After a nice long break, I am back to bring you today’s Nintendo downloadable game offerings. This week looks like an overwhelming surge of content that will surely keep you busy for days. You can look forward to three original titles gracing the WiiWare Platform, along with the reintroduction of TurboGrafix 16 and PC royalty. Here is the full breakdown:
WiiWare
Drill Sergeant Mindstrong – All right soldiers, I hope you are ready for battle. Fortunately for us, we leave the trenches of the battlefield for the war ground of our minds. The best way to describe the game is to imagine the Brain Training game for Nintendo DS, and then add four person multiplayer.
Who doesn’t love a good minigame collection anyway? There should be plenty of family fun to be had as you try to outwit, out think and outlast your fellow soldiers. Drill Sergeant Mindstrong should be available for 800 Wii Points ($8.00 USD.)
Currently there is no trailer available for the game, so I will leave you to draw your own conclusions.
Neves Plus™ – I remember back when I was in grade school and one of my teachers attempted to use tangrams to explain geometry. Well it looks like the developers of at Yukes of America had the same experience, except they actually enjoyed it! Neves Plus is a game that takes the fun of solving tangram puzzles and makes it a family affair.
This may not sound like your cup of tea, but there should be plenty of interesting game modes, including multiplayer trivia and puzzle solving modes. Just be sure not to get too upset with your sibling when they “accidentally” put the triangle in the wrong place. In my personal experience, games like this can only lead to bloodshed, but that may be more a side effect of growing up in a house with 3 younger brothers. If this concept tickles your fancy, you can pick it up for 600 Wii Points ($6.00 USD.)
Just to help you wrap your brain around multiplayer tangram action, here is a gameplay video:
Family Mini Golf - Putt Putt Golf has been a staple of the of lazy weekends and vacation hot spots across the country, but it has now made its home on the Nintendo WiiWare service. Implementing the logical controls of of the Wiimote, Family Mini Golf brings the action of the course directly into your living room.
What is notable about the game is not just the basic feature set, because it is chock full of bonuses that will keep players coming back for more. Up to eight people will be able to take part in the action, all through a single Wiimote, which is convenient if you have yet to purchase your own copy of WiiPlay. The game will also be expanded in the future though additional downloadable courses and a fully featured course creator. It is a steal, clocking in at a pricetag of merely 500 Wii Points ($5.00 USD.)
For those who can’t wait to hit the links, below is a clip of gameplay to tide you over:
Virtual Console
SimEarth: The Living Planet - From Will Wright, the brain behind the SimCity and The Sims franchise, was birthed this critical darling, that struggled to maintain the success of its predecessor. Though it was felt that the gameplay had the depth that had made the SimCity franchise great, the sales were never able to match the immense success. SimEarth is what many think to be Will Wright’s first attempt at simulating the evolution of lifeforms, a concept that he later mastered in the game Spore.
As you can tell, the game had a great impact on that path that Maxis games followed in the future. Many things that were learned through the massive development process, were later applied to other games in the “Sim” franchise. If you are interested in taking another trip down memory lane, SimEarth is available for 800 Wii Points ($8.00 USD.)
Here is a reminder of what the gameplay used to look like on the TurboGrafix 16:
Thanks to Nintendo’s efforts in promoting the WiiWare platform, we are starting to see higher quality games make their way to the service. What upcoming titles are you looking forward to in the coming months?
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