Per theRepublic's recommendation, I'm retooling this thread to focus on the best titles rather than every title. It's a work in progress, so please bear with me, as my spare time is rather minimal at the moment. Under each game the people who liked and didn't like that game are listed: if their name is underlined, click on it to see their mini-review.
North American releases, August 3, 2009.
Aug. 3, 2009
The onset of August means summer is winding down, but the downloadable action at the Wii™ Shop Channel and Nintendo DSi Shop™ just keeps on heating up. Two new WiiWare™ offerings deliver futuristic robot foes and sultry poker opponents, respectively. On the Virtual Console™, there's great news for football fans as the arcade classic TECMO BOWL™ makes its way to the Wii system. And on Nintendo DSiWare™, you'll find a fresh addition to the eye-pleasing, mind-bending Art Style™ game series.
WiiWare
OVERTURN Publisher: Studio Zan Inc. Players: 1-4 ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) - Fantasy Violence Price: 800 Wii Points™ Description:OVERTURN is a futuristic robot-versus-robot fighting game. Choose from eight different robots to pilot and master, using various close-range and long-range weapons to blast away enemies in six single-player tournaments. Unlock secret modes and up to 12 new weapons. Customize your robot's color and weapons to prepare for your next battle. Then take the action online to play in a two-player Versus battle or a four-player Battle Royale match. Search the world for Friends or other players who are online and ready for battle. Players with the optional Wii Balance Board™ can use it to control their robots by shifting their weight.
Sexy Poker™ Publisher: Gameloft Players: 1 ESRB Rating: M (Mature) - Simulated Gambling, Suggestive Themes Price: 500 Wii Points Description: Get your pulse racing with a game of strip poker against a selection of six lovely manga-style women who may wind up in nothing but swimsuits or underwear when the final hand is dealt. Choose the classic Texas Hold'em Poker to be thrilled as the bets increase, or try the Black Jack game for a mix of chance and strategy. Discover the girls' personalities: they'll bluff you! Enter the photo gallery to see the pictures you've unlocked by playing and winning. If you're good enough, Emi, Sakura and their seductive girlfriends will bet their clothes to stay in the game.
Virtual Console
TECMO BOWL Publisher: Tecmo Players: 1-4 ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) Price: 600 Wii Points Description: Released in 1987, the football game that took America by storm is back. This arcade version required a custom-made dual-screen cabinet and was popular for its large characters and intense graphics. The game is filled with great action as players take control of receivers and running backs, quickly moving the controller to break a tackle. Play alone or with up to four players in a two-on-two match. Experience the best moments of both competitive and cooperative play, finding holes in your opponent's defense, then savor the thrill of receiving a pass thrown by your teammate. In addition, game options such as play time, team division and difficulty level can be adjusted.
Nintendo DSiWare
Art Style: precipice™ Publisher: Nintendo Players: 1 ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Comic Mischief Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points™ Description: The sky is falling in the form of cubes in the action-oriented Art Style: precipice. Watch for the telltale shadow to avoid seeing your character get crushed by a falling cube while climbing the stacked cubes to ascend to the floors above. Push, pull or shove cubes to make your climb easier. Try to gain extra points by stepping on five cubes in a row on the same floor. In addition, you'll encounter special cubes that can either be helpful or harmful to your effort. Choose from either TEN FLOORS mode, which challenges you to reach the tenth floor while scoring as many points as possible, or TOWER mode, which gives you the chance to climb as high as you can. Do you have what it takes to make it to the top, or will you be crushed?
PAL releases, July 31st 2009.
Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 1
Publisher: Telltale Games Players: 1 Price: 1,000 Wii Points™ Description: Join Guybrush Threepwood, Mighty Pirate, in this first chapter of an epic five-part saga, filled with humor, romance and piratey swashbuckling. When a showdown with the demon pirate LeChuck goes up in flames, Guybrush gets marooned on a strange island. How will he escape? Where is Guybrush's beloved wife, Elaine? And what's up with the voodoo pox spreading through the isles? Jump into Tales of Monkey Island today to find out!
The Three Musketeers: One for All!
Publisher: Legendo Entertainment Players: 1 Price: 900 Wii Points Description: The Three Musketeers have been imprisoned by the treacherous Count Xavier and his sinister lieutenant, Count Orsini! Well, almost - take on the role of Porthos, famed member of the Musketeers, to save the day in this swashbuckling platform adventure inspired by the classic novel. Swing the Wii Remote™ to launch blistering sword attacks on your foes, avoid fiendish traps and discover hidden collectables. Packed with frenetic fencing, heroic leaps and fun puzzles, this is one adventure no aspiring hero will want to miss.
Driift Mania
Nintendo Points: 800
Publisher: Konami
Genre: Racing
Players: 8
Driift Mania is a fast-paced racer that allows up to eight players to race each other, using cartoon-style cars. Featuring twelve different tracks based on four themed environments – cityscape, hills, snow and a desert oasis – players can also select one of 32 vehicles from four categories. Each category is tailored for use within the different environments, with variations of speed, acceleration and handling and grip levels making specific vehicles ideal for particular locations. Driift Mania’s multi-player modes allow users to play using combinations of Wii Remotes, Nunchucks and Classic Controllers, and seven game modes are on offer. These range from the single-player and multi-player championships, and Team Race, wherein participants are divided into two teams, with the winner determined by those that accrue the most points. The VIP mode elects one player per team as a VIP vehicle, who must be protected at all costs from the opposition cars, with the removal of the VIP car resulting in a win for the attacking team.
It's classic Bomberman gameplay: collect powerups and plant bombs on a small square battlefield for the sole purpose of killing your friends. Little has changed in the formula here, which is great for longtime fans. Players can quickly unlock the ability to use Miis instead of Bomberman, and by collecting four Wiimotes and four Gamecube controllers they can let up to eight people in on the action. The game also features two other modes: King mode, where blasts don't kill anyone, but instead knock the crown off their heads, and Air Raid, where no one can drop bombs: instead, bombs drop from the sky, and the last survivor wins.
Bomberman Blast also features superb online: between one and four local players can go online and find enough players to form a group of eight. It's a good local and online multiplayer title.
Based on the free Flash game, Defend Your Castle has up to four players engage in protecting their fragile cardboard home from legions of stick figures and Pepsi caps, and have mindless fun doing it. Players use the pointer to select an attacking figure; from there they can grab them and fling them to their doom (complete with pitiful cries from the condemned), dip them in paint to convert them to their side, or use a spell to wipe them away (sometimes literally). It's ultimately a shallow game that repeats itself a lot, but it's still good fun to play with friends and see how long you cna hold off the endless hordes.
A point-'n-click adventure series from Telltale Games, who recently brought us the Sam & Max remakes as well as the Wallace and Gromit games. This time, Telltale's gotten into the Homestar Runner universe, with five games costing 1000 points each. The sense of humor is taken directly from the Homestar Runner series, as are a series of running jokes which never get explained in the games, so if you're not a fan of the series you should probably steer clear of these games.
For people who do like Homestar Runner, though, Strongbad offers an enjoyable two hour experience per episode, filled with the same goofy humor and characters you've gotten to know over the years: you can even make your own Teen Girl Squad comics, or play games on the old Videlectrix system. The jokes become funnier, and the puzzles more intuitive, as the series goes on. Like other Telltale games, you can never die in this one, so feel free to play around to your heart's content, free of any consequences.
Members who liked it: noname2200, Cifuoco87, spdk1, rpg_fanatic, famousringo
Members who didn't: Kitler53, miz1q2w3e, dib8rman, kazadoom
TALES OF MONKEY ISLAND EPISODES 1-5
1-Player
1000 Points
The latest series from Telltale games (Sam & Max, Homestar Runner), Tales of Monkey Island brings the adventures of pirate Guybrush Threepwood into a new era with an explosive storyline that becomes deeper and more entangled during the course of the five-episode saga.While battling his nemesis, the evil pirate LeChuck, Guybrush accidentally unleashes an insidious voodoo pox that threatens to transform the buccaneers of the Caribbean into unruly pirate monsters. Players will experience the humor, romance, and swashbuckling action the Monkey Island games are famous for and unravel an insidious plot which is revealed across the course of the series
Members who liked it:
Members who didn't:
Party
TV SHOW KING
1000 Points
4-Players
Released in N.A., PAL
TV Show King is a quiz-game for up to four players (while it can be played in single-player, there's no point, as you don't compete against any AI). Players use the IR pointer to select a category and question, much like in Jeopardy!, but all the contestants are answering simultaneously, and they can see what answers the other players are choosing. While this may sound annoying, it actually adds to the enjoyment; players may flock to pick the same thing that the "smart" player did, but that player has an incentive to hover over the wrong answer, only to change at the very last second. It's goofy, but it works.
Members who liked it: theLurker, .:DarkPrince:., miz1q2w3e, Pikatwo,
Members who didn't: kitler53
Platformers
ICARIAN: KINDRED SPIRITS
1000 Points
2-Players
Released in PAL
While you're waiting for Lost Winds 2 to come out (or even be formally announced), may I recommend Icarian instead? You control the action with Wii Remote, by using easy, intuitive movements that will enable you to cast rays, modify the scenery and control winds at your wish. Fly, aim and shoot using the new and fullest potential of your Wii Remote. You can also play with a friend and maximize your abilities - while one controls Nyx, the other will control the powers from the Gods. Like Lost Winds, Icarian is a soothing 2D platformer that uses both the Wiimote and nunchuk in ways retail platformers should as well, although unlike Lost Winds Icarian is a complete game in and of itself.
Members who liked it: son1x,IxisNaugus, thorbadus, 68soul, jefforange89, wii4ever
Members who didn't:
LOST WINDS
1000 Points
1-Player
Released in N.A., PAL
Lost Winds was one of the most-heralded WiiWare launch games. It's a side-scrolling platformer with a twist: the player controls two characters simultaneously, one with the nunchuk and one with the Wiimote. The nunchuk controls the boy, who is weak and almost powerless, but who is capable of interacting with the physical world. The Wiimote controls the wind spirit, who can use the wind to affect the world in small ways, but who ultimately must rely on the boy to do more than be a blowhard. The game features fantastic woodwinds music and good visuals; gameplay-wise it focuses more on puzzles than action. The ending hints very strongly at a sequel, which has not been officially announced yet and may end up as a retail release.
Members who didn't: noname2200, Jaos, miz1q2w3e, tjp3, bouzorikis,
MEGA MAN 9
1000 Points
1-Player
Released in N.A., PAL
The Blue Bomber returns in an adventure that certainly ranks amongst his greatest games. Mega Man 9 returns to its roots, with 8-bit graphics, 8-bit sounds, and simple controls: one button makes you jump, and the other makes you shoot. The levels offer a brisk challenge (often with insta-death buried somewhere in there), the bosses are varied, the powerups are fun to play with, and the platforming harkens back to the NES days. The game's tough, but incredibly fun, especially if you're into old-school gaming. But in a nod to the modern atrophying of skills, 9 offers some new concessions: you can buy upgrades at the store if you want to take the brute-force approach. It's a must-have if you're into platformers.
(disliked by Neogohan, Cifuoco87, Jaos, rpg_fanatic)
Puzzle
ARTSTYLE: CUBELLO
600 Points
1-Player
Released in N.A., PAL
Cubello’s premise is a deceptively simple, three-dimensional take on classic puzzle gameplay. Each puzzle, or stage, is a structure made up of a number of cubes in various colours. The goal is to launch coloured cubes from your magazine (which holds up to ten) at the structure to match four or more cubes, which causes them to disappear and more cubes to be added to the magazine. As cubes vanish they cause any detached cubes to fall toward the core, effectively changing the structure and potentially triggering combos. The stage is finished when all that’s left is the core; however, run out of cubes in your magazine and you’ll fail.
Members who liked it: vonboy, SmokedHostage, rubido, Kitler53, O-D-C, famousringo, SJGohan3972, EdEN, I Like Bacon
Members who didn't: Paulkelly1980
ARTSTYLE: ORBIENT
600 Points
1-Player
Released in N.A., PAL
The goal in Orbient is to take your planet and increase its mass until you reach the level's goal. You do this by colliding into other, smaller planets, which lets you absorb them into your own planet. The bigger you become, the more you can absorb. However, it becomes difficult to avoid larger objects when your own mass grows. What makes Orbiet unique is that you don't directly control your planet: you instead manipulate the gravity of surrounding objects (making them attract or repel other stuff, depending on which button you press) to move your planet through space. Later levels add in twists, such as asteroids that can't exert gravity, brining in more variety and greater challenge. It's a slow-paced puzzler that gets very tough towards the end, and at 600 points it's a steal.
In Rotohex you are put in charge of a hexagonal playing field in which randomly coloured triangular panels drop from the top of the screen into the playing field below. While you don't control these panels, you are able to rotate them using a hex-shaped cursor of sorts. Your task in Rotohex is to rotate these groups of coloured panels in an attempt to get a complete HEX of like-coloured panels. This will cause the HEX to disappear. To advance in each level you must complete six HEX for each colour of panel currently falling. Once you've accomplished this task, a new colour will be added to mix each time you advance. he ultimate goal is to advance through all eight colours of HEX before the playing field completely fills with panels.
Members who liked it: SmokedHostage, O-D-C, SJGohan3972, EdEN,
Members who didn't: rubido, thorbadus, ilikebacon,
DR. MARIO ONLINE RX
1000 Points
4-Players
Released in N.A., PAL
By now you know all about how to play Dr. Mario, as Online Rx doesn't offer too many changes to the classic formula. Online Rx is essentially two games in one: the first is the classic NES Dr. Mario experience, which you play with the Wiimote on its side, while the second is the Virus Buster game from Brain Training, in which you use the pointer. Apart from the control scheme, the games are nearly identical.
Where Online Rx shines is its multiplayer. The game features online play, either with friends or strangers, and it can even be played online with friends who do not own this game themselves. Up to four players can get in on the madness, which makes for some frantic gameplay.
Members who liked it: noname2200, vonboy, TopCat8, pretendo, Old Rock, Maynard_Tool, IxisNaugus, Jaos, twroo, miz1q2w3e, ramuji, bazmeistergen, Paulkelly1980, famousringo, Nintendogamer, Chizrum, elprincipe, Pikatwo, sly777
LIT is a 3D horror action puzzle game that follows Jake - a typical apathetic teenager, who’s trapped in his high school when it’s overrun by dark creatures. Players must guide Jake through 30 unique classrooms, using the available light sources to create paths to each exit. The goal is to reunite Jake with his girlfriend Rachael, who’s also trapped in the school and calls Jake from time to time on the school’s phone system. Stay in the light and Jake’s safe. Step into the darkness and he’s pulled under. The game has five boss battles, and several modes to increase replayability. There's also a limit to how many light sources can be turned on at once before the fuse blows, so thought (and later, good timing) will play a role as well.
Members who liked it: DarkKnight_DS, Jlauro, Neogohan, Old Rock, maxwellgt2000, rpg_fanatic, famousringo, Tayne, EdEN,
Members who didn't:
TETRIS PARTY
1200 Points
6-Players
Released in N.A., PAL
At its heart, Tetris Party has the familiar Tetris play that anyone who's gamed in the past twenty-five years is already familiar with. Where Tetris Party justifies its cost is in the ten unique single-and-multiplayer modes it features, including one that uses the Balance Board. Even better, using Wi-Fi up to six players can get in on the action (hence "Party"). But the game is definitely meant more for local play, which is where it truly shines.
An overlooked gem of a game, Toki Tori is a side-scrolling puzzler in which players use items to get through the seventy levels. Many of them, especially the later ones, are fiendishly difficult, meaning players get hours of gameplay for just ten dollars. The game's really just a single-player affair though (the second player can only draw hints, as in Zak and Wiki). It's one of the best puzzlers on WiiWare or any other platform, so if you're up for a brain-scratcher Toki Tori is what you want to play next.
The Crown Jewel of the WiiWare service, World of Goo is the physics-based puzzle game. Players need to guide a certain number of goo balls to the exit, but they have to use those same goo balls to reach the exit in the first place. The game has several hours of gameplay for your money, and while there are tougher puzzle games out there, there are few that have as much charm. A must-have, and justifiably IGN's Wii Game of 2008, World of Goo won't disappoint.
Helix is a game designed for people who want to look just as silly playing a game as those folks on plastic instruments do, but who don't feel the need to keep an oil rig's worth of plastic in their closet. Helix is a hybrid rhythm/exercise game: players mirror the robot's dance moves while keeping in time with the game's techno soundtrack, which can result in some serious upper-body workouts for those gamers who are quite out of shape. So it saves your closet from needing a balance board or elastic stretch thing as well!
Jokes aside, it's a fun, if unorthodox, rhythm game with some fairly catchy music. You'll look goofy playing it, just like you do when dancing, but once you get into it it's easy to just let go and have fun.
Affectionately described as "Pong from Hell," Bit.Trip: Beat is a rhythm/arcade game in which the player must intercept the various Beats (dots) to stay alive and rack up a high score. The problem is that these Beats are numerous, that there are several models (each with its own behavior pattern), and that while they come in time with the music they're scattered about in patterns designed to evade your control. The player moves his or her paddle by tilting the Wiimote up or down, much like the old ball arcade controls. It's a nice marriage of the old and the new, and at 600 points it's a steal.
Assuming you've got a masochist streak, because this game is hard.
Members who liked it: Pretendo, vonboysp, Jlauro, miz1q2w3e, Hisiru, tjp3, cheesepwns, spdk1, PorkChopTD, wii4ever
Members who didn't: Cifuoco87, Paulkelly1980, EdEN,
BIT.TRIP CORE
1-Player
600 Points
The sequel to Bit.Trip: Beat, Bit.Trip Core is also an old-school style rhythm game. The game uses the +Control Pad and 1 & 2 Buttons. You have to blast the beats on time with the music as they cross one of your Beat Lines (which extend out from the CORE in the center of the screen). Pressing a direction on the +Control Pad highlights one of your Beat Lines (so you can predict where and when the Beats are going to cross), and tapping the 2 Button activates the Beat Line with a Beam, destroying passing Beats. If you’re ever feeling overwhelmed, you also have a once-per-level screen clearing Bomb that you can use by tapping the 1 Button. The game's supposed to be even tougher than Beat was.
Members who liked it:
Members who didn't:
RPG
FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: MY LIFE AS A KING
1500 Points
1-Player
Released in N.A., PAL
My Life as a King is your typical Final Fantasy adventure game, complete with Evil Badguy trying to take over Peaceful Kingdom, and Heroic Adventurers dashing off into varied dungeons to Save The World. The twist is that you're not taking on the role of one of those teenage adventurers: you're the cowardly king who stays safe in the castle chatting up the ladies and collecting taxes while others risk their lives to let your kingdom prosper.
MLaaK was made by some of the minds that brought us the original Act Raiser, and players familiar with that game's city management segment will quickly become comfortable with MLaaK's elegantly simple gameplay. Players collect cash each day from their townsfolk and crystals from their adventurers' conquests, and use that to build new structures, which can bring in more revenue or better equip the adventurers. Each day the king deploys his troops to new dungeons, and at the end of the day he receives their reports and can read the details of their victories (which help level them up) and defeats (which lowers their morale). It's an addicting title if you're the type of player who likes to sit back and watch the seeds that you planted earlier grow, but it's definitely not like any other Final Fantasy you've ever played.
Members who liked it: noname2200, vonboy, Jlauro, kingwii, c0rd, Old Rock, NinjaBlade360, .:DarkPrince:., theSource, finnbar, maxwellgt2000, tjp3, O-D-C, dib8rman, spdk1, viewtiful_jon, kazadoom, lloyd85, yoshinoke, DaSimkin, SJGohan3972, whatz3rname, wii4ever, EdEN,
Members who didn't: PorkChopTD, miz1q2w3e, SilentWolf
FINAL FANTASY IV: THE AFTER YEARS
800 Points
1-Player
Released in N.A., PAL
If you ARE looking for a traditional Final Fantasy title, this is the game you're looking for. This is a direct sequel to Final Fantasy IV. It takes place several years after Cecil and co. took care of that Zemus problem and sent the Lunarians off to parts unknown. Players take the role of Cecil and Rosa's kid, as he tries to find out why the Lunarians' moon has returned, and why monsters are once more on the rise. Familiar places are explored and old faces make cameos throughout the game, and players can buy DLC packs that go into more details about the stories of characters like Rydia. FF IV: The After Years is divided into two parts (not including the DLC side-stories), although this segment gets you a heft eight hours of gamplay; the rest of the game is scheduled for release later this Summer.
Members who liked it: Cifuoco87, justin, senortaco, son1x, rpg_fanatic, yoshinoke, souixan, myviewing, SJGohan3972, joey123, Games4Fun, whatz3rname, valen 200, EdEN, stephlereff
Members who didn't:
MY POKEMON RANCH
1000 Points
1-Player
Released in N.A., PAL
There's not much to say about this title: you can use it to store your excess Pokemon (up to 1,000 from eight different game cards) , and you can watch as your captured monsters roam around in an N64-level environment. You can interact with them using your Mii, and take photos of their activities. 'sbout it, really.
Members who liked it: pichu_pichu, manuelf, Pikatwo,
Members who didn't: Pretendo, Neogohan, NinjaBlade360, miz1q2w3e, SilentWolf
Shooter
ONSLAUGHT
1000 Points
4-Players
Released in N.A., PAL
Onslaught deserves recognition for a couple of reasons. First, it's a FPS on the Wii, making it surprisingly rare off the bat. Second, it's an FPS made in Japan, which is even more rare. Third, it's a WiiWare FPS that has a great online system. Finally, it's actually a pretty fun game. Add these all up, and you can see why Onslaught is pretty special.
Onalught is not your standard FPS: getting a high score, rather than simply surviving or experiencing some "epic" story is the name of the game. In single-player, you get two AI buddies who follow your rudimentary orders, and help you survive the wave-upon-wave of enemies that give this game its name. You have four varied main guns to choose from, as well as grenades, two sidearms, and a melee attack. There's even a vehicle to ride around in! In online play, you can either team up with up to three other players, or compete against them for the highest score. It's far from being the greatest FPS out there, but it's pretty fleshed out for a WiiWare title, and it's also a surprisingly fun way to spend a thousand points.
Members who liked it: noname2200, Falcon095, Neogohan, brawl4life, Old Rock, TX109, SHMUPGurus, maxwellgt2000, cheesepwns, jefforange89, SamusAran, wii4ever, Gnizmo
Members who didn't:
WATER WARFARE
800 Points
8-Players
Released in N.A., PAL
The second FPS on WiiWare, brought to you by the same folks who made Onslaught. Water Warfare addresses the biggest problem that Onslaught had: the lack of any deathmatch mode. Water Warfare is based around that mode, with even one of the single-player modes being essentially a deathmatch against bots (to train for live opponents). The game controls almost exactly like its predecessor does: smoothly.
There's something else that's notable about Water Warfare: it's an FPS that's completely family-friendly. The game is essentially a water war, so there's zero violence to speak of: the guns (of which there are several) are things like Super Soakers, the grenades are replaced with water baloons, and even the health kits have been exchanged for towels (the entire point, of course, is to stay dry). It's a rare game in that while the looks and theme are family-friendly, the mechanics are just as targeted to the "hardcore" as more serious FPS's.
In what's apparently becoming something of a habit for Konami, Gradius Rebirth is a WiiWare remake of an 80's classic sidescroller, in this case the shoot-em-up Gradius, in all its balls-busting glory. It does play nice in that you can restart your game from the last checkpoint you reached, if you so choose, and the more hardcore amongst us can take advantage of its online leaderboards. Basically, Gradius Rebirth is a trip down memory lane, so if the Virtual Console hasn't given you enough SHMUPS to relive those days, Rebirth is available for just 1000 points.
Members who liked it: DarkKnight_DS, Cifuoco87, tecmo, SHMUPGurus, Fossil, Soma
Members who didn't:
Other Noted titles
Gyrostarr: (liked by Jlauro, theSource, Hisiru, Red4Adevil, jefforange89)
(disliked by Neogohan, vonshigsy, Darknight_DS, PorkChopTD, famousringo)
Star Soldier R: (liked by Hisiru, Red4Adevil, wii4ever, EdEN,)
Bonsai Barber is made by the man who brought us Goldeneye, and it's only the second game made by his studio, Zoonami. Since the barber of the village retired, the local residents have been awaiting the moment in which they could receive the latest foliage fashions. With you being the new barber, it’s up to you to pick up your scissors, chop away branches and satisfy your customers. As each day passes, five customers arrive to test your style and abilities. If a customer requests a specific style, it’s up to you to attempt to deliver what they want. On the other hand, they may not be all that particular and allow you to pick from over thirty different hair styles. Essentially what you’re given is a big bush of hair and using your tools, you’ll have to cut excess branches off so that the hair will look like a specified shape. For example, if one customer walks in and wants his hair shaped like a mountain, the shape will appear on-screen and then it’s up to you to cut off branches in order to match it. Though it may sound easy, it actually ends up being quite a challenge.
Fun!Fun! Minigolf is made for folks like me who like to swing a putter around, but can't really do the whole "golf" thing. Featuring 27 different holes, this game can be played by up to four players using only one Remote, with controls that are more solid than those in Wii Sports. The graphics are an obvious step up from most WiiWare titles (and many retail ones, for that matter), and although you can blow through all the content in under an hour the challenge of getting good scores (and playing with friends) means that there's plenty of replay value. It has some major faults, including the wacky out-of-bounds system, which plays by rules I've never heard of before, but overall this game's an enjoyable minigolf experience. Plus, Gnac wrote the best review ever for it.
Cornholing. Middle America loves it, and now so can you! Target Toss Pro is similar to horseshoes, in that you're trying to toss your bags into the small hole. With the Wiimote, the experience of many backyard barbecues can finally be replicated in digital form. Plus, you get to make cornhole jokes with your friends for hours. A favorite of GoNintendo, and a game that can accomodate up to sixteen players, Target Toss Pro is a good and overlooked WiiWare title.
A 2D, sidescrolling, streamlined RTS with a nice artstyle, several modes, a goofy sense of humor, and tons of content, Swords & Soldiers is one of the better WiiWare games out there. There are three factions: Aztecs, Chinese, and Vikings, each with a selection of four unit types, three spells, a defensive tower, and several abilities. While this may seem like it doesn't offer much, the strategy in how and when to deploy your units and utilize your spells makes for some frantic and fun RTS-ing; the game's not as deep as your Starcrafts, but it's a damned fun experience that's surprisingly fun and deep. The three campaigns and two challenges combine to offer up to five hours of gameplay even before touching Skirmish mode, meaning you'll get tons of value out of your 1000 points. Highly recommended.
FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: MY LIFE AS A DARKLORD
1-Player
1000 Points
You've played as the heroes in the Crystal Chronicles universe: now it's time to try your hand at villainy! Darklord is a tower defense game: literally. Players position traps, monsters, and other obstacles in their tower in an effort to foil those pesky adventurers, who are trying to get your precious crystal. Position classic Final Fantasy monsters and stop the townfolks from helping themselves at your expense. Be warned though: buying the game and ALL the DLC for it will run you 6700 Wii Points (that's not a typo...), or more than any retail Wii game outside of Guitar Hero or Wii Fit. Fortunately, almost all of the DLC is optional, and does little more than add a spell or two (albeit spells that summon Kain from FFIV and the like...).
A pinball game like few others, Alien Crush Returns has you taking on an alien horde...on a pinball table. Complete missions and defeat bosses using nothing more than a ball and your trusty flippers, or watch humanity get wiped out! You can also strip away the bosses and story line and just play for points in Arcade mode, at the end of which you can see where your skills stand via the online leaderboards. You can also play online with up to three other players to compete for the highest score. As an added twist, there are several different types of balls you can use, each with their own abilities, and you can download more as Hudson releases them.
Members who liked it: DarkKnight_DS, quigontcb, EdEN,
The Artstyle series makes the transfer from WiiWare to DSiWare, and it remains one of the best puzzle games available on its system. From NintendoLife's review:
Art Style: AQUITE is your typical “line up three colors” puzzle game, but with a bit of an unusual twist: you have to push shapes horizontally into a column of blocks, displacing that row's blocks. One of the best things about Art Style: AQUITE is that it blends a very traditional puzzle design with this refreshingly new concept: players control two – or up to four on the hardest difficulty – blocks; these blocks must be slid from side to side of the screen, where a tower of blocks is present in the middle; manoeuvring the blocks through the tower will displace others and leave the original ones behind; while doing this, the player has to try and match up three blocks in a row, which will remove them, and help the player progress.
Members who liked it: SJGohan3972, Pretendo
Members who didn't:
Artstyle: BASE 10 (CODE)
1-Player
500 Points
Released in N.A., PAL
From N-Europe's review:
You hold the DSi sideways and the numbers glide from the left screen onto the touch screen where you have to move them around to make rows or columns that add up to 10. It's not quite that simple, though: the numbers resemble the ones seen on digital clocks and swapping them round (done by a simple stroke with the stylus) with the next number flips them around. Swapped horizontally, a 1 will become a useless line, a 2 will transform into a 5 and a 3 will turn into a pointless E.
Unlike the majority of puzzle games, the numbers won't fade away automatically. You have to tap the numbers on both ends of the set that makes 10 and also have to spot any possibly combo chains for yourself, while also rushing to prevent the numbers from filling both screens (and therefore ending the game). If you're lucky then a red unflipable number will drift onto the screen. Get rid of this (by including it in an addition) and you'll get rid of all matching numbers (ones flipped out of shape won't be removed).
Boxlife is a game about cutting paper. I kid you not. You start each level with a given amount of paper. Your task is to cut and fold it all until you're left with the exact amount of squares requested, without having any excess paper left. You are, of course, timed. Later levels, of course, go out of their way to make this as difficult as possible.
The game also has a second mode in which you have three minutes to rack up as high a score as possible by chaining pre-cut boxes, but you lose points for every bit of excess box you have to scrap. Bombs also get involved, for reasons that are unclear. It won't appeal to anyone, but for puzzle afficianados Skip has struck again!
Members who liked it: Pretendo
Members who didn't:
ARTSTYLE: PICTOBITS
1-Player
500 Points
Released in N.A., PAL
Pictobits takes the familiar "match colored-blocks while more fall from above" gameplay that we've all tried before, but it adds a few twists. First, you can move the blocks anywhere by using the touch-screen. Second, clearing blocks helps to give shape to the figure on the top-screen, which is an 8-bit rendition of a NES classic character, such as Mario or the Excitebike drivers. You also earn coins, which you can spend to unlock the game's music for convenient listening, or to unlock each level's DARK mode, which is a tougher version of the game.
Members who liked it: VTnev27
Members who didn't:
MARIO VS. DONKEY KONG: MINIS MARCH AGAIN!
1-Player
800 Points
Released in N.A.
Mario and his girlfriend Pauline have opened up a new theme park, but Donkey Kong, who failed to get into the opening, has decided to take out his frustrations by kidnapping Pauline once again. Mario must use his minis, toy-like Mario automatons, to rescue the girl and get the party back on track!
The game controls much like the classic Lemmings: you operate individual units and try to get them to the end of the level in one piece. Unlike the previous game, you can not stop a Mini once it's started marching, so make sure you've done everything you want before activating them. The game comes with dozens of levels out of the box, but it also has a robust level editor and uploading/downloading system, meaning that in addition to the 96 levels it comes with, players can continue the adventure almost indefinitely.
Members who liked it:
Members who didn't:
MIGHTY FLIP CHAMPS
1-Player
800 Points
Released in N.A.
Mighty Flip Champs is yet another DSiWare puzzler, but this time it's more in the vein of Toki Tori than Tetris. Player try to get their character towards each level's goal, but to overcome the obstacles that stand between them and the end of the level the player must literally flip the stages around. Each stage has two areas, one of which is kept on the bottom screen and one on the top. The character is always on the bottom screen, but she can transpose herself to the same position on the opposite area at any time. Just make sure this doesn't lead to her getting crushed when the screens flip!
Members who liked it: silentmac,
Members who didn't:
Dr. Mario Express
1-Player
500 Points
Released in N.A., PAL
Like almost every other Nintendo system before it, DSi now gets its own Dr. Mario game. By now you should be familiar with the (addictive) gameplay. A few things to note though: this game only contains the original Dr. Mario's gameplay; Virus Buster is omitted. Also, the game lacks any sort of multiplayer to speak of, so it's definitely a watered down version compared to all of its counterparts. Still, it's Dr. Mario.
In the future, this section will be for known upcoming titles. For now, it's also to-do list for this thread. Future updates will contain:
An index of titles for all systems, organized by genre+price.
Hall of Fame
Upcoming WiiWare games to keep an eye on:
BUTTERFLY GARDEN
Butterfly Garden is a computer simulation by independent developer Autonomous Productions, revolving around the raising and collecting of butterflies. From the developer: "It's a disruptive, original game, more like Animal Crossing and Nintendogs than anything on XBox, except maybe Viva Pinata. We became approved Nintendo devs around the same time as we started working with Microsoft, and over time, it's become more clear to us that the Wii is a better machine because of the players, the unique online capabilities and the reduced cost of development.
1-Player
500 Points (?)
Release date unknown
CAVE STORY
1-Player
1000 Points
Possibly the best indie game of all time, Cave Story is a long, Metroid-esque quest with a steep difficulty curve, a solid story, and some fantastic boss fights. The game's avaliable for free on your PC (and I highly suggest downloading it), but the WiiWare version will feature updated graphics, new music, more areas, and other bonuses. If you're a fan of the 8-bit graphics and music, though, you'll have the option to restore those too. Look for it to release this Summer.
The return of the old-school continues! Like Gradius Rebirth, Contra Rebirth is an updated version of an old classic. Already out in Japan, it should hopefully cross over soon.
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HARVEST MOON: MY LITTLE SHOP
1-Player
Price unknown
A spinoff from the long-running Harvest Moon series, My Little Shop eschews the farming in favor of running...a little shop. Create different kinds of shops and engage in mini-games to make your products. Sure, I'm probably the only person interested in this game, but it's my thread, so nyeh!
LOST WINDS 2
It's been informally announced. That's all we've got so far.
MILITARY MADNESS
4-Players
Points unknown
A turn-based RTS, and a sequel to the classic Turbo-Grafx game, Military Madness is the long-awaited next game in the series. It will have four player online battles, and online leaderboards to determine who truly is the maddest. This game is further proof that Hudson rocks!
NIGHT GAME
1-Player
Points unknown
Night Game (working title) is part action game and part puzzler. It invites players into a beautifully atmospheric world, where they must use real physics to maneuver a mysterious, glowing sphere through vastly different locales. Night Game pushes the boundaries of design with its unique art style, and professionally produced music score. This title is a 2009 Independent Games Festival Seumas McNally Award nominee and from the same developers responsible for Cave Story on Wii. Coming this Fall.
MUSCLE MARCH
1-Player
Points Unknown
Do you like wacky Japanese games? Do you like steroid-abusing body builders? Do you like wacky Japanese games about steroid abusing bodybuilders? Then Muscle March was made for you! It's probably never making it out of Japan, but if it did, each and every last one of you would be honor-bound to buy at least three copies.
GROTESQUE TACTICS
An original SRPG, Grotesque Tactics has you take control of a new soldier who flunked his academy exam. Nonetheless, it appears to be up to him to stop the Dark Church from its goal of...evil stuff. Players recruit monsters and women into their army, and any half-naked virgin they rescue will start to follow the main character around like groupies. Despite its name, the developers are claiming that Grotesque Tactics will actually be a light-hearted affair, like the Disgaea series.
LA MULANA
Nicalis continues its streak of bringing updated freeware PC games to the WiiWare service. La Mulana is a 2005 2D sidescroller starring an Indiana Jones wannabe, but it's also a surprisingly fun title for an indie game. Now if only Nicalis would get around to actually releasing some of their promising games...Look for it this Winter.
Put me down for likeing World of Goo, Mega Man 9, Defend Your Castle, Art Style: Orbient (I liked all 3 but this is my favorite on the WW), and Art Style: Aquia (my favorite on the DSiWare so far)
I had not realized the scope of games on Nintendo's download services until I saw it here, and your not including the hundreds of Virtual Console games yet. I've been pretty impressed how Nintendo has supported their download services this gen (exspecially for them being Nintendo)
Currently dreaming of: DKC4 or Sonic the Hedgehog 4 (classic 2D platformers) for WiiWare, Smash Bros. for DSi, New Super Mario World for DSi, a Wii remake or true sequel of Final Fantasy Tactics.
