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VC Friday: Gooey goodness
Save the best 'til last, as ... somebody ... probably once said, and that's exactly what Nintendo has done for the PAL WiiWare service. On the last "WiiWare Friday" of 2008, World of Goo leads a pack of four games. It is quite possibly the most wizard WiiWare release of 2008, and if you wish to know why, head here. Then go and buy it, and make 2D Boy the million bucks they so richly deserve.That's not to say you have to ignore the rest. Art Style: Orbient is an excellent little puzzler, Niki - Rock'n' Ball is an unknown quantity until somebody braver than us downloads it, and Sudoku Challenge! -- okay, you probably should ignore Sudoku Challenge!. World of Goo -- WiiWare -- 1500 Wii Points Sudoku Challenge! -- WiiWare -- 500 Wii Points Niki - Rock 'n' Ball -- WiiWare -- 500 Wii Points Art Style: Orbient -- WiiWare -- 600 Wii Points Build a gooey bridge past the jump for footage of all four.%Gallery-16000%
No, really: Nintendo says Aussie Club Nintendo is close
We imagine some of our Australian readers read yesterday's news concerning Club Nintendo in North America with a burning sense of injustice. That's kind of understandable. The Aussie Club Nintendo was announced back in April, half a year before the North American version, yet has still to launch. Sucks to be Australia.But not for much longer, maybe. Aussie-Nintendo was scoring free drinks at The Nintendo Experience launch party in Melbourne last night when it was informed by Nintendo representatives that Club Nintendo will launch in Oz at some point close to Christmas or New Year. According to the reps, the Australian program has been developed alongside the North American service, and a website redesign had caused the ridiculous delay of eight months. Memo to Nintendo Australia: time to get some faster code monkeys. Want to see Club Nintendo's greatest gifts to Japan and Europe? OF COURSE YOU DO. So go here.
VC Friday: Impossible Mission II on PAL Wii Shop ... FOREVER
We've talked about our love of Impossible Mission in a previous VC Friday, and now the PAL Wii Shop has the sequel! That we never played! Oh, happy days. If you haven't downloaded the first game, why on earth not? Beyond the crude visuals lies a highly entertaining and surprisingly atmospheric puzzle-based platformer. The sequel sounds like more of the same but with a few new robots, which is fine with us.Meanwhile, Last Ninja 3 is the second C64 title available this week. Has it aged as poorly as the first two? Probably. It certainly looks similar in footage, though Reyn Ouwehand's soundrack still rocks our socks. Then there's Boogerman, which you really shouldn't download. Here's a video explaining why. Last Ninja 3* -- Commodore 64 -- 500 Wii Points Impossible Mission II* -- Commodore 64 -- 500 Wii Points Boogerman: A Pick and Flick Adventure -- Mega Drive -- 800 Wii Points * Europe only, obviously. As usual, make the jump for videos of all three.%Gallery-39158%
Chrono Trigger time travels to PAL regions in February
The speculation is confirmed: Chrono Trigger will be appearing in all PAL territories on February 6th. Square Enix sent another 15 screens along with the announcement this morning (just in case you've never seen Chrono Trigger before) which we have dutifully uploaded here. Hey, we've waited thirteen years already for this happy day, so what's another 57 days?Alas, rather than fill this Brit blogger with joy, this news has merely reminded me that my import copy is still in the mail. Gaaah. Europeans and Aussies: did you wait, or cave and order a U.S./Japanese version?%Gallery-27682%
Killzone 2 release date is Feb. 27, 'similar timeframe' for PAL release
Ready to jump aboard the Killzone 2 hype train? Sony has announced that Guerilla Games' much-hyped PS3 shooter will infiltrate North America retailers on Friday, February 27, 2009 (via G4), where it will face fierce competition from pretty much no one. As for our friends living across the pond, a Sony UK spokesperson has told Video Gamer that the company is "targeting a similar timeframe for the release of Killzone 2 in the PAL regions." With 84 days until the North America launch, we anticipate a marketing blitz to commence just after the new year.%Gallery-4719%
VC Friday: Panic! hits PAL regions
Pit Crew Panic!, a bizarre minigame compilation in which you repair busted cars, trucks, medieval castles, wedding cakes, giant toilets, and whatever this is, leads the new arrivals on the PAL Wii Shop this week. It's joined by remade Nintendo puzzler Art Style: Rotohex and, as we expected, Strong Bad: Dangeresque 3: The Criminal Projective. Then there's Bang!, a puzzler that looks a bit like Bejeweled with fruit -- the gameplay video after the break is possibly the most soulless thing we've watched in years.Oh, and we can now say with some certainty that World of Goo will be out in Europe and Australia on December 19, the only "WiiWare Friday" left in 2008. Unless it's been delayed again, which doesn't bear thinking about. Strong Bad: Dangeresque 3: The Criminal Projective -- 1000 Points -- WiiWare Art Style: Rotohex -- 600 Points -- WiiWare Bang! -- 600 Points -- WiiWare Pit Crew Panic! -- 500 Points -- WiiWare Footage of all four after the break! Cookies for those who make it through the whole Bang! video.%Gallery-36617%
VC Friday: A question of value
This week's PAL Virtual Console line-up isn't short on quality, but it represents fairly awful value. As dreamy as we find any Metal Slug title, there are cheaper ways to play all three of this week's offerings. Want Metal Slug 2? We'd recommend picking up this. Fancy having your delicate gamer's ego rudely kicked in by Forgotten Worlds? There's an excellent compilation out there for a bunch of platforms that costs peanuts and comes with another 20 or so games. If you can't find Space Invaders for less than £6/€8, you're probably reading the wrong website. Better still: lavish those points on Space Invaders Get Even!. Metal Slug 2 -- Neo Geo -- 900 Wii Points Space Invaders: The Original Game -- SNES -- 800 Wii Points Forgotten Worlds -- Mega Drive -- 800 Wii Points See videos of all three (including footage of one David Hinkle showing off his skillz at Space Invaders and Forgotten Worlds) after the break.
VC Friday: Strong Bad, Cubello, cooking, billiards
Four new WiiWare titles came down the tubes in Europe and Australia today, and the selection couldn't be more diverse. Art Style: Cubello and Strong Bad Episode 3: Baddest of the Bands you'll already know about, but CueSports and Yummy Yummy Cooking Jam are more mysterious beasts. The former looks promising, the latter, er, not particularly great, according to the few reviews that are about.Art Style: Cubello -- WiiWare -- 600 Wii PointsCueSports -- Snooker vs. Billiards -- WiiWare -- 800 Wii PointsStrong Bad Episode 3: Baddest of the Bands -- WiiWare -- 1000 Wii PointsYummy Yummy Cooking Jam -- WiiWare -- 1000 Wii PointsFootage of all these is past! The! Break!%Gallery-33956%
House of the Dead: Overkill gets Euro release date, Collector's Edition
Sega will release The House of the Dead: Overkill in Europe next February, and there'll be an optional bonus at "selected retailers" for fans who preorder: this rad Collector's Edition. Arriving in a fetching minimalist slipcase (loving the authentic scuff marks), this will come bundled with a graphic novel that tells the stories of Agent Washington and Varla Gunns, and the events that lead up to the game.Here's the downside: this sweet package has so far only been announced for PAL regions -- apart from Germany, obviously. Sucks to be Germany, eh? Hit up our gallery for a closer look at the comic's cover and a sample page.%Gallery-29952%[Via press release]
VC Friday: Mega Phriday
Unless you've got a PS2 or a PSP, there's really no excuse to miss out on downloading Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium, a game that is treated with justifiable reverence by fans of the franchise's early years. Mega Man 3 might not represent the peak of its respective series, but it's still worth a punt for 500 points. Especially as you don't have to look at this. Mega Man 3 -- NES -- 500 Wii Points Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium -- Mega Drive -- 800 Wii Points You know the drill: embedded footage of both games is past the jump.%Gallery-32143%
Nintendo confirms Art Style games for Europe
Though we always expected this, Nintendo has confirmed that it will bring the stylish Art Style games to Europe's (and, we assume, Australia's) WiiWare service from November 21st. Art Style: Rotohex, Art Style: Cubello, and Art Style: Orbient are a trio of minimalist puzzle games, two of which are remakes of Bit Generations games from the GBA, and all of which we loved. Disaster: Day of Crisis, Space Invaders Get Even!, and now this? Whisper it, but it's beginning to feel like Europe actually exists in Nintendo's thoughts these days.
VC Friday: Resistance is futile
EX-TERM-IN-ATE! EX-TERM-IN-ATE! Wait, no, those are the other ones. But whatever. The point is: after hearing nothing about Space Invaders Get Even! for months, the game has randomly appeared on the European and Australian Wii Shops. We are unashamedly jigging with joy as we type this. And the extra-terrestial goodness doesn't stop there, for Alien Crush Returns has also joined the line-up. Needless to say, we wholeheartedly welcome our new rulers (of all our spare time). The other game is Brain Challenge. Sorry, Brain Challenge. Alien Crush Returns -- WiiWare -- 800 Nintendo Points Brain Challenge -- WiiWare -- 1000 Nintendo Points Space Invaders Get Even! -- WiiWare -- 500 Nintendo Points %Gallery-25384%
VC Friday: A huddle of Halloween horrors
With a fresh Halloween upon us, Nintendo has settled on a horror theme for its latest update to the PAL Virtual Console. Nintendo restricting itself in this way could have gone tragically wrong -- they could have given us something terrible like Friday the 13th, for example -- but instead the results are ... really, really good. Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse -- NES -- 500 Nintendo Points Devil World -- NES -- 500 Nintendo Points Ghosts 'N Goblins -- NES -- 500 Nintendo Points Normally we'd whoop unashamedly for Ghosts 'N Goblins alone, but Castlevania III, which is yet to be released on the U.S. or Japanese Virtual Consoles? And Devil World, which North America has also been waiting on (for almost a quarter of a century)? Yeah, we'll take those. Watch bone-chilling footage of all three past the break.%Gallery-21879%
VC Friday: Tetris Party drops in PAL regions
A port of casual PC title Home Sweet Home (succumb to your IKEA nesting instinct) and The Incredible Maze (succumb to possibly the worst game on WiiWare) would struggle to get noticed in most weeks, but on the day Tetris Party finally lands in Europe and Australia? Poor things don't stand a chance, cos' there ain't no party like a Tetris Party! Tetris Party -- WiiWare -- 1200 Nintendo Points Home Sweet Home -- WiiWare -- 1000 Nintendo Points The Incredible Maze -- WiiWare -- 500 Nintendo Points %Gallery-18122%
VC Friday: A trip to the Fantasy Zone
After last week's fairly abominable update, Space Harrier is back to save us all. The last time we played Sega's classic rail shooter was in the arcades of Shenmue, and we seem to recall it feeling a bit ancient, but still being a bit of a hoot.Also appearing is Street Fighter II: Special Championship Edition (which, rather ludicrously, is the third variation of Street Fighter II to appear on the PAL Virtual Console) and Mayhem in Monsterland, one of the very last of the Commodore 64's 20,000 or so titles, and a graphical stunner for the time. Footage of all three is past the break. Street Fighter II: Special Championship Edition -- Mega Drive -- 800 Nintendo Points Mayhem in Monsterland -- Commodore 64 -- 500 Nintendo Points* Space Harrier -- Master System -- 500 Nintendo Points
VC Friday: ... Yay?
Fans of nocturnal bowling and derivative puzzle games are well-served in this week's Wii Shop PAL update. One month after Midnight Pool arrived on WiiWare and shook the gaming universe to its very foundations, development stable-mate Midnight Bowling has arrived. Oh, and it's rubbish.It's joined by revolving Zuma/Bejeweled/Magnetica Twist imitator Potpourrii, which, ironically, stinks. They're 800 Points apiece, and you can see footage of both if you go past the break. We will be amazed if more than nine people accept that invitation. Midnight Bowling -- WiiWare -- 800 Nintendo Points Potpourrii -- WiiWare -- 800 Nintendo Points Roll on next Friday, frankly.
DSi-only software is region locked
Nintendo's decades-long streak of region-free handhelds is coming to a close. In a statement to CVG, the company confirmed that Nintendo DSi-only cartridges and downloadable content will be locked to the region where you buy the Nintendo DSi. Web browsing, photo sharing and playing DS games will be region free, but US gamers hoping to import the console between now and "well into 2009" will probably have to brush up on their Japanese to enjoy the best new features.We're not too worried, though. Something in our gut tells us that SD card slot will give region-unlocking ninjas in the homebrew community an easy "in."
VC Friday: Time to Get Equipped
We barely need to write anything here this week, do we? Mega Man 9 -- WiiWare -- 1000 Wii Points Helix -- WiiWare -- 1000 Wii Points Strong Bad Episode 2: Strong Badia the Free -- WiiWare -- 1000 Wii Points Helix is a dance-cum-exercise game from Ghostfire which was deemed above-average by critics, if not exactly essential. Strong Bad Episode 2: Strong Badia the Free falls into the same trap as Super Dodge Ball did in North America, in that it's a great, worthwhile title that was regrettably released the same week as Mega Man 9. And Mega Man 9, well, you know all about that. It's totally awesome and rad. Buy it.[Update: typo]%Gallery-30253%
VC Friday: A blue blur
A triple whammy of 500 Wii Point games this week, starting with the Master System version of Sonic the Hedgehog, from the days when the world loved and respected Sonic the Hedgehog. With the Mega Drive/Genesis version already available on the Virtual Console for 300 Points more, we suspect the Master System edition is for either Sonic completists or cheapskates. We fit both categories.Then there are a couple of ye olde classics from the Commodore 64: Boulder Dash and Jumpman. The name "Jumpman" is coincidental, by the way, though the game is probably similar enough to Donkey Kong to warrant suspicion. Sonic the Hedgehog -- Master System -- 500 Wii Points Boulder Dash -- Commodore 64 -- 500 Wii Points* Jumpman -- Commodore 64 -- 500 Wii Points* See all three doing their thing past the break!
VC Friday: Explosive [Update 1]
Clicky clicky for more images We believe the technical term for this is "a no-brainer." Bomberman Blast -- WiiWare -- 1,000 Wii Points Plättchen Twist 'n' Paint -- WiiWare -- 1,500 Wii Points Midnight Pool -- WiiWare -- 800 Wii Points Sorry, Plättchen Twist 'n' Paint, but if you're going to turn up at this party with absolutely no footage to show us and a price tag of 1,500 Wii Points, then you'll be spending the rest of the night alone -- we prefer our thrills cheap. And although we wouldn't usually be so dismissive, Midnight Pool, is it okay with you if we spend the evening just whispering sweet nothings in the ear of Bomberman Blast? It is? Great, punch bowl's over there, go nuts with Plättchen.[Update: Plättchen footage has just entered the building -- hit the break!]%Gallery-18349%
