Yeah, we're a day late with this week's recommendations. But we know you were waiting for us.Three more games showed up for download on the Wii Virtual Console service yesterday. Two out of the group might be worth a look, but we looked at all of them anyway. It's what we do.
Enough chit-chat. Here are our fashionably late picks for this week. Don't forget to jump into our talkback thread if you have a different opinion. That's what it's there for!
Tecmo Bowl - NES
Released 2/1989
1-2 Players
Cost: 500 Wii Points ($5)
Controllers: Wii Remote, Wii Classic, GameCube
While crude by today's Madden-era standards, in 1989 video football got no better than Tecmo Bowl. Players pick from twelve teams with most major cities represented, including Los Angeles, Washington, New York and San Francisco. The original game featured an NFLPA license, meaning that all teams had their actual 1988 rosters (with legends like Joe Montana, Walter Payton, and Bo Jackson). However, due to licensing issues the player names have been removed from the VC version (boooo!). Players are referred to by number, meaning you'll have to do a little research to figure out who's who.
The field is presented in an overhead view with games played from side-to-side. Offensive and defensive gameplay is incredibly simplified, but that's part of Tecmo Bowl's charm. You only have four plays to choose from, and guessing your opponent's play results in an all-out blitz of their quarterback. This makes two-player games a blast. You can play a season using a password system, or play a Coach mode that has you calling plays against a buddy while the computer plays the game for you.
We can't recommend Tecmo Bowl for everyone, since gamers weaned on the flashy intricacies of Madden may be turned off by its lack of complexity and 8-bit graphics. The removal of real player names also kills any nostalgia one might have associated with the game, and is a major drawback with this version. Some may also want to wait for Tecmo Super Bowl, TB's vastly superior sequel that appeared on both the NES and SNES. Despite these drawbacks, anyone looking for a simple football game might want to give Tecmo Bowl a try. - Jon Lindemann
Sonic Spinball - Genesis
Released 11/15/1993
1-4 Players
Cost: 800 Wii Points ($8)
Controllers: Wii Remote, Wii Classic, GameCube
Sonic plus pinball equals Spinball. That's pretty much what you'll get when you play Sonic Spinball. Sega's mascot character finds himself in a maze of pinball boards, each with multiple levels and lots of secret nooks and crannies to bounce to and explore. What makes Spinball different than a traditional pinball game is that you have some control over Sonic's movement while he's flying around through the air, making it somewhat easier to stay alive.
I don't think that an $8 price tag makes this a game for everyone, but if you like pinball games and/or blue hedgehogs you'll get your money's worth in Sonic Spinball. Oh, and as is the Sonic way, you can turn up the game speed to a faster level. Sonic would do it. Shouldn't you? - Steven Rodriguez
Double Dungeons - TurboGrafx-16
Released 6/1990
1-2 Players
Cost: 600 Wii Points ($6)
Controllers: Wii Remote, Wii Classic, GameCube
Don't let the similar name fool you, this game is absolutely nothing like Double Dragon. It's actually an old-school dungeon crawling RPG. You wander around a 3D maze finding slimes and bats and birds and everything else you'd expect to find in a dungeon, and then hope that your stats are better than your enemy. The "double" portion of the game's name comes from the fact that two players can wander around the same dungeon co-operatively, which is actually quite impressive, all things considered.
Remember how I said it was old-school? Scratch that. It's just plain old. While you'll get a laugh out of text prompts like "Zounds!" and "Did he learn his lesson?" the game here is just too simple and boring for it to be worth a download. So don't download it! - Steven Rodriguez
Topic: Virtual Console Mondays: March 12, 2007 (Read 3664 times)
