Keep them off the grass!

It seems North America is getting quite the variety of download releases this week, although the Virtual Console is taking a vacation. The mulltiformat smash hit Plants vs. Zombies finally arrives on DSiWare and the extremely long-awaited WiiWare puzzler Liight has finally made its way to a release. There's also yet another WiiWare demo for gamers to try out, rounding out a rather unique lineup of games for the week.

WiiWare

Liight (Studio Walljump, WiiWare, 500pts) — Liight puts you in charge of a variety of colored flashlights and challenges you to solve intricate color-based puzzles by aiming them in the correct direction. And with several modes to choose from, players of all ages and skill levels should find a fun and challenging puzzle experience. It's been a long time coming as the game was announced way back in 2008! You can enjoy our exclusive interview and first impressions while you wait for our upcoming review.

WiiWare Demos

Mix Superstar Demo (Digital Leisure, WiiWare, 0pts) — Compose and record your very own music tracks in an effort to become the next big superstar. With loads of loops and musical instruments to choose from, you'll have the power of your very own recording studio right there on your Wii console. We awarded this an impressive 9/10 in our review last November.

DSiWare

Plants vs. Zombies (PopCap, DSiWare, 800pts) — PopCap brings their hit multiformat tower defense title to the DSiWare service complete with five game modes and 4 new mini-games. Can you keep the undead baddies from reaching your house? Watch out for our review coming soon if a zombie doesn't eat it first!

Rabi Laby (Agetec, DSiWare, 500pts) — Join Alice and Rabi on their magical journey through a hole in a tree. You'll have to make use of both characters using each of their unique abilities in order to traverse the challenges that lie ahead of you.

5-in-1 Mahjong (cerasus.media, DSiWare, 200pts) — 5-in-1 Mahjong takes the Mahjong experience and reduces it to its simplest form. You'll still have a wealth of layouts and themes to choose from, not to mention several modes of play. The game will even toss you a hint for those times when you find yourself stuck.

NINTENDO DOWNLOAD: THE IMMINENT ARRIVAL OF SPRING MEANS BEAUTIFUL PLANTS AND HORDES OF THE UNDEAD

March 14, 2011

Spring is just about a week away. It's a time of renewal. For some, that means the budding of new flowers. For others, it's a chance to reanimate their dead tissue and go on the attack. Over on the Nintendo DSiWare™ service, Plants vs. Zombies reminds you that when the mob comes for you, foliage might be the only friend you have left. If you're in the mood for a different kind of single-player strategy, the WiiWare™ service shines some Liight on a creative new puzzle-solving game that incorporates color, light and music.

Nintendo DSiWare

Plants vs. Zombies
Publisher: PopCap Games
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E 10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) - Animated Blood, Cartoon Violence
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points™
Description: Get ready to soil your plants in the zombie-zapping phenomenon from PopCap. A mob of fun-loving zombies is about to invade your home, and the only defense is your arsenal of home-guardin' plants. You'll have to think fast and plant faster as you fight the fun-dead through day, night and fog, in the swimming pool and on the roof. Dig into five game modes and get more zombie-zapping action in four new mini-games. You can even make your own zombie creation with the Zombatar™! The fun never dies.

Rabi Laby
Publisher: Agetec, Inc.
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Rabi Laby requires teamwork, dedication and the love of a great adventure. Alice is a spunky young girl who adores her fluffy pet rabbit named Rabi. One day Alice was looking for Rabi and finally found him right before he jumped into a small hole in a tree. Without thinking twice, Alice jumped in after him. This is where their magical adventure begins. Alice and Rabi encounter intriguing animals and creatures that may lead them to the exit, or stop them from escaping. Together they will explore and discover things unlike anything they've ever seen before. They must work as a team to find the key and escape each area of the mighty labyrinth. Both Alice and Rabi have their own unique abilities and you must switch between them in order to complete each area and ultimately escape the labyrinth's grasp. The labyrinth awaits you...

5 in 1 Mahjong
Publisher: cerasus.media
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Play Standard mahjong without all the bells and whistles. You can choose from more than 300 layouts or try different variations of the game. In "Countdown," you only have 20 minutes to clear the tiles. With "Remember," you can train your memory as every tile is only briefly visible. Don't dally in "Shuffle" mode - the board will rebuild itself if you don't make a match in time. In "Match" you simply need to search for particular tiles. The tile images are strikingly sharp, making them easy to recognize. Choose your favorite tile design, plus enjoy the great soundtrack and high-quality animation that create an authentic gaming experience. Challenge yourself with a range of difficult layouts. If you are stuck, hints will help you out.

WiiWare

Liight
Publisher: Studio Walljump
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Wii Points™
Description: Liight is a unique, award-winning, puzzle-solving game where you use colored lights and shadows to solve puzzles and make music. Each puzzle in Liight is a unique combination of colored lights and targets arranged on a special board. If you completely cover a target with light of the matching color, the target will glow and play music. A puzzle is solved when all of the targets are glowing and playing music together. Every puzzle makes a different song each time you play. Nonstop mode in Liight is a fast-paced arcade puzzle game that uses the same basic concepts you learn in Solve mode in a constant struggle for a high score. Liight also has a Create mode to make your own puzzles any way you want, and a Share mode to send them to your Wii™ friends using the WiiConnect24™ service.

Mix Superstar (demo version)
Publisher: Digital Leisure Inc.
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 0 Wii Points; full version available for 500 Wii Points
Description: Think you can be the next big music star? Well now you've got all the tools right at your fingertips with Mix Superstar. Create, mix and record your own royalty-free musical masterpieces right on your Wii console. There are more than 1,000 Dance, Hip Hop and Techno loops included across multiple instruments like Drum, Bass, Synth, Guitar and even voice tracks. Once you've got that next hit created, it's time to show it off. Mix Superstar allows you to export your music creations, and download them to your computer so you can take them on the go. You can also use the WiiConnect24 service to send those hits to your Wii friends who own the game, and even collaborate on mixes. Also included is full support for both the Logitech® USB Microphone and the Wii Speak™ accessory (sold separately) so you can lay down your own vocals. Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection Pay & Play service even allows you to enhance your music creation experience with additional loop packs from a variety of genres. Now go on and make some noise.

Note: Some demo versions do not support all game features, and players cannot save their in-game progress in demo versions.