Jett Rocket (WiiWare: Shin’en Multimedia, 1,000 Wii Points) is, according to Nintendo, ‘the definitive WiiWare 3D action-adventure’ From Shin’en, the developer of Nanostray, it certainly looks the part. Playing as Jett Rocket, you have to discover why the beautiful planet of Yoroppa has been attacked by the evil Power Plant Posse. The adventure takes you to three distinct exotic worlds from uncharted tropical islands to the glaciers of North Pole and ancient ruins. You can ride the ocean on your Jet Boat, parachute from giant cliffs, speed through arctic regions on your Jet Snowboard or fly with your Jet Turbine.
Ufouria: The Saga
Ufouria: The Saga (Virtual Console: Sunsoft, NES, 500 Wii Points) is a little known NES platformer. Originally released in 1992, it sees you taking control of Bop-Louie whose friends have fallen into a crater on the world of Ufouria. You have to save them all but Bop Louie is unable to swim or walk on ice so he must find his friends to help him overcome these problems and complete his adventure. Each friend has their own strengths and weaknesses and you need to utilise these abilities and any hidden items you find in order to escape from this other world.
Extreme Hangman
Then there’s Extreme Hangman (DSiWare: Gamelion, 200 DSi Points). According to the press release, there’s never been a hangman game like this before. However, your mission is to save the Hangman from his enemies by guessing the hidden word correctly. Sounds like hangman to us! But if you guess incorrectly, he is put one step closer to being shot, strangled, erased, or hanged by his enemies.
Maestro: Green Groove
Maestro! Green Groove (DSiWare: Neko Entertainment, 500 Nintendo DSi Points) sounds like it’s a cut down version of last year’s excellent DS musical platformer Maestro: Jump In Music. You have to play a tune as your character runs through each level and you do this by hitting the spiders to play some drums, running or jumping into the fruit to bring out the melody or pinching the strings to play the tune. The Green Zone’s first track was Beethoven’s 5th Symphony.
Puffins: Let’s Fish
DSiWare doesn’t have a Virtual Console service but that hasn’t stopped Interplay porting old SNES platformer Prehistorik Man (DSiWare: Interplay, 800 Nintendo DSi Points) over to the console. It’s a fast-paced action platformer with special missions and hundreds of secret areas hidden throughout the 22 levels. You have a large arsenal of weapons and various different vehicles at your disposal, including hang-gliders, pogo-sticks, rafts and stone wheels.
Ball Fighter
Ball Fighter (DSiWare: Teyon, 500 DSi Points is a puzzle game where the aim is to blast groups of dropping spheres to create matching chains and clear the board. You can make chains to receive additional points or to make a game more difficult for an opponent. When you destroy spheres in multi-player mode, they will be added to the opponent’s board to make his task more difficult. On a board you can find special bonuses like a Brush, a Rocket Launcher or a Bomb which can be used to destroy spheres or to paint a line of them with the same colour. There is a variety of single-player modes (Arcade, Survival, Brain Breaker, Player vs CPU) as well as a multi-player mode played on one Nintendo DS console.
Puffins: Let’s Fish
Finally there’s Puffins: Let’s Fish! (Other Ocean Interactive, 500 Nintendo DSi Points). Playing as a puffin you have to dive into the sea and fill your belly with fish. But you’ll need to watch out as the ocean is teeming with sharks, jellyfish and other predators are waiting to take a bite out of you.
