Poker gets sexy!

The past two North American Wii/DSi updates had no new Virtual Console games, but thankfully, there is one this week. It's accompanied by two WiiWare games and the final DSiWare Art Style game (For now).

On WiiWare, today brings us the previously announced Overturn. Perhaps taking a bit of inspiration from Nintendo's Custom Robo series, you must customize your very own combat robot and have it to battle with others in various arenas. The game can be played online as well, which is pretty neat. For 800 Wii Points it might be a good investment if you want some online action. We'll review the game within the next few days, but in the meantime, you can read Sean's first impressions from when the game was released in Japan about five months ago.

Today's other WiiWare game is one which has already caused a bit of a stir - Sexy Poker is the first WiiWare game which the ESRB gave an "M" rating, because as you can guess by the game's title, it's strip poker! It probably won't offer anything new in terms of gameplay, so we'd assume the only real reason you'd have to buy this would be for the ladies contained within! It costs only 500 Wii Points. We'll see if it lives up to Nintendo Life's standards when we review it later this week.

Virtual Console offers us another arcade classic, but it's not a certain game by Sega which you might've expected - Instead, it's the arcade version of Tecmo Bowl, which is already available for the NES. Aside from better graphics and sound, and the fact that the arcade cabinet actually featured two screens side by side, it doesn't really offer anything special compared to its console counterpart, but Tecmo has priced the game fairly - It costs 600 Wii Points, only 100 more. We'll review it soon.

Today's only new DSiWare offering is the final game (For now) in the Art Style series - Art Style: precipice, which was previously released in Europe as KUBOS and in Japan as nalaku. In this game, the objective is to move around on a small grid, dodging the giant cubes that fall onto it from above. You then climb onto these cubes and dodge more, trying to get as high as you can without being squashes. As you might expect, it's yet another winner in the series - we thought it was worthy of an 8 out of 10.

The first week in a while without 3 WiiWare games! At least the Virtual Console is not completely dead yet! More from today's press release:

NINTENDO DOWNLOAD: GRIDIRON ACTION, ART STYLE ANTICS, ROBOT BATTLES AND SEDUCTIVE BETS

Aug. 3, 2009

The onset of August means summer is winding down, but the downloadable action at the Wii™ Shop Channel and Nintendo DSi Shop™ just keeps on heating up. Two new WiiWare™ offerings deliver futuristic robot foes and sultry poker opponents, respectively. On the Virtual Console™, there's great news for football fans as the arcade classic TECMO BOWL™ makes its way to the Wii system. And on Nintendo DSiWare™, you'll find a fresh addition to the eye-pleasing, mind-bending Art Style™ game series.

WiiWare

OVERTURN
Publisher: Studio Zan Inc.
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) - Fantasy Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points™
Description: OVERTURN is a futuristic robot-versus-robot fighting game. Choose from eight different robots to pilot and master, using various close-range and long-range weapons to blast away enemies in six single-player tournaments. Unlock secret modes and up to 12 new weapons. Customize your robot's color and weapons to prepare for your next battle. Then take the action online to play in a two-player Versus battle or a four-player Battle Royale match. Search the world for Friends or other players who are online and ready for battle. Players with the optional Wii Balance Board™ can use it to control their robots by shifting their weight.

Sexy Poker™
Publisher: Gameloft
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: M (Mature) - Simulated Gambling, Suggestive Themes
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Get your pulse racing with a game of strip poker against a selection of six lovely manga-style women who may wind up in nothing but swimsuits or underwear when the final hand is dealt. Choose the classic Texas Hold'em Poker to be thrilled as the bets increase, or try the Black Jack game for a mix of chance and strategy. Discover the girls' personalities: they'll bluff you! Enter the photo gallery to see the pictures you've unlocked by playing and winning. If you're good enough, Emi, Sakura and their seductive girlfriends will bet their clothes to stay in the game.

Virtual Console

TECMO BOWL
Publisher: Tecmo
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 600 Wii Points
Description: Released in 1987, the football game that took America by storm is back. This arcade version required a custom-made dual-screen cabinet and was popular for its large characters and intense graphics. The game is filled with great action as players take control of receivers and running backs, quickly moving the controller to break a tackle. Play alone or with up to four players in a two-on-two match. Experience the best moments of both competitive and cooperative play, finding holes in your opponent's defense, then savor the thrill of receiving a pass thrown by your teammate. In addition, game options such as play time, team division and difficulty level can be adjusted.

Nintendo DSiWare

Art Style: precipice™
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Comic Mischief
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points™
Description: The sky is falling in the form of cubes in the action-oriented Art Style: precipice. Watch for the telltale shadow to avoid seeing your character get crushed by a falling cube while climbing the stacked cubes to ascend to the floors above. Push, pull or shove cubes to make your climb easier. Try to gain extra points by stepping on five cubes in a row on the same floor. In addition, you'll encounter special cubes that can either be helpful or harmful to your effort. Choose from either TEN FLOORS mode, which challenges you to reach the tenth floor while scoring as many points as possible, or TOWER mode, which gives you the chance to climb as high as you can. Do you have what it takes to make it to the top, or will you be crushed?

[source press.nintendo.com]