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Wii-kly Shopping List: Summer Games in March??

by: Cyril -
More On: Wii
Talk about questionable timing.  This weekend the snow and freezing cold weather reminded me that we still have a few more days of winter left until spring's official start.  But apparently nobody told Nintendo (who, coincidentally, dealt with the exact same weather conditions this weekend), because their big retro release is ... Summer Games II?  This 24 year old Commodore 64 game features a number of wacky summer sports, including bicycling, fencing, the high jump, kayaking, and more.  The big news is that this upload features a staggering eight player gameplay, which may be a first on the Virtual Console.  Either way, Summer Games II is the perfect release for anybody living in denial about how cold it is outside.

Over on WiiWare we have a rhythm game with a truly awful name.  It's BIT.TRIP BEAT (yes, with a period in the middle of it), a four-player action game that uses is music in unique ways.  At first glance BIT.TRIP BEAT looks like a weird Pong clone in the Atari 2600, but it won't take long before you discover just how exciting and addictive this simple action/rhythm game really is.  I'm especially impressed with that somebody had the guts to make what is essentially an 8-bit music game, that's not something you see very often.  Look for BIT.TRIP BEATon the WiiWare Channel for 600 points ($6).

WiiWare:
  • BIT.TRIP BEAT (Aksys Games/600 Points)
Virtual Console:
  • Summer Games II (Epyx/Commodore 64/500 Points)