My Life as a Darklord is here!

Nintendo of America is playing catch up this week with the release of three titles that have already been released in Europe.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord (WiiWare - 1000 Points) was just recently released in Europe and you can check out our review of the game to find out what we thought about it. It's the sequel to My Life as a King, but only in name - This time you don't play as the good guys but rather as the bad guys, and you're not building cities but defending your evil tower from invading heroes!

5 Spots Party (WiiWare - 500 Points) is another recent European release and although it's not going to set the world on fire, we still felt like it might be worth it for fans of this type of game in our review. As you might be able to guess it's a simple spot the difference game - You're presented with two seemingly identical pictures and will have to spot 5 subtle differences between them.

Art Style: ZENGAGE (DSiWare - 500 Points) is secretly the same game as Art Style: NEMREM which was released in Europe a while back. It's one of the more simple Art Style games - You're presented with a grid with tiles, which have to be slid around in order to get them in the required positions. You can check out our review of the game here to find out what we thought of it.

Last but not least, we do have one new title this week in Battle Poker (WiiWare - 800 Points) from Left Field Productions. I guess you can't have too many video poker games, now can you? I guess it's okay to kill each other in battle, as long as you don't show any boobies. As always we'll have a review of the game up over the next few days.

I guess it goes without saying that we're not getting any Virtual Console love this week. This is getting a bit old.

Here's this week's press release:

Looking for a big name to bolster your downloading agenda this week? We've got two words for you: FINAL FANTASY®. The latest additions to the ever-growing WiiWare™ game library include the new FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES®: My Life as a Darklord™, plus a fast-paced poker title and a brain-teasing party game that everyone in the household can enjoy. Also this week, the Nintendo DSiWare™ service welcomes a slick new installment in the Art Style™ series, mixing extraordinary sounds and visuals to create a captivating puzzle game.

WiiWare

FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: My Life as a Darklord
Publisher: SQUARE ENIX
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) - Mild Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes
Price: 1,000 Wii Points™
Description: Step into the royal shoes of the Darklord's daughter as she installs traps and monsters inside her tower to fight back the endless waves of invading adventurers in this world-conquest RPG. Known as Artifacts, these monsters and traps are your only hope in keeping the adventurers from destroying the Dark Crystal on the top floor. Fly your tower across the land and conquer every stage on your way to dominating the entire world.

Battle Poker
Publisher: Left Field Productions
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: Battle Poker is a family-friendly card game with up to four players battling against the clock to make the best five-card hand possible. Battles are played across multiple rounds, and points are scored for each round based on the quality of the hand. Each player uses a Wii Remote™ controller to point and click on a standard deck of cards on the screen. The first click flips the card over, at which point it can be grabbed by anyone else. You've got to have fast fingers and eyes to grab the cards you need before someone else snatches them.

5 Spots Party
Publisher: Cosmonaut Games
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Have fun with the entire family and compete in three different play modes. 5 Spots Party is a game of skill for all ages based on the popular game of finding five differences. The goal is to find the greatest number of differences in the pictures shown. In the party modes, you must compete with other players and find as many mistakes as possible. In the 1-Player mode, you must find the differences before time runs out in order to beat the game's highest scores. How far do you think you can go?

Nintendo DSiWare

Art Style: ZENGAGE™
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points™
Description: Do you dream of relaxing with a great puzzle game? Art Style: ZENGAGE revolves around sliding cells (squares) to match colors with cores (beads) located on the board. Clear each stage by matching all of the cores and cells. As you progress through the game's 100-plus stages, you'll encounter cells with special characteristics, such as immovability, which further add to the challenge. To truly master ZENGAGE, you must keep your mind sharp and employ careful strategy to complete stages in as few moves as possible. Combining wistful graphics and mesmerizing sound, ZENGAGE creates a surreal world that should be experienced by all puzzle gaming fans.