The art, of balance

Nintendo of America is certainly putting out a lot of original content for the Wii and DSi this year. This week we have four downloads for Wii and five for the DSi, so hopefully you'll be able to find something of interest.

WiiWare

Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: JUSTICE FOR ALL (1000pts - Capcom) – Another chapter in the Phoenix Wright saga. As with the first this is another WiiWare port of a DS cart which is a port of a game that originally appeared on the Gameboy Advance. We'll get our expert attorneys on the case and provide a judgement on its merits soon!

Art of Balance (800pts - Shin'en Multimedia) – A new block-stacking puzzle game. We recently took it for a test drive and thought there was some fun puzzling action on offer. Of course you'll be able to see our final verdict on how the full game stacks up in our review.

More Sonic on the virtual console? Oh yes, please!

WarMen Tactics (800pts - Calaris) – This title has taken us completely by surprise. It comes from Calaris, a Polish developer we've not previously encountered. WarMen Tactics appears to be a port of an iPhone game; which looks a lightgun shooter with a "duck-and-cover" aspect similar to the shooting sections of Disaster: Day of Crisis. We'll get our crack gunners on the case and let you know if this game is on the mark or not.

Virtual Console

Sonic & Knuckles (800pts Genesis - Sega) – North America is the last territory to receive this game, but it's hot on the heels of the European release which was only last Friday, so that's not too bad. It apparently features all the functionality of the original cartridge release, if you've also downloaded the other games that make use of the original plug-in feature; which we'll happily confirm in our upcoming review.

DSiWare

Spotto! (200pts - Nintendo) – A budget title released in Japan last November that sees a duck chucking bombs at ghosts (who look like fish) which have kidnapped the President's daughter (president of the United States of Birdlandia - not the United States of America). Our own bombardiers will get on the case to see if this budget arcade puzzler has what it takes.

Spaceball: Revolution (500pts - Virtual Toys) – A portable version of the WiiWare puzzler. We thought the WiiWare version was pretty good and we'll let you know if the DSiWare version is also worth a punt in our review.

Scrabble Classic (800pts - Electronic Arts) – A portable version of the classic board game. Multiplayer support is probably what helps justify the premium price point, but we'll find out for ourselves when we get our wordsmiths to review it.

Real Soccer 2010 (800pts - Gameloft) – Gameloft seem to be taking a lesson from EA on "how to create a sports game franchise." We thought the 2009 edition was an excellent value - even with the premium price tag, thanks to the inclusion of tons of content. We'll let you know if this new instalment is also worth your hard-earned.

Prehistorik Man (800pts - Interplay) – Looks to be another resurrected console platformer a la Rayman. Our team of high jumpers will get on the case forthwith and let you know how it stands up today.

As usual you can read Nintendo's full press release below:

In honor of Presidents Day, let's take a moment to reflect on the qualities that make a great leader, plus some exceptional games you can use to nurture them. Problem-solving skills are a must, both in the Oval Office and in the new Phoenix Wright™ Ace Attorney: JUSTICE FOR ALL game for the WiiWare service. A way with words is essential, too, as you'll discover in Scrabble™ Classic for the Nintendo DSiWare service. Real Soccer 2010 proves the value of teamwork, while Spotto! ™ highlights the importance of facing fearsome threats head-on. And while we're not sure how effective a hedgehog would be as commander-in-chief, the SEGA classic Sonic & Knuckles™ - now available to Wii™ owners via the Virtual Console™ - demonstrates real bipartisan appeal.

WiiWare

Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney®: JUSTICE FOR ALL
Publisher: Capcom Entertainment, Inc.
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) - Blood, Mild Violence, Suggestive Themes
Price: 1,000 Wii Points™
Description: Phoenix Wright is back as the second game in the popular Ace Attorney hand-held franchise comes to the WiiWare service. As Phoenix Wright, you'll play through four shocking new cases in first-person perspective. The game features two unique game play modes. In Investigations Mode, you'll survey crime scenes, interview witnesses and gather evidence. You'll then present findings, listen to testimonials and examine witnesses in Court Mode. JUSTICE FOR ALL also includes a new "Psyche-Lock" feature that allows Phoenix to use a line of questioning to reveal inconsistencies in witness testimony.

Art of Balance
Publisher: Shin'en Multimedia
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: Grab your Wii Remote™ controller and build a balanced stack in this physics-based puzzler, featuring 100 levels that challenge not only your skills but also your imagination. The game is easy to pick up and hard to put away. Play alone or invite a friend to grab a second Wii Remote controller and drop in at any point for co-op play. There's even a dedicated two-player split-screen "versus" mode for extra fun.

WarMen Tactics
Publisher: CALARIS
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) - Blood, Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: In the year 2013, civil unrest across the globe has prompted world leaders to merge the police and military into a single force called the Department of Control. This force is opposed by a resistance made up of former military members who refused to join the Department. Marco is one of them, and the game tells his story. Join Marco as he is deployed on a mission to destroy scrambler devices placed around the city. Created to reflect the realities of urban warfare, the game requires players to take cover behind walls and other obstacles as they strive to defeat enemies and advance to the next post.

Nintendo DSiWare

Spotto!
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Mild Cartoon Violence
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points™
Description: Meet Spotto, a plucky duck on a mission. Ill-behaved ghosts have kidnapped Chikkie Wowwow, President Wowwow's daughter. Spotto, being the world's foremost Bombirdier, must follow these ghosts to a haunted house and use his trusty bombs to blast the baddies. Take control of Spotto, adjusting his aim with the stylus and trying to toss bombs into the ghosts' mouths in 50 "explosive" stages. Along the way, you'll avoid obstacles (or use them to your advantage), find powerful Super Bombs to inflict even more damage and even encounter a frighteningly large ghost or two. With multiple modes of play and numerous solutions for successfully blasting ghosts to pieces, this is one haunted house you'll want to visit often.

Spaceball: Revolution
Publisher: Virtual Toys
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Mild Fantasy Violence
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Spaceball: Revolution will put your intelligence and skill to the test as you solve puzzles in a futuristic environment. Copy the figures that appear on the top screen, using energy balls that make the boxes correctly change color. It won't be an easy task. Different obstacles will be thrown into your path, challenging you to polish your aim and think rapidly. Fifteen different levels are waiting for you in Spaceball: Revolution. Are you up to the challenge?

Scrabble Classic
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Scrabble, one of the world's most popular board games, is enjoying a tremendous surge in popularity, both online and in the real world. Scrabble for the Nintendo DSiWare service allows you to play this exciting game in both Single Player and Multi-Player modes.

Real Soccer 2010
Publisher: Gameloft
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Real Soccer is back for the most exciting season yet. Choose from more teams than ever before and compete in new stadiums around the world. Lead your team to victory on the field and make tactical decisions as the coach.

Prehistorik Man
Publisher: Interplay
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Mild Violence
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Life is hard for Sam the Prehistorik Man. With three-and-a-half hours of work each week, there's barely time to fit in all the sleeping, eating and cave-painting that needs to be done. When greedy dinosaurs guzzle his village's winter food source, Sam gets mad. Armed with his best club and his powerful hunter's voice, Sam needs your help to proceed through 22 levels of food-gathering and dinosaur-bashing. With fast-paced action, hundreds of secret areas, weapons and unlikely vehicles to find, you'll need to be smart. Well…smarter than Sam, anyway.

Virtual Console

Sonic & Knuckles
Original platform: SEGA Genesis
Publisher: SEGA
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: Sonic, the world's fastest hedgehog, continues his adventures in this fourth installment of the Sonic The Hedgehog™ series. This time, he buddies up with his former enemy, Knuckles the Echidna, in order to defeat the evil Dr. Eggman (a.k.a. Dr. Robotnik). At the end of Sonic The Hedgehog 3, Dr. Eggman's ultimate orbital weapon for global domination, the Death Egg, was badly damaged in an epic battle with Sonic. The Death Egg, losing power rapidly, hurtled back down to the planet below and crash-landed on the mysterious Angel Island again. Now Sonic and Knuckles must put a stop to Dr. Eggman once and for all before Eggman and his no-goodniks find the secret to Angel Island's floating power, the Master Emerald. This game features Lock-On Technology, which allows you to play as Knuckles in other Sonic titles available for the Virtual Console, including Sonic The Hedgehog 2 and Sonic The Hedgehog 3, as long as these titles are part of your Virtual Console library.

Nintendo adds new titles to the Nintendo DSi™ Shop and the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time on Mondays. Users with broadband Internet access can redeem Wii Points or Nintendo DSi Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel. Nintendo DSi Points can be purchased in the Nintendo DSi Shop. A Nintendo Points Card™ can be purchased at retail locations. All points from one Nintendo Points Card must be redeemed in either the Nintendo DSi Shop or the Wii Shop Channel. They are not transferable and cannot be divided between the two systems.

[source press.nintendo.com]