Try to balance this!

As it was already announced some time ago that Nintendo's latest WiiWare offering, You, Me and the Cubes would be released in North America during the summer, it was pretty much a given it would come out this week - This week has the last update of the summer, after all. It's accompanied by some relatively uninteresting other WiiWare and DSiWare release, and a fantastic VC title.

From what we've seen of You, Me and the Cubes's, it's a strange, yet addictive game in which you must drop little people on cube formations without disrupting the weight balance too much - Otherwise they'll begin to fall off! Sean already downloaded the Japanese version multiple months ago and wrote some first impressions, which you can read here in anticipation for our review. The game will cost you 1000 Wii Points.

Today's other WiiWare offering is yet another game in the "Family" series - They've already done table tennis, so this week it's time for regular old Family Tennis. There's not much to say, really - You can once again play as the same four characters, but this time it's standard tennis, with either 1 vs. 1 or 2 vs. 2. Like all previous releases in the series, it'll only cost you 500 Wii Points, but you should still be careful! We'll review it soon.

Today's Virtual Console release is arguably the biggest release of the week, though - Last Ninja 2 is arguably the greatest game the Commodore 64 has to offer. Like the first game in the series, you play as the ninja Armakuni as he makes his way through various isometric levels, solving puzzles and fighting enemies. Although relatively short once you know how to beat it, the fantastic graphics and music will make you come back to it time and time again. You can read our (now over a year old!) review for the game here.

DSiWare has two new offerings this week, although neither is really big - Clubhouse Games Express: Strategy Pack offers a collection of five strategic games from the retail release for just 500 DSi Points, but once again, with no online multiplayer, we think this'll be a hard sell to most people unless they really like the included games. We'll review it within the next few days.

MySims Camera was released in Europe last Friday, so we'll have a review up any moment - It basically just lets you add MySims characters to pictures you've taken with the DSi's camera. Not too interesting, but oh well, it's only 200 DSi Points!

That's it this week! More from Nintendo's press release:

NINTENDO DOWNLOAD: TOPPLING CUBES, 3-D CHARACTERS AND CLASSIC NINJA KICKS LEAD A STELLAR LINEUP

Sept. 21, 2009

Beware of falling objects and soaring imaginations with this week's new downloadable game offerings from Nintendo. The WiiWare™ service welcomes the precarious puzzle action of You, Me, and the Cubes™ and the court-storming antics of Family Tennis. Commodore 64 favorite Last Ninja 2 arrives on the Virtual Console™, pushing players to heroic heights in a classic martial-arts adventure. Nintendo DSiWare™ users can let the chips fall where they may with Clubhouse Games™ Express: Strategy Pack or create imaginative pictures with MySims™ Camera. Another heads-up for Nintendo DSi fans: Consumers can still receive 1,000 bonus Nintendo DSi Points™ by purchasing a new Nintendo DSi™ game system and connecting to the Nintendo DSi Shop by 11:59 p.m. Pacific time on Oct. 5, 2009. For full offer details, please visit DSiOffer.Nintendo.com.

WiiWare

You, Me, and the Cubes
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Comic Mischief
Price: 1,000 Wii Points™
Description: Experience a unique combination of strategy and skill as you maintain a level playing field in the physics-based action puzzler You, Me, and the Cubes. The action centers around Fallos, mysterious creatures that resemble humans and have an ability to balance on a playing field of 3-D cubes. First, create a pair of Fallos inside your Wii Remote™ controller by shaking it up and down. Next, determine suitable places for the Fallos to land, then fling them to the selected cube with a swinging motion. After that, the Fallos are on their own. If your placement is sound, the Fallos will remain stable and you'll clear the stage after tossing a required number onto the cubes. But if the weight or locations of Fallos causes the cubes to tilt and sway too much, the Fallos will lose their balance and fall off. Adding to the challenge, you'll find that some cubes have different properties, making tosses tricky and further threatening the stability of the Fallos. Guide Fallos through dozens of single-player stages or invite family and friends to join you in two-player cooperative mode.

Family Tennis
Publisher: Aksys Games
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Comic Mischief, Mild Suggestive Themes
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Daddy, Mommy, Sarah and Billy return for some hard-hitting, fast-paced tennis action. Battle it out between the happy family members as you vie for the top spot. Choose from three different modes: Elimination Match, Free Match and Thrilling Rally. Play against the CPU or compete with friends. Elimination Match mode pits you against the CPU to test your skills, while Free Match mode allows you to play against another player under conditions of your choosing. Thrilling Rally mode lets you join up to three other players and rally to see who can get to 100 points first.

Virtual Console

Last Ninja 2
Original platform: Commodore 64
Publisher: Commodore Gaming
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) - Mild Violence
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: The ninja known as the Mystic Shadow Warriors were the elite fighting force of ninth-century feudal Japan. The evil Shogun Kunitoki was once beaten, but he has gathered all his mystic powers to create a modern-day tyranny in Manhattan. Face your archenemy Kunitoki in the urban jungle and conquer him with your ninja skills. Transported to 1988 Manhattan by an unknown force, the ninja leader Armakuni must find a way to defend himself against the unknown dangers that lie before him. Will this be the final battle? Can you vanquish the evil Kunitoki once and for all?

Nintendo DSiWare

Clubhouse Games Express: Strategy Pack
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1-8
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Prepare yourself for a lesson in tactics as you play through five strategy-based games in this Nintendo DSiWare version of the popular Clubhouse Games. Take on an opponent in the classic Backgammon, invade an enemy base in Field Tactics, sandwich your opponent's pieces to capture them in Turncoat, create strings of five in a row in Connect Five and guess where to attack your opponent's pieces in Grid Attack. Play by yourself or use DS Download Play to host as many as seven friends.

MySims Camera
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Players: 1
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: MySims Camera is a camera application that utilizes popular MySims characters. You can take photos and overlay 3-D MySims characters to bring them into the real world. The 3-D characters can be animated, moved, scaled, rotated and cropped. You can also draw on the photos with the stylus or use the stamp tool to add more art and style. Create a unique frame and save the photos to the Nintendo DSi Camera album to share with friends. MySims Camera is a fun, creative experience for the entire family.