WiiWare News
Party pooper
Enjoy Gaming’s Cruise Party is a collection of four gambling games: video poker, blackjack, roulette and slots. In Video Poker, each player’s five-card hand is visible to all, with the exception of the Bank’s hand, of which you are only privy to one card. Your one and only goal is to wager whether your hand will be better than the...
News Download Versions of Ivy the Kiwi? Rated by ESRB
Tiny bird to fly to WiiWare and DSiWare
Last month we brought you our First Impressions of upcoming PROPE project Ivy the Kiwi?, as well as an exclusive interview with the game's creator Yuji Naka. In Japan, the game received small versions available via WiiWare and DSiWare, so naturally our intrepid reporter Corbie Dillard asked about the...
News Horizon Riders Sets its Sights on WiiWare
Teaser trailer for Sabarasa's next project
The Wii has played host to some great shooters in its time, from arcade hits to brand new titles from genre masters Treasure, and Sabarasa is preparing to bring one more to WiiWare in the form of Horizon Riders. Although the company's released little information so far, the teaser trailer below shows an...
Nintendo Download 5th July 2010 (North America)
Dogfighting, vampire slaying and sheep launching this week
Today, the day after the United States blew itself up and Canada wondered what all that racket was about and some people have jobs in the morning, sheesh, the Nintendo Download brings a peace offering of eight titles across WiiWare and DSiWare. Some anticipated, some not so much, and the...
News Get Physical Next Friday with Toribash: Violence Perfected
1,000 Points for stop-motion fighter
It's been a long old while since we've heard anything about Nabi Studios' fighter Toribash: Violence Perfected, but it's emerged from the silence cocoon with the news it will hit Europe next Friday, July 9th for 1,000 Points. If you're unfamiliar with the admittedly odd concept, Toribash is a turns-based fighting...
News Furry Legends Delayed in North America
WiiWare roll 'em up simply "coming soon"
Those of you expecting to download Furry Legends: Chapter One on Monday might want to put those Nintendo Points away for a short time as the game has been delayed. Developer Gamelion Studios has said that Nintendo has changed the game's release date to "coming soon", and that they expect the new...
WiiWare gets pushed to the limit in this fun 3D platformer
It’s clear that Shin’en Multimedia knows their way around WiiWare. After delivering the lovely Art of Balance, the German studio’s follow-up is a platformer with unparallelled looks on the service. Jett Rocket looks excellent, yes, and we’re happy to say that it plays well too and...
Review Pong Toss Pro - Frat Party Games (WiiWare)
The drunker you are, the better.
Nothing compliments a good buzz like tossing tiny ping pong balls into a group of plastic cups. In fact, Beer Pong has become quite the popular party game over the years, so much so that JV Games released their own version of the game for the WiiWare service back in 2008. Despite receiving extremely low review scores...
Nintendo Download 2nd July (Europe)
DSiWare galore!
DSiWare gets another massive load of new games today, but they're probably not the things you'll mostly be wanting to pay attention to - Both WiiWare and the Virtual Console only get one game each, but they're both great and more than worthy of a look-see. WiiWare: Jett Rocket (1000pts - Shin'en Multimedia) — A 3D platformer with...
News And Here's Your 2010 Club Nintendo Awards, North America
Delectable collectables
So the Club Nintendo North America year came to an end yesterday, and along with the beginning of a new one today the Big N has revealed what super special exclusive awards members who reached Gold or Platinum status are eligible for. The suspense is murderous! In a repeat of last year, Gold status members get a 2011 desk...
News This Mega Man 10 Concept Art is Awesome
Blue Bomber backgrounds in black and white
Although you might think Mega Man 10's retro graphical style is easy, a Japanese site has published some concept art showing the amount of work that went into bringing the game to life. From futuristic transport systems to buildings shaped like grenades, the art shows the detail required to create something...
News Get Cute and Fluffy with Miffy's World on WiiWare
Such cold black eyes...
Miffy, so the song goes, is a sweet little bunny, and Wii owners will soon get the chance to meet the cute rodent as Miffy's World is on the way to WiiWare. Taking the popular character and her friends, Miffy's World is billed as a simulation game that lets young children and their parents explore the world through quests and...
News Jett Rocket Sequel May Already be Firing Up its Boosters
Spoilers potentially contained within
Jett Rocket has only been out in North America for a few days, but already talk of a sequel has hit the Internet, with the game's end sequence dropping some fairly large hints that a follow-up is on the way. Those of you who've already clocked Jett's adventure may have seen this screen, adorned with the familiar...
Review The Tales of Bearsworth Manor: Puzzling Pages (WiiWare)
A beary good game
We've already seen the first Tales of Bearsworth Mansion release make use of a tower defence-style gameplay mechanic, but now Square-Enix is mixing things up a bit with Tales of Bearsworth Manor: Puzzling Pages, the second game in the series and a game that uses the same bear-tossing element of the first release but takes things...
News Jett Rocket Gameplay Trailer - Toxic Swamps
More amazing footage!
The folks at Shin'en were kind enough to send over another jaw-dropping gameplay trailer of their upcoming WiiWare title Jett Rocket! in action. In this video you can check out the "Toxic Swamps" area of the game, along with a host of cool gameplay mechanics demonstrated throughout the video. Just three more days...
News Take Off with Pearl Harbor on July 5th
Only 700 Points for Legendo's first airborne adventure
It won't be long until you can get your hands on Pearl Harbor Trilogy – 1941: Red Sun Rising as Legendo has just confirmed the game will take off from North American WiiWare servers on Monday, July 5th for a rather reasonable 700 Points. Here's the official press release: Gothenburg, Sweden,...
Nintendo Download 29th & 30th June 2010 (Japan)
WiiWare returns, Meta Fighting on the VC; X Returns and other stuff on DSi.
WiiWare: Boku mo Sekai o Sukuitai (1000pts - Poisoft) – If we're understanding Poisoft's website and the description on the Nintendo WiiWare page this is a combination of a sim and an RPG where players get to create multiple elves, dwarves, etc. with stats and skill trees...
Nintendo Download 25th June (Europe)
Hidden gems galore?
A lot of today's game titles might not say much to some people, but rest assured there's some good picks in this bunch. WiiWare gets three games, two of them great, and one not-yet-reviewed-but-very-likely-also-great. DSiWare's got five new titles of which the only reviewed one is good as well. The rest of the bunch could be more...
News Tales of Bearsworth Manor Additional Content
A rundown of the downloadable content and what it will cost you
Tales of Bearsworth Manor: Chaotic Conflicts and Tales of Bearsworth Manor: Puzzling Pages have only just hit the WiiWare service in North America and we've already received the list of all additional content that will be made available for both titles in the coming weeks. You can take...
News Murder, Death, Kill Again as MDK2 Comes to WiiWare
Classic adventure on the way
MDK2 is a game about a six-legged dog and a mad professor – that should guarantee your attention even if you haven't played the game in question. Developed by BioWare and released on Dreamcast, PC and PlayStation 2, the game was highly acclaimed but mostly forgotten, but publisher Interplay is set to revive the title...
News Furry Legends Coughs Up 100,000 Wii Points
Gamelion Studios offers fortune via Facebook
It's not long until Gamelion Studio's first entry in the Furry Legends saga will be available to download from the Wii Shop Channel, and the company is ensuring it lands with a bang by offering a total prize fund of 100,000 Nintendo Points in a sweepstake, divided neatly into 1,000 Point portions for...
News Win One of 100 Digital Copies of Groovin' Blocks
Empty Clip Studio launching giveaway for North America
We've just had an email from Francois over at Empty Clip Studios, asking us to let you know about an upcoming competition for North American readers only to win one of 100 copies of Groovin' Blocks, the company's rather enjoyable WiiWare puzzler. All you need to do to be in with a chance of...
Review The Tales of Bearsworth Manor: Chaotic Conflicts (WiiWare)
A bear-knuckle ball
For anyone that's played video games for an extended span of time, the name Square-Enix has long been synonymous with epic role-playing adventures and in-depth strategy battles. So when you see the company release a rather offbeat spooky-themed storybook adventure on WiiWare, your first reaction is likely one of bewilderment. But...
News North American Club Nintendo Year Coming to an End Next Week
Might want to hurry up with that Gold or Platinum status
How's your Club Nintendo account looking, North Americans? Did you register enough Nintendo Product™ since last July to qualify for a neat-o Gold or Platinum badge? If not, you might want to scrape your game collection for stray Coins as the second Club Nintendo year winds down on June 30 to...
Nintendo Download 21st June 2010 (North America)
Spin some tentacles, strategize against dinsoaurs, and puzzle puzzle puzzle
Nintendo hopes you like puzzle games, because that's five of the eight games released this week across WiiWare and DSiWare. To nobody's surprise, the Virtual Console has yet again been left out on a hill to die or something. But look, puzzlers! WiiWare: Art Style: Rotozoa...
Swap 'til you drop
If you've gone anywhere near an electronic device capable of playing games in the past decade, odds are you've heard of PopCap's addictive puzzle series Bejeweled. This WiiWare release of the sequel marks the developer's first foray onto a Nintendo home console and is a worthy version, but it doesn't bring a lot new to the table...
Review Yard Sale Hidden Treasures: Sunnyville (WiiWare)
A good find
Hidden object puzzles are big money these days, drawing in unsuspecting players with tales of relaxing but addictive gameplay. WiiWare has already seen the disappointing "Aha! I Found It!" Hidden Object Game but now Konami is here with a new challenger, Yard Sale Hidden Treasures: Sunnyville, and it's got a few tricks up its...
Nintendo Download 18th June (Europe)
Nintendo serves up a certain ace
It's the week of E3, and what better way to celebrate than by finally releasing another N64 Virtual Console game? And an extremely well-liked one, at that? WiiWare gets one great and one good game as well, but DSiWare seems fairly uninteresting this time. WiiWare: Ant Nation (700pts - Konami) -- A simulation title...
Review Arcade Sports (WiiWare)
Jack-of-all-trades, master of none
Perhaps better named, “Bowling Alley Sports”, Arcade Sports is a collection featuring pool, air hockey, and of course bowling. All of these games are available elsewhere on your Wii, but here you can get all three for one download. We’ve seen plenty of minigame collections on the Wii before, but is this...
Nintendo Download 14th June 2010 (North America)
Bejeweled, sports and yard sales on WiiWare; Kappas, crosswords, keyboards and watches on DSiWare; ninjas on Virtual Console
WiiWare: Bejeweled 2 (1,000 Points - PopCap) The notorious gem-swapping gameplay hits WiiWare, complete with Mii support and online leaderboards. Check out our interview with producer Ty Roberts and our First Impressions of...
Review Mister Bumblebee Racing Champion (WiiWare)
Buzz kill
With a few exceptions – Excitebike: World Rally and Heracles: Chariot Racing chief among them – WiiWare is pretty thin on family-friendly, well-received racing titles, so the thinking behind Mister Bumblebee Racing Champion is clear. Sadly, the best thing about this game is likely to be its title. The key twist here is that all the...
News Back to Basics With Family Games - Pen & Paper Edition
Icon Games unveils its latest family-friendly title
What's better than playing pen and paper games with actual pen and paper? According to Icon Games, playing them on a living room television. The reasoning? It's fun as well as environmentally friendly, saving on all that wasted paper. Well, except the electricity you'll be using. From the makers of...
News Overdrive Your Master Blaster on June 18th, Europe
Much anticipated title out next week
It's been a few months since WiiWare shooter Blaster Master: Overdrive hit the North American Wii Shop Channel, but Europeans are a patient bunch, waiting quietly for their turn to play. That wait is nearly over, as the game will be waiting for you on the Shop Channel next week, priced at 1,000 Points. Here's the...
News Latest Jett Rocket Video Gives Us a Frosty Reception
North Pole level looks ice cool
Now we know there's only a few weeks left until Jett Rocket's finished form lands on WiiWare we're all the more eager to take it for another spin following our recent First Impressions preview. Understandably unable to speed up the passage of time, Shin'en Multimedia has instead sent over a new video of the title to...
Nintendo Download 11th June 2010 (Europe)
Plenty of puzzling, some strategy and racing, and an import
Despite the release of Super Mario Galaxy 2 today, Nintendo of Europe isn't neglecting their download services. The Virtual Console gets a new one-off import game while WiiWare and DSiWare get a whole bunch of catchup titles, plus one completely new game. WiiWare: NEVES Plus: Pantheon of...
Review Reel Fishing Challenge II (WiiWare)
Hook, line and stinker
Reel Fishing Challenge II is, by definition, the follow-up to Reel Fishing Challenge that hit WiiWare last year and as such is basically just more of the same. Fans of staring at full-motion video backgrounds and boring, lame fishing mechanics, rejoice! Everything about it just feels lazy, and the fact that it's essentially a...
Review Zoo Disc Golf (WiiWare)
A discgrace
Let's get this out of the way immediately: Zoo Disc Golf is a game that should not be played by anyone under any circumstances. Zoo animals playing disc golf may sound like a pretty awesome idea, but Zoo Disc Golf is a mess from top to bottom. It takes your ten dollars, chews it up, regurgitates it and spits back at you one of the worst...
News Great Scott! Telltale Bringing Back to the Future to WiiWare
Our excitement level hits 1.21 Gigowatts
Telltale is a busy place to be at the moment: not only is it working on the recently unveiled Puzzle Agent, it recently acquired the rights to produce episodic Jurassic Park games, not yet confirmed for WiiWare but a good probability considering the company's past. Now we've learnt that the studio is also...
News Final Furry Legends Trailer Wants to Scare You
It's not all cutesy furballs and spherical cows, you know
Fresh from yesterday's announcement that Furry Legends: Chapter One will be launching worldwide in July, Gamelion has sent over the final trailer to get your juices well and truly flowing. Whereas previous videos focused on the cutesy, more humorous elements, this final video makes you well...
Shiny 3D platforming comes to WiiWare
Everyone was impressed by the initial videos of Jett Rocket when they first came out, but they don't prepare you for the experience of playing the game itself. We were lucky enough to play a preview build consisting of the first area and it's probably safe to say that based upon our experience this could be the...
News Furry Legends Fluffs Up WiiWare from July 5th
Updated: Worldwide launch planned for July at 1,000 Points
We've brought you plenty of Furry Legends content over the past few months, with our exclusive First Impressions from Poland and behind-the-scenes developer videos as well. If all this has whipped you into a furry frenzy, you'll soon be able to satiate that flufflust as the game will hit the...
News Jett Rocket Comes into Land Soon for 1000 Points
June 28th for North America, July 2nd in Europe
Yesterday we brought you the latest part of the Jett Rocket developer's blog and soon we'll have our First Impressions of the title, but until then tide yourself over with the news that the game is due for a release within the next few weeks for 1,000 Nintendo Points. Reaching North America on June...
News Official Dive: The Medes Islands Secret Gameplay Video
New footage of the game in action.
The kind folks over at Cosmonaut Games have just sent over the newest gameplay video of their upcoming WiiWare title Dive: The Medes Islands Secret in action. As you can see from this new video, the gameplay looks quite fluid and there seem to be quite a few different areas to explore throughout the game. You can...
News Get Your European Tangram on with Neves Plus Next Friday
Puzzle game finds its way across the pond at last
It's been so long since Neves Plus was released in North America – nearly a year, in fact – that we'd almost given up hope of ever seeing it reach Europe. It seems our faith needn't have wavered though, as Abylight has announced it's bringing the game, along with new subtitle Pantheon of Tangrams...
News Jett Rocket Blog Reassures You It's Not All About the Graphics
Jett's moves and why 60fps is key
The thrill of watching Jett Rocket in action is still very much present, but now we know the engine is in good shape it's time to delve a little deeper into what kinds of gameplay will await gamers when the game hits WiiWare in the near future. The latest developer's blog has just been posted to shed some light on...
Nintendo Download 7th June 2010 (North America)
Disc golf, meerkat leading and fishing on the Wii; flames flips and lines on DSi this week in North America
DSiWare: Flametail (500pts - Nintendo) -- Originally featured as the "square" game in MaBoShi, Flametail expands the gameplay centred around touching blocks to burn them up by adding power-ups and different modes of play. We'll work...
Review Ben 10 Alien Force: The Rise of Hex (WiiWare)
Even Steven
The idea of a boy capable of transforming into wildly different forms, each with special abilities, is ideal fodder for game design: Kid Chameleon did it nearly twenty years ago, but Ben 10 Alien Force: Rise of Hex revives the template with a few welcome tweaks. In case you're unfamiliar with the titular hero, Ben Tennyson possesses a...
Put those backstage lighting skills to work!
Although some may argue that there are too many puzzle games on the Wii's download service, it's always nice when a developer shows us a fresh concept in the genre. Studio Walljump recently treated us to a near-release version of its upcoming WiiWare title Liight and after a bit of time exploring what it...
Review Robocalypse: Beaver Defense (WiiWare)
Dam good
Robocalypse: Beaver Defense has all the red flags of a stinker: a "crude humour" warning right when you boot up, a cartoony theme possibly chosen to draw in unsuspecting youths and a genre in which it's easy to cut corners. You might want to think twice before passing this one up, however, as this dam's actually quite sturdy. The...
Nintendo Download 8th & 9th June 2010 (Japan)
WiiWare returns, yet another Neo Geo fighting game, DSi baseball and Ferraris next week in Japan
WiiWare: Kuma Nage ・Puzzle Hen: Piina no Suki na Akai Candy & Kuma Nage ・Puzzle Hen: Kiina no Kirai na Aoi Hōseki (1000pts - Square-Enix) -- Two related games which seem to be set in some kind of storybook world. From the description it's hard...
News Hey WiiWare, Enjoy Your Massage
New muscle manipulation game inbound
Whilst we have a pretty good handle on Nintendo's download front these days, sometimes a company throws a curveball from so far out of left field it stuns even us, and it doesn't get much crazier than a massage game from the publisher of mobile pseudo-erotic title Emmanuelle Erotic Massages. Titled Enjoy Your...
News Retro City Rampage to Cause Havoc on WiiWare This Fall
If you don't mind the time, go ahead and do the crime
Gamers have already had a taste of a Grand Theft Auto-style adventure game on DSiWare in the form of Car Jack Streets, and now it's time for its bigger brother to get a piece of the criminal pie as Vblank Entertainment has the release of its upcoming Retro City Rampage on WiiWare in sight. Set...
Nintendo Download 4th June 2010 (Europe)
Beavers and Brains
Beavers and Brains on Wii, Books, Music, Upside-Down Puzzling and still more Sudoku on DSi this week in Europe. Retro fans will be disappointed at another week without a Virtual Console release, but hopefully we'll be seeing Wild Guns here soon. Otherwise it's mainly a catch-up week for Europe on Wii and DSi. WiiWare:...
Review Art Style: Penta Tentacles (WiiWare)
Tentacular spectacular
The Art Style series certainly stands out as one of the safer bets in Nintendo's stable of downloadable software. These are puzzle games with a minimalist aesthetic and focus on simple gameplay; it's like the Tate Modern of gaming only with content and a price point that's accessible by everyone. Though given an unfortunate...
Interviews Marcin Kawa - Bloober Team
Executive producer slices and dices about the team's upcoming aviation nightmare
You don't see a whole lot of blood and guts on WiiWare, so Bloober Team's upcoming episodic vamp-fest Last Flight certainly stands out among the crowd. We spoke to Marcin Kawa of Bloober Team about how development is going, getting beat to the pop culture punch on...
Nintendo Download 31st May 2010 (North America)
Tanks, blocks, sudoku and SPARTA! on DSi whilst Ben-10, Dice, Beavers and Wild Guns grace the Wii
It's a pretty good mix of new and catch-up titles this week in North America, so hopefully everyone will find something that takes their fancy. DSiWare: X-Scape (800pts - Nintendo) — A sequel to game that was released on the Gameboy a million years...
Bad mojo
Developed by Exkee, the guys behind the rather average ColorZ, Voodoo Dice is a puzzle game in which you control a large yellow die, attempting to reach the end of every stage in order to earn gemstones used to proceed further into the game. Of course, it's not a matter of simply rolling over to the exit: each level has various dice-related...
Review Viral Survival (WiiWare)
Fun with viruses that doesn't involve Mario or vomiting
Viral Survival is a compilation of five single-player arcade games with a loose petri dish theme tying them together. In each game you control a little chunk of DNA (that looks an awful lot like a magnifying glass) as you zip, wind, shoot and jump your way to a top score, which is then...
Review Lead the Meerkats (WiiWare)
The meerkat sim you've been waiting for?
Meerkats have long suffered the reputation of being lazy sods who just lay around in the jungles of Africa eating bugs all day thanks to a certain film from a certain company with a certain round-eared mascot. Of course people who actually have an interest in wildlife (and form their impressions of the world...
Interviews Mateusz Makowiec & Piotr Łatocha - Heavy Fire: Special Operations
We catch up with Teyon to find out more about its latest WiiWare game
Teyon has been a pretty big supporter of both WiiWare and DSiWare lately and with a new war-themed arcade shooter approaching release we thought we'd find out a bit more about the company, its newest WiiWare game and plans for the future. Mateusz Makowiec, the VP for Sales and...
Nintendo Download 28th May 2010 (Europe)
The Virtual Console returns in style, WiiWare gets arty and DSiWare gets a bunch of random stuff
There's plenty to pick from this time. You can either go with one of Kirby's best outings or a new Art Style game on the Wii, or Picross and God of War knock-offs on DSiWare. The choice is yours! WiiWare: Art Style: Penta Tentacles (600pts - Nintendo)...
News Get Fired Up Over Jett Rocket's New Gameplay Trailer
World 1 of the planet Yoroppa
It's rare to see a WiiWare game push the graphical boundaries of the format to an extent where you forget it's a download title, so when a game does exactly that, it's enough to turn heads. That's the kind of impact Jett Rocket has created and the latest trailer shows the game in action, centred in the Atoll Region. The...
Interviews Ty Roberts - Bejeweled 2
We talk to producer Ty Roberts about PopCap's upcoming WiiWare debut
Though PopCap is no stranger to Nintendo platforms, having already released several retail and download games for the DS and DSiWare, Bejeweled 2 marks their first foray in the lounges of Wii owners. After a bit of hands-on time with the final release candidate, we thought we'd...
News Sorry Antipodean Gamers: No Bejeweled 2 For You
PopCap confirms download title staying away from Australia and New Zealand
Fans of WiiWare in Australia and New Zealand are used to seeing titles face long delays or not make it across at all, but it still stings every time. Sadly there's more bad news: we recently interviewed PopCap's Ty Roberts who confirmed to us that Bejeweled 2 won't be heading...
Review Robin Hood: The Return of Richard (WiiWare)
Another porting disaster
WiiWare has already seen a few ports of iPhone games, but this one in particular has to take the cake as the laziest of all. A shooting gallery game based around the legend of Robin Hood, you must protect the people of Nottingham from the seemingly endless hordes of knights running around. As this is a Wii game we're talking...
Review Art Style: light trax (WiiWare)
Racing takes a puzzling turn
After a year-long DSiWare detour, the Art Style series has returned to WiiWare with one of the series' most action-oriented entries so far. It may look like a simple racer, but as the Art Style series has proven time and time again that looks can be deceiving. light trax is an updated version of the Japan-only bit...
Nintendo Download 24th May 2010 (North America)
Games!
Metal, Poker, "Saucy Jack" and Circuits for DSi and Art Style, Viruses and Monkeys on the Wii this week in North America DSiWare: Metal Torrent (500pts – Nintendo) – Nintendo dips its toes into the bullet-hell shooting arena via developer Arika's latest DSiWare game. This has been out in Japan for a while and was published in Europe...
News New Making of Jett Rocket Blog Opens
Go behind the scenes with Shin'en's platform beauty
Anticipation around these parts for Shin'en Multimedia's WiiWare platformer Jett Rocket is pretty high at the moment, with everything released on it so far pointing to a quality platforming title on the way. How did they make it so shiny, though? The official behind the scenes blog should answer...
News Digital Leisure Gets on the WiiWare Decks with Mix Superstar
New music production tools incoming
Everyone's after a slice of the music gaming pie these days, with the latest – and arguably one of the most impressive – titles being the pocket studio Rytmik. Now Digital Leisure is aiming to do for WiiWare what Cinemax did for DSiWare with the announcement of Mix Superstar. With over 1,000 royalty-free loops...
News New Sonic 4 Trailer Almost Makes Up for Delay
Game pushed back for surprising reason
We reported yesterday that Sega's great white Sonic hope, WiiWare 'hog platformer Sonic the Hedgehog 4, has been pushed back from its Summer release date to a late 2010 date now instead. Why is that? It turns out that Sega wants the extra time to take onboard fan feedback about the game, though predictably it...
Nintendo Download 21st May 2010 (Europe)
The Virtual Console takes a break, while WiiWare and DSiWare get a total of six games.
It's that dreaded time again - The Virtual Console is skipping another week in Europe. WiiWare and DSiWare don't exactly make up for the lack of retro goodness either, because there seems to be nothing truly special available this time. WiiWare: Phoenix Wright:...
News Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Speeds Past Summer Release Date, Into Late 2010
Delay for WiiWare platformer for extra polish
Nobody likes being made to wait, especially Sonic himself, but Sega has just announced its upcoming return to the hog's 2D roots, Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1, is going to miss its Summer release slot and will now be available in "late 2010." SEGA has decided to extend the development of...
News These Pearl Harbor Paper Planes are Confusingly Cute
Legendo's WiiWare shooter gets cut, folded and thrown
If there's one way to get your WiiWare game on the news page of every Nintendo site going, it's clearly papercraft: last week's Bit.Trip Runner set may not have been as difficult as the game but it looks just as awesome, and now Legendo is following up with foldable paper versions of the planes...
News Bit.Trip Runner is About "What it Means to be Human"
Alex Neuse reveals game's story and influences
Have you played Bit.Trip Runner yet? It's rather good and, as we said in our review, "cements Gaijin's reputation as a developer that has repeatedly shown it has a firm grasp on the craft of gaming." You might not actually understand what the game's about though: like previous Bit.Trip titles,...
News Zoo Disc Golf Proves That Animals are Competitive When it Comes to Sports
New WiiWare game from Sonalysts
Like with many other art-forms, when you're known for creating something that almost becomes a category that hangs over your head, a change of direction may seem like the order of the day. That's what Sonalysts seems to be doing as it prepares for its upcoming new title for WiiWare download. Having already developed...
Total misfire
Usually when a game is released with so little marketing it's enough to raise suspicions about its quality, but enough excellent WiiWare titles have emerged seemingly from nowhere over the years to make us reconsider those age-old presumptions. Then along comes a title like Blood Beach to remind us exactly why they existed in the first...
Crack cocaine comes to Wii
Popcap Games is a modern internet success story. At a time when it was deemed impossible to make money from selling downloadable content on the web, John Vechey, Brien Fiete and Jason Kapalka managed to build a gaming juggernaut on the back of simple, but addictive games like Zuma and Peggle that have gone on to become the...
Review BIT.TRIP RUNNER (WiiWare)
Running down a dream
The BIT.TRIP series is one of the shining stars of Nintendo's WiiWare service. The simplicity of the game mechanics would work well on the 30-year-old 8-bit consoles to which they pay homage, but it's the intelligence of design and music-rhythm aspect that makes them so addictive. BIT.TRIP RUNNER is the latest entry in the...
Nintendo Download 17th May 2010 (North America)
Running, blood and Kirby for the Wii; frogs, rabbits, upside-down blocks and more blood on DSi
Microgame creator WarioWare D.I.Y. and the hosts of the Nintendo Channel show "Nintendo Week" collide in the Big Name Game for this week, as Allison and Gary each unleash whatever crazy microgame their host brains have done thunk up. WiiWare:...
Nintendo Download 19th May 2010 (Japan)
Earth Saving, Sengoku strategy and Kanji training on DSi next week in Japan
Although we're unaware of any holidays in Japan this week, it appears the Wii is taking a download break. The DSi is still getting a few titles on Wednesday, so importers still have something new to look forward to. DSiWare: Earth Saver Plus: Inseki Bakuha Daisakusen (500...
Space, monsters and boss battles, oh my
It's been a while, space cats, but NLFM is back with another mighty handsome selection of the finest chip and game music around. This time we're splitting chip tunes and swirling epics right down the middle, with equal parts fantastic on both sides. NLFM generally focuses on music from games playable on...
Review Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials & Tribulations (WiiWare)
Phoenix Wrong
Capcom's Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney series on DS has become a popular staple of the system over the past few years, combining a novel-style courtroom presentation with many of the unique gameplay functions of the DS system itself. The end product has been a very engaging gaming experience that allows players to feel like a part of an...
News Soccer Bashi is Breakout with Soccer
Or perhaps it's soccer with Breakout?
Whichever way you slice it, Icon Games' next project Soccer Bashi combines the skill and satisfaction of breaking bricks with the showmanship and balls of soccer and is closing in on the WiiWare goal as we speak. With 90 levels spread over different game modes there should be plenty of variety, but Icon is also...
News And Gods vs Humans Said, "Let There Be Screenshots"
And we saw that they were good
The announcement of Gods vs. Humans was more than a little bit cryptic, with only some rendered artwork and a short trailer to accompany it. Thankfully now we have some in-game screenshots and a press release giving more detail into the gameplay, and it sounds like it could be quite interesting. From the description...
First Impressions Dive - The Medes Island Secret
Diving for retro pearls
After Cosmonaut Games' "spot the difference" WiiWare debut, 5 Spots Party, you might not have expected anything exciting to come from them. But after some hands-on time with their latest effort, Dive: The Medes Island Secret, we think that opinion may change. We were lucky enough to get to play a pre-release build...
Review Chess Challenge! (WiiWare)
The “challenge” must lie in making a good chess game
From the makers of Sudoku Challenge comes Chess Challenge in all of its public domain glory. In our earlier review of Silver Star Chess, the first chess game on Wiiware, we advised to wait “until a better version of the game comes along later.” Is Chess Challenge that gold star chess game...
News Art Style: light trax Smoothly Glides to North America on May 24th
Ladies and gentlemen, start your Nintendo Points!
It seems like ages since the last Art Style game hit WiiWare as the series' focus shifted to DSiWare, but the drought will soon be over as the next entry is due to hit North America in just ten days' time. European fans itching for some stylish arty Tron-style racing will be disappointed that light...
Nintendo Download 14th May 2010 (Europe)
Bit.Trip, Phoenix and Ghouls on the Wii, fire-fighting, platforming action and brain busting on the DSi this week in Europa
WiiWare: Bit.Trip RUNNER (800pts - Aksys Games) -- Europe gets the first try at the latest entry in the minimalist, retro-rhythm game series from Gaijin Games. We loved the time we spent playing the final release version, so if...
News Build Your Own BIT.TRIP RUNNER Papercraft
Print, cut, fold and tape
With the official soundtracks to the first three titles in the BIT.TRIP series already rolled out, Gaijin Games has another treat for fans in spirit of the upcoming release of BIT.TRIP RUNNER on WiiWare. Gamers now have another reason to be excited about the game's European release this Friday because the developers have a...
News Complete Your Living Room: My Fireplace Stoking up WiiWare
It burns, it burns
You've had an aquarium, a dolphin and a zoo in your Wii so far, but how about something even more sedate? How about... a fireplace? That seems to be the thinking over at Korner Entertainment as it's just sent over the press release and first screenshot of My Fireplace, and what a screenshot it is too. Can you see all that virtual...
News Flight Control Cleared for Landing on WiiWare
Firemint title rated for release
The world and its dog can't get enough of Firemint's air traffic 'em up Flight Control, as witnessed by its appearances on iPhone, DSiWare and even on iPad. Anyone who's not yet succumbed to its path-plotting charms could get one more chance to try it out, as Australian body the OFLC has rated the game for release on...
News Experience Cowboy Antics on WiiWare
Western adventure game coming soon to Wiiware
No, we're not talking about our reviewers; rather developer Revistronic has just informed us about its upcoming WiiWare debut The Westerner, the latest entry in a series of adventure games that got its start on the PC over a decade ago. This isn't the first time an adventure game franchise has made the...
Nintendo Download 10th May 2010 (North America)
Fighting with fists and wits and a little reading on the side this week in North America
The Big Name Games part of WarioWare D.I.Y. keeps on growing, with a new addition from Jason Schreiber of Powerhead Games, the studio behind the excellent DSiWare release Glow Artisan. DSiWare: Photo Dojo (0pts - Nintendo) – As a treat to compensate for...
News La Mulana Developers Discuss Religious and Rating Issues
How do you like your Goddess breasts?
It's long been known that many Japanese releases undergo a certain amount of censorship when they're localized for release outside of Japan. It's been a fairly common practice for years and with Nintendo's rather touchy stance on violence and religious symbolisms in games released on their consoles over the...
News Cave Story Confirmed for Australia
Spelunker down under
Attention: Australians! Put that boomerang away and throw some shrimp on the barby! Cave Story was just confirmed by its developer / publisher Nicalis via their Twitter feed. Also, apparently the company thinks that your country is a part of Europe. According to their post: Australia WILL have Cave Story on WiiWare along with...
Feature The Making of Furry Legends - Video 3
Get the lowdown on the game's programming
It won't be long before Furry Legends: Chapter One is unleashed upon WiiWare gamers everywhere, so you may be interested in this Making Of video giving more information about how the game was actually programmed. We've already given you videos on the game's design and production, and will bring you more...
Nintendo Download 11th and 12th May (Japan)
Catch-up week for Japan
After the Golden Week break it looks like Nintendo is mostly offering up titles that we've already seen elsewhere around the world. WiiWare: Sekai no Omoshiro Party Game 2 (500pts - Sims Co., ltd.) – The sequel to last month's Fun World Party Game offering five new games in five new countries: bullfighting in Spain,...
Nintendo Download 7th May 2010 (Europe)
Darts and Fantasy on the Wii; stories, shooting, bricks and music for DSi this week
Virtual Console: Final Fantasy (600pts NES - Square Enix) --The one that started it all and was never released in Europe has finally arrived on our shores. Of course as a Hanabi Festival release it's 100 Points dearer than what our North American and Japanese cousins...
News Cave Story Confirmed for European Release
Cult platformer getting prepped for overseas launch
We've just had word from Tyrone Rodriguez at Nicalis that the PAL version of Cave Story has started testing internally (not yet submitted to Nintendo) and has had some changes made that will be announced closer to release. We know Nintendo Life staffers based in Europe are keen to get their hands...
News BIT.TRIP VOID Soundtrack Unleashing a Sonic Attack
Ten slices of retro bits
Gamers interested in the gradual release of the BIT.TRIP audio gems will be glad to know Gaijin Games has announced that the official soundtrack to BIT.TRIP VOID can now be purchased via download on the CD Baby Web site, and soon to be on Amazon and iTunes. Alex Neuse, founder of Gaijin Games, goes to describe the soundtrack...
