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Another week kicks off with the European Nintendo Download Update, and it's certainly one of the stronger weeks in recent times for eShop fans. Both the Wii U and 3DS have highly anticipated 'Nindie' releases, while a hugely popular sandbox / crafting adventure also arrives on the portable as a discount retail title. Throw in some discounts and 3DS HOME Themes, too, and you have a rather busy week - let's get to the details.

Wii U eShop

FAST Racing NEO (Shin'en Multimedia, €14.99 / £10.99) - Futuristic sci-fi racing games have become a rare entity on Nintendo hardware, and so the hype around this racer is certainly understandable. A follow-up to FAST - Racing League on WiiWare, this new entry makes various changes to the gameplay and has lovely 60fps performance with flashy visuals. We gave this a glowing recommendation in our FAST Racing NEO review.

Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures (ScrewAttack Games, €9.99 / £8.99) - It's taken a while, but this rather difficult AVGN action platformer has now arrived on the Wii U in Europe. It's certainly challenging and has plenty of references and nods to retro gaming and the YouTube series; we gave this a recommendation in our Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures Wii U review.

VoxelMaker (Nostatic Software, €4.49 / £3.49) - A 3D art studio that's centred around creating models and environments with 3D blocks, which can then be rendered with realistic lighting and shadows. This offers a good toolset and earned a recommendation in our VoxelMaker review, even if the end results are only good for display and little more.

Dinox (Engine Software, €4.99 / £4.49) - This is a 'prehistory' trivia game that'll support solo play or up to four players at once, promising over 900 questions overall. We'll dust off some fossils and bring you a review.

Wii U Virtual Console

Game & Watch Gallery Advance (Nintendo, €6.99 / £6.29) - A neat entry as this series of collections moved off the Game Boy Colour, this title offers a range of 'Classic' games (like Mario's Cement Factory, Donkey Kong Jr., Donkey Kong 3, Fire, Boxing, and Rain Shower) and also modern remasters utilising the GBA's capabilities. We'll watch this one closely and bring you a review.

Polarium Advance (Nintendo, €6.99 / £6.29) - The eShop is well stocked with puzzle games, though Nintendo is keen to boost the Wii U library with this somewhat unique Game Boy Advance title; your goal is to flip tiles in one move so that they're all matching colours. It should make more sense when you play it, and we'll get into it for a review.

Wii U eShop Temporary Discounts

Citizens of Earth (Atlus, €4.99 / £4.00 until 24th December, normally €11.99 / £9.99)

Life of Pixel (Super Icon, €4.99/ £4.49 until 9th January, normally €9.99 / £8.99)

Rock 'N Racing Off Road DX (EnjoyUp Games, €2.99/ £2.69 until 7th January, then €5.99 / £5.39)

ZaciSa: Defense of the Crayon Dimensions! (ZeNfA Productions, €0.99 / £0.79 until 7th January, normally €2.99 / £2.29)

TABLETOP GALLERY (RCMADIAX, €3.00 / £2.70 until 6th January, normally €4.49 / £4.09)

BLOK DROP X TWISTED FUSION (RCMADIAX, €2.00 / £1.80 until 6th January, normally €2.99 / £2.69)

BLOK DROP U (RCMADIAX, €1.00 / £0.85 until 6th January, normally €1.49 / £1.29)

3DS eShop

SteamWorld Heist (Image & Form, €16.99 / £11.99 until 31st December, then 19.99 / £14.99) - The follow-up to breakthrough title SteamWorld Dig, this adopts a turn-based 2D strategy approach for the highly stylised steambot IP. A lengthy campaign is delivered along with plenty of weapons and hats, because robots wearing hats are surely irresistible; we loved this in our SteamWorld Heist review. Free and exclusive 3DS HOME Theme included with all purchases before 31st December.

Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures (ScrewAttack Games, €9.99 / £8.99) - This version throws stereoscopic 3D into the mix, and if you like a challenge it may be well worth consideration. We enjoyed this portable iteration in out Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures 3DS review.

Rytmik Ultimate (Cinemax, €17.99 / £15.99, or €9.99 / £8.99 for those with The Keep on the same Nintendo Network ID) - This music creation tool will include the sound samples from its predecessors on DSiWare along with new content, while there'll also be options to share, listen to and collaborate on music online. We'll create some tunes and bring you a review.

Petit Novel Series - Harvest December (CIRCLE Entertainment, €11.99 / £9.19) - The eShop platforms have hosted a few storybook series, and this is the latest to stake its claim; this one has 13 short stories following a teenager called Masaki Konno, one for each month and culminating with Harvest December.

The Magic Hammer (Wobbly Tooth, €4.99 / £4.49) - This is ambitious in nature, promising an open-world RPG with customisation and exploration featured. Throw in local and online co-op alongside a 'Creative Mode' and there's plenty to offer on paper, though in the end we thought the execution and final experience was average in our review.

3DS Retail Download

Terraria (505 Games, €19.99 / £16.99) - This 2D platformer / resource / sandbox game has become a huge success since it took off as an Indie title on PC, picking up 505 Games as a publisher and arriving on a host of platforms. The 3DS version will deliver some welcome portability, of course, with the touch screen put to good use. You can check out our hands on impressions to see more, and we'll dig into a review.

3DS eShop Temporary Discounts

Shin Megami Tensei IV (Atlus, €9.99 / £7.40 until 24th December, normally €19.99 / £17.99)

Citizens of Earth (Atlus, €4.99 / £4.00 until 24th December, normally €11.99 / £9.99)

Adventure Bar Story (CIRCLE Entertainment, €3.99 / £3.19 until 31st December, normally €4.99 / £3.99)

Brunch Panic (CIRCLE Entertainment, €2.99 / £2.49 until 31st December, normally €3.99 / £3.39)

KAMI (CIRCLE Entertainment, €1.99 / £1.59 until 31st December, normally €2.99 / £2.39)

Sweet Memories Blackjack (CIRCLE Entertainment, €2.99 / £2.39 until 31st December, normally €3.99 / £3.19)

Zombie Panic in Wonderland DX (Akaoni Studio, €4.99 / £4.49 until 9th January, normally €7.00 / £6.30)

3DS HOME Themes

Happy Holidays with Mario & Luigi (Nintendo, €1.99 / £1.79)

Le Qpiz superoine nella notte! (Zodiak Active, €0.99)

Pedalate Qpiz! (Zodiak Active, €0.99)

Le Qpiz e la neve: bel lancio Liebe! (Zodiak Active, €0.99)


Plenty to choose from this week, so let us know what you'll be downloading in the poll and comments below.

What will you be downloading this week? (You can choose multiple options)

(You can select up to 15 answers)