That’s right – today marks the release of Alien Crush Returns and Home Sweet Home on the North American WiiWare service! So if you’re a fan of putting up wallpaper AND using a metal ball to kill stinking xenomorph scum, then you’re well catered for this week.
Home Sweet Home we reviewed a while back when it came out in Europe, and found to be a fairly interesting distraction at 1000 Wii points. It’s certainly not for everyone, but if you’re a fan of The Sims (we hear it’s quite popular) then this might be to your tastes.
Alien Crush Returns clocks in at 800 Wii points and is, as the title suggests, the sequel to the fantastically deranged PC Engine/TG-16 original. A review will be online later in the week. In the meantime, check our our exclusive first impressions here.
If those two games don't get your pulse racing then maybe you'd like to sample the delights of Space Harrier on the Master System, which also came out today on the Virtual Console.
Comments (87)
thats good but i wanted swords ans soldiers
yeah, alien crush returns is the game of the week for america.
As I said elsewhere. Europe was supposed to get Alien Crush first on the 24th October...America...first Art Style, then World of Goo and now this...is MaBoShi going to the only great thing Europe has first? (as for lack of ESRB or any sign of it coming to America, I'm guessing Reggie hates MaBoShi and doesn't think it is 800 Wii Points or somethnig like that)
Meh. Two great weeks, then this. But I'm sure many will be happyto see Alien Crush.
I for one feel there's nothing deserving of my points this week, which is a shame. I AM, however, considering HSH but I'm not sure if I should go for it since it's priced at 1000 and that seems tad steep for what's offered.
I Hope we get Alien Crush Returns on the PAL WiiWare service this week...
About time! I'm in California though so I still have three more hours to go before I can download it.
@SilentJ
i live in Canada and i have to wait another 4 hours because it only updates at 12:00 up here
@Mr. Chippy = Yep yep.
Alien Crush for the win!!!
I'll be sure to get Alien Crush right after work today. Pinball!
ACR looks interesting, not bothered about HSH though. I hope those of us in Europe get an Art Style game this week.
ARGH Why do we only get CRAP in Europe. Nintendo totally sucks right now.
Did Canada get these games today?
OMIGODS
You got another two great games in the same day! HSH is arguable, but I enjoyed it, even if it was a little too much
If I no get ACR and StrongBad this week though, I'm gonna assassinate Iwata.
Tovare, we'll probably get Alien Crush Returns this week, hopefully. And really, out of what we haven't got that the U.S. has, other than World of Goo which we are not getting anyway and Art Style, most of it is pretty crap. Or do you want games like Pong Toss?
Maybe NoE thinks Disaster is a big hit and thus WW releases should be dialled down...
I think I'd rather spend my points on songs for Guitar Hero WT but at least its not another puzzle game the week
Lucky bastards!
bummer, I hope we get alien crush returns on friday
Maybe NoE thinks Disaster is a big hit and thus WW releases should be dialled down.
Big bomb is the only word to describe Disaster. It still hasn't entered the top 50 Wii games chart in the UK making it the first Nintendo pulbished game not to do this since...Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn ...of course had NOE marketed the thing rather than showing Wii sports adverts (I'm serious they were advertising Wii sports on TV ) it might be different.
And really, out of what we haven't got that the U.S. has, other than World of Goo which we are not getting anyway and Art Style, most of it is pretty crap. Or do you want games like Pong Toss?
Be careful what you wish for. I'm certain NOE will release Beer Pong before Art Style becuase they are like that. My problem is these huge waits for games just shouldn't be there (remember Pop; America gets it in May and Europe in July...and Japan got it in August I think...) but then again this is NOE we are talking about
Well Europe gets the cool Commodore 64 stuff on the VC and the US has yet to see that. In fact, Europe has gotten quite a few cool VC titles first.
RE DISASTER: It was fairly well marketed... on Nintendos website and the Nintendo Channel, and from what I've heard, it's not actually that bad. They really could cut down on Mario Kart (Wii and DS) ads though, rather than assume the core Wii gamers know and want all the current hardcore games.
@Corbie: We've got (that you Americans haven't)
C64 titles
DISASTER Day Of Crisis
MaBoShi
...and that's about it.
You guys have got...
the Art Style series
GHWT (I think)
Strong Bad 3
Gyrostarr
ACReturns
Nanostray 2
To be fair, we got Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fit slightly before you guys, although you got Smash Bros Brawl, Professor Layton DS and Super Paper Mario about... ooh... just six months before us.
Just wait for the announcements: you guys'll no doubt end up with the DSi and Sin & Punishment 2 a couple of months before us as well.
Hey, has anyone played ACR yet? (btw, I'm new here... hello everyone!)
ALIEN CRUSH RETURNS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ACR looks sweet!!
Full featured pinball with online multiplayer and leader boards for 800 points? Sign me up!
There it is...
ACR is awesome. However, I haven't been able to get online yet, probably because not too many people have the game at the moment. Story mode is pretty awesome for a pinball game.
Hi BrazCanMan. Sadly I haven't played it since it's not out in Europe but welcome anyway.
Is the DLC for ACR out yet? And if so how much is it?
I don't think there is any yet.
You're all making me cry now. I WANT ALIEN CRUSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Alien crush looks cool, but i still want maboshi. Now i know how u europeans feal when u dont get a game.
im getting it tonite after i go visit wal-mart for wii points
can't you use your card to pay for games online?
I just downloaded ACR, and I'm not disapointed one bit! Usually I wait for reviews on games, but since I'm a huge fan of the original I had to get it. Story mode is good (the boss battles are intense) and online multiplayer is fun even though it takes a while to get set up. This is easily one of my top three WW titles!
@ Pocketim & Outruner: thanks for the warm welcome.
Welcome BrazCanMan and you have an awesome profile pic too! Vash Stampede!
I really don't get why Nintendo feels they have to release different Wii Ware to different world markets at different times. Making folks wait for the best Wii Ware stuff is just short-sighted and unnecessary and kind of shows lack of care for the consumer in my opinion. I could see if something in a Wii Ware title were to be really culturally sensitive or had a whole ton of dialogue to translate something, but Alien Crush, for example, is just a Pinball game for crying out loud. Anyways, I feel bad for you European folks right now, you probably won't have to wait too much longer though.
Is this true that ACR has online multiplayer? I assumed it only had leaderboards. If there is indeed online multiplayer, what actions incur you winning/losing? Also, does the game record your wins/losses?
@Gavin Rozee
ACR has online mp, the person who gets 10000000 (i might have a few extra zeros there =P) first wins. The game also has a timer that shows how long you took to reach said score. The faster you are, the better your online ranking will be. It records your ranking, but I don't think it records wins/losses.
@ Finalkingdom13 & beastman93: Thanks =D
Home sweet home itsnt for everybody even some sims fan might agree .
Im not saying that home sweet home is bad just it didn't turn out like i expected to be i was hopeing for a bit more stratigec elements to it .
So my advice on wether to get it or not is have a good long hard thinkg about it then take some panadol for your headache .
I just got ACR too and it is great! The story mode is really short though but there is a lot of modes and the wifi play is pretty cool. As for DLC, it sais if you clear certian conditions you can download Action Balls and Stages. This game also takes the prize for being the bloodiest E game ever.
8/10
Welcome BrazCanMan( wish everyone else gave me such a welcome when I first came here )
On the main subject, HURRAY!!! ACR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Weak. I only have 500 points. I need to get Alien Crush Returns. Until then I'll keep playing the original.
@Slambert215- That's good to hear. I can't wait to try it out.
Thanks Nintendork!
@slambert215: Where did you find out about the special conditions? Do you know what they are?
Downloaded ACR and it is pretty fun, but IMO it is too short and not enough stages, but if what slambert215 says is true, then that will be remedied quickly. Also I can't find a single person on wifi for worldwide and regional, so I have yet to play online. Anyway it is pretty fun and definitely worth a look if you liked Devil's Crush or the original Alien Crush. My bet is a 7/10.
Story mode is short, but keep in mind that the original didn't have a story mode and there was only one table, whereas Return has three tables (hopefully more). The wifi mode is tough to get a game going, the first time I tried I got 3 other ppl, the second time there was nobody, and the third time was against one other person. Just keep trying.
Its a great game, I've only gotten a score of 16 million or so though on the first stage. I'd say a 8/10.
Alien Crush! Schweet! Hope it sells better than Star Soldier R.
@BrazCan. Welcome aboard! Always nice to have new members on an awesome site like this!
@Nintendork. No one gave me a welcome wagon either. But that was because I didn't introduce myself properly. Heh.
alien crush returns looks awesome i might wait for the review tho
@ Wiiloveit - Well in a perfect world we'd all get the same things at the same time, but I guess that's not the world we live in. I guess I'll have to stew about not having the Commodore 64 games and you guys will have to stew about the games the US is getting that Europe isn't. I know it sucks, but what are we going to do?
Alien crush is a great game, I just wish there were more boards
Welcome Brizcan-I joined recently too.
btw I've been trying to decide what wiiware games to download. I'm tempted to get hsh. Is it worth the thousand points? Is there alot of replayabiliy? My fiance is thinking about getting Dr. mario so I'll have to put part of my 3300 points for that. Also besides hsh I've been thinking about cubelo and AC. I'll have to put more points in if I get them all this week.
How short is AC story mode?
Also between AC and mm9, would someone suggest one over the other? (I liked the games for both in the past.) I'll more than likley get both eventually. Just wanted something other than just puzzles.
Sorry about all the questions.
All right, I was looking forward to both of these games! Yay me!
I actually wasn't really looking foward too much to ACR. After downloading it i must say i judged the game wrong. It's AWSOME!! As for HSH, meh, not really my kind of game. On a side note, i realized that ive downloaded atleast one new game every week for the whole month of October! So many good updates lately, keep them coming!
i give alien crush returns an
8/10 because it sorta boring after u hit 1 billion on the first stage
well almost 1 billion
Great, ACR is finally here! But I have no points left , still, I'll download it this month, I hope.
@BrazCanMan
Welcome!
@Mr. Cheez - I also didn't receive a warm welcome. I joined VCR early in its life, though. I also didn't actually make any posts for a while after I joined, so a welcome would have been late anyway. If it makes you feel any better... Welcome, Mr. Cheez!
@bboy2970- I'm glad you like it. You should try the original if you have any points left from all that buying you've been doing.
@Topic- I still need points . I'll have fun with alternate pinball games this week because I'm gonna play Metroid Prime Pinball (DS), Kirby's Pinball Land (GB), and the original AC (TG-16/Wii) to prepare for more pinball madness. I wish Nintendo sold Wii Points in smaller amounts so we poor folks could afford those extra points we lost when we got EWJ... Maybe someone could randomly offer to gift me the game .
@clayfrd, i already downloaded Devil's crush for turbografx about a year ago. It was okay but ultimately it almost turned me away from ACR. Also, hope you get some points soon! I'm almost out
To anyone who has played both ACR and the original AC, is it worth 6 bucks to buy the original if i already bought this one?
IGN has posted their review for Alien Crush Returns:
http://wii.ign.com/articles/926/926638p1.html
Hopefully the DLC can give this game some legs. Downloading in just a few... =)
@bboy2970: If you got 600 pts to spare, it's a good download. I always liked AC more than DC, but there isn't a huge difference between the two.
@Brazcanman: I still have no idea what the "certain conditions" are to be able to download the extra stuff. It said that in the operations guide in Distributing data or something like that. I beat the story mode on normal, so thats not it. BTW I'm ranked 26th in the world on 3rd stage worldwide time attack! Woohoo!
Welcome BrazCanMan. Wow, this game looks cool, but im gonna wait to see how DLC and reveiws turn out.
Thanks for your ACR thoughts guys! I hope to get it soon...
@Starwolf-I know what you mean. I personally hope DIsaster sells miracle numbers so i can purchase it here. I don't care if they don't change the voices.
@Nintendork-I don't remember if I got a welcome...most people don't but thats okay. I try 2 though
@slambert: I thought maybe the DLC is 'time released'. I beat the story mode 3 times, and I didn't get anything new. At the moment, I'm rated 18th in the world on stage 3 worldwide time attack... I was 17th, then I got bumped down =(
@brazcanman, thanks for your opinion, i will give the original a download in the future. BTW, welcome to WWW!!
Aw what the heck: Welcome to Wiiware World BrazCanMan!
Ugh. I am sorely disappointed in ACR. While the audio and visual presentation is quite nice, the game itself is a bore and hardly challenging. The table layout is too simple and the special stage(s) just gets recycled over and over again with exact same enemy positioning, merely featuring different types of aliens.
For those of you who are interested in the game but haven't picked up the original Alien Crush on the VC I definitely recommend the latter over the lame ACR. It's a much better game, for sure. It also provides a good challenge.
I doubt any amount of DLC will be able to save this one.
Got Alien Crush Returns, I was a bit disappointed with it. It is kind of shallow compared to the original but its still good.
@Brazcanman: Yeah you're probably right. Congrats on your ranking!
Edit: You were right Brazcanman. Hudson releases the new stuff periodically (for free!). When the game starts up and it says connect to WFC for new updates click yes and the game will search for new downloads.
But now I have to say this.
Dear Nintendo,
Where is MaBoShi?
Dear Nintendo,
Where is MaBoShi?
The main reason I think we havent got it yet is so that Nintendo could spotlight the Art Style games. Now that theyre over with for now, I expect the game is just around the corner.
I would recommend Devil's Crush as the best pinball game on VC. It's far superior to Alien Crush and provides more of a challenge than ACR. It's one of my most played VC games.
@Wariofan
That certainly is nice to hear.
I enjoyed Alien Crush Returns. It was exactly what I expected. The review has been submitted so maybe it won't be too much longer now. And I second the recommendation of Devil's Crush. It's outstanding and a PC Engine game I still drag out quite often to play.
Cool! I hope the review is posted soon. The game is a lot of fun! The moment I first heard about this game I decided to download Devil's Crush. I was already planning on buying Alien Crush Returns which is why I skipped the original and got Devil's Crush instead. It doesn't take up too much space so I've never had to delete it for another game. I would love to see Devil's Crush Returns!
@SilentJ
If the did Devils Crush 2 i think it should be called Devils Crush: The slaughtering of more devils, and weird lady things, and monks, ect.
@Crazynoodle: LOL, but Devil's Crush Ressurected sounds more realistic.
BTW has anyone gotten any DLC yet? I keep playing and playing, but nothing.
I'm seeing mixed feelings here... I'm off to read the review.
So I don't appear rude... Welcome, BrazCanMan!
Hm, judging from the comments, ACR ain't sounding too good. I'll hold off my judgement until after I read the review, but at the moment I'm beginning to think that I should just get Devil's Crush instead.
By the way, would make a better avatar: the one I've got now, or this?
"The main reason I think we havent got it yet is so that Nintendo could spotlight the Art Style games. Now that theyre over with for now, I expect the game is just around the corner."
Hush now! I really want Nintendo to change their mind and bring more Art style games. Three is not enough
lol. "Devils Crush: The slaughtering of more devils, and weird lady things, and monks, ect." would be a funny but accurate title. I have to agree that "Devil's Crush Ressurected" would be a more realistic title though. Either way, a sequel would be very welcome, no matter what it's called.
@Mickeymac
I have both Devil's Crush and ACR and I have to say that, while I enjoy the Devil theme better, I like ACR more for the simple fact that the graphics are updated. If there really was a Devil's Crush sequel on wiiware I would say get that one. For now I recommend Devil's Crush if you're looking for a classic game, and ACR if you're looking for a short but fun updated pinball game. Oh, and I'm not sure what either avatars are, but I kinda like the second one better.
@Mickeymac
The second one kinda looks cooler. Oh, i have a better title for Devils Crush 2, it is called, Devils Crush 2: The search for more money. It is shorter, and honest. JK. No devils crush 2 would be cool though, as long as it doesnt take all my blocks, has good DLC and other great stuff. Or maybe it could be a feature length retail, with awesome features as well as wii speak support, and over 8 different boards in the core game, with tons more to download. And it could have cool little minigames, like bowling for devils and other stuff. That would be cool
@Crazynoodle
It would definitely be cool if a retail version was released. I don't know if I'd pay full retail price though. Unless they included brand new versions of both Alien Crush and Devil's Crush on the same disc with all of the new features you mentioned. That would be worth paying full retail price. We can only hope and keep our fingers crossed. Of course ACR needs to sell more before that happens, so start downloading it people.
Edit: The edit feature appears to be working again.
This is listed as a simulation when it should be listed as a n "arcade' game. eg Microsoft Flight Simulator is listed as a "Simulator" not just because Simulator is in its title.
KieranMullen
http://www.360oregon.com
@Mickeymac. I think they both look cool, but the one you had looked a bit cooler. It looks nice in that tiny box, and I'm a sucker for the sepia look. What are they supposed to be anyway?
And about the ACR/DC debate, I'd say get Devil's Crush if you're unsure about ACR. It's recieved numerous praise, and it's chaper and takes less space. Though you also only get one table and (obviously) no online leaderboards.
I think we Europeans will get ACR tonight and Pong Toss. Possibly another game thats been out in America for a while too. Can't see myself downloading anything.
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