Blasting off

It's a right royal knees-up on the Nintendo Download front this week, with everything from third-party N64 games to a double helping of Series games — one from G.G and one from GO — and much more. Hold onto your hats!

Virtual Console

Bomberman Hero (Hudson Soft, N64, 1000pts) — A single-player Bomberman game, this one splits opinion right down the middle, but now it's available for you to relive past memories or make your own mind up. Our review is in the works and will be up this week.

WiiWare

Heavy Fire: Black Arms (Teyon, 500pts) — The follow up to on-rails shooter Heavy Fire: Special Operations, we don't have the highest of hopes for this one but we'll see how it pans out all the same.

WiiWare Demos

Soccer Bashi (Icon Games) — Ever wondered what the b*stard offspring of Breakout and soccer might look like? Our Soccer Bashi review will give you the lowdown, it's not just us who thought this was a bit lacklustre either as Metacritic reveals. Back to the drawing board Icon!

DSiWare

GO Series Earth Saver (Gamebridge, 500pts) — An unusual sight: a 500 Point GO Series game, this one tasks you with defending the Earth from impending asteroid-based doom, like Armageddon without Aerosmith. You can read our GO Series Earth Saver first impressions from its Japanese release and we'll have a full review later this week.

G.G Series Horizontal Bar (Genterprise Inc, 200pts) — This is GO Series Let's Swing by another name, which means you need to fling yourself from bar to bar to proceed. You can read our GO Series Horizontal Bar review to see what we made of it.

JellyCar 2 (Disney Interactive, 500pts) — The driving platform game with a name that you just can't beat, it's already seen release on WiiWare, so you might want to read our JellyCar 2 WiiWare review to get a feel for what to expect from the upcoming portable take. We'll be reviewing the DSiWare game later this week, of course.

NINTENDO DOWNLOAD: HEAVY FIRE AND BOMBERMAN DOWNLOADS MAKE FOR AN EXPLOSIVE WEEK

March 7, 2011

This week's new downloadable games for Nintendo systems invite you to "have a blast" in more ways than one. Heavy Fire: Black Arms for the WiiWare™ service puts players at the center of an explosive, action-filled adventure as they take on the role of a Special Forces recruit. On the Virtual Console™ service, Bomberman Hero lets Wii™ owners enjoy classic and combustible fun from the Nintendo 64™ era. New arrivals for the Nintendo DSiWare™ service include GO Series EARTH SAVER, which challenges players to blast apart a deadly meteorite that threatens all of humanity. And if your taste runs beyond pyrotechnics, you'll also find soccer, gymnastics and squishy driving action in this week's lively mix of downloads.

WiiWare

Heavy Fire: Black Arms
Publisher: Teyon
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) - Blood, Violence
Price: 500 Wii Points™
Description: Set out on a dangerous campaign in South America in a continuation of the popular shooter Heavy Fire: Special Operations. As a Special Forces recruit, you will take part in the operation to stop an illegal arms trade. Heavy Fire gives players a classic arcade light-gun experience, enhanced with stunning graphics and exciting new features. Destroy the biggest weapon cartel, Fuerza de Voluntad, which is influential all over the continent. Team up with a friend and experience an immersive co-op mode. Enjoy dynamic minute-to-minute game play in various weather conditions and settings in the heart of a jungle. Smash objects and interact with them. Perform quick events and face your enemies with new powerful weapons. With plenty of weapon types and various vehicles at your disposal, put an end to the expansion of the paramilitary organization. Take full advantage of the Wii Remote™ controller and optional Wii Zapper™ accessory (sold separately).

Soccer Bashi (demo version)
Publisher: Icon Games Entertainment
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Mild Fantasy Violence
Price: 0 Wii Points; full version available for 500 Wii Points
Description: Experience soccer of the future. Destroy the defender blocks and smash the ball into the goal to win, but watch for the enemy defenders out to destroy you. A built-in game editor offers unlimited level design possibilities. Play through the 90 built-in game levels in several different play modes, including Arcade and Customizable Tournaments. Special level features include animated blocks, exploding blocks, shield blocks, invisible blocks and deadly 3D defender enemies. Face challenging end-of-zone bosses. Use the Level Editor to build your own levels - up to 100 user-created levels can be stored. Tournament Mode allows you to create your own unique tournaments using built-in game levels or your own levels. Special Power-Ups and Super Power-Ups including lasers, bombs, flaming power balls and multiple balls and bats can help (or hinder) you on your way to the goal.

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

Virtual Console

Bomberman Hero
Original platform: Nintendo 64
Publisher: Hudson Entertainment
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Mild Violence
Price: 1,000 Wii Points
Description: Bomberman returns in his own full-on action game. One day, out of nowhere, a spaceship crash-lands on Planet Bomber. Journeying to the Peace Mountains to investigate, Bomberman encounters Pibot, the dazed robot pilot. According to Pibot, the evil Garaden Empire attacked Primus Star and kidnapped Princess Millian from Pibot's escape ship. Hearing this, Bomberman vows to save the princess, even if he has to travel the length of the galaxy to do it. Bomberman is equipped with an infinite supply of bombs and can count on a variety of upgrades to aid him in his quest. His search for the princess takes him to five exciting planets, reuniting him with his old friend Louie and uncovering new items. Fly, swim, shoot and bomb your way through the galaxy and save Princess Millian.

Nintendo DSiWare

G.G Series HORIZONTAL BAR
Publisher: Genterprise Inc.
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points™
Description: This is a new type of action game that will have you swinging and jumping from bar to bar, just like the parallel bars in gymnastics. The controls are simple. Grab onto a bar, add momentum to your swing by pressing left or right on the +Control Pad, then jump and spin to the next bar by pressing the A Button. Gauge the force of your swings and the timing of your jumps just right to cross the course in the fastest time possible. Do you have what it takes to be a star gymnast?

GO Series EARTH SAVER
Publisher: Gamebridge
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Mild Fantasy Violence
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: A giant meteorite is headed straight for Earth. Land your spaceship on the meteorite and set explosives to break off small pieces so the rock breaks up in Earth's atmosphere. Chunks of meteorite that are too big will smash into Earth, wiping out mankind. As an explosives expert, you can plant a series of bombs to create chain-reaction combos, easily blasting off chunks of rock the size of houses. You'll also need to tackle the many strange alien life forms you encounter by either blowing them up or cunningly blasting around the piece of rock they're standing on so they fall with the meteorite. Can you save Earth from obliteration and secure the future of mankind?

JellyCar 2
Publisher: Disney Interactive
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: JellyCar 2, the hit driving platform game, is here and fully loaded with three game modes and more than 30 levels. Post high scores, best times and longest jumps in the Hall of Fame. With so much squishy goodness, you'll want to drive JellyCar 2 all around town. In Classic mode, drive your squishy car and use your special abilities to drive through squishy worlds. In Factory mode, guide the falling parts into matching chutes, tap the levers to open different pathways and guide each part down the conveyor belts. In Long Jump mode, you're going for distance and speed - watch out for objects that can slow you down, and look for objects that can help give you a boost!