The Nintendo Download: Bits, Busts, And Chariots Of WiiWare
Busting moves, tripping bits, and racing chariots are just some of the fun activities presented in this week’s downloadable games for the Nintendo Wii and DSi.
It’s a promising week for The Nintendo Download, with an especially robust set of titles dropping for WiiWare. Kicking things off is the release of Aksys Games’ BIT.TRIP CORE (600 Wii Points), the follow up to the amazing and difficult BIT.TRIP BEAT, combining retro visuals and some lovely chiptune music to create something that AJ called Rez for the Wii. WiiWare also gets some bubble popping action in the form of Taito’s Bust-A-Move Plus! (600 points), and it’s first chariot racing game, Heracles Chariot Racing (800 points) from Neko Entertainment, seen above. Interesting.
The virtual console returns to the Commodore 64 again with California Games (500 points), one of the most popular titles on the system at the time, though I still cannot justify spending money on C64 games in this day and age.
Finally DSiWare gets another dose of Art Style with Base: 10 (500 DSi Points), a puzzle game where you must match up numbers that add up to 10, along with Gameloft’s Asphalt 4: Elite Racing (800 points), which allows players to use photos taken with the DSi camera to pimp their rides.
Not a bad little handful of titles really. Check out the official descriptions below, and let us know what you think.
WiiWare
BIT.TRIP CORE
Publisher: Aksys Games
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 600 Wii Points™
Description: BIT.TRIP CORE continues the BIT.TRIP saga in this retro-arcade-style game. BIT.TRIP CORE adds up to an exciting action/rhythm game that’s best played while zoning out on the tunes and letting the visuals swallow you whole. The experience is inspired by games from the ’80s, but with a modern twist. The game play is entirely new to the series, leaving the single-axis controls of BIT.TRIP BEAT behind in favour of the ability to control two axes. If the difficulty gets you down, grab a friend and play cooperatively with two-player multiplayer. Make it to the end and you’ll have journeyed one step further to completing your BIT.TRIP.
BUST-A-MOVE Plus!
Publisher: TAITO
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 600 Wii Points
Description: BUST-A-MOVE Plus! is a simple but hugely addictive puzzle game in which you must try to burst a multi-colored mass of bubbles with your very own bubble launcher. Every time you make a group of three or more bubbles of the same colour, they pop. There are two game modes available: 1P Puzzle (players tackle the game’s 135 stages in pursuit of a new high score or best time) and Battle (players take on friends or computer-controlled opponents). If that doesn’t satisfy your passion for popping, there are a total of 270 extra stages waiting for you in the two add-on-content packs, available for purchase on the Wii™ Shop Channel. BUST-A-MOVE Plus! is simple to get into and deep enough to keep you coming back for more.
Heracles Chariot Racing
Publisher: Neko Entertainment
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Comic Mischief
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: The famous Heracles has taken on a challenge like none he has ever faced. Our hero will have to beat his opponents in a race across mythological kingdoms and be the first to reach the top of Mount Olympus. You can play as Heracles and help him return the sacred trophy, or play as one of the other varied mythological characters from Satyr to Poseidon and claim the prize for yourself. Race through three racing cups across 10 courses set in five mythic landscapes. Use awesome fantasy weaponry to defeat your opponents: tridents, fireballs, Zeus’s lightning rods and more. Get your friends together for intense two-to-four-player split-screen multiplayer action in Championship, Single Race or Battle mode.
Virtual Console
California Games
Original platform: Commodore 64
Publisher: Commodore Gaming
Players: 1-5
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Welcome to California, home of the most radical sports in the world. You’re about to hit the beaches, parks and streets of the Golden State to go for trophies in everything from surfing to bike racing. California Games gives you the hottest sports and the most aggro competition. You even have to pick your own sponsor. So pull on those kneepads – you’re about to get into the most fun you’ve had since mum hid your skateboard. California Games is going to take you from surf to the turf, from the pipe to the parks.
Nintendo DSiWare
Art Style: BASE 10™
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points™
Description: Art Style: BASE 10 is a game of numbers. Your goal is simple: create combinations equaling 10 by sliding numbers around the playing field. Move them horizontally or vertically, but be careful not to create an unusable non-number in the process. Choose from one of three modes: eliminate a set amount of numbers as quickly as possible in ZEROSUM MODE; get rid of prearranged groups of numbers in as few moves as possible in PUZZLE MODE; or continue removing numbers until your game is over in INFINITE MODE. In addition, you can challenge an opponent to a two-player wireless battle in VS MODE and see whose number-crunching skills reign supreme. If you think you’re a master with numbers, the straightforward yet challenging world of Art Style: BASE 10 gives you the opportunity to prove it in a unique way.
Asphalt 4: Elite Racing
Publisher: Gameloft
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) – Mild Violence
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: For the racing elite, the world is their racetrack. Choose among 28 dream cars and motorcycles from the world’s most prestigious manufacturers. Then race your way through eight of the most renowned cities, fully rendered in 3-D. Control your speed machine with either standard or touch-screen controls for precision driving. Photos taken with the Nintendo DSi™ Camera can be used as your personal icon or can appear throughout the various environments, including the garage where you can customise and tune your vehicles. From New York to Shanghai, Paris to Dubai, you’ll weave a course through busy streets in six kinds of races plus four-player Multiplayer mode. Avoid police, demolish competitors and pass the leader to win. You’ll need to floor it at every straightaway and push every drift to the limit to stay one step ahead and become the ultimate VIP of urban racing.
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Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
Still glad I didn't get a DSi.
HalcyonX12
@KillerBee:
So in other words, you want developers to continue releasing "enhanced" screen shots of games taken from dev consoles with enhanced resolutions that are sometimes upwards of 3-4 TIMES the resolution the game will actually be played in. On top of that they use engine tools to take shots from angles that you will never actually see in game.
Basically, most screen shots are complete bullshit and amount to false advertising. So yeah, I guess I'd rather be lied to and have the visuals of the games I spend my hard earned money on misrepresented in still images.
Seriously, you should be happy that someone is showing screens of what the game actually looks like instead of showing you lies.
Hypernetic
@Slagathorian: To clarify further - this data was collected the same way that Stephen Totilo collects the Wii play-time data, using the Nintendo Channel on Wii. It's from the people who have a) downloaded the Nintendo Channel, and b) opted to share their data. The assumption is that all the people who have done this have played Wii Sports enough to have their data transmitted, and this comes out to around 2.3, 2.4 million.
Now, there are going to be three sets of populations in the US who aren't covered by this. The largest is probably those who haven't downloaded the Nintendo Channel nor have they downloaded any VC games. The other two (and I don't know which is likely to be bigger) are the two I described above.
pslong9
...where are the busts? I was promised busts.
@Slagathorian: Nope, it's 2.3 million. For the US, groups #1 and #2 add sales, but the remaining US Wii owners (those who don't buy Wii Shop games at all) don't add any sales. We don't know the populations of any of those groups.
pslong9
C'mon, Ninty. Give us some free Flipnote action!
It's a strait port of a PS2 game.
crakkie
@pslong9: YOu must mean a 23 million user sample.
@pfc.joker: Yup, I still got 1200 points left over from X-mas '07.
Although, I DID buy 1000 points by mistake when Mega Man 9 came out to purchase it. I forgot about them.
bloggerX
@Strom Thurmond: yes, thankfully MS and Sony each got a successful FPS and stopped there!
...oh wait.
Crash__Man
Virtual Console releases are pathetic, C64 games?!? There are still a ton of GREAT NES, SNES, N64 games just waiting for their Virtual Console day - why Nintendo is wasting time with titles that 99% of their users won't buy is beyond me.
@NukaCola: I don't know why they only seem to release one game a week. Granted I don't check every week, but there were thousands of games released for those systems and we have, what, 200?
cwbys21
@The Cap'n: They're lifetime sales, but they're from the 2.3 million user sample from the US Nintendo Channel. And this was as of about a month or two ago. It's missing sales from three sets of people: 1) those who buy Wii Shop games but never downloaded the Nintendo Channel, 2) those who buy Wii Shop games and downloaded the Nintendo Channel but don't share their data, and 3) the other 28 million Wiis sold worldwide.
Looking at the VGChartz page, they have a link to their methodology. As an estimate, it doesn't look bad. The biggest issue to me is the scaling factor. That's what's going to cause the most inaccuracies.
pslong9
@Debaser:
Wario Ware Snapped.
Mario VS. DK: The Minis March Again.
Art Style: Pictobits.
flameofdoom666
@NukaCola:
Where is Earthbound??!!!!!!!!!?
flameofdoom666
I love the Bit Trip series I better go purchase the new one right away :)
@pslong9: wait... are these lifetime sales?
Interestingly enough, vgchartz had some numbers up last week: [news.vgchartz.com]
Standard disclaimer: it's vg chartz and should be taken with a grain or three of salt. And I have no idea where they got the numbers. But they don't look ridiculous.
@IanC: Have you played it or are you just thinking that? I'm curious about it, but I don't want to plop down $8 for the game if it's really short or something.
@bakagaijin: It's worse when parents at the store where I work ask me to help their kids use the 1000 free points on some games.
Everyone pegs Nintendo as kiddie, but I have a very hard time recommending ANY DSiWare game to children, since the only ones I think are good are all puzzle games, including Mighty Flip Champs which would probably frustrate a small child to no end.
Debaser
@Bii Nii Wii Nii Live from the Show-Me-State: Someone on NeoGAF compiled these statistics from the Nintendo Channel. Note that this is from the 2.3 million user sample, and US only:
WiiWare:
1. Defend Your Castle: 79,799
2. My Pokemon Ranch: 78,704
3. Dr. Mario Rx: 63,189
4. My Life as a King: 57,238
5. My Aquarium: 55,667
6. World of Goo: 51,774
7. LostWinds: 45,172
8. Mega Man IX: 39,449
9. Tetris Party: 38,279
10. Strong Bad Episode 1: 23,190
pslong9
@pslong9: Done well? According to who? Sources would be nice. And I understand me being unfamiliar doesn't mean its unfamiliar to everyone.
I'm just stating my opinion and offering details as to how I formed my opinion that WiiWare has been a bust.
Wii's install base demographics + majority of WiiWare is 3rd party shovelware + Little to NO marketing, lack of demos/trials = My opinion that, thus far, WiiWare has been an absolute bust.
@bakagaijin: Rome wasn't built in a day my friend. It took the VC/Wiiware about a year to get crackin. Give it time.
THEMISSING
@Methusalah: I remember many years ago, when I was little, my dad's friend lent us his PS1, and we went to rent games for it. I remember wanting Bust-A-Move, so when I rented it and took it home, imagine my horror when I found out I'd rented Bust-A-Groove... :(
SadAstronaut
@Bii Nii Wii Nii Live from the Show-Me-State: Nope, figures have never been released, but I believe WiiWare has generally been a success. Just because you aren't familiar with it doesn't mean it's a failure.
Some games have done really well, like World of Goo, where 60% of the revenue for that game came from WiiWare (other 40% from Steam / PC). Defend Your Castle, My Life As A King, Mega Man 9 have also done well. Others haven't done so well.
pslong9
@BlooQKazoo: Yes - in my opinion, the Master System version was the best available California Games. Though I will say the Atari 2600 version was a big ball of hilarity.
Asphalt 4: Elite Racing is pretty damn snazzy.
Unfortunately the DSi games are really underwhelming. There is so much potential with the store, yet all I see are puzzle games and animal crossing calculators.
I'm sitting on 1000 points, free ones at that, and I still don't see anything I want.
I think that's a bad sign when your customers won't even take your games for free.
@NukaCola: What the hell is wrong with California Games and Fantasy Zone 2?
Eggman006
@Weegi: It was never planned for today. The July 7th release only applies to the PC version
Eggman006
Are we ever going to get anymore good Virtual Console games? So many good SNES & N64 games have yet to be released on there...
NukaCola
@FriedConsole: I kicked ass at surfing, doing massive jumps off the crest the wave. That game rocked, I remember the half-pipe wreaked havok on my thumb joints.
I remember playing california games on the master system, the dirt biking, half pipe and frisbee, good memories taking turns trying to get the high score with friends.
Ironically I think the frisbee was the hardest event.
Anyone else remember this game?
@TRT-X: *cough* Home
@Bii Nii Wii Nii Live from the Show-Me-State: If it had been a "pretty big failure", it would have not lasted this long.
What happened to Monkey Island?
Has Nintendo ever released and WiiWare sales figures? I skimmed through the WiiWare titles last night for the first time in months. I am familiar with a handful of titles, but everything else is foreign to me.
The general unfamiliarity of WiiWare games and the lack of demos/trials leads me to believe WiiWare has, to this point, been a pretty big failure.
One thing Microsoft definately got right this generation was implementing a mandatory trial option for every XBLA/XNA game. Sony and Nintendo really need to implement the same thing.
@Sean Lee Fowler: I'm pretty sure Base 10 is the Art Style game DECODE. It's a puzzle game with falling numbers where you shift numbers around and upside down to add up to ten. Not really the same as the Perfect 10 mini game.
Ghost_MH
Bust a Move Plus isn't worth it without online multiplayer. After the amazing Tetris Party, puzzles games just aren't acceptable without online anymore on Wiiware.
MARl0
@CombatDispenser: I wish uncharted 2 looked like that screenshot. Since apparently people who comment on a games visuals, don't give a crap about video games.
Yes. California Games!! I am going to see if I still have no ability to surf.
FriedConsole
@KillerBee: What are you talking about? It looks better than GT5 and Forza 3 combined.
CombatDispenser
@KillerBee: I couldn't even figure out what the fuck that guy was at first. Looked like some giant deformed leg driving a chariot.
I love bust-a-move, but I can never convince myself to pick up a version newer than the first ps2 edition of the game. It sounds like this one has fewer features than the one I currently own, so I guess I'll pass.
Man I was totally addicted to Bust a Move about 10 years ago. (I was pretty damn good at it, too.) I tried to play it yesterday on the Neo Geo emulator and it bored me to sleep.
Still I might get this new one (as well as bit.trip, which looks awesome) and rekindle an old flame.
Base 10 is going to be part of Wii Fit Plus, but called "Perfect 10" instead. I just re-watched Nintendo's Press Conference yesterday, and they mentioned it as a minigame where you swing your hips to hit numbers to make 10.
Sean Lee Fowler
That's just what Nintendo is sorely lacking. Another kart racer.
That screenshot looks awful. Truly awful. If you are going to release a screenshot for a game, at least make it somewhat appealing.