It's the week of E3, and what better way to celebrate than by finally releasing another N64 Virtual Console game? And an extremely well-liked one, at that? WiiWare gets one great and one good game as well, but DSiWare seems fairly uninteresting this time.
WiiWare
Ant Nation (700pts - Konami) -- A simulation title from Konami in which you manage a colony of ants, this was released in North America almost a year ago. It's a pretty good game, according to our Ant Nation review.
Blaster Master Overdrive (1000pts - Sunsoft) -- We got the original Blaster Master a while ago, so it was only logical that the WiiWare version would soon follow. Staying extremely close to the way the original played, you'll once again be exploring caves with your vehicle, getting out every now and then to explore tunnels that are too small. You'll constantly get upgrades to advance further and further, kind of like Metroid. If you liked the original, you'll absolutely love this, as the Blaster Master Overdrive review will tell you.
Virtual Console
Mario Tennis (1000pts - Nintendo) -- The last N64 Mario sports game, which is also regarded as one of the best Mario sports games period. As per the Mario standard, it takes the sport in the title and cranks it up to eleven - You'll get your usual share of powerups and crazy moves while still keeping the basic gameplay of the sport intact. It's a very well-liked title, and we'll have our review up soon.
DSiWare
Telegraph Sudoku & Kakuro (200pts - Sanuk Games) -- DSiWare's been bombed to death with Sudoku games, but this one is suprisingly good - Not only is it extremely cheap, but there's a different game included in the package as well! You should know what Sudoku is like by now, but if you want an explanation of Kakuro you'll have to read our Telegraph Sudoku & Kakuro review. Note that in Germany and a select few other countries, the puzzles are from the newspaper Die Welt instead of the Telegraph instead!
Face Pilot: Fly With Your Nintendo DSi Camera! (500pts - Nintendo) -- Another game completely out of the blue, in this flying sim you'll have to move by turning and tilting your head around on the DSi's camera. Sounds gimmicky, but as it's developed by HAL Laboratory we have at least some hope for it!
Pocket Pack: Strategy Games (500pts - Mere Mortals) -- Another pack of simple games from Mere Mortals, this one includes Checkers, Reversi, Gomoku, Chinese Checkers and Nine Men's Morris. If it's anything like the last game it should be incredibly simplistic but possibly worth a look if you have a strong desire for portable board games. We'll review it soon.
Combat of Giants: Mutant Insects - Revenge (800pts - Ubisoft) -- Presumably the last Combat of Giants title on DSiWare, this one is also based on a related DS retail title and, you guessed it, stars giant mutated insects. We'll give our thoughts soon.
A lot of games this time, but only a few seem to appealing to the real gamers among us. Will you be getting in on some tennis action with Mario or will you skip this week?
Comments 35
Mario Tennis, yay!
Edit: Why is the Virtual Boy version of Mario Tennis in related games?
Good to see Europe got Mario Tennis and Blaster Master Overdrive.
Yay! we get it next week!
Yahoo!
Guess we can forget about the connection to the equally awesome Game Boy version though.
Still, Ya-Ha-Ha-Hooooo!
Hmph! Lucky Europeans...
@Mama_Luigi: You didn't see that
Mario Tennis!? You Europeans recieved an awesome update!
Great news I might download this tomorrow!
Mario Tennis wow you guys are lucky.
This is still the best Nintendo sports game, I think.
The graphics are crisp, clear and colourful and with a good framerate too. These qualities should ensure it has aged gracefully, along with the zoomed out camera that goes some way towards disguising the now blocky looking characters. The controls are very simple (for the most part you only use two buttons), but like all great Nintendo games they're not lacking in depth.
What it does lack is the 'special' moves of it's Gamecube follow-up, but I thought they were an annoying gimmick that bordered on cheating anyway. Unlike Mario Kart, this game of tennis is fun enough without power-ups and chaotic distractions. The only downside is the absence of an RPG-style adventure mode, so it lacks the scope of it's 'smaller brother' on the Game Boy. Still great though.
I'd give it a 9.
Edit: I sort of take back what I said about Mario Kart, as I forgot about the time trials. Duh!
not a bad week for eu players
WA-WEEGEE!
Downloaded Mario Tennis. Used to love it on my N64 and GBC.
Why haven't Nintendo released the three N64 Mario Party's? Surely they'd be popular...
If Mario Tennis comes out, I'm getting it on the second (when I have the cash to get a points card).
I might get Mario Tennis someday, still need to play the GameCube version. I'm still not sure about Blaster Master. Doesn't look that interesting to me. The same goes for Ant Nation. Looks, weird.
The two I'll probably be getting at some point are mario tennis and blaster master overdrive.
Oh wow, you guys got Mario Tennis. We should get that in America sometime.
Nice VC game EU!
Nothing fancy. Blaster Master Overdrive is for die-hard fans only and Tennis is not my kind of game. I save my points for peculiar upcoming games like Jett Rocket. More N64 titles are very welcome, though. I would like to see some games published by Acclaim like Shadow Man or Turok but this will probably never happen because they are M-rated.
CAMELOT Made Waluigi, or "Waa Wee Gee"
They also Made Golden Sun...
Still no x-scape
Might need to look at Pocket Pack Strategy Games, I'm a sucker for Nine Men's Morris especially if the 1player mode has a half decent computer player. I will however wait for a review first.
this makes me dust my N64... where did my wife hide it?
This is a nice surprise, need points now.
Finally! Mario Tennis! I loved playing this game with my mates when I was in primary school. Shame I won't be able to transfer the GBC Characters to the Wii version.
not a DSiWare week I'd say.
Woo! Mario Tennis! Congrats Europe! It's an awesome Mario sports game. I already own it on my N64, but if it ever comes here to NA... I'm very tempted to get it still... Though it won't have my GBC Courts and characters...Hmmm... Still! Awesome game. Can't say I'm not a little jealous.
I have NPC Mario Power Tennis already but I'll probably get Mario Tennis 64. Nothing else for me.
YAY for more people wanting Mario Party on the VC.
Good to see another N64 game on VC, but i think Mario Power Tennis (GC version) is a better game in every aspect. However, the NPC version is crap...
I downloaded this today, still as awesome as i remember, although i wish it automatic unlocked all the Guest players as it's now impossible
WALUWEEGEE TIME!
Yeah, I can't wait til I get this. Once I do, I'll have a good eighteen days to play it before I have to fly to Texas to visit relatives and see New Orleans (I live in Texas). Will be there for just under two weeks.
MMAARRRIIIOOOO TENNNIIISS!!! only problem is it took me about 10 years to get ever single trophy with every character (192!!!), unlock max difficulty, beat all the ring tournaments with every character, beat the pirana challange, beat every character with a start with every character without a star on insane, then get the Game Boy version and complete the trophy's for the 4 extra characters and max out there stats....
i'm quite scared to download it!! although it will look much nicer... and maybe the ring tourament codes will do something?!
Nicely timed for Wimbledon, and with Wimbledon being really interesting this year already, it's well timed and I'm tempted to drop points on this as I never picked up a Mario Tennis game before. Still surprised Nintendo hasn't a Mario Tennis game announced as perfect console to get one. Same for Golf.
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