NINTENDO DOWNLOAD: NEW DOWNLOADABLE GAMES PROVE   ANYONE CAN BE CROWNED  KING

April   12, 2010

Have you ever wanted to be a king? Maybe the  king of Los  Angeles? The new Nintendo DSiWare™ game Gangstar 2:  Kings of L.A. gives you a shot at becoming Southern California  royalty. Over on the  Virtual Console™ service, old-school gamers will,  like, totally love the  chance to become king of the '80s with the  gnarly original arcade  version of Zaxxon™ available for  download.

Meanwhile,  Nintendo's WarioWare™: D.I.Y. "Big  Name Games" series continues  with a new downloadable microgame created  by top game designer Alex  Neuse of Gaijin Games. Neuse is the designer  behind the BIT.TRIP series, which is available exclusively on the  WiiWare™ service. He  believes meaningful experiences can be delivered  through a minimalistic  design approach. In his WarioWare: D.I.Y. game,  Fire Bad!,  you'll get a hint at CommanderVideo's next  adventure. New "Big Name  Games" will be added every Monday through July  26, all available to  download for zero Nintendo DSi Points™ to anyone  with broadband Internet  access and a copy of either WarioWare:  D.I.Y. for the Nintendo  DS™ family of systems or WarioWare:  D.I.Y. Showcase software for  the WiiWare service. Visit the  Nintendo Channel on your Wii system today  to learn more about these  games and to see a video of Neuse discussing Fire Bad!

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Nintendo  DSiWare

Gangstar 2:  Kings of L.A.
Publisher: Gameloft
Players: 1
ESRB  Rating: T (Teen) -   Suggestive Themes, Tobacco Reference, Violence
Price: 500   Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Move to the West Coast  and   immerse yourself in Los Angeles gang life with Gangstar 2: Kings  of L.A. Complete 75 different missions that combine the best of   action  games and driving games.

• Explore Los Angeles and its famous neighborhoods, including   Hollywood, Beverly Hills, downtown, the suburbs and the harbor.
• A   unique feeling of freedom: Drive or walk anywhere in  massive, open   environments. Feel free to complete missions at your own  pace, or just do absolutely anything you want.
• A thrilling   storyline with flashbacks and unexpected  developments: Go from rags to riches, connect with relatives and help  out their gang until you're   living the golden life.
• Improved driving   experience: Drive cars, quads,  motorcycles and use the environment to   perform unbelievable stunts.
• Use the inner camera or outer camera to decrease your  wanted status, take a new photo of   your face and fake your ID card to  remain incognito.

AlphaBounce™
Publisher: Mad Monkey Studios
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: T (Teen)   - Drug Reference, Violent References
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi   Points
Description: AlphaBounce combines  the cIassical  brick-breaking concept with strong RPG features, offering   you the  chance to explore an endless universe with millions of levels. Discover  items hidden in the deepest corners of the galaxy. Use these items to  modify your spaceship and improve your firepower. You have been  taken  prisoner by an evil intergalactic mining corporation and exiled  to  outer space. With the help of your spaceship, your mission is to  blast  your way through the bricks in order to find a way back to Earth.

7   Card Games
Publisher: cerasus.media
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) - Simulated Gambling
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Who has the best hand?   Take a seat, have a drink and get started: Keep a straight face during   poker while you wager the bluff of your life. Put it all on one hit in   Black Jack - and take the jackpot. You choose the number of opponents.   Prefer something quieter? Then try a Solitaire game like Freecell or   Klondike. Whether you prefer a quick round here and there or fun for the   entire evening, now you can always have your favorite card games right   at your fingertips. The detailed graphics and authentic atmosphere  will  wow you.

AiRace
Publisher: QubicGames
Players: 1-6
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Mild Fantasy Violence
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: AiRace is a   high-octane, adrenaline-fueled air, speed and stunt game for the   Nintendo DSi and Nintendo DSi XL™ systems. AiRace is not your   typical hand-held racing - it's high-sky racing at its best. There are   no limits to your flight with 360° movement and unique steering with the   Nintendo DSi stylus. AiRace offers you a chance to control one   of nine planes and compete against AI or human opponents in six exotic   locations. With great physics, plane upgrades, on-the-track power-ups   and unique maps, AiRace offers a little bit more than your   average racing. Now it's time to leave your cars and switch to   airplanes.

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WiiWare

Military Madness:   Nectaris
Publisher: Hudson Entertainment
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E 10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) - Mild   Fantasy Violence
Price: 1,000 Wii Points™
Description: The Military is back for a new generation of recruits. The cIassic   turn-based strategy series Military Madness, aka Nectaris, is   exploding onto the WiiWare service. With a new graphical barrage, a  new  commander unit, online team and vs. multiplayer modes, and a  platoon of  other new features, this is the maddest game in the series  yet.

• 4-Person Online Multiplayer: Coordinate strategies or  taunt foes in  team or vs. multiplayer modes for up to four people.
• A  new unit - Commanders: Choose a commander to lead your forces  in  multiplayer and choose from 20 unique abilities.
• Multiple  command views: Plan out strategy in the overhead map  view and watch  glorious battles unfold with cinematic camera action.
• Detailed  stat-tracking leaderboards: Increase your rank as you  march up the  leaderboards on your mission to prove you're the top  general around.

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Virtual Console

Zaxxon
Original    platform: Arcade
Publisher: SEGA
Players: 1
ESRB    Rating: E (Everyone) - Mild Fantasy Violence
Price: 800    Wii Points
Description: Travel back to a time when a lovable   alien phoned home, gas cost a mere 90 cents a gallon and everyone was   wearing high-tops, leg warmers and had big hair. This was the early   '80s, and this was when video gamers nationwide were wowed by the   cutting-edge graphics and sound effects of the first   three-dimensional-like intergalactic arcade shooter: Zaxxon. Touted    as the first game to put video display in perspective, Zaxxon featured    "looks" and "sounds" like actual aircraft flight, allowing players to    command their ship just like a real fighter pilot. Dive, bank, fly left   and right, and up and down - Zaxxon had it all. Fly through   heavily armored space fortresses while strafing fuel tanks, dodging   walls and blowing up enemy missiles and gunnery. This game is littered   with explosions. Then take the fight to the enemy fighter fleet and   destroy the aggressor ships with extreme prejudice. Blasting pixels has   never been so fun.

Military Madness might be fun.  The original back in the day was pretty cool, but it depends what they've done with it.  

And while I do appreciate that they finally added another game to the Virtual Arcade I'm not sure I care about Zaxxon - and certainly not at 800 points.  There are precious few games of that era that still hold up and are fun for more than 5 minutes and that is not one.  Maybe for 500 points, but even that's kind of pushing it.

Europe got Zombie Panic in Wonderland which looks at least competent.  Apparently it plays a little like how Sin & Punishment will