Growing up with a ZX Spectrum and a Sega Master System and his exhaustive knowledge in the fields of SEO and digital marketing, Darren's organisational prowess helps steer Hookshot's portfolio in the right direction.
Darren has previously worked for companies such as Nokia, as well as a diverse range of high-profile clients.
News Visit the new and exciting Virtual Console Forums!
Our associated forum, The Virtual Console Forums has undergone a bit of a transformation recently. If you have never visited why don't you check it out? We have a community of almost 400 members and there is always something going on of interest for fans of Nintendo and the Virtual Console.
For those who have already signed up, please update your...
News Europe VC Releases - 3rd August - Sega Week - Shinobi III
Its Sega week again folks! This time the big S has gone all out and given its fans some of the greats from its back catalogue. A good variety too so there's probably something for everyone here no matter what you taste is.
First in my list this week is the excellent Shinobi III. It is strange that the original Megadrive Revenge of Shinobi wasn't...
News US VC Releases - 30th July - Dynamite Headdy
he Virtual Console is like a box of chocolates: You never know which games have the tasty caramel filling and which ones are going to make you want to vomit. Of course that's why you have the Virtual Console Archive as your guide to which chocolates are..
he Virtual Console is like a box of chocolates: You never know which games have the tasty...
News Europe VC Releases - 27th July - Devil's Crush
Just two games to choose from in Europe this Friday so you are hardly spoilt for choice. Still when the game is as good as Devil's Crush it is hard to complain, this devilish game sure plays a mean pinball!
A first to Europe is Kirby's Ghost Trap (Kirby's Avalanche in the USA) - it's yet another falling block puzzler in the mould of Dr Robotnik's...
News Japanese Virtual Console list - August 2007
Nintendo of Japan have updated their list of upcoming games for the Japanese Virtual Console for August 2007. There's nothing really new or exciting about this list, however we did find it interesting that Gradius is being released again on the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 format when the NES version is already available on the VC!
Next Week N64: Wave...
News Europe VC Releases - 20th July - Street Fighter II Turbo
Here's what Euro gamers get today...
Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting will satisfy the needs of most retro gamers. This is the perfect choice for gamers in Europe (PAL) region as the game features a speed select system so you don't have to play in slow-mo like the original SNES SF2. It's an excellent game that most people will be familiar...
News Europe VC Releases - 13th July - Paper Mario
Another first for Europe! From today our Euro friends can download the wonderful Paper Mario for the N64. As one of the later games out on the N64 it is possible that many people missed this at the time, well now is your chance! This is basically an RPG set in the Mario universe - the twist is all the characters in this odyssey are made from paper! This comes highly recommended.
As if all that wasn't enough Air Zonk on the Turbografx is up for grabs today as well. It is a shame that this game came out today it will most likely get lost in the rumm...
News Europe VC Releases - 6th July - Sega Megadrive day!
A bumper week for the Sega Megadrive. 3 sequels as well, very funny!
It's great to see Sonic 2 finally, a game well worth downloading, now Sonic has a spin he can charge on the spot and his buddy Tails. Ecco: The Tides of Time manages to improve on the excellent original game with 3D style levels and many cool new gameplay features. Golden Axe...
News US VC Releases - 2nd July - Super Mario Bros 2
It's one of the better weeks for a while for North American retro gamers. Super Mario Bros. 2 is a welcome addition to the Virtual Console library. Some call it the black sheep of the early Mario series but we think it's a refreshing change to the basic Mario formula. There is something satisfying about lobbing a turnip at a shy-guy!
If that's not...
News TurboGrafx-16 in Australia from 7th July
As we reported back in early June Hudson have finally sorted out the legalities of selling TurboGrafx games in the Australian region on the Virtual Console. The first batch of 11 games is indicated to be ready for download on the 7th July as follows:
Alien CrushBomberman '93 Bonk's AdventureDungeon Explorer
News Japanese Virtual Console list - July 2007
Nintendo of Japan have updated their list of upcoming games for the Japanese Virtual Console for July / Summer 2007. No great surprises there really other than the excellent Wave Race on the N64 and Treasure's Dynamite Headdy on the Megadrive. Many of the games are already out in the USA or EU, of course no one has got Paper Mario yet but it's only a matter of time.
Check out the list: NES: Star Soldier - Hudson Flappy - DB Soft Ca...
News Europe VC Releases - 29th June - Kirby's Dream Course
Here are the goodies on the Virtual Console for you cool cats in the EU this week:
Kirby's Dream Course - SNES - 800 Points Dream Course is a golf video game which is viewed from an isometric perspective. Instead of using a ball, Kirby is used as the ball. The player must set the power, angle, and spin to connect with various enemies found...
News Super Turrican 1 & 2 coming to the Virtual Console
There was a pleasant surprise as two top notch retro blast-em-ups were rated by the ESRB for release on the Wii Virtual Console. Factor 5's Super Turrican and Super Turrican 2 are both top quality games. The series started life in 1990 on the Commodore..
There was a pleasant surprise as two top notch retro blast-em-ups were rated by the ESRB for...
News Europe VC Releases - 22nd June - Mega Man
It was always going to be a tough act to beat following last week's release of F-Zero X on the N64. Still it's as if Nintendo of Europe is not even trying! Here are this week's new releases:
Mega Man - NES - 500 Points This is where it all started. Capcom's cute robot blaster franchise all started here 20 years ago. The graphics and sound are very...
Feature Top 10 shmups we want to come to the Virtual Console
Every good retro gamer enjoys a good shmup
During the late 80s and early 90s almost every other game was a shmup. They were very much the FPS of the day! The gaming history books are littered with many failures and uninspired clones but we'll cut through the crap and bring you the cream of the crop that we one day hope to see on the Virtual Console...
News US VC Releases - 18th June - Bloody Wolf
Cries of outrage and despair can be heard across the Americas today as F-Zero X is not going to be up on the Virtual Console as it was last Friday for the Europe! So is it all bad news? Nah, it's not all that bad.
Bloody Wolf is our top pick this week. This run and gun game deserves to be played by everyone. It's not much to look at but it is good...
News Europe VC Releases - 15th June - F-Zero X on the N64
For the 100th Virtual Console game for the EU our friends at Nintendo of Europe have pulled out all the stops. We are treated to the excellent F-Zero X on the N64! Now that's the way to celebrate the 100th game!!
Anyone who has played the original F-Zero on the SNES will have an idea of what to expect here. Pick a futuristic craft and battle it out...
News US VC Releases - 11th June - Sonic 2
ot a bad day for retro gamers in North America. Here's what you get: Sonic The Hedgehog 2 - Sega Genesis - 800 Points Without a doubt the best Sonic game to date. Sega managed to top the original Sonic with this one. It's our personal belief that Sonic 2..
ot a bad day for retro gamers in North America. Here's what you get: Sonic The Hedgehog 2 -...
News Europe VC Releases - 8th June - Adventures of Lolo
Europe didn't quite make it to the 100 game mark this week. Today's releases take the EU library to the 99th game so next week might be a biggie. Still it's not all bad this week! Many hardened retro gamers will be delighted to hear that Adventures of Lolo is finally out. Lolo is a great example of the old NES top down puzzler, these sort of games were a dime a dozen but Lolo stood out as one of the best. It is well worth a look and comes highly recommended.
Many...
News Australia to get TurboGrafx-16 games in July
bit of a turn up for the books this one. Our Austrailian counterparts have been restricted from downloading TurboGrafx-16 games since the start of the Virtual Console service seemingly because the console never made a debut in that region. It wasn't the..
bit of a turn up for the books this one. Our Austrailian counterparts have been restricted from...
News US VC Releases - 4th June - Zelda II
oday's Virtual Console update for North America is a bit lacking in the old WOW factor. Nintendo have made a big deal about Zelda II being the hundred game on the American VC so we will mention it first as by our reckoning it is actually the 97th! haha -..
oday's Virtual Console update for North America is a bit lacking in the old WOW factor...
News Zelda II is the 100th Classic Game Added To Virtual Console
Here's a recent press release from Nintendo. It should be of interest to North American readers who are patiently waiting for Zelda II to be available in their region. Nintendo was saving it for the 100th game to be made available on the Virtual Console. How sweet! The bad news is they've decided Paper Mario will be the 250th game! (Tee hee, only joking!)
What is interesting is the most downloaded games figures. This really illustrates how the classic Nintendo franchises are still loved by the gaming community and perhaps those getting back into gaming with the Wii after a while. 4.7 million downloads to date! Nintendo must b...
News Europe VC Releases - 1st June - Sega goodies
Much like last month Sega release there of their classic back catalogue on the Virtual Console in Europe. Gamers will be delighted to finally get their greasy mitts on Streets of Rage 2 finally, for many this is considered the holy grail of two player scrolling beat em ups. Kid Chameleon and Toejam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron are also up for grabs. Both are average examples of the platform genre unfortunately. Other Sega platformers such as Sonic and Ristar are much more accomplished.
Not to b...
News Japanese Virtual Console list - June
Here's a taster of what the Japanese Virtual Console will be getting in June straight from Nintendo of Japan themselves. There are no real surprises here. Most of these games are ESRB rated already or even out in North America or Europe at present. Still it is nice to see Paper Mario and F-Zero X due for release so soon.
Famicom (NES)Adventures of...
