Wonderful 101 Screen

It's Monday morning, but shake off those new week blues, Europeans, as the Nintendo Download update news is here. We have two major retail releases on Wii U, a new download-only game, retro goodies and a lot of new offerings on the 3DS, so let's get right to it.

Wii U eShop

Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams (Black Forest Games, €14.99 / £12.99) — A title that was successfully crowdfunded last year, it's made its way to Wii U with an "Easy" mode and off-TV play included. This puzzle platformer continues the franchise that first began with The Great Giana Sisters in 1987 and continued with Giana Sisters DS; footage so far has shown an attractive game full of potentially clever and enjoyable mechanics, so we'll work on a review to figure out whether it's dreamy or a bit of a nightmare.

Wii U Virtual Console

The Wii U Virtual Console is offering up three versions of Street Fighter II this week, along with a special promotion. If you buy two of these games you get the third for free; offer is valid until 29th August.

Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers (Capcom, €7.99 / £5.49)

Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (Capcom, €7.99 / £5.49)

Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting (€7.99 / £5.49)

Wii U Retail Download

The Wonderful 101 (Nintendo, €49.99 / £39.99) — Unveiled with little fanfare during E3 2012, this action title from PlatinumGames makes you the leader of 100 superheroes as you try and save the world from invading aliens with a fondness for enormous mechs. It's chaotic, colourful and utterly off-the-wall, while throwing up plenty of challenge that insists on practice and — perhaps — dropping a difficulty level or two. We're big fans and gave it a strong recommendation in our The Wonderful 101 review. Available from 23rd August.

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Blacklist (Ubisoft, €69.99 / £55.99) — The latest entry in the long-running franchise, Sam Fisher makes his return to a Nintendo console with some Wii U GamePad-specific controls to try and enhance the experience. With single player, online co-op and multiplayer included there could be plenty on offer in this one, as Ubisoft aims to combine stealth and action to please gamers of various sensibilities. We'll sneak out a review as soon as we can, but until then you can learn more in our interview with the game's Producer, Liu Jun. Available from 25th August.

3DS eShop

Boulder Dash-XL 3D (Reef Entertainment, €4.99 / £4.49) — Originally released as a retail title in October 2012, this modern-day follow up to the classic '80s game delivers a lot of content, with five modes contributing over 150 new levels. Despite a simple premise this offers some enjoyable puzzling, and received a recommendation in our Boulder Dash-XL 3D review; it's certainly worth considering at its new low price on the eShop.

Cut the Rope (Zeptolab, €4.99 / £4.49) — This smartphone phenomenon previous made its way to DSiWare, but now steps up to Nintendo's current-gen portable system. This is likely to be packed full of clever, fun physics puzzles, but we'll see how this port cuts it in our upcoming review.

Funfair Party Games (Joindots, €14.99 / £13.49 until 5th September, then €19.99 / £17.99 ) — With 11 attractions and Mii support, this one joins the list of titles targeting the minigame market on the eShop, with both single and multiplayer included. It'll also include motion controls for some games, and we'll see whether its worth buying some tickets in our review.

Arc Style: Football 3D (Arc System Works, €4.99 / £4.49) — Released in North America as Arc Style: Soccer 3D, this allows you to create your own team from scratch before seeking glory. In our view the single player was disappointing, but it is fun when played with friends; check out our Arc Style: Football 3D review for full details.

Fish On 3D (Agetec, €8.99 / £8.09) — Fishing has always been a surprisingly persistent genre on Nintendo's download services, and Agetec weighs in with a release that aims to offer modes to satisfy both sim and action fishing fans. There's even some StreetPass functionality thrown in, so we'll dig out the waders and give this a go.

Carps & Dragons (Abylight, €4.99 / £4.49) — This certainly appears to have similarities with WiiWare title Fish'em All!, but perhaps with a slightly more fantastical approach; it does feature dragons, after all. This has the neat option of sending a demo to friends using Download Play, and we'll see whether this has the right hook in our upcoming review.

3DS Virtual Console

Solomon's Key (KOEI TECMO GAMES, €3.99 / £3.59) — This NES puzzle platformer makes its way to the 3DS VC after previous appearances on the Wii and Wii U. It's certainly challenging but also has a loyal set of fans, and we gave it a decent recommendation in our Wii U Virtual Console Solomon's Key review.

DSiWare

Quick Fill Q (Agetec, 200 Nintendo Points) — Originally released in North America in January 2012, this puzzle game has a simple premise and a budget price. Despite this it failed to charm us, and you can read why in our Quick Fill Q review.


Plenty to choose from this week, covering most tastes, budgets and platforms — only the Wii missed out. Let us know what you plan to download in the poll and comments below.

What are you most excited about downloading this week? (168 votes)

  1. Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams (Wii U eShop)7%
  2. Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers (Wii U Virtual Console)5%
  3. Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (Wii U Virtual Console)1%
  4. Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting (Wii U Virtual Console)5%
  5. All three Street Fighter II games (3 for 2 promotion)8%
  6. The Wonderful 101 (Wii U retail download)29%
  7. Splinter Cell Blacklist (Wii U retail download)8%
  8. Boulder Dash-XL 3D (3DS eShop)1%
  9. Cut the Rope (3DS eShop)4%
  10. Funfair Party Games (3DS eShop)  0%
  11. Arc Style: Football 3D (3DS eShop)  0%
  12. Fish On 3D (3DS eShop)  0%
  13. Carps & Dragons (3DS eShop)1%
  14. Solomon's Key (3DS Virtual Console)2%
  15. Quick Fill Q (DSiWare)  0%
  16. Nothing for me this week29%

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