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Wii

This Week's Virtual Console and WiiWare

by Nick DiMola - February 16, 2009, 7:20 pm EST
Total comments: 19 Source: Press Release

Point pilot Konki to the exits of twenty unique stages in the week's WiiWare title or blast your way through enemy forces in an NES Gradius spin-off.

This week's Virtual Console and WiiWare provides us with two titles, one for each of the services. Additionally, Nintendo hints at some interesting news that will be officially revealed next week. Analyzing the clues, it can be assessed that next week Nintendo will officially unveil news that Commodore 64 games will join the North American Virtual Console service.

Evasive Space, a game that bears similarities to Nintendo's Kururin series, is this week's sole WiiWare release. Players will pilot Konki's ship through a maze-like space through the use of the Wii Remote's pointer functionality. Success in the game's twenty missions will allow players to defeat Dr. Dark Matter and save the constellations, which were stolen by the evil doctor. Evasive Space is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB and is available now through the Wii Shop Channel for 1,000 Wii Points ($10).

Life Force, an NES spin-off of the Gradius series, puts players in the cockpit of the Vic Viper to destroy waves of enemies in six horizontally and vertically scrolling stages. Players can utilize a variety of power-ups, and even bring a friend along, in order to save the planet from destruction. Life Force is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB and is available now through the Wii Shop Channel for 500 Wii Points ($5).

ONE WIIWARE GAME AND ONE VIRTUAL CONSOLE GAME ADDED (AND ONE SURPRISE COMING) TO WII SHOP CHANNEL

Feb. 16, 2009

Outer space meets inner space at the Wii™ Shop Channel this Presidents Day. A new WiiWare™ title will have you soaring across the astral plane, while a vintage NES™ shooter for the Virtual Console™ invites you to battle your way through the innards of an alien creature. Choose a hot new WiiWare game or a Gradius spin-off. It’s what the presidents would have wanted.

In other news, the Wii-kly Update has a fun surprise coming soon for all our fans. We can't tell you the secret just yet but maybe we’ll offer you some hidden clues. From AZ to NC, if you’re a fan, your applause could rattle your walls, windows, door. You might enjoy this news whether you live in a brick house or Vanderbilt dorm. Even people living along Route 286 in rural Pennsylvania ought to be excited. It’ll feel like a bunch of birthday greetings and, really, who could ask for more? But that's about all we can say for now, so be sure to check future Wii-kly Updates.

Nintendo adds new and classic games to the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time every Monday. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points™ to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week’s new games are:

WiiWare

Evasive Space™ (Yukes Company of America, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone – Mild Fantasy Violence, 1,000 Wii Points): Launch a one-of-a-kind mission to rescue the stars. The universe is going dark, and it’s up to you, Konki the Stellar Guardian, to set things right. Dr. Dark Matter and his roving band of space thieves have stolen many of the Constellation Stones that make up the heavens. It's time to suit up, power up, recover the Stones and once again bring light to the night sky. Using the Wii Remote™ controller's unique pointer capabilities, simply point and thrust Konki through 20 dangerous time- and collection-based missions in the harshest of environments. Navigate through narrow, mazelike astral caves riddled with space worms, steam pipes and mining drills. Explore vast space stations while avoiding turret fire, mines and huge crushing gears. Weave through cluttered asteroid fields and gaseous planetary rings. Evade the hazards, pick up precious items and ship upgrades, and save the Constellation Stones before the night sky is lost forever.

Virtual Console

Life Force (NES, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone – Mild Fantasy Violence, 500 Wii Points): This classic shooter, originally ported to the NES in August 1988, is a spin-off of the seminal Gradius series. Pilot the Vic Viper through six stages of intense action, alternating between horizontally and vertically scrolling environments, and take on wave after wave of enemies. Destroy particular enemies throughout the game (which takes place within the body of an enormous alien) to release power-up capsules and equip your ship with your choice of more powerful weapons, extra speed and shields. Utilize the power-ups carefully, though, as a fearsome guardian lurks at the end of each stage and won't be easily defeated. You can go it alone or bring along a friend to take on the challenge simultaneously. Do you have what it takes to save your planet?

For more information about Wii, please visit wii.com.

Talkback

Has anyone tried Evasive Space yet?  I love the idea, but I'm worried about the lack of support for Classic Controller (or Nunchuk), and High Voltage has yet to score a home run on WiiWare.

I did get Life Force, and I'm a bit disappointed.  The graphics are nice, but it feels a lot more like Gradius than I expected.  It's also really, really difficult and has limited continues.

GoldenPhoenixFebruary 16, 2009

Quote from: Jonnyboy117

Has anyone tried Evasive Space yet?  I love the idea, but I'm worried about the lack of support for Classic Controller (or Nunchuk), and High Voltage has yet to score a home run on WiiWare.

I did get Life Force, and I'm a bit disappointed.  The graphics are nice, but it feels a lot more like Gradius than I expected.  It's also really, really difficult and has limited continues.

Use the Konami code. Life Force is my all time favorite shooter, the sequel (Salamander 2) is also a great game. I love the multiplayer aspect along with the organic/machine design of most of the levels and enemies. Amazing game.

TJ SpykeFebruary 17, 2009

Commodore 64 games finally coming to NA Virtual Console? Maybe we will get back to more than 1 VC game per week. I miss the days when we would get 3 every week and the complaining that would happen when we got only 2. Nintendo should try and get western publishers like Midway, Activision Blizzard, and Electronic Arts to support it.

No kidding, it seems like Capcom and Hudson/Konami are the only companies that support VC, along with an occasional release from Nintendo's second-tier backlog.  There's still not a single third-party N64 game.

KDR_11kFebruary 17, 2009

Quote from: Jonnyboy117

Has anyone tried Evasive Space yet?  I love the idea, but I'm worried about the lack of support for Classic Controller (or Nunchuk), and High Voltage has yet to score a home run on WiiWare.

Comments on WWW seem divided currently, the assigned reviewer has no fun with it, others say it's decent but not a must-have. The controls apparently aren't an issue.

Nick DiMolaNick DiMola, Staff AlumnusFebruary 17, 2009

Quote from: Jonnyboy117

Has anyone tried Evasive Space yet?  I love the idea, but I'm worried about the lack of support for Classic Controller (or Nunchuk)

This is my same concern. Not so much that they won't work, just that I won't enjoy playing the game that way. When I first saw video of it I got really excited because it reminded me of Kururin, but then I read pointer controls and got pretty turned off from it.

GP was right -- Life Force is pretty cool once you put in the Konami code for 30 lives.  The graphics are so impressive for NES, and there's a ton of creativity in the levels and enemies.  I never realized how many ideas from Gradius III originally came from the Salamander series.

Coolest part = skull boss's eyes following you around, then FOLLOWING YOU AROUND

Mop it upFebruary 17, 2009

Quote from: Jonnyboy117

There's still not a single third-party N64 game.

I suppose we aren't counting Cruis'n USA because it is terrible?

GoldenPhoenixFebruary 17, 2009

Quote from: Jonnyboy117

GP was right -- Life Force is pretty cool once you put in the Konami code for 30 lives.  The graphics are so impressive for NES, and there's a ton of creativity in the levels and enemies.  I never realized how many ideas from Gradius III originally came from the Salamander series.

Coolest part = skull boss's eyes following you around, then FOLLOWING YOU AROUND

I always played it with 30 lives. It is really a game that you can get enjoyment from by just experiencing it. The boss designs are really neat for the most part (I remember the skull!).

As hard as it is to believe, Cruis'n USA was published by Nintendo on the N64.

Mop it upFebruary 17, 2009

Quote from: TheYoungerPlumber

As hard as it is to believe, Cruis'n USA was published by Nintendo on the N64.

Really? Even so, the series is owned by Midway, is it not? Does Nintendo still own the publishing rights to Cruis'n USA? Was it their decision to put it on the VC? Why would they unleash this game unto us yet again? Does Midway see any of the profit from the VC release?

Forgive me for being ignorant of this legal junk.

TJ SpykeFebruary 17, 2009

Nintendo owns the rights to at least the N64 original, and are listed as the publishers of the VC re-release.

Anybody staff member who has contacts at Nintendo, do you know if Nintendo is not allowing M rated games on the service? I remember Midway saying they wanted to release the Mortal Kombat games on the VC, this was way back in like 2007.

Midway published the arcade version of Cruis'n USA, but Nintendo published the N64 version.  I'm pretty sure that Midway developed both versions.

Splatterhouse is rated M on Virtual Console.  I think there may be at least one other, so far.

CORRECTION: Splatterhouse got by with a T rating.  Splatterhouse 2 has an M for Virtual Console, but it hasn't actually been released yet.  ESRB's website doesn't show any others with an M rating.  That sounds troubling, but keep in mind that very, very few games would have qualified for an M rating until the N64 era.  (Mortal Kombat would be the obvious exception.)  And most of the N64's M-rated games were, you guessed it, third-party releases.

StratosFebruary 18, 2009

I can only think of Conker's Bad Fur Day, Eternal Darkness and the MGS-Twin Snakes as Nintendo supported M-rated games.
Were Perfect Dark and Geist Teen or Mature?
Though all of those were from second-parties like Rare, Silicone Knights and N-Space.

Edit: I just checked the ESRB and both Perfect Dark and Geist were M-Rated.ndo systems. They keep a backlog of the ratings you can search.
Also, those were the only Nintendo funded M games on all Nintendo platforms ever (rated by the ESRB at least).
Also, I just thought of Fatal Frame 4 as another that would be M rated.

DAaaMan64February 18, 2009

Perfect Dark, M
Geist, T

KDR_11kFebruary 18, 2009

If anyone cares, Evasive Space Review (5/10), the reviewer hated the controls. Other users sound like the controls are no issue for them so I guess they work for some and not others. However it seems that even if the controls work the game is nothing great, not a waste of money but not something you'd miss if you didn't buy it either.

StratosFebruary 18, 2009

Quote from: DAaaMan64

Perfect Dark, M
Geist, T

ESRB says Geist was M

Quote from: KDR_11k

If anyone cares, Evasive Space Review (5/10), the reviewer hated the controls. Other users sound like the controls are no issue for them so I guess they work for some and not others. However it seems that even if the controls work the game is nothing great, not a waste of money but not something you'd miss if you didn't buy it either.

Do you frequent the WWW/VC-Reviews comments section and forums too? I'm on there w/ the same handle as here.

NinGurl69 *hugglesFebruary 18, 2009

Geist is M, it's on my box, contains plenty of ALMOST-NOODITY.

StratosFebruary 18, 2009

Quote from: NinGurl69

Geist is M, it's on my box, contains plenty of ALMOST-NOODITY.

I love how your cycling avatar shows Peach and Daisy with their eyes covered on that comment about nekid-ness.

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