There's a definite airborne theme to this week's downloads, with rockets, meteors, fighter planes and passenger aircraft all featured across the three download channels. Let's take a look at what's available.
WiiWare
Jam City Rollergirls (Frozen Codebase, 1000pts) – An arcade action take on the growing sport of roller derby, this promises brutal action, power-ups and officially licensed teams and skaters. We're tying up our skates ready to hit the track and tussle with the game to bring you a full review shortly, but in the meantime check out our Jam City Rollergirls interview for more details straight from the horse's mouth.
WiiWare Demos
Furry Legends (Gamelion Studios) – A free trial of last year's furry floaty platformer, the full game divided opinion so now you can make up your own mind for free. Read our Furry Legends review for more information.
Fish 'em All (Abylight) – A fishing game that's not really a fishing game, this has been available since 2009 but if you haven't reeled it in yet be sure to read our Fish 'em All review and give the free demo a go.
Virtual Console
1942 (Capcom, 800pts) – A classic top-down shooter from Capcom's arcade heyday, while this may have been outdone by its sequels it's still regarded as a decent shooter, and a welcome addition to the Virtual Console Arcade.
Black Tiger (Capcom, 800pts) – Another double-whammy from Capcom on the Virtual Console Arcade front this week, with side-scrolling action platformer Black Tiger. Fans of Ghosts 'n' Goblins will be right at home here, but you can read our Black Tiger review for more information.
DSiWare
Airport Mania: Non-Stop Flights (Lemon Games, 200pts) – A portable companion to Airport Mania: First Flight, this is a cutesy time management title that puts you in charge of landing aircraft at a series of busy airports. We rated the first title very highly as you can read in our Airport Mania: First Flight review, so hopefully this handheld instalment will live up to its big-screen counterpart.
Rocks 'n' Rockets (Tik Games LLC, 500pts) – A Missile Command-style title that launched in Europe late last year, this actually offers a fair amount of longevity for your 500 Points. Have a read of our Rocks 'n' Rockets review for more details.
Digger Dan & Kaboom (Virtual Playground, 500pts) – A game about digging and pet gophers, this could be the complete package, but we haven't got many more details at the moment. Stay tuned for our review this week.
Ante Up: Texas Hold'em (MonkeyPaw Games, 500pts) – It's poker in the palm of your hand! Up to 8 players can sit around a virtual table to bet, raise, call and stay stony-faced in the midst of overwhelming pressure. We'll bring a full review this week.
Brace for Busy Airports, Biplane Battles, Meteor Showers and Roller Derby Melees
When it comes to downloadable games for the Wii™ and Nintendo DSi™ systems, you never know what each day might have in store. One minute you’ll be throwing elbows and speeding around the track in Jam City Rollergirls for the WiiWare™ service. Next, you’ll travel back in time for classic arcade-style air battles in 1942 for the Virtual Console™ service. Then it’s back to the present, where you’ve got to stay cool under pressure as an air traffic mastermind in Airport Mania®: Non-Stop Flights for Nintendo DSiWare™. Just when things start to settle down, Rocks N’ Rockets will inspire you to step up and fight off an onslaught of deadly meteors using your Nintendo DSi stylus. With hundreds of downloadable titles to choose from – plus demo versions of select WiiWare games for zero Wii Points™ – you’ll never face another humdrum afternoon again.
WiiWare
Jam City Rollergirls
Publisher: Frozen Codebase
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) – Animated Blood, Comic Mischief, Mild Violence
Price: 1,000 Wii Points
Description: Blast off into the wild world of roller derby. Lace up your skates and join up with real-life roller derby teams the Texecutioners, Dairyland Dolls, Brewcity Bruisers, Rat City Rollergirls and Gotham Girls Roller Derby as they skate hard and hit harder in a battle for flat-track dominance. Create your own custom roller derby skater and level up as you progress through the season, or play as one of the readymade stars of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association. Choose from five tracks and skate forward, backward, by yourself or with a friend. Skaters, refs, fans and gamers will be thrilled by the fast, furious game play.
Furry Legends (demo version)
Publisher: Gamelion
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Comic Mischief, Mild Language
Price: 0 Wii Points; full version available for 1,000 Wii Points
Description: The legend starts here. Play Furry Legends, a dynamic platform adventure with the most fur you’ve ever seen. Start the crazy adventure and solve fun, physics-based puzzles in a fantastic 3D world called Furland. Furland is a humorous and weird place, populated by funny creatures such as five-eyed crabs, round cows, crazy rabbits and, of course, the lovely Furballs. The player controls fluffy characters with special skills such as the ability to manipulate time, which can influence the physics-driven environment. Save the Furballs from their doom and keep Furland safe from Lord Squarie.
Fish’em All!™ (demo version)
Publisher: Abylight
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Mild Cartoon Violence
Price: 0 Wii Points; full version available for 800 Wii Points
Description: Here’s an arcade game with real coin-op flavor. Jack and Walter are two old fishermen in a fantasy world. They have found places where crazy fish leap out of the water all day long – the perfect place for a spot of fishing. It’s a shame the other strange creatures aren’t going to make things easy. In this surreal action game, you will experience the excitement of the great arcade classics on your Wii console. Hold on tight to your Wii Remote™ controller and fish ’em all. The game features nine colorful scenarios and three game modes. In Arcade mode, catch as many fish as possible within the time limit. In Challenge mode, note how many fish of each color you need to catch. In Fishtris mode, match three or more fish of the same color to make them disappear.
Note: Some demo versions do not support all game features, and players cannot save their in-game progress in demo versions.
Virtual Console
1942
Publisher: Capcom
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Mild Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: This classic, vertically scrolling shoot-’em-up is perhaps Capcom’s finest moment of the pre-Street Fighter era. Spawning a million clones and reappearing throughout the history of gaming, 1942’s biplane action needs no introduction. The original and best version is now available on the Wii console for the first time.
BLACK TIGER™
Publisher: Capcom
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: Everyone (Everyone) – Fantasy Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: Fight your way through colorful, action-packed levels in this 1987 arcade classic. Explore huge, sprawling levels as a powerful barbarian seeking to defeat menacing bosses. Plus, upgrade your character with one of the first inventory and power-up systems ever built.
Nintendo DSiWare
Airport Mania: Non-Stop Flights
Publisher: Lemon Games
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points™
Description: Hundreds of airplanes are on their way to your airport. In Airport Mania: Non-Stop Flights, you’ll face the challenge of coordinating an endless number of incoming flights for as long as you can. You’ll need to care for each plane by bringing it safely to the airport. Send each one to a gate to drop off and pick up passengers, then schedule them for a runway to ensure an on-time departure. Doing all this will maximize both customer satisfaction and your score. Upgrade your airport at any time to make sure you’re ready for every color and type of plane. Enjoy frantic time-management action with an airport twist that you won't want to miss.
Rocks N’ Rockets
Publisher: TikGames, LLC
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Mild Fantasy Violence
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Are you ready to take the hero’s seat in this mesmerizing arcade game? Civilization is threatened by a terrifying, multi-phased meteor attack – thousands of strange meteors are heading toward Earth. Your mission is to protect our cities by controlling a rocket launcher that is built to protect each city. Experience waves of increasingly destructive meteors, innovative power-ups and more than 100 exciting levels.
Digger Dan & Kaboom
Publisher: Virtual Playground
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Digger Dan has always loved digging. That’s probably how he got his name, although nobody knows for sure. He also loves gems, and he just happens to have found a ton of them. However, all of the gems are in some pretty nasty caves, so you’re going to have to help Dan get them out. Dan has sent Kaboom, his pet gopher, into the caves to find the best place to start, but he hasn’t returned. Kaboom has a habit of falling asleep, though, so it looks like Dan is going to have to rescue him too.
Ante Up: Texas Hold’em
Publisher: MonkeyPaw Games
Players: 1-8
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) – Simulated Gambling
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: It’s time to let your inner gambler get a turn at the table. While poker has always been a part of Western culture, the ease and accessibility of Texas Hold’em has brought the game to the masses, whether on TV or in casinos. Ante Up: Texas Hold’em makes poker fun portable with realistic mechanics and a compelling story to keep you stimulated and playing for hours. The game is graphically superb, and the players are realistic portrayals of uncanny casino characters. Choices include an undercover vice cop who practices what he patrols and an aspiring actress with a daring streak. You’ll find 12 characters in all. Best of all, the game is based on the authenticity of poker and the algorithms that produce a natural falling of the cards. You’ll swear you’re in Vegas as you face the pressure of making a call or daring a bluff while your money sweats it out on the table.
Comments 50
Black Dragon is mine. The rest are... eh, personally.
Pretty decent week. Might pick up Rocks n' Rockets and will fo sho get Jam City.
Yeah, lots of variety this week and a decent amount of quality titles. I think I'll grab myself Jam City Rollergirls and keep my eyes on Digger Dan & Kaboom - if it plays anything like it does in my mind, it'll be great.
Really nice to see the Virtual Console getting more love, and extra nice to see Capcom giving the VCA a chance.
Well these two VCA games have been expected for two months now. Their release wasn't a surprise. It will be interesting to see whats next on the VC though. Jaleco's turn again?
Fingers crossed on the Airport Mania release. At 200 points I'm pretty scared it'll be gimped to all heck...then again, the WiiWare version was only 500 so who knows.
Will find out soon!
Nice to see Capcom showing support for the VC arcade. Now how about getting back to some home console titles? We need Demon's crest and some more Mega man games.
More VC games = Yay! Otherwise this is a pretty dull week.
Out of all The things you could make On an Nintendo Console.
You make a Girls Roller Derby game...
@JumpMad: What, does it threaten you? Make everything else on the console worthless? Lighten up, yo.
Two thumps up for the double VC and demo goodness the week.
Out of all The things you could make On an Nintendo Console. You make a Girls Roller Derby game...
Hey, I make what I like.
Not to seem ungrateful for any VC support, but...dang. I'm getting REALLY tired of all this Capcom VCA stuff. Faxanadu, people! C'mon already!
What's the hold up?
They've only just finished releasing their announced arcade games. They'll get to the Mega Man games soon enough. Could be a while until they start releasing more VC games though.
I'm getting REALLY tired of all this Capcom VCA stuff.
There's only six announced and we got two at a time. Be thankful they weren't released one at a time every two weeks. There were only really two lame games in the six; Exed Exes and Commando.
@Stuffgamer1: You and I both... bring on Faxanadu!
I think Jam City Rollergirls is a pretty novel idea for a game. I hope it turns out well with a good review score and maybe a demo in the near future.
We got an interesting WiiWare game, 2 WiiWare demos, and 2 VC games including one I might get (1942). This is the best North American week in at least a couple of months.
@Tony
The preview videos looked good at least...
VCA support is great, Capcom, but where the heck Mega Man x on VC?Is that too much to ask?
@Christina Aguilera
I agree and if it gets some positive reviews and buzz then I might consider downloading it.
Capcom, but where the heck Mega Man x on VC?
I reckon we'll be getting 5, 6 and 7 before they do X.
OK, can you please release Faxanadu NOW, Nintendo????
The tagline made my Pilotwings 64 senses ring, but they were wrong again.
You can count me as another person patiently waiting for Faxanadu. This week is pretty decent. I've been looking forward to Jam City Rollergirls so I'm glad to see that it is finally out. I just hope that it is actually a good game. I might just wait for the review. Nice to see two VC releases this week too. Nothing that I am particularly interested in but still good to see some VC support nonetheless.
Oh yeah, is Nintendo Life going to be reviewing the DSiWare version of Airport Mania? I'm not sure which version to go with.
Sonic...CD!
Yes, Capcom is supporting the VC. I'm glad. I anticipate this year we will see Mega Man 5 on the VC. Depending on how long left this console gen has/goes, we may see more than 1 Mega Man game this year. Capcom will more than likely give X/2/3 once MM5/6/7 are on VC. I'm so glas 1942 is only 800. I was expecting 1000pts for it. But I'm still going to decide between Zelda 2, & 1942 for right now, as I only have 1100 points.
@Ballkirby: I want Pilotwings 64, too.
@WolfRamHeart: Chicken bucket reviewed the WiiWare version and will return for DSiWare.
Good week, but nothing for me.
Thanks Jon! I'll wait for CB's review.
Where's Lufia?
@ PhoenixSage #1-I think you meant Black Tiger. Freudian Slip?
Nuh-uh, Otacon, in Japan the game is called Black Dragon.
Sweet, 1942; may also grab Black Tiger. I wish there was a Roller City demo, but i guess i'll just wait to hear some feedback from those d/L'ing it.
@WolfRamHeart: I wanna point out that those Airport Mania versions are different. First Flight showed up on WiiWare and today's DSiWare is Non-Stop Flight. In addition to that, First Flight is planned for a DSiWare release.
I'm pretty interested in Jam City, and maybe Black Tiger, and lol Fish 'em All, but I don't have a lot of disposable cash at the moment.
Oh, and 1942, as well.
WTF? Where's Super Bonk?
Nice. I might have to check out Black Tiger.
I also thank you Capcom for the VCA support. Can you please bing out Strider next?
1942 & Black Tiger gotta get em. we'll see about that jam city , thumbs up for the demos as always
Can't wait for Jam City to come out to Europe. Game is a lot more Mario Karty than I had hoped, but whatever, should be fun. I get loads of the real stuff anyway.
A lot of maybes for sure. I'm not sure whether my Plants vs. Zombies addiction will let me get these though.
"This classic, vertically scrolling shoot-’em-up is perhaps Capcom’s finest moment of the pre-Street Fighter era."
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Mega Man come out before Street Fighter?
@Chariblaze: They probably really meant "the pre-Street Fighter arcade era."
1942!!!!! 1942!!!!! 1942!!!!! 1942!!!!! 1942!!!!! 1942!!!!!
Also, I hope Jam City Rollergirls turns out good. I believe I know someone who is in it.
While Capcom is on a VCA kick, time for... for the first time ever... arcade-perfect ports of Street Fighter II, Street Fighter II CE and Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting! I don't want to get the Capcom Generations version for what would be a third time! Wouldn't mind ports of Street Fighter III: New Generation and Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact either (never got Dreamcast, so never played Impact, and only played NG at an arcade a few times). If only Konami would show some VCA AND VC support...
Ah yes, my 1942 has arrived. I'll snatch up Black Tiger too. I'll read up on Rocks and Rockets. And finally, I'm with stuffgamer1, c'mon with Faxanadu already, I'm starving for that game.
And no myDiary? sigh
I'll snag that Black Tiger game, glad to see some VC lovin' coming from Capcom, hopefully others take notice.
@46
They already have all those you mentionned on Xbox
@Banana_Jane
Not quite. SF II: Hyper Fighting (another Capcom Generations version) came out on XbLA. There was SF Anniversary Collection. It had Hyper SF II, which is like all SF II versions mixed into one on the Super SSF II Turbo engine. But, it wasn't the individual versions. Then, it only had SF III: 3rd Strike on it. Dreamcast is the only console so far to see New Generation and 2nd Impact. Strange, considering SF II has been on about every console under the sun and fans kept wanting SF III. I have hopes of seeing NG and Impact (the set known as SF III: Double Impact) on PlayStation Store, since they've started getting Dreamcast games.
Okay so Capcom is finished with VCA support for now. Now let's get some Neo Geo and Lufia games release for VC.
S.C.A.T. is likely to be the next game that comes out.
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