"Like a shooting star across the midnight sky"

Europe comes through with a bumper crop of downloadable delights for release this Friday. Shall we see what they are?

WiiWare

My Starry Night (Hudson, 500pts) – Known as My Planetarium in North America, this is essentially My Aquarium for stargazers, with around 20,000 stars, planets, asteroids and more for your observation, education and maybe even a little entertainment.

Racers' Islands: Crazy Arenas (Zallag, 800pts) – Following on from the disappointing Racers' Islands: Crazy Racers, Zallag's next WiiWare outing is a combat-based title that promises more arenas, less racing. We'll soon find out if it's a smash hit or a sitting duck.

DSiWare

Glow Artisan (Powerhead Games, 500pts) – Released in North America at the tail-end of 2009, European gamers can finally get to grips with this excellent puzzler. You can read our Glow Artisan review to find out why this one was worth the wait.

Mahjong (DTP Entertainment, 200pts) – This is only the third variation of Mahjong to find its way to DSiWare, although it seems like a lot more have been released. The press release promises "beautifully-drawn backdrops" and a range of "powerful extras" including hurricanes, dynamite and an hourglass.

Spot the Difference (Enjoy Gaming, 500pts) – Joining Mahjong near the top of the Self-Explanatory Game Titles leaderboard, this game has you identifying alterations between two seemingly identical images. You can even use the touchscreen to tap where the differences are! Publisher Enjoy Gaming has a mixed heritage, so we'll see how this one fares.

Virtual Console

Street Hoop (Neo Geo, 900pts) – An arcade-style three-on-three basketball game, pitting different countries of the world against each other on the hardcourt. Scoring points fills up a "super shot" gauge, allowing you to make incredible baskets. We'll review this one soon.

ENJOY AN ECLECTIC SET OF GAMES THIS WEEK WITH MENTAL JOUSTING, STAR GAZING AND 3 on 3 BASKETBALL ACTION!
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Look out for the latest games available to download from the Wii Shop Channel and Nintendo DSi Shop this Friday!

This week a 100 mind bending puzzles await to be solved in the palm of your hand as Glow Artisan becomes available to download from the Nintendo DSi Shop. Using the Nintendo DSi camera, players can manipulate the pictures they take to create an endless amount of puzzles to crack. When you have created the ultimate test, challenge a friend wirelessly to see if they are sharp minded enough to beat it!

For those who want to sit back and marvel at the wonders of the universe, My Starry Night™ is available on WiiWare. Sail through the stars from the comfort of your own living room informing yourself continually about the shiny dots that cover up our mysterious night skies.

Nintendo’s Virtual Console offering this week is packed full of high adrenaline action! Take to the street and showcase your ball skills in STREET HOOP – an exhilarating three on three slam dunk celebration.

And if you just want more! Challenge your mind or your eye with Mahjong & Spot The Difference on Nintendo DSiWare – both classic games with new twists! Or you could just give your brains a rest and go crazy on WiiWare with Racers’ Islands - Crazy Arenas – Motor sport action with high speed velocity!

Nintendo DSiWare - Glow Artisan
(Powerhead Games, 500 Nintendo DSi Points)
Hundreds of mind-bending puzzles await at the tips of your thumbs in this unique and colourful game. With 100 puzzles designed to test wits and ingenuity, players will have the chance to compete for 300 medals and trophies to prove they are sharp-minded. For those unable to crack the hardest puzzles, the Auto Solver function will mean no one has to get stuck at any point in the game.

Players can use the Play Time Trial, Randomizer, and Multiplayer modes for an endless supply of new challenges. If that isn’t enough, players can create their own puzzles with the built-in editor or use the Nintendo DSi Camera to turn photos into puzzles.

Once players are confident in their own puzzle solving skills and have devised their own puzzles, they can challenge other players in Handoff, a fun and competitive wireless battle of wits. Wirelessly swap puzzles you've created with friends to enjoy endless hours of mental jousting!

Nintendo DSiWare - Mahjong
(dtp young entertainment, 200 Nintendo DSi Points)
One of the oldest games on the planet is brought to life in a new and dynamic way. Players will be able to navigate their way through numerous tricky levels designed to test the mind.

For those seeking a challenge or those new to the format, difficulty levels can be altered to match a range of abilities. The wickedly complex and challenging levels can be played out across a series of beautifully drawn backdrops. Master each puzzle and use powerful extras such as Dynamite, Whirlwind and Hourglass to become the uncontested Mahjong champion.

Players will enjoy endless hours of fun in Single-Player or 2-Player Mode by taking on a friend on a Nintendo DSi.

Nintendo DSiWare - Spot The Difference
(Enjoy Gaming, 500 Nintendo DSi Points)
How good is your eye for detail? In this game players will be challenged to track down the hidden differences embedded in two pictures. Using the Nintendo DSiWare’s two screen capability, players will be presented with mirror images, where small details have been changed in only one of the pictures. Spot all the differences in the allotted time to move onto the next challenge.

Progression through the game will see the awarding of Bronze, Silver and Gold Cups and unlock the 160 different photos which feature in the game. With more than a thousand different combinations of differences to find in the images, this game will keep you occupied for quite some time!

WiiWare - My Starry Night™
(HUDSON SOFT, 500 Wii Points)
Unlock the secrets of the stars and journey into celestial bodies to explore the mysteries of the universe in this new game which will allow you to venture into the stars from the comfort of your living room.

Using the Wii Remote, players will be able to navigate through three game modes. Observation Mode introduces stargazers to approximately 20,000 celestial objects up to stars of the 7th magnitude. You can change different settings like displaying the latitude and longitude of constellations, how fast time elapses, and more in a journey into the heavens.

In Planetarium Mode, players can take 11 different tours that cover various subjects like stars, nebulae, constellations, and other celestial objects.

The Celestial Guidebook contains detailed information and mythology on distant objects and constellations as well as a helpful glossary of astronomy terms used in observation.

Come; take a deep long look into the mysterious stars that fill the sky in My Starry Night - a game where you can enjoy looking at the night sky in a fun and informative way.

WiiWare - Racers' Islands - Crazy Arenas
(Zallag, 800 Wii Points)
Put the pedal to the metal and speed to victory across five wacky games where high velocity action will keep you coming back for more motor sport fun.

Motorised mayhem is carried out in a range of environments from competing to capture a golden totem in a lost temple, a wild ascent to an infernal mountain peak, an ice hockey tournament between racing cars, tossing a time bomb between opponents before the countdown strikes and a paintball contest powered by a player’s own engine.

The unique gameplay is given a further twist by the innovative controls system which allows players to drive with one hand and aim with another. The frenzied action is sure to deliver hours of high octane fun.

Virtual Console - STREET HOOP
(D4 Enterprise, Neo Geo, 900 Wii Points)
Take it to the street for some three on three basketball action in the fresh and exhilarating STREET HOOP. Choose from ten teams to vie for the position as the best street basketball team on the planet.

Players will be able to mix the normal thrill of a basketball match with the added bonus of manoeuvres taken from the street to showcase the best ball skills – from slam dunks to alley-oops, win the game and win it in style.

With a simple controls system, gamers will quickly be able to pick up complex skills to help them charge player gauges which will unlock special super shots that can break any defence.