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Nintendo downloads: more adventures, retro and new alike

by: Tina -
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It looks like Nintendo is beginning to put more investment into the Virtual Console once again. We have another retro title addition with this week’s onslaught of downloadable Nintendo titles.

This week’s Virtual Console title is Mario Party 2 (1,000 Wii points). The N64 game involves the Mario team (and anti-team) partaking in mini-adventures on five different game boards: Pirate Land, Western Land, Space Land, Mystery Land and Horror Land. The game is up to four players-friendly. I personally have fond memories with the Mario partying, and I’m sure many others will be happy to see more returning retro games from Nintendo.

Other titles available on the Wii include Frobot (1,000 Wii points) and Inkub (500 Wii points). Frobot, which is available in a free demo form, is a fembotizer whose five girlfriends get kidnapped. You can play as the lover turned fighter bot in various modes including story mode, Burn Baby Burn (where you work to earn weapons), Superfreak (where you can find powerups), It’s Raining Guns (more weapons), Do the Hustle (times singleplayer levels that unlock multiplayer maps) and a multiplayer arena that allows up to four players. Inkub requires players to protect incubators from vicious diseases in the form of organism, viruses and bacteria that will attempt to attack them.

Four more downloadable titles are available on the DSiWare. In Dragon’s Lair II: Time Warp (800 DSi points) players have to save Princess Daphne from being trapped in a Time Warp placed on her by the evil Mordroc. Take the fighting into outer space in Cosmo Fighters (500 DSi points) and go up against up to three other players. Get caught in between a rebellion against monster “bosses” in Paul’s Monster Adventure (500 DSi points). Lastly, Just SING! Christmas Vol. 2 (200 DSi points) is the second volume of Christmas karaoke on your handheld. Again, not exactly sure why people want to force more Christmas songs during a time where that’s all you hear, but the more the merrier for some.

Read on for more description details of each game mentioned above. 
Virtual Console


Mario Party 2

Original platform: Nintendo 64™

Publisher: Nintendo

Players: 1-4

ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Mild Violence

Price: 1,000 Wii Points

Description: Get ready to party like it’s the year 2000 all over again, complete with fancy costumes, bags of surprises and games galore. Mario and his Mushroom Kingdom friends return for a new round of Bowser-bashing board game action in Mario Party 2. Each of your favorite characters dons a differently themed outfit to take part in five fun-packed Adventure Boards: Pirate Land, Western Land, Space Land, Mystery Land and Horror Land. Then battle Bowser™ on his own specific board – if you’re brave enough. Up to four players (additional accessories required, sold separately) can travel around the boards and compete in minigames for coins while also using items to gain an advantage. Win the most stars and become the ultimate victor: the Super Star. Or, if you just feel like proving your minigame mettle, visit Mini-Game Land. Head to the Mini-Game Stadium and replay your favorites, including the Item, Battle, Duel and Chance Time minigames.


WiiWare


Frobot

Publisher: Fugazo

Players: 1-4

ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) – Mild Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes

Price: 1,000 Wii Points; demo version available for 0 Wii Points

Description: Frobot is programmed to make love, not war. But when his five foxy girlfriends get botnapped, he doesn’t skip a beat in taking the fight to the streets. Blast your way up from the Funkytown Slums to the BotBlocker HQ and save them. In Burn Baby Burn mode, earn powerful weapons including the Robo Hustle dash and the Jivestalker disco ball to help take on the Man. In The Big Payback, journey through a story mode filled with action, adventure and fro-frazzling physics puzzles to rescue your girlfriends. In Superfreak, find hidden power picks and upgrade your style. It’s a fight to the last Fro in Frobot’s multiplaya arena. Face off with up to three of your friends on one screen to see who will earn the spotlight. In It’s Raining Guns, access an expanded arsenal of funky weapons, including the Bass Bomb grenade and the Heartstopper shield. And in Do the Hustle, you can unlock multiplaya maps by beating single-playa levels in record time.


Note: Some demo versions do not support all game features, and players cannot save their in-game progress in demo versions.

Inkub

Publisher: Cosmonaut Games

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Cartoon Violence

Price: 500 Wii Points

Description: In Inkub, you are responsible for the defense of incubators, each one connected to a life support system by means of transparent carbon tubes. For years, different organisms, viruses and bacteria have formed colonies that attack the species in each incubator. Your objective is to repel the attacks of these organisms and keep the eggs in the incubators safe. To do this, you have an arsenal of weapons, mines and blockers available. Different weapons will be unlocked as you progress through the game, including laser canons, projectiles, blockers, mines and speed inhibitors. Use them by placing them throughout the tube to repel enemy attacks.


Nintendo DSiWare


Dragon’s Lair II: Time Warp

Publisher: Digital Leisure Inc.

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: T (Teen) – Suggestive Themes, Fantasy Violence

Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points™

Description: Princess Daphne has been spirited away to a wrinkle in time by the evil wizard Mordroc, who plans to force her into marriage. Only you, Dirk the Daring, can save her. Transported by a bumbling old time machine, you begin the rescue mission. But you must hurry, for once the Casket of Doom has opened, Mordroc will place the Death Ring upon Daphne’s finger and she will be lost forever in the Time Warp. Dragon’s Lair II: Time Warp is a fully animated arcade classic from legendary animator Don Bluth. You’ll make your way through time by using your Nintendo DSi™ system to move and wield your sword. Beware of your foes, for they are numerous. Only you can save Princess Daphne.


Cosmo Fighters

Publisher: Abylight

Players: 1-4

ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) – Cartoon Violence

Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points

Description: There’s a battle to fight in outer space, but before you meet your fate, train yourself against the CPU to master all the tricks and combos. Whether playing one-on-one or against a group of three, your training will pay off once you challenge your friends and foes. Anyone can play, but only the well trained will win. Send your friends a demo via DS Download Play to allow them to play solo or in a Versus mode. Finding opponents for the Multiplayer mode is easy because only one player needs to have the game loaded onto his or her system. Let the fight begin!


Paul’s Monster Adventure

Publisher: Agetec, Inc.

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Comic Mischief

Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points

Description: Prepare to embark on an epic adventure and enter a land where monsters known as bosses once ruled with an iron fist. The local inhabitants have rebelled against the bosses by stealing their food supply. Now the bosses are slowly dying from starvation, and it’s up to you to save them. Explore and discover magical items that will aid you on your adventure. Interact with intriguing monsters that desperately need your help to regain their energy. Be warned: The inhabitants may consider your heroic efforts to be a threat and become aggressive if you are caught with food. Do you best to avoid them, but if you need it, you’re equipped with a powerful hammer that will temporally knock out the inhabitants. It’s time to step up to the challenge and restore order to this chaotic land.


Just SING! Christmas Vol. 2

Publisher: dtp young entertainment

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)

Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points

Description: You are the star! Prepare yourself for the next edition of Christmas karaoke. Holiday classics such as “We Wish you a Merry Christmas“ and “Deck the Halls” are waiting for you. Enter the festively decorated stage in a fancy Santa costume, then sing into the built-in microphone of your Nintendo DSi system to instantly capture the magical Christmas spirit. Hit all the right notes and sing in time to reach the top of the high-scores list.