Monday, January 18, 2010

This Weeks WiiWare, DSiWare, And Virtual Console Releases

Here are the Virtual Console, WiiWare, And DSiWare releases for the USA this week.

Virtual Console

Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi
This is a 1 player game only that costs 800 Wii points. This is the Sega Genesis version of the game. this is the sequel to the original Shinobi arcade game.


WiiWare

Muscle March
This is a 1-4 player game that costs 500 Wii points. you play as a body builder who has had thier protein powder stolen. you chase after the thieves, but as they leave holes in walls and stuff you have to change your body position to fit through those holes.


The Amazing Brain Train!
This is a 1 player game that costs 600 Wii points.


DSiWare

STARSHIP DEFENSE
This is a 1 player game that costs 500 DSi Points. this is a Tower Defense game set in space. there are 30 sectors to defend your fleet in, with some having specific challenges.


Dark Void Zero
This is a 1 player game that costs 500 DSi Points. this is a re creation of a lost Dark Void title from the NES era.


Chronos Twins
This is a 1 player game that costs 500 DSi Points. the game has a dual gameplay system where you play Nec in two temporal scenarios. the game is a mix of adventure, platforms, and puzzles.


Me And My Dogs: Friends Forever
This is a 1 player game that costs 800 DSi Points. in the game you get to have up to 3 puppies to look after. you get to pick breeds like Labradors, Chow Chows and Beagles, and look after them. you can feed them, wash them and play with them. you can even train them and use the microphone to call them.


Press Release

There's a lot to say about this week's downloadable games. You can check out the brain-training power of The Amazing Brain Train! or the cute puppies of Me And My Dogs: Friends Forever. Fans of more traditional games can protect their space fleet from waves of enemies inSTARSHIP DEFENSE™ or explore the dual temporal world of Chronos Twins. Retro gamers will certainly like the ninja stylings of Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi™ on the Virtual Console™ service or the chance to try out the Nintendo DSiWare™ title Dark Void™ Zero, a mythical long-lost game from Capcom's vaults.

And then there's Muscle March.

A bunch of bodybuilders (and a polar bear) clad in bikini briefs chase after protein-powder thieves who can bash through walls at will. Strike your best bodybuilder poses to catch the thief and make the protein powder yours again. This surreal experience is best shared among friends, so start flexing!

WiiWare™

Muscle March
Publisher: NBGI
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E 10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) - Comic Mischief
Price: 500 Wii Points™
Description: Muscle March is a quirky Japanese action game stuffed full of macho bodybuilders. The all mighty protein powder has been stolen, so it's up to Tony and his muscle-bound crew to catch the thieves. Choose from a variety of perfectly molded superstars and bring these terrible villains to justice. As the thieves attempt escape, they will smash through walls while making a variety of poses. You must match these poses to fit through the holes and catch up to the thieves. The protein powder will be yours again! Flex your muscles by yourself or with up to three friends in turn-based macho excitement. Posing for a few minutes not enough? Enjoy Endless Rush mode until your muscles bulge and explode! Muscle March will also be the first WiiWare title to offer a polar bear in tight swimwear!

The Amazing Brain Train!
Publisher: Wahoo Studios
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 600 Wii Points
Description: All aboard! Power up your intellect and embark on an epic quest aboard The Amazing Brain Train! Fueled by your mental energy, Professor Fizzwizzle's Brain Train will take you on a brain-boosting adventure. Put your mighty mind to the test and see how far you can go.

Nintendo DSiWare™

STARSHIP DEFENSE
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Mild Fantasy Violence
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points™
Description: STARSHIP DEFENSE takes the tower defense genre into outer space. Defend your space fleet from wave after wave of enemy attacks by equipping a variety of weapons and using a combination of strategic skills and resource management. Attach weapons to your ships using the touch screen, making sure to place them for maximum effect when planning your defense. If you don't, the relentless nature of your enemies could overwhelm you. Increase your chances of success by using energy collected from defeated enemies to install new and more powerful weapons, destroying particular enemies to obtain weapon upgrades, and watching for rare power crystals that unlock advanced attacks, including a devastating black hole. And if you still find yourself in trouble, select an SOS card to call on a special kind of assistance. You'll have to defend your fleet across 30 intense sectors, some with specific challenges, while advancing your rank from lowly recruit all the way to fleet admiral. Are you up to the challenge?

Dark Void Zero
Publisher: Capcom Entertainment
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Fantasy Violence
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: As the '80s were drawing to a close, the developers at Capcom began work on a top-secret project that aimed to set new standards for the platformer genre. That game was called Dark Void. Alas, Capcom suspended development on Dark Void as it began to evaluate the SNES™. Before long, the game was shelved and drifted, unnoticed, into the annals of gaming history. Dark Void became a legendary "lost project" at Capcom. Now, nearly 20 years later, Dark Void is back! To commemorate the game's humble origins, Capcom has commissioned this recreation of the original 8-bit classic, now re-titled Dark Void Zero, on the Nintendo DSi™ system. You play as Rusty, the first human born in the Void, who must take on the Watchers in a quest to stop their domination of Earth. With the aid of Nikola Tesla and his state-of-the-art rocket pack, Rusty must take down the Watchers and their minions across three intense levels of action and intrigue.

Chronos Twins
Publisher: EnjoyUp Games
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Fantasy Violence
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Enter into the original world of Chronos Twins, where you'll live a fantastic adventure full of innovative ideas never seen before in any game. Thanks to its Dual Gameplay game system you'll be able to control Nec in two temporal scenarios at the same time. Chronos Twins mixes action, platforms, adventure and puzzles to challenge your intelligence and ability. If you like games with a real challenge, there's no doubt that Chronos Twins is the game you're looking for.

Me And My Dogs: Friends Forever
Publisher: Gameloft
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Comic Mischief
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: Have you always dreamed of having a cute dog to cuddle? Thanks to Me And My Dogs: Friends Forever, you can have up to three of the cutest pups imaginable at the same time and take them with you everywhere you go. Choose from friendly Labradors, playful Chow Chows and smart Beagles. Like real dogs, you'll have to take care of them, feed them, wash them and give them lots of love. Play with them at the park and teach them lots of tricks or train them for competitions at the stadium. You can even call them like in real life thanks to the microphone.

Virtual Console™

Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi
Original platform: Genesis
Publisher: SEGA
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E 10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) - Fantasy Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: Easy to play, hard to master, Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi, first released in 1987, is the sequel to the original Shinobi arcade game, and is one of the only games in theShinobi series to feature true arcade-style game play. Play as Joe Musashi, the master ninja known to his enemies only as "The Shinobi." This battle is not one you must fight alone, as this is the first game in the Shinobi series to feature your ninja attack dog, Yamoto, who will charge foes on command, leaving them open to a powerful drop kick. Use your mastery of ancient ninja technique to topple the crime syndicate - the Neo Zeed Corporation - and free the foreign dignitaries they have taken hostage in New York City. Good luck, and may the ninja spirits help guide you in your journey.

Nintendo adds new titles to the Nintendo DSi Shop and the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time on Mondays. Users with broadband Internet access can redeem Wii Points or Nintendo DSi Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii™ Shop Channel. Nintendo DSi Points can be purchased in the Nintendo DSi Shop. A Nintendo Points Card™ can be purchased at retail locations. All points from one Nintendo Points Card must be redeemed in either the Nintendo DSi Shop or the Wii Shop Channel. They are not transferable and cannot be divided between the two systems.

Remember that both Wii and Nintendo DSi feature parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit Wii.com or NintendoDSi.com.

Nintendo Reveal A Large Version Of The DS Lite Was In Development


In The Latest Iwata Asks feature on Nintendo UK, it is revealed that soon after the Nintendo DS Lite was released, research and development began on a Large Screened Nintendo DS. Ultimately, the Large Nintendo DS was shelved.

Yoneyama reveals that research into a Large Screened DS started because:

"Certainly. Well, after the Nintendo DS Lite came out, we wanted to make the graphics a bit more easily viewable by having bigger screens and we even got as far as producing a mould, conducting developmental trials and were at the stage where we could have gone into mass production..."

In The Interview, Yoneyama reveals that the product was never produced because:
"Things were going very well with the DS Lite, so it was decided that we’d put it on the back-burner for the time being."

And Iwata says that Nintendo's focus was to make more Nintendo Wii's.
"We were also struggling to try to ramp up the production of the Wii console which had been released in 2006, so I thought that to release yet more hardware and further diffuse our energy would have been wrong."

Yoneyama reveals that technical issues were also to blame for the Bigger Screened Nintendo DS Lite being shelved.
"But at the time, in terms of cost, our limit for the LCD screen size was about 3.8 inches. Also, we wouldn’t have been able to use wide-viewing angle LCD displays as we’ve been able to with the Nintendo DSi XL."

From Nintendo UK: Iwata Asks


Sony Have Released New Screenshots For God Of War III

Sony Have Released new screenshots for God Of War III. These screenshots appear to be in-game and show Kratos action whilst on Gaia. the screenshots show the use of scale in the game, between Kratos and Gaia, and they also show Kratos fighting some enemies.

God Of War III



EA Have Released A Trailer For FIFA 10 DLC Ultimate Team

EA Have released a new trailer for FIFA 10. this trailer shows the Ultimate Team DLC for FIFA and goes through all the main features of Ultimate Team, explaining in depth each part of Ultimate Team.




Sega Have Released New Screenshots For The Playstation 3 Game Yakuza 3.

Sega have released new screenshots for the Yakuza 3 Playstation 3 game. these screenshots appear to be from cutscenes in the game. they appear to be from various points of the game and each shows something different.

Yakuza 3



Sega Have Released New Screenshots For Resonance Of Fate

Sega have released new screenshots for the Ps3 and Xbox 360 game Resonance Of Fate. these screenshots are mostly from cutscenes and the games opening cinematic. the environmental screenshots appear to be in-game and so does the map. there are some battle screenshots which show the HUD layout.

Resonance Of Fate



Sega Have Released New Screenshots For Phantasy Star Zero on The Nintendo DS

Sega Have Released New Screenshots for Phantasy Star Zero on the Nintendo DS. these screenshots are in-game and show mostly your character walking around the world. some of these screenshots show the character fighting. the top screen shows the action whilst the bottom screen shows menus and a location map.

Phantasy Star Zero