Take me down to the Retro City

Nintendo's well and truly on the ball this week, Europe, bringing us our download news nice and early. This week sees the Wii and DSi rejoin the party with 3DS, while Wii U drops out for a bit of a rest. The offerings include a recently unveiled game from 3DS Direct, as well as a long awaited retro adventure on WiiWare. Let's get to the details.

3DS eShop

Splash or Crash (Nintendo, €2.99 / £2.69) — Known as Kersploosh in North America, this title tasks you with guiding a variety of objects — ranging from pebbles to jewels — down a well safely while avoiding various obstacles. It sounds simple and slightly bonkers, but at a budget price may be an attractive option; we'll work on our aim, find the nearest well and get a review to you soon.

3DS Virtual Console

Pac-Man (Namco Bandai, €4.99 / £4.49) — This NES version of the title makes its way to 3DS in Europe after its November eShop appearance in North America. This NES port of the arcade classic is thoroughly competent, and the 3DS version has the benefit of portability and the included two player mode, making this a better option than the Game Boy equivalent — check out our Pac-Man review for the full lowdown.

DSiWare

Easter Eggztravaganza (Microvalue, 500 Nintendo Points) — It's a seasonal mini-game collection with a superfluous "z" in the title, so this one may be met with some trepidation. Clearly targeting children, there's a back story about painting eggs, visiting the shops and family before embarking on an egg hunt, so we can expect spot the difference and colouring-in games to feature. We'll be stuffing our faces with chocolate eggs and reviewing this for your pleasure in the not too distant future.

WiiWare

Retro City Rampage (Vblank Entertainment, 1000 Nintendo Points) — This one was on the "delayed for so long it'll probably be cancelled" list for a fair amount of time on WiiWare, and yet it now graces the Wii (and Wii U's "Wii Mode", don't forget) with its brand of pixel-based pop-culture old-skool GTA mayhem. Critically acclaimed by some on other systems, this WiiWare version will also include ROM City Rampage, a version of the game constructed as if to actually run on the NES. We'll start causing chaos on the streets in the name of bringing you our review.

Reel Fishing Ocean Challenge (Natsume, 500 Nintendo Points) — Another entry in the sports fishing-sim, this is a series well-known to Wii veterans. This entry carries on in much the same vein as its predecessors, but we feel that poor motion controls, disappointing visuals and ill-advised paid-DLC let this entry down — our Reel Fishing Ocean Challenge review has all the details.

So there you have it, a couple of relatively high profile releases on 3DS and Wii accompanied by some retro arcade action, seasonal mini-games and an iffy fishing simulation. Let us know which of these will be emptying your virtual accounts this week.

What will you be downloading first this week? (152 votes)

  1. Splash or Crash (3DS eShop)17%
  2. Pac-Man (3DS Virtual Console)3%
  3. Easter Eggztravaganza (DSiWare)1%
  4. Retro City Rampage (WiiWare)28%
  5. Reel Fishing Ocean Challenge1%
  6. Nothing for me this week51%

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