WiiWare News - Page 9

September2010

August2010

  • News Pelvic Floor Exercise Game Fills Gap in the Market

    Now we've really heard everything

    The Wii has a huge audience, from little children to pregnant women, and so it's only fair that each gamer gets a game individually tailored to them. Kaasa is already working on Physiofun, a physiotherapy game for WiiWare that uses the Balance Board, but a PEGI rating has outed something rather more... specialised...

  • News Ready Your Guns for The Westerner on Monday

    Showdown at the Wii Shop Channel Corral

    Fans of the Wild West may look enviously upon the titles released on HD consoles in the past year, notably Red Dead Redemption and Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood, and wish for their own rootin' tootin' adventure to match. Well, they'll be waiting a long time yet, but here comes a more sedate cowboy adventure...

  • Nintendo Download 30th August 2010 (North America)

    Elastic on WiiWare; Piano, Notebooks and Cosmos on DSiWare

    After a short delay the Nintendo Download is available, and sadly brings with it no surprises, meaning August ends with more of a whimper than a bang. WiiWare: Tales of Elastic Boy: Mission 1 (600pts, Lexis Numerique) – A platformer from the creators of the PooYoos games, this was released...

  • News Updated Cave Story Remixed Soundtrack Released

    And it won't cost you a cent!

    That's right, the nice folks over at Nicalis have just released an amazing updated remixed Cave Story soundtrack and it's now available for download completely free of charge. You can click here to download the 3 disc zip file. We'll keep you posted on any new announcements regarding the upcoming European release of...

  • News Super Meat Boy Should be on the WiiWare Menu Soon

    Check out the new images from the Hell chapter

    If you're looking forward to Team Meat's upcoming Super Meat Boy then you're in luck, as the latest post on the developers' official blog has announced that the Xbox Live Arcade version is now content complete. With the XBLA game nearing the finish line, that means Team Meat will be able to concentrate...

  • News Brand New Frobot Director's Cut Video

    The game continues to look better and better

    The nice folks at Fugazo have just sent over a brand new gameplay video of their upcoming WiiWare release Frobot in action. The brand new video shows a far more polished look and assures fans that the game will indeed be released sometime in 2010. It's been a long wait for the game, but judging from this...

  • News My Planetarium Gazes Out Into the Expanding WiiWare Library

    Hudson's galactic follow-up to its My Aquarium series

    Hudson's been releasing some fairly decent and relaxing simulations on the WiiWare service lately. The developer has more than likely extracted all it can from the aquarium route, at least for the time being, however – and an ESRB rating has revealed a new direction that's a lot more cosmic in...

  • News BIT.TRIP FATE Teaser Image Released

    More funky artwork to blow your mind

    As you know, Gaijin Games has just recently announced the title of their newest BIT.TRIP release BIT.TRIP FATE, so the obligatory teaser image from the ever-sadistic Alex Neuse was bound to surface eventually. As you can see below, it's a very beautiful piece of artwork, but if you're expecting to get any type of...

  • Interviews Onteca Studio Visit - A Monsteca Corral

    We discuss monsters, robots and WiiWare with Corral’s Producer and Art Director

    Following our recent A Monsteca Corral: Monsters vs. Robots review, we headed to Liverpool in the UK to chat with independent developer Onteca’s Jon Wetherall (Producer) and Rich Alston (Art Director), about their first WiiWare title. Nintendo Life: Where did the...

  • News The Roller Derby Game of Your Dreams is Coming to WiiWare

    Girls on rollerskates at last

    "What's a roller derby?", the curious among you may have asked. It's a sport in which two teams of five players on rollerskates try to score points against each other. It's fast, physical and hardly what you'd call "mainstream", which makes it a perfect candidate for a transition to Wii. That's exactly what's happening,...

  • Nintendo Download 27th August (Europe)

    A slightly lower amount of releases this time

    It's the first time in a few weeks that Europe has to make do without a new Virtual Console game, but you can't really complain too much: we've had some great titles recently and we'll be getting another game in the form of Samurai Shodown III next week. Hopefully an excellent WiiWare platformer and some...

  • Review And Yet It Moves (WiiWare)

    Vertigo has never felt so fun

    It seems that the Wii’s unconventional controller and competitively underpowered specifications have made the console quite attractive to smaller PC developers looking to break into the console space. Cave Story jumped from freeware to WiiWare with a fresh coat of paint and new modes and jams, Pearl Harbor benefitted...

  • News New Screenshots Illuminate Aya and the Cubes of Light

    Object Vision gives us an art attack

    We got a first whiff of Aya and the Cubes of Light last week, and now developer Object Vision has been in touch to share some new screenshots of the title and more details of its launch. There is currently no fixed release date, with the game due to enter lotcheck at Nintendo of America next month with a European...

  • Podcast NLFM Episode 8: Have You Heard Captain Falcon's Theme Song?

    If you haven't then you're in for a real treat

    Some video game themes are so iconic that it's impossible to not recognize where they're from, even if you haven't touched the game in years. Tetris. Super Mario Bros. Captain Falcon? While we're not saying his theme song is up there in the annals of game music legend, after this episode of NLFM,...

  • News European Developers get Their Games Nominated for Milthon Awards

    The 4th Milthon Awards has selected four titles on Nintendo systems across four categories

    With the BAFTA Video Game Awards done and dusted, gamers hoping to see their favourite titles get some sort of golden trophy need only wait a few more weeks as this September marks the fourth annual Milthon Awards; recognising European video game studios and...

  • Nintendo Download August 23rd (North America)

    Anticipated games arrive and the Virtual Console returns!

    With Rytmik, And Yet It Moves and Ufouria: The Saga all in one day, this week's download fares better than previous outings. The debut of the G.G Series, a classic puzzle game and farming on the go round out this week's line-up. WiiWare: And Yet It Moves (1000pts, Broken Rules) – This...

  • News Exclusive Horizon Riders Screenshots Ready to Lock and Load

    Shots of Sabarasa's simple but stylish shooter

    We brought you the latest trailer of Horizon Riders the other day, and now we have a wealth of exclusive screenshots straight from Sabarasa. Earlier comparisons to Star Fox gain credence with a pared-down aesthetic style that harks back to the classic shooter, with some intense-looking boss battles to...

  • Nintendo Download 20th August (Europe)

    More VC and a bunch of WiiWare and DSiWare

    As we reported earlier this week, Europe gets yet another Virtual Console title to continue the streak. It's accompanied by another bunch of catch-up titles on WiiWare and DSiWare of which we've already reviewed all but one. WiiWare: Furry Legends (1000pts, Gamelion Studios) – A platformer that's been in...

  • News Sabarasa Blasts Us with Horizon Riders Trailer

    WiiWare shooter looking sweet

    Last month we brought you word on Horizon Riders, an upcoming rail shooter from Sabarasa Games. Now the team has sent over the latest trailer showing off more footage from the title, and it's shaping up to be a thrilling ride. Wii Balance Board support is confirmed, allowing you to lean from side-to-side to steer your...

  • News WiiWare Revs Up with Rush Rush Rally Racing

    Dreamcast indie game turns to Nintendo

    Despite having never really taken off in the face of the PlayStation 2 – though that's a story for another site – the Dreamcast is still a much-loved console to this day, with small developers still releasing new titles. One such team is Senile Games, whose classic racing games Rush Rush Rally Racing is...

  • News Robotube's Bloktonik Drops to 2011 on WiiWare

    Delay for boxy puzzler

    WiiWare may not be short on quality puzzle games featuring cubes, what with You, Me, and the Cubes, Art of Balance, Art Style: Cubello and more, but Robotube's Bloktonik won't be beefing up the service's line up this year as it's slipped to 2011. In a post on the company's blog, founder Jason Cirillo said: I’ve gotten a lot...

  • Review A Monsteca Corral: Monsters vs. Robots (WiiWare)

    Pikmin-like play that packs a punch

    A Monsteca Corral: Monsters vs. Robots is refreshing, both in its quirky tone and its strategic demands. What starts off as a seemingly simplistic mechanic – guide a herd of creatures around to collect bubbles – eventually evolves into a surprisingly deep and thoroughly challenging affair. This is achieved by...

  • News Aya and the Cubes of Light Defies WiiWare Laws of Gravity

    What's up?

    Gravity's everywhere these days: Super Mario Galaxy 2 made it an artform, but WiiWare developer Object Vision has a few tricks up its sleeve in the upcoming release Aya and the Cubes of Light. Little is known about the title so far, with the game's official website presenting only a cryptic log-in screen and nothing else, but from the...

  • News Get the Lowdown on And Yet It Moves with this Series of Videos

    Rotating puzzler explained

    WiiWare puzzle platformer And Yet It Moves is a curious beast: with graphics inspired by paper cut-outs and hamsters with horns, it's truly unlike anything on the format so far. Maybe that's why developer Broken Rules wants to give you a headstart before the game's release next week with a series of helpful instructional...

  • Review Space Trek (WiiWare)

    Space dreck

    Calaris's last WiiWare game, WarMen Tactics, was allegedly “created to reflect the realities of urban warfare." Not only did it completely and utterly fail to accomplish its goal, it completely and utterly failed to function as a working and playable videogame. The operations guide of its latest outing, Space Trek, describes...

  • News Angry Birds Making Their Nest on WiiWare

    It seems a DSiWare release isn't enough for Chillingo

    You may remember we reported on the possibility that the fastest-selling game on the Apple Store was likely to make its appearance on the DSi Shop earlier this month. Well now it seems Angry Birds could be flying over to the Wii Shop Channel too as an ERSB rating suggests. If you're not familiar...

  • Nintendo Download 16th August 2010 (North America)

    Monsters and Space on WiiWare; Mahjong, Reflections, Singing and Notes on DSiWare; nothing on VC

    Another week, another round of "Where's My Most Anticipated Game?" with the Nintendo Download. There's no Shantae and no Virtual Console release, but don't be glum: there's still Quark Dispellers, Astro Maggots, Divergent Shifts and all manner...

  • First Impressions Lilt Line

    Gaijin gets ready to beat us up again

    WiiWare fans already know to associate the Gaijin Games name with a series of top drawer titles, all with unique retro stylings and a heavy emphasis on music. Now the developer has turned publisher, having picked up A Different Cloth's iPhone title Lilt Line for a transition to the big screen. We recently sat...

  • News Gaijin Games Tease Fifth Game in BIT.TRIP Series

    Facebook post outs new instalment...and Wii Zapper support?

    Gaijin Games, the team responsible for creating the retro-styled BIT.TRIP series on WiiWare, is spilling the bits on its latest game. Recent updates on its official facebook page have been dropping cryptic clues as to what is coming next in the series, partially revealing the title of the...

  • Nintendo Download 13th August (Europe)

    Cowboys, card games, racing and more

    As we already reported earlier this week, the Virtual Console is keeping up its streak of weeks with a new game a bit longer, with today's new retro release easily being the most interesting new title this week. All five of this week's games have already been released elsewhere, so you don't have to wait for any...

  • Review Enjoy Your Massage! (WiiWare)

    Rubbed the wrong way

    Most of the time when you talk about hand-drawn 2D graphics in a game, it's a good thing. In the case of Enjoy Your Massage!, however, it's a hideous thing. The stock girl who you'll be rubbing down over and over again looks like she was whipped up in a minute with a Wacom drawing tablet, complete with a wobbly outline and one...

  • Review My Aquarium 2 (WiiWare)

    Go fish

    When Hudson released the original My Aquarium on WiiWare two years ago, it not only quickly made it to the highest reaches of the WiiWare charts but managed to hang around the top three for well over a year. Now, Hudson is trying to capture lightning in a bottle again with the release of My Aquarium 2. While there are a few new additions to...

  • News Monsters Smash Robots in Monsteca Corral from August 16th

    500pts for WiiWare strategy

    We played an early version of Monsteca Corral in February of this year, and we knew then it had a long time left before release. Now it doesn't, as it's due to invade WiiWare in North America on August 16th, with a European release following just days later. Coming to the end of its two-year development cycle with a new...

  • First Impressions Gods vs. Humans

    Tower power

    Fresh from the first footage of in-game action, a preview build of Gods vs. Humans arrived at Nintendo Life HQ for us to get to grips with. Taking in several stages as the Egyptian God Osiris, the demo offers a sneak peek at what to expect from the finished product. Despite some similarities to Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life...

  • Nintendo Download 9th August 2010 (North America)

    Aquariums and Massages for Wii; ABC123, Rhythm, Chess and Lost Artifacts for DSiWare; no VC game.

    If you're a Wii owner looking for a relaxing experience, this week's download is enough to send you into nirvana, with massages and fish-staring ahoy. DSi owners receive some rather more cerebral offerings, with chess, puzzles, music and even a learning...

  • News My Aquarium 2 Website Makes a Splash

    Dive into new information

    Just released in Japan, My Aquarium 2 is due to ride the waves to the Western world within the near future, so it's a good job Hudson has opened the information floodgates by launching the game's website. As well as the option to use the Forecast Channel to update the in-game weather and the revelation that your fish will...

  • News Witness the Birth of My Little Baby on WiiWare This November

    Don't want to get pregnant? Buy this game instead, then

    Are you looking for a 'baby care' game because looking after a real baby is far too much hassle? Look no further because Raylight Studios is teaming up with DTP to bring WiiWare gamers a port of My Little Baby; originally released on the DS, and then brought over to the mobile phone format. The...

  • News Dress Up and Throw Down in These Hoopworld Clothes

    Hoodies, t-shirts and sneakers for sale

    Hoopworld has been shooting from downtown for a few weeks now, plenty long enough for fans of the game to have decided if they would or wouldn't spend $65 on some branded basketball shoes. If you're in the camp who would pay for them, today is your lucky day, as Virtual Toys and Streamline Studios have...

  • Nintendo Download 17th & 18th August (Japan)

    A break for the Virtual Console and a mini-update for the DSi next week in Japan

    All good things must come to an end - weekly Virtual Console releases in Japan, for example. Ah well, it's summer, so people should be playing outside anyway! WiiWare: Item Sagashi ★ Yōsei to Fushigi no Tō (500pts - Ateam Inc.) -- More party games centred around...

  • Review Deer Captor (WiiWare)

    Oh deer

    Deer Captor is a blast from the past, a lazy rehash of a genre over two decades old that lets you blast stuff. The game doesn't look or feel particularly bad upfront - it has decent graphics, clean presentation and well functioning motion controls - but playing it is simply a bore, like you've been sold some watered-down version of those...

  • Nintendo Download 6th August (Europe)

    Sand and chess on WiiWare; Aero 2 on VC; Links, chess and puzzles on DSiWare

    To call this a catch-up week would be a slight understatement: several of these games have been out for months, with one game reaching European shores after over a year and a half. Enough history, let's get on with it. WiiWare: Sandy Beach (500pts, Konami) – This sandy...

  • News Gods vs Humans Smites You with In-Game Teaser

    WiiWare deities on the move

    There are plenty of tower defence games on WiiWare, but Zallag's upcoming Gods vs. Humans is a twist: it's a tower attack game. You play a God, benevolent and kind, but you're troubled when humans begin building a tower to heaven. How can you stop them from reaching you? By destroying the tower, of course. With a range of...

  • Review Fantasy Slots: Adventure Slots and Games (WiiWare)

    Eye roller

    The Wii has sold brilliantly, more than even Mr. Iwata dreamt, due partly to its let's-get-up-and-have-fun image. Here comes Fantasy Slots: Adventure Slots and Games to prove that sitting down and pressing one button just isn't as much fun as it used to be. With eight variations of the slot machine on offer, each with a theme ranging from...

  • News Furry Legends Softens Up Europe on August 20th

    Rolling rolling rolling

    The victim of a spate of delays, Furry Legends finally landed on WiiWare last month, and the delays were to enable the game to launch in all territories as closely together as possible. Now Europeans can finally stop gazing out the window and wondering, as the game will launch across the continent on August 20th. If you're...

  • News BIT.TRIP RUNNER Soundtrack Now Available

    More BIT.TRIP beats to jam to!

    So you say you want to listen to the amazing musical tracks from the BIT.TRIP RUNNER release but don't know where to turn? Well the nice guys over at Gaijin Games have just announced that the game's soundtrack can now be yours for a mere $5.99. Check out the official press release below for all of the information you...

  • News And Yet It Moves Tears Up North America on August 23rd

    Updated: 1000 Points

    And Yet It Moves hit many people's radars with our First Impressions of the title back in February, and it's been a long wait to see when the game would finally be available to download. Now, thanks to an update to Nintendo of America's site, we have a date: August 23rd. Updated: official PR confirms pricing of 1,000 Points...

  • Podcast Episode 18 - 3DS Report and Gaijin Games!

    Take another journey into sound

    Another month, another Monday: that can only mean a brand new episode of the Nintendo Life podcast. James Newton will be talking more about the 3DS following his 3DS First Impressions, as well as waxing lyrical about promising party title Wii Party and more. Zach Kaplan returns with a leaner version of This Nintendo...

  • Nintendo Download 2nd August 2010 (North America)

    Chibi fighters, dogzzzz and slots

    There's something for everyone in this week's Nintendo Download. Or is that nothing for everyone? Something for no one? Anything for nothing? Everything or Nothing? Wouldn't that be something. WiiWare: Fantasy Slots: Adventure Slots (Big John Games, 700 Points) — A whole mess of themed slot machines, including...

  • Review Girlfriends Forever: Magic Skate (WiiWare)

    Thin ice

    Let's get right to the point: Girlfriends Forever: Magic Skate is bad. Really, really bad. What seems like a perfect combination of ice skating and dressing-up on the surface reveals itself to be so cripplingly simplistic that not even children would want to play it. At the beginning you choose one of the bug-eyed girls to play throughout...

July2010

  • Nintendo Download 3rd & 4th August (Japan)

    Fish and VC goodness for the Wii; the DSi gets the usual bumper crop of new titles

    WiiWare: Blue Oasis: Michi naru Shinkai (500pts - Hudson) — People in the know will recognise Blue Oasis as the Japanese name for Hudson's perennially popular virtual fish tank, My Aquarium. Apparently not satisfied with what has to be one of the best-selling...

  • News Nintendo Posts 43 Percent Revenue Drop

    For the first time in two years, the Big N posts a quarterly loss

    There has been many-a-meme relating to the DS “printing money,” but now a quarterly earnings report from Nintendo suggests the handheld's printer may be running out of ink. According to the earnings report, which covers the second quarter of fiscal year 2010/2011 running from...

  • Review Dive: The Medes Islands Secret (WiiWare)

    As much relaxing as it is fun

    Dive: The Medes Island Secret marks the second WiiWare release from developer Cosmonaut and a far more ambitious project than its first release 5 Spots Party was. This time around, players will get the opportunity to explore vast underwater depths in search of hidden treasures using the unique motion controls of the Wii...

  • Review Heavy Fire: Special Operations (WiiWare)

    Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-buyer's remorse

    There’s certainly no lack of lightgun games on Wii; in fact, one of the more vocal complaints about Wii shooters is that too many of them are on-rails. It’s a silly thing to complain about given the dearth of them in previous console generations and the relatively high quality of the Wii’s...

  • Nintendo Download 30th July 2010 (Europe)

    A bit of a catch-up week

    The Virtual Console takes another expected break to focus more on WiiWare and DSiWare this week, with five releases total spread across the both of them. All of them have already been released elsewhere, including a few in North America only a few days ago, so you can expect reviews for them all very shortly. WiiWare: Dive:...

  • Nintendo Download 26th July 2010 (North America)

    Diving and Firing for WiiWare; Acrobats for VC; a bumper crop for DSiWare

    A big week for DSiWare with five titles arriving, WiiWare receiving two very different titles and Aero the Acrobat tumbles gracefully onto Virtual Console. WiiWare: Dive: The Medes Islands Secret (Cosmonaut Games, 1000pts) – This underwater adventure takes a few leaves from...

  • Review Hoopworld (WiiWare)

    Fouled by the W-word

    Streamline Studios' HoopWorld has been a long time coming. Originally announced as an Xbox Live Arcade title back in 2005 and looking like an odd Power Stone/sports hybrid, it's finally seen release on WiiWare in slightly scaled-back form as a 3-on-3 arcade basketball game. There's a hokey backstory to do with primal energy or...