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NintendoWare Weekly: Natsume Championship Wrestling
We suspect the Wii and DSi Shops are going to go even darker than usual next week, with all of Nintendo's attention turned toward the 3DS. This is likely to be the last normal-ish release week until the late-May eShop update (prove us wrong, Nintendo!) Today's update features a fairly obscure SNES wrestling game, which lacks a real wrestling license but does include four-player functionality. In addition, there's a demo for Dive: The Medes Islands Secret. DSiWare features another budget G.G. Series game, this time a shooter featuring tanks, and a port of PC puzzler Shapo. We haven't played the game, so we can't comment on the actual quality, but "Shapo" is way fun to say in whatever manner you choose to pronounce it.
NintendoWare Weekly: Plants vs. Zombies, Liight
We'll issue the standard "PopCap Warning" here: One of the developer's severely addictive casual games is spreading to a new platform today, raising the threat level to your productivity to red. If you have your DSi nearby and have a bunch to do, be warned that Plants vs. Zombies is now available on DSiWare. On WiiWare today, Studio Walljump releases Liight, the puzzler it first announced in 2008. In Liight, you position colored lights and manipulate shadows to ensure that the correct color of light is shining on multiple targets. Find the rest of this week's downloadable Nintendo releases after the break.%Gallery-119025%
Different Cloth reveals disappointing Lilt Line sales
Despite winning an IGF Mobile Audio Achievement award in 2010, and despite being (in our opinion) awesome, Different Cloth's iOS/WiiWare music action game lilt line has not been a massive seller. Different Cloth's Gordon Midwood revealed approximate sales figures for both platforms on the company's blog. "Lilt Line's price has remained pretty steady at £1.79 / $2.99," Midwood said. With total iPhone sales of 3,815 units, and US WiiWare sales of just 3,756 copies, "you can probably work out by yourself that i am not a millionaire. Yet." Even worse, that figure comes in under the WiiWare sales threshold, meaning that if it doesn't sell about twice as many copies, neither Different Cloth nor publisher Gaijin Games get any payment for the Wii version. Which leads to one of the reasons Midwood noted these numbers: the WiiWare game is available in Europe today. If you like neon colors, and dubstep and tilting, you could hardly do better.
NintendoWare Weekly: Heavy Fire: Black Arms, Bomberman Hero
Plenty of firepower on the Wii this week, with Teyon's war-themed light gun sequel Heavy Fire: Black Arms and the Nintendo 64's Bomberman Hero. Since last month's closure of Hudson Entertainment, the publisher has been responsible for every Virtual Console release (well, both of them). DSiWare brings representation from two budget series, with the addictive-looking GG Series Horizontal Bar, and Go Series Earth Saver, which reimagines the plot of Armageddon as a Dig Dug 2 style game.%Gallery-118512%
MotoHeroz preview: Don't let the 'z' turn you away
RedLynx's WiiWare racer MotoHeroz might as well be two separate games. In single player, it's a Trials-esque stunt racer with a cartoon style and bizarre, looping, interactive levels. And in multiplayer, it's Smash Bros. with trucks. Both modes use the same physics-based movement -- in fact, it's the physics that make multiplayer so wild.%Gallery-118021%
BurgerTime HD rating cooked up by ESRB
An ESRB listing reveals that MonkeyPaw Games is working on BurgerTime HD for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii and PC. The title is assumed to be an update of the classic 1982 arcade game fom Data East -- and likely in development for digital platforms, including PSN, XBLA and WiiWare. The ESRB description notes that BurgerTime HD will introduce carrots, apple cores and hot peppers, indicating that a new breed of "oversized" monsters is out to destroy the "small," burger-building chef. BurgerTime HD certainly fits MonkeyPaw's mission to remake and localize Japanese games from the past and present. The original game is a sort of munchies-induced nightmare: Chef Peter Pepper must try to escape the homicidal Mr. Egg, Mr. Hot Dog and Mr. Pickle, while attempting to assemble giant hamburgers. (There's definitely a thesis on food existentialism buried somewhere in there.) We've contacted MonkeyPaw for more information on BurgerTime HD.
escapeVektor escapes from Wii, on Wii
escapeVektor: Chapter 1 isn't just a game stored on your Wii's internal memory, its official storyline takes place inside your Wii's internal memory. According to the announcement, "Vektor" is trapped inside the Wii by the system's CPU, who constantly sends enemies after him. The player guides Vektor through a series of connected lines in Qix-style gameplay, attempting to get away while avoiding the enemies. As Vektor makes his way out of the system, he regains memories -- but, presumably, not all of them. This game from Pop developer Nnooo is the first in a series of escapeVektor games. It's due on WiiWare in the second half of this year -- if it can break out of Nnooo's development kits. A 3DS version is also in the works.
NintendoWare Weekly: Faxanadu, Cozy Fire
Wow, it's a Virtual Console game -- and a good one at that. Faxanadu for NES was developed by Falcom, creators of the Ys and Dragon Slayer series (to which Faxanadu is tangentially connected), and published in America by Nintendo. Oddly enough, however, the now-defunct Hudson Entertainment is listed as the publisher for the VC version (Hudson Soft published the original game in Japan). In gameplay terms, it's a slightly more RPG-ish (and more brown) Zelda 2. And it's on the Virtual Console, in North America, today. Meanwhile, on WiiWare, there's another damn fireplace sim.%Gallery-117232%
Bit.Trip Flux keeps CommanderVideo alive Feb. 28
CommanderVideo, hero of the Bit.Trip series, will finish his journey through psychedelic techno-scapes of attacking pixels on February 28 in North America, and February 25 in Europe, according to developer Gaijin Games. Those are the dates when Bit. Trip Flux will be released on WiiWare. In the announcement of the release dates, Gaijin's Alex Neuse revealed that there is no "Game Over" result in Flux -- which is a pretty sharp contrast from the other five Bit.Trip games, in which "game over" is basically the natural state. "To help tell the story of CommanderVideo's transition back to The Source," he said, "we wanted to convey the point that it is an unstoppable pull which draws him home. For this reason, there is no Game Over." Flux is designed to be completed in a single session, something that "most players" will be able to do. The challenge will be in reaching and sustaining the "Meta Mode" for as long as possible by hitting consecutive beats. "But the primary goal of Flux is to be an exploration of visual beauty, aural splendor, graceful gameplay, and how it feels to be lost in the beauty of life," Neuse added, "while reminiscing about all the events that led CommanderVideo to this, his purest form."
NintendoWare Weekly: Pucca's Kisses
Nintendo celebrates Valentine's Day with a licensed WiiWare game about some Korean cartoon character. It sounds a lot less random when you find out that Pucca's Kisses Game is about a young girl hoping to kiss a boy (who happens to be a ninja). Sadly, the two WiiWare demos don't quite fit the V-day theme, unless you consider blowing up baby chickens or splitting your consciousness across two time periods romantic. And we hope, for several reasons, that you don't. DSiWare features a game about a guy searching for treasure to impress a girl, which is a suitably grandiose romantic gesture for the day. Also, pandas!%Gallery-116590%
MDK 2 for WiiWare in certification, new PC version still in the works
Remember, last year, when Interplay said it was reviving the BioWare action classic MDK 2 on WiiWare? Not only does the project still exist, it sounds like it's actually nearing completion. Trent Oster -- head of the WiiWare version's developer IdeaSpark Labs -- announced on the Beamdog forums that "MDK 2 for WiiWare has entered the final stages of the certification process" and is currently awaiting approval from Nintendo. He added that the Wiimote "adds a great deal to the gameplay, making a great action platformer even better." IdeaSpark, founded by Oster and fellow ex-BioWare member Cameron Tofer, recently launched the aforementioned Beamdog distribution service, which will eventually host another upcoming version of MDK 2, the PC-bound MDK 2 HD. Speaking of which, Tofer also noted on the forums that the team is "looking for feedback and suggestions" concerning the HD remake.
NintendoWare Weekly: Spot the Differences, S.C.A.T.
We're sure you'll have no trouble spotting the difference between this week and most other weeks, in terms of Nintendo downloads: there's a Virtual Console game! Also, a game called Spot the Differences. In addition, WayForward offers a demo of its spooky WiiWare action puzzle game Lit. DSiWare is led by G.G. Series Dark Spirits, a budget shmup from Genterprise's G.G. series. And Zoo Games presents Shawn Johnson Gymnastics, a licensed DSiWare sports game. That doesn't happen often.%Gallery-115826%
NintendoWare Weekly: Zombie Panic demo, Magic Destiny
This week, you have a chance to try out the WiiWare game Zombie Panic in Wonderland, an entertaining forward-scrolling shooter in which Momotaro, Dorothy, and Snow White shoot at zombies and avoid being hugged (fatally). We suppose you've always had the chance to try it, but thanks to the demo you can now do so without spending money. If you'd like to know when you'll be able to afford more WiiWare games, you can pick up Magic Destiny, which tells your fortune using tarot, seashells, numerology, and, uh, virtual palm reading. That kind of makes the DSiWare game about adopting 101 dolphins seem tame.%Gallery-115397%
NintendoWare Weekly: Jam City Rollergirls, 1942, Black Tiger
Today's Wii Shop update brings the official sports game of a sport without much official game representation: roller derby. Jam City Rollergirls carries the Women's Flat Track Derby Association license, so if you happen to follow the sport, you'll recognize the teams and players. Also available: two more Virtual Console Arcade games by Capcom, which is dangerously close to making us forget how moribund the Virtual Console has become. DSiWare is home to the first non-PSN release from MonkeyPaw Games, and it's ... a poker game! That company is defying expectations left and right.%Gallery-114973%
RedLynx's MotoHeroz has music from Alan Wake composer, hear it in this trailer
Ever since Trials HD for XBLA took out a multi-year lease in our hearts, RedLynx has held a bit of a trump card with us. The developer's newest game, MotoHeroz, looks to extend that lease, bringing four-wheelers to the world of 2D racing. Gameplay-wise, MotoHeroz is a mix of Joe Danger's platforming gameplay and Motocross Maniacs' nitro-boosted, loop-based 2D -- as stated in the game's initial announcement, new online maps will be added daily to the WiiWare title. In addition to today's first gameplay trailer, RedLynx announced that Alan Wake music composer Petri Alanko is handling compositions for MotoHeroz. The first track from Alanko can be heard in the trailer we've dropped after the break, and if you find yourself dancing along, a free download is available right here.
NintendoWare Weekly: Doc Clock, Glory Days
Today, another weird PC indie finds its way to WiiWare: the time-traveling, junk-inventing adventure Doc Clock and the Toasted Sandwich of Time. There's also a city-building Qix clone ported from iOS, and a returning WiiWare demo for Bit. Trip Beat. DSiWare features Animal Boxing, the second retail title from Gammick Entertainment to move over to a DSiWare download. There's also a surprisingly cute card game about driving competitors to bankruptcy!%Gallery-114523%%Gallery-114524%
NintendoWare Weekly: Jelly Car 2, Ghosts 'n Goblins, Exed Exes
We're treated to a surprise today from Capcom, something we didn't think we'd see in 2011: two Virtual Console releases on the same day! Bask in it, because even a single Virtual Console release is a rare event. This time, it's two of Capcom's announced arcade releases, Ghosts 'n Goblins and the shmup Exed Exes. Additionally, WiiWare is host to Disney's Jelly Car 2, a build-it-yourself racing game with realistic physics and weird, jiggly cars.%Gallery-113645%
THQ and Mattel enter game deal, includes Masters of the Universe rights
THQ will target kids with a new multi-year, multiplatform "alliance" with Mattel -- that's for sure. What we're not so sure about is whether those targets are intended to be kids of the 80s or their kids of today. A news announcement reads like a who's who of garage-sale name drops: Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, Masters of the Universe, and even Polly Pocket (who's apparently still going strong these days). While the deal with Mattel encompasses games that could appear on any platform imaginable, THQ did specifically note the potential in re-introducing the toy maker's brands through the uDraw GameTablet for Wii. "As we have shown with the combination of uDraw and Pictionary, there is enormous potential for the strategic relationship between THQ and Mattel," said Martin Good, executive veep of THQ's Kids, Family and Casual Games division. The brilliant part about all this is that when you hand over THQ's Tablet and a copy of the He-Man: By the Power of Grayscale drawing game to the GameStop clerk, you simply say, "It's for my kid" -- and he sort of has to believe you. [Image source: Madman Entertainment; credit: Mattel]
NintendoWare Weekly: Jason Rohrer Anthology, Sneezies
If you believe that the first WiiWare and DSiWare games of the new year will set the tone for the rest of 2011, then ... man, this is going to be a weird year. DSiWare gets artsy with a three-pack of games designed by Jason Rohrer, including Passage, Gravitation, and Between. And WiiWare gets, um, sneezy ... with a port of Retro Dreamer's iPhone game Sneezies.%Gallery-112345%
ESRB suggests Bit. Trip Flux returns to Bit. Trip Beat's style
The ESRB has rated Bit. Trip Flux, providing a content description that confirms what we suspected from the first screens: that the gameplay in Flux resembles that in the first Bit. Trip game, Beat. The ratings board describes the sixth WiWare game as a "musical paddle game in which players move a vertical platform to deflect waves of dots that fly across the screen." In addition, "musical tones" accompany each successful deflection. In other words, it's the same kind of extreme Pong we saw in Bit. Trip Beat. With similar gameplay, but in reverse (the screens show the paddle on the right side, whereas it was on the left in Beat) Flux appears to work with Beat to bookend the series. Even so, we expect a few significant surprises out of Gaijin Games (if it's possible to expect surprises) as no two games in the series have had even remotely similar gameplay to date.
