NINTENDO DOWNLOAD: DEADLY VIRUSES AND HEROIC VEGETABLES MAKE FOR A MEMORABLE WEEK

Feb. 8, 2010

From pulse-pounding action to mind-bending puzzles and beyond, this week's lineup of new downloadable games offers a dizzying variety to satisfy players of all stripes. New additions for the WiiWare™ service include the sci-fi adventure of BLASTER MASTER™ OVERDRIVE and the speedy fun of Tomena Sanner, plus a pair of family-friendly games to help parents and their kids brighten up the dog days of winter. For the Nintendo DSiWare™ service, new attractions include the rocket-powered puzzles of Link 'n' Launch™ and the tower-defending thrills of Fieldrunners. And lest you should think cucumbers are only good for snacking, the Virtual Console™ debut of Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom lets Wii™ owners enjoy a quirky cIassic from the NES™ era.

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WiiWare

BLASTER MASTER OVERDRIVE
Publisher: SUNSOFT
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) – Mild Fantasy Violence
Price: 1,000 Wii Points™
Description: BLASTER MASTER OVERDRIVE is an action-adventure game that takes place on an Earth infected by an aggressive, polymorphic virus. Poor, defenseless animals worldwide have been turned into flesh-eating, hemoglobin-swilling terrors. Fortunately, the world has Alex, who happens to be one of the world's foremost biologists and specializes in viral mutation profiles and genetic manipulation. Every studious biologist facing imminent global annihilation needs a sweet ride, and Alex is no exception. He has S.O.P.H.I.A., a shape-shifting, gas-guzzling, projectile-spewing paean to destruction on four wheels. Things look grim, but with Alex and S.O.P.H.I.A. on the case, the world just might have a chance.

Tomena Sanner
Publisher: Konami Digital Entertainment
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Comic Mischief, Mild Cartoon Violence
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Businessman Hitoshi Susumu is behind schedule and in quite a rush. In fact, once he starts running, he won't stop! Dashing past samurais, T-Rexes, cowboys and all manner of wacky obstacles, Mr. Susumu must get to the goal as fast as he can for the ultimate 2-D dance party. Tomena Sanner is a high-speed side-scrolling action game with a unique timing-based control system that's as challenging as it is fun. As they fly, jump and dance over the many zany obstacles, players need to time their moves to keep their speed up and perform awesome tricks. Using just one button on the Wii Remote™ controller, players of all ages and skill levels will be able to play and help Mr. Susumu get to his goal. Four players can compete to see who is the fastest at running through the bizarre and comical world of Tomena Sanner.

Bloons®
Publisher: Hands-On Mobile
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Bloons is an exciting puzzle game based on the simple fact that popping balloons is fun. Pop your way through dozens of puzzling levels in this exciting puzzle adventure. Each level will have a different arrangement of balloons. Using the darts you're given, try to pop as many as you can. Look out for special balloons, blocks and darts, and have fun discovering what they do. You can pick up and play for a few minutes or spend hours working your way through the game's 70 levels. As an added bonus, there's also a level editor that allows you to create your own balloon puzzles.

Hubert The Teddy Bear Winter Games
Publisher: Teyon
Players: 1-16
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Comic Mischief
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Hubert The Teddy Bear is a party game in which players confront crafty bunnies. Outsmart them in eight winter activities including snow fight, sleigh ride, Christmas tree decoration, fishing, catching a bunny and more. Create a teddy bear and customize it to fit your own styIe. Choose its name and gender and dress it up by combining elements from plenty of clothes and accessories. Play solo or engage your family and friends by competing in one of the multiplayer modes. As many as 16 players can take part in one competition. Thanks to the balanced levels of difficulty – kid, youngster and adult – everyone can enjoy the game. This collection of casual winter sports provides a new experience for the whole family.

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Nintendo DSiWare

Oscar in Movieland
Publisher: Virtual Playground
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points™
Description: Following his Oscar in Toyland escapades, Oscar now plays the leading actor in sensational worlds of hit movies and TV shows. From Sci-Fi to Cartoon, Western to War, Horror to Jurassic and more, this is a game not to be missed. Oscar in Movieland features eye-popping graphics, parallax scrolling backgrounds and fabulous game play. This jump-and-run game is easy to play and packed with hours of fun and nonstop action. Use Wings to Fly, Springy Boots to Jump, and Oscar's secret weapon – his magical Yo-Yo – to swing on and zap enemies in some of the craziest platform levels you'll ever play.

Link 'n' Launch
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Take your puzzle-solving skills to new heights in Link 'n' Launch, a puzzle game in which you must move tiles to create a path that connects fuel to your rocket, blasting it through space. Complete the basic training mode to learn how to play Link 'n' Launch, and then buckle in for the ride through the robust Missions and Puzzles modes. Missions mode has you propelling the rocket through space to reach the target planet within a three-minute time limit, while Puzzles mode challenges you to clear all fuel and pipe tiles from the screen. In both modes, not only do you need to create a path to keep your rocket fueled, but you'll also have to account for immovable tiles and special tiles that upgrade your rocket or give you additional time to complete the level, all while keeping your rocket's flight path within the established boundaries. The launch countdown has begun – are you prepared?

Fieldrunners
Publisher: Subatomic Studios
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) – Mild Cartoon Violence
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Descend into the world of Fieldrunners, one of the most anticipated and visually stunning games in mobile tower defense history. Defend and control the field with a diverse selection of upgradeable towers, using a wide array of tactics and strategies against countless waves of unique land and air combatants. Enjoy hours of entertainment and replayable challenges. Do you have what it takes to dominate the fieldrunners and rise to the top as the ultimate tower defense master?

Sudoku 4Pockets
Publisher: 4Pockets.com
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Sudoku 4Pockets offers you 3,600 puzzles, and your assistant Kiku will be there to guide you through each of the Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced skill levels. The aim of sudoku is to complete a grid of nine-by-nine squares with the numbers 1 through 9 in each square, row and column. As you play, Kiku will guide you: She can tell you if you've entered an incorrect number, offer you hints and explain the moves and terms as you play. The simple-to-use number entry makes it easy to select numbers and add possible number candidates to aid your thought process. Whether you're new to sudoku or an advanced player, you can have fun playing and learning on your quest to become a sudoku master.

Extreme Hangman
Publisher: Gamelion
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) – Alcohol Reference, Animated Blood, Mild Cartoon Violence
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: There's never been a Hangman game like this before! The world's favorite time-killer game takes an absurdist twist of comical proportions. Taking place in various settings, the game challenges players to save the Hangman from his enemies by guessing hidden words correctly. When players guess incorrectly, he is put one step closer to being shot, strangled, erased or hanged by his enemies. Play a single-player game or challenge your friend to a duel. Extreme Hangman features seven different settings with fun animations, over 2,000 words in various categories, and three difficulty levels.

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Virtual Console

Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom
Original platform: NES
Publisher: Hudson Entertainment
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Mild Cartoon Violence, Tobacco Reference
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Featuring a cast of cute characters and an endearing sense of humor, this unique title has gained a dedicated following since its release on the original NES system. The wicked Minister Pumpkin, a nobleman in the Salad Kingdom, has rebelled and kicked King Broccoli off the throne. Worse yet, he has kidnapped Princess Tomato and, with the help of the treacherous Farmies, proceeded to abolish all truth, justice, sweetness and light from the Salad Kingdom. Players take on the role of the brave Sir Cucumber, hero of the kingdom, and set out on a quest to rescue the princess and topple Minister Pumpkin. Progress through multiple locations using set commands (such as MOVE, LOOK and TALK) while winning bouts of Finger Wars (Rock-Paper-Scissors), collecting information and items and heeding helpful clues from your faithful companion, Percy (a persimmon). If you fail, the entire Salad Kingdom will be tossed into frenzy. Sir Cucumber, your princess awaits!

robio said:

Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom!!!  Gimmie a fuck yeah!!

I can't remember if I ever heard good things about that game or not. . . oh well I don't think I'll be picking it up either way.  Blaster Master looks good, though the lack of an announcement has be wondering if the game is any good or not.  This should have had a little more than 3 days notice.

and yet that is 3 days more notice than the vast majority of wiiware games gets

bugsonglass said:

robio said:

Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom!!!  Gimmie a fuck yeah!!

I can't remember if I ever heard good things about that game or not. . . oh well I don't think I'll be picking it up either way.  Blaster Master looks good, though the lack of an announcement has be wondering if the game is any good or not.  This should have had a little more than 3 days notice.

and yet that is 3 days more notice than the vast majority of wiiware games gets

It is but I'm comparing this more to what Konami had been doing with Gradius, Castlevania, and Contra and what Capcom did with Mega Man 9.  Those games were announced weeks or months ahead of time.  Blaster Master was a good game back in the day, but it probably needed some hype more than any of the others as it wasn't an A list franchise.

Ravenprose said:

phantom_leo said:

BLASTER MASTER OVERDRIVE

I've been meaning to try Blaster Master, but the question now is: Do I buy the NES original or this new WiiWare version?

Or do I instead finish one of the many other games I have in my backlog?

The original Blaster Master was hard as hell.  Partially it was because there was no save feature only unlimited continues. So I image part of difficulty will be scaled back now that you can pseudo save on the VC.  I guess I'd recommend getting the VC version first.  Or wait for reviews for Overdrive.  I'm hopeful that it's a good game, but none of the Blaster Master sequels were anywhere near as good as the original so I'd take a wait and see attitude with this game.