trust two-thirds of this game's title: This isn't actually a hockey game -- just a collection of player vs. goalie encounters -- and there are no allstars. So, with the WiiWare press release apparently penned by an unreliable narrarator, we're left with more questions than answers. Are there actual shootouts? Is it really 500 points? There's really no way to tell at this point. Virtual Console: Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (Sega Master System, 1 player, 500 Wii Points): Yeah, we know, we could have sworn this was already on Virtual Console too. [Update: Oh, that's right: It totally was. Update 2: Yes, we know they're different games. We just wanted everyone to know they're not hallucinating.]
Metal Slug 2 fires onto Virtual Console
Let's play the hot new game that's sweeping the nation: "No, Seriously, What's Coming Out on the Virtual Console This Week?"Today's contestant is Metal Slug 2 (NeoGeo, 1-2 players, 900 Wii Points). Sure, it may look fine ... until you realize that for $10 more, you could go to your local GameStop and buy Metal Slug 1, 2, X, 3, 4, 5 and 6 in Metal Slug Anthology, a Wii launch title.So, we ask you: No, seriously, what's coming out on the Virtual Console this week?
Boogerman's the pick for Virtual Console
Now hold on just a minute. First we get to pick Chrono Trigger as the most exciting game release of the week, then we get to make a Boogerman joke in our headline? Are we crazy, or do we work at Ultra Game Players magazine in the year 1995? Where's Bill Donahue? Where's our Skullbat?No pinching necessary, we're not dreaming: Boogerman: A Pick and Flick Adventure (Sega Genesis, 1 player, 800 Wii Points) really is the Virtual Console release of the week. As for the game itself, It's ... well, it's exactly what it sounds like. Now, if you'll excuse us, we're going to hit a late matinee of Waterworld.
Mega Man ???9 rushes onto Virtual Console
This week's sole Virtual Console offering is Mega Man 3 (NES, 1 player, 500 Wii Points), an ideal match for post-MM9 masochists looking to rediscover the blue bomber's (square) roots. As you can see, our power-hungry protagonist once again finds himself trapped between eight fiendish robot masters -- a particularly alarming situation given the locations of Hard Man and Top Man.
Space Harrier flies into Virtual Console
Space Harrier (Sega Master System, 1 player, 500 Wii Points) is one of the last of a dying breed: Beloved classic action franchises that haven't been given a completely unnecessary modern remake (and no, we're not counting Planet Harriers). But the closest you're going to come, a Virtual Console release, will be available at noon EST today.Buy it, not just because it's fun, but because when that unnecessary remake does come, you'll be able to say it's inferior to the original like a champ.
Earthworm Jim swings onto Virtual Console
Of all of the beloved video game characters that have fallen by the wayside (or been forced there by a string of subpar games) Earthworm Jim is one we'd most like to see make a comeback. C'mon, game publishers, the guy practically oozes charm, just give him a gun and some things to shoot and you're three-fourths of the way there. For now though, we'll have to sate ourselves with the original Earthworm Jim (Sega Genesis, 1 player, 800 Wii Points) on Virtual Console, which we suppose will have to do, if only to square off once more with Bob the Killer Goldfish.
Gradius II goes Battle Boxing on Virtual Console today
This week on the Virtual Console we've got shirtless, muscular men and sidescroller shoot-em-ups. The last time these two worlds met, we were graced with with Cho Aniki. Now that we're done with the history lesson, on with the VC releases! Digital Champ Battle Boxing (TurboGrafx16, 1 player, 700 Wii Points): With Punch-Out!!! already available on Virtual Console -- and with infinitely more exclamation points -- we can only recommend this as a basis for comparison. GRADIUS II GOFER NO YABOU (TurboGrafx16 CD-ROM, 1 player, 900 Wii Points): Don't be fooled by the subtitle; so far as we know, there are no gophers in the game -- and here we were hoping it was a typo lost in translation about some Caddyshack tie-in. Instead, it's a sequel to the classic sidescrolling "shmup" Gradius.
Mario Golf, Shining Force II swing their armaments on Virtual Console
What's better than playing golf with your favorite Nintendo characters in the comfort of your own imagination? Wielding a sword and playing a character named "Bowie," of course! Mario Golf (Nintendo 64, 1-4 players, 1,000 Wii Points): Arguably the best in the Mario Golf series and certainly one of the cheapest. It just makes us wonder why Nintendo hasn't slapped together its cast of characters into a Wii golf game yet. Shining Force II (Sega Genesis, 1 player, 800 Wii Points): You've got a sword in a fantasy medieval setting that rewards you for swinging said blade at others. Also, did we mention your main character is named Bowie? To jog your memory, we've embedded videos of each title after the break.
Super Turrican 2 assaults the Virtual Console
Before straddling a winged lizard and doing a nosedive, developer Factor 5 was the source of one of our favorite pastimes: the unrelenting obliteration of aliens, robots and the occasional Sasquatch. Our memory's a bit hazy when it comes to Super Turrican 2, so there may well have been a robotic alien Sasquatch in there somewhere. Super Turrican 2 (SNES, 1 player, 800 Wii Points): Factor 5's destructive bullet dispensor arrives on the Virtual Console this week, challenging players to foil "the menacing hordes of ... The Machine," who may or may not be Galactus. Check out some videos after the break and become hypnotized by that spinning "2" in "Super Turrican 2." It's like, three dee and stuff!
Vectorman dodges balls on Virtual Console today
A pseudo-classic Genesis sidescroller debuts on Virtual Console today, as well as an NES sports favorite ... but really, you're playing Mega Man 9 right now. We know. You're not even reading this, are you? Super Dodge Ball (NES, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points): Without adding too much innuendo, the gameplay is pretty self-explanatory. You dodge balls. Vectorman (Sega Genesis, 1 player, 800 Wii Points): While he never became as popular as Mega Man, this robot fought without a torso, and best of all, could shoot upwards.
Mega Man 2 jumps onto Virtual Console platform
It's Monday morning, which, of course, means it's time to fill the Virtual Console E-Tank with surly robots, a mad scientist and mechanical vehicles galore – just what every gamer needs to start their week off right. Mega Man 2 (NES, 1 player, 500 Wii Points): Capcom's diminutive Blue Bomber returns alongside an assortment of vehicles and weapons in order to battle the likes of an anthropomorphic Zippo lighter, no doubt in an effort to get back into shape for his upcoming ninth attempt at putting Dr. Wily in his place.
Cho Aniki hunks grapple with Final Soldier on Virtual Console
Another Monday, another Virtual Console release filled with muscle-bound hunks shooting lasers out of their heads. Wait, what's that? The Virtual Console isn't known for its extensive library of games featuring beefy guys in Speedos? We must have it confused with ... something else. On to the games: Cho Aniki (TurboGrafx16 CD-ROM, 1 player, 900 Wii Points): Stop Bo Emperor Bill – the Great Galaxy Bodybuilding champion – from turning the entire galaxy into a protein factory by teaming up with the musclebound (and Speedo-clad) brothers Samson and Adon. Why do they have holes in their heads? Why, to shoot out of, of course! Final Soldier (TurboGrafx16, 1 player, 700 Wii Points): You'll immediately notice a severe dearth of abs, Speedos, and headholes in this vertically scrolling shooter, the third title in the Star Soldier series. Why bother playing it at all, then? Because this Virtual Console release marks the title's first trip away from its home country of Japan.
Super Mario RPG, Clu Clu Land press A to attack Virtual Console
Well, this is certainly a great surprise for Labor Day. We're pretty sure one of these Virtual Console games needs no introduction or description. It just needs your money. Clu Clu Land (NES®, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points): Obviously the greatest game about a sea urchin ever conceived. Obviously. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (Super NES, 1 player, 800 Wii Points): A little-known collaboration between small developer Square Enix (at the time an even tinier Squaresoft) and struggling console maker Nintendo. The game is virtually unknown in all parts of the world.
Virtual Console adds classic role-playing, tardy fighter
How nice of you to join us. Do you have any idea what time it is? We were expecting you weeks ago! Well, no matter, go and take your seat with the rest of the Virtual Console class so we can begin. Samurai Shodown 2 (Neo Geo, 1-2 players, 900 Wii Points): SNK's 1994 follow up to Samurai Shodown finally slices and dices its way onto the Virtual Console this week, bringing back most of the original's weapon-wielding cast, as well as several newcomers vying for the opportunity to skewer anything that moves with a pointy blade and sharp Engrish wit. Ys Book I & II (TurboGrafx 16 CD-ROM, 1 player, 800 Wii Points): Nihon Falcom's enhanced remakes of the first two titles in the Ys saga finally levels up for the US Virtual Console. Offering roguelike-style combat and music we still find ourselves humming at the dinner table, this is a download not to be missed by role-playing fans with eyes for the classics.
Mega Man bombs Virtual Console, golf too
The Virtual Console just got its weekly nostalgia injection, offering fans of all colors -- but mostly blue and green -- something else to download and play as we wonder where the weekend went and why exactly there is a receipt for a Magnet Beam on the kitchen table. Mega Man (NES, 1 player, 500 Wii Points): With the Blue Bomber set to don pixelated pajamas next month, his freshman adventure marks this week's most noteworthy addition to the Wii's window into the past. Assuming you haven't bought the original Mega Man in one of Capcom's many other compilations, Guts Man and company are waiting ever so patiently for you to drop by. Neo Turf Masters (Neo Geo, 1-2 players, 900 Wii Points): This is 133 megs of hot golf action right here, straight from 1996 to your living room. You don't have even to admit to your friends that you like video game golf. We'll keep your dirty little secret.
