Temperatures aren’t the only thing heating up this season as Nintendo celebrates the unofficial onset of summer with another round of red-hot game downloads. May has been an especially big month for the Nintendo DSiWare™ service, with notable recent releases such as Photo Dojo™, Frogger Returns and Metal Torrent™. This week’s additions keep the momentum going strong with awesome hand-held games like X-Scape™ and Hero of Sparta. X-Scape is developed by Q Games, the same team that created Trajectile™ and STARSHIP DEFENSE™. (Also, remember that Photo Dojo™ is available for zero Nintendo DSi Points™ through June 10. The game will require 200 Nintendo DSi Points for download as of June 11.) Of course, Wii™ owners have plenty to be excited about too: New offerings include a Ben 10 Alien Force adventure for the WiiWare™ service and the Virtual Console™ debut of a classic cowboy shooter from the Super NES™ era.
It’s also time to announce a new addition to the “Big Name Games” section of the WarioWare™: D.I.Y. series, which features downloadable microgames from some of the industry’s most talented figures. Created by Nintendo Power™ magazine staffer Steve Thomason, this week’s featured game, Revenge, puts an unusual spin on familiar characters from the Mushroom Kingdom. New “Big Name Games” will be added every Monday through July 26, all available to download for zero Nintendo DSi Points to anyone with broadband Internet access and a copy of either WarioWare: D.I.Y. for the Nintendo DS™ family of systems or WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase software for the WiiWare service. Visit the Nintendo Channel on your Wii system today to learn more about these games.
Nintendo DSiWare
X-Scape
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) – Mild Fantasy Violence
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Your journey through the universe of X-Scape begins as you wake from 10 years of cryosleep, only to find yourself unexpectedly thrown into a fearsome battle against an evil empire bent on your destruction. You’ll travel to numerous planets in the Kiisa system and engage in a wide variety of challenges (including optional side quests) in your fight for survival. At your command is VIXIV, an advanced battle tank able to deftly maneuver on land or in the air while loaded with an array of formidable weapons. To help with advice or upgrades to VIXIV’s abilities, you’ve also got your highly capable support bot, VIX-529. Use the touch screen to pilot VIXIV in one of two modes: tunnel mode and free-movement mode. In tunnel mode, you’ll navigate through narrow, dangerous tunnels that connect planets. Successful completion of tunnel mode opens free-movement mode, which allows you to freely roam the surfaces of planets and take up missions. Presented in 3-D with a stylishly retro graphic presentation, X-Scape combines continuous action with an epic story to create an experience that’s sure to keep players on the edge of their seats.
Hero of Sparta
Publisher: Gameloft
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) – Blood, Violence
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: You wake up alone on an unknown beach to find your boat and entire fleet missing. It’s the beginning of an epic odyssey to find out just what game the gods are playing with you, King Argos. Your fate now lies in their hands. Battle like the fierce Spartan warrior you are to avoid a tragic death as you journey through mythical lands and even probe the depths of the Underworld. You will fight the most phenomenal monsters from mythology, defy Minotaurs and the Cyclops, and challenge the gods themselves. Unleash your hero’s special powers by performing combos to defeat legions of enemies in thrilling fights. You’ll have fabulous equipment and four mythic weapons to upgrade: draw your mythic swords, axe and shield. Fight, explore and solve puzzles – this is more than a basic hack-and-slash. Use the exclusive camera feature to collect epic pictures and become a real hero yourself.
A Topsy Turvy Life: The Turvys Strike Back™
Publisher: TECMO KOEI GAMES
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Mild Fantasy Violence
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Turn your Nintendo DSi™ system upside-down and play as the Imperial Armada out to destroy the Earth Defense Force in this topsy-turvy take on arcade shooters. You control the unsung forces of arcade shooters past with three kinds of ships, including giant bosses. Draw a line to send the fighters down. Touch the guards to make them shoot. Make your boss ship fire multiple weapons, including an enormous blast that destroys everything in its way. Two players can even battle each other on one Nintendo DSi system. Will the Earth Defense Force win again? Or will the Imperial Armada find victory at last?
Telegraph Sudoku & Kakuro
Publisher: Sanuk Games
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Play number puzzles from the Telegraph like you’ve never played them before. Discover a whopping 500 puzzles of multiple types. You’re in for many hours of game play. The game includes Sudoku (classic 9×9 sudoku grids with four levels of difficulty), Mini-Sudoku (easier 6×6 grids), Sudoku-X (9×9 grids in which the diagonals must also be filled with all numerals from 1 to 9), Jigsaw Sudoku (9×9 grids with uncommon box shapes) and Kakuro. With its handy interface and intuitive controls, Kakuro transfigures the classic pen-and-paper experience. Notable features include registration of best times in the Hall of Fame, interactive hints to prevent you from getting stuck and an Autosave option to stop and resume a puzzle at any time.
WiiWare
Ben 10 Alien Force: The Rise of Hex
Publisher: Konami Digital Entertainment
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) – Cartoon Violence
Price: 1,000 Wii Points™
Description: Ben 10 Alien Force: The Rise of Hex follows Ben Tennyson as he finds himself in the middle of Hex’s villainous plan to control the Earth. Using the powers of the Omnitrix, players can transform Ben into 10 different alien forms including Big Chill, Spider Monkey and, for the first time ever, Lodestar. Choose from 10 different aliens to platform your way through 15 levels, completing puzzle challenges along the way. Fight menacing villains and bosses in Ben’s newest adventure. Experience the world of Ben 10 Alien Force with 3-D characters set in a vibrant, 2-D-styled environment.
Voodoo Dice
Publisher: Ubisoft
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 1,000 Wii Points
Description: Mixing action and puzzle mechanics in a 3-D world, Voodoo Dice is an innovative, challenging puzzler that invites you to solve puzzles in unique and interesting ways. Encounter a funny and original universe with great style and distinctive vibes. Travel between different maps, defeat your enemies and solve enigmas.
Robocalypse™ – Beaver Defense
Publisher: Vogster Entertainment
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) – Cartoon Violence, Crude Humor, Suggestive Themes
Price: 600 Wii Points
Description: Set in a world of wisecracking, battling robots, Robocalypse – Beaver Defense offers madcap weaponry and uproarious destruction in a “tower defense”-style game. Players must create and strategically position towers to annihilate waves of enemy robots, while player-controlled Hero robots act as mobile weapons units, bringing heavy firepower to all areas of the battlefield. Players can experience the hilarious Story Mode or face the Beaver’s never-ending supply of robots in Survival Mode.
Virtual Console
Wild Guns™
Original platform: Super NES
Publisher: Natsume Inc.
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) – Animated Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: Discover the wildest West you’ve ever seen in this action-packed third-person shooter. The Kid gang and their army of robots have taken over the town. The only ones who can stop them are Clint, a tough-as-nails bounty hunter, and Annie, a beautiful-but-deadly woman with a serious score to settle. Blast your way through villainous outlaws, diabolical robots and towering, screen-filling bosses. Play by yourself or with a friend at your side in the two-player co-op mode. You’ll need a sharp eye and quick-on-the-draw reflexes. Fortunately, you’ve got plenty of moves to help you survive the hail of bullets heading your way. You can dive-roll, jump, double-jump, rope enemies with a lasso and clear the screen with explosive special attacks. Blast apart just about everything in the environment to find guns, bombs and other hidden power-ups. It’s up to you to bring justice back to town – or whatever’s left of the town when the gun smoke clears.
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.