WiiWare releases of recent weeks have been, to say the least, underwhelming. Gravitronix, unfortunately, is not the exception.
While the concept of spherical Pong with various shaped projectiles flying around the screen between anywhere from 2-8 players is only mildly entertaining in itself, the controls make every effort to make the gameplay as unenjoyable as possible.
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Another Wednesday, another chance for you to win something for free from GamePro Arcade. Up for grabs this time? One (1!) download code for 2000 Wii/DSi Points.
Winning, as always, is easy. All you have to do is write a comment on this post telling us how you'd spend your points. Would you download some Rock Band songs? Super Star Wars Empire Strikes Back? Major League Eating The Game? Let us know.
Post as many times as you like, just remember that posting multiple times does not increase your chances of winning. One (1!) lucky gamer will be randomly selected by the GPArcade Super Computer and announced on Sunday.
Good luck!
Follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/terryterrones
ED NOTE: For reasons you'll find out shortly, this contest officially ends at 10pm Pacific time tonight.
Word Searcher is yet another attempt on Nintendo’s WiiWare platform to capture the so-called casual gaming audience, but falls flat on its face. A common trend I am noticing with WiiWare games is developers making games that would be better suited for a mobile platform such as the iPhone, DSiWare or even PlayStation Minis.
Finding words on a console game means nothing more than sitting in front of the screen while trying not to submit to sleep-inducing gameplay and remain conscious enough to make sense of the letters on the screen. I think I actually felt my heart rate slow and my breaths become slower as I continued trying to find breakfast-themed words while listening to the repetitive elevator music that plays continuously in the background.
This week gamers get five (5!) new arcade titles to download. Starting today Nintendo fanboys can pick up "Pinball Plus: The Ancients Beckon" (500 DSi Points), "Final Fight 2" (800 Wii Points), and "Gravitronix" (500 Wii Points).
On Wednesday 360 gamers get 2K's first ever XBLA game, Axel & Pixel (800MS Points/$10) and the entire season of "Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space", which offers up all 5 episodes for 1600MS Points/$15.
As for PS3 gamers? I have no idea if you're getting anything or not yet. Sony, as usual, is tight lipped until the last minute when comes to PSN titles. I didn't hear anything about Critter Crunch until the day before it was released, which is unfortunate.
Hit the jump for all the details on this week's new downloadable games.
Follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/terryterrones
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This week gamers get five (5!) new titles to download. Starting today Nintendo fanboys can pick up the very first "Final Fantasy" (500 Wii Points), "Thorium Wars" (1,000 DSi Points), and "Word Searcher" (500 Wii Points).
On Wednesday Xbox 360 gamers get LucasArts' "Lucidity" and "South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play!", both for 800MS Points/$10. On Thursday PSN gamers get the last two Fallout 3 episodes, Point Lookout and Mothership Zeta.
I love South Park but I'm certainly going to be approaching this game with caution. With the exception of PixelJunk Monsters, I'm not that big a fan of the tower defense games, the genre seems to be beaten into the ground. Couple that with South Park's poor gaming track record (South Park Rally, Chef's Luv Shack) and this could be a recipe for disaster. But hey, its South Park! I'm always willing to give Matt Stone and Trey Parker another chance.
Hit the jump for all the fine print.
Follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/terryterrones
It took a few long play sessions before I was able to warm up to DRiiFT Mania. The top-down perspective racer pays homage to the arcade classic Off Road, but attempts to modernize it slightly with cell-shading and the ability to allow up to eight players locally.
The fixed camera, full-screen track so popularly used in Off Road was completely necessary at the time, but feels a bit unecessary today. Don’t get me wrong, I do have a fondness for retro gaming, but in this style of game it just feels limiting. I would compare it to a JRPG that still tries to throw random enemy encounters your way. Yes, the game may still be fun, but should 1989’s technological limitations be a part of this brand-new experience?
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This week gamers get eight (8!) new arcade titles to download. Starting today Nintendo fanboys can pick up Art Academy: Second Semester (800 DSi Points), Dragon Quest Wars (500 DSi Points), Arkanoid Plus! (600 Wii Points), Driift Mania (800 Wii Points), and Altered Beast (1,000 Wii Points).
On Wednesday Xbox 360 owners get yet another three-pack, with Bust-A-Move, Football Genius: The Ultimate Quiz, and Military Madness: Nectaris all selling for 800MS Points/$10 apiece. I was geeked at first about Football Genius, but then I realized its European Football, not American.
What about PS3 gamers? You'll be getting quite a bit of downloadable content this week. Fallout 3's The Pitt and Operation Anchorage will be available on Thursday, as will PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe. The original PixelJunk Monsters came out over a year ago on PSN, this new version contains more levels and towers and is specifically designed for PSP and PSPgo players. I've also heard a few rumors that Military Madness: Nectaris will be available for the PS3 as well, but I wasn't able to confirm it.
Hit the jump for all the fine print on this week's downloadable games.
Follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/terryterrones
Spaceball: Revolution is a sci-fi-themed puzzle game released for WiiWare. Players use their Wii Remote to aim at a grid and fire spaceballs to light up the squares within it. On the upper-left corner of the screen, you will see another grid with lit squares that make up a shape you must match while avoiding obstacles that block the path of your flying balls. There is a timer running while you are trying to complete the shapes, so think fast.
Between rounds, you are put in an intergalactic shooting range in which you fire your balls at futuristic clay pigeon-ish things that fly by really fast as your spaceballs inch along towards them, so timing your shot is important here. This minigame serves as a nice way of changing up the action in Spaceball: Revolution, but it’s not enough to keep me sitting for long.
You, Me, and the Cubes is a puzzler that almost doesn't feel like WiiWare. Something about it, maybe it’s the relaxing vibe, maybe it’s the soothing music, feels almost like the type of game I would find on PSN. Think along the lines of Pixeljunk Eden or Echochrome (Hit the link for a review of that game, which Terry did waaaay back in the day. Cause, you know, he's ancient and all.) in atmosphere.
The game presents you with a cube floating in a black empty space. You must place little human-like creatures, called Fallos, on the cube in pairs while maintaining even weight distribution throughout. The game will tell you how many Fallows you have to place and give you some sort of criteria (i.e. Six Fallows with at least one Fallow per cube). It's quite easy at first, but each level becomes progressively harder as a cube is added to the structure. By the end of the level, you have a cluster of up to six cubes and anywhere upwards of 20 Fallows.
This week gamers get eight (8!) new arcade titles to download. Starting today Nintendo fanboys can pick up You, Me, and the Cubes (1,000 Wii Points), Family Tennis (500 Wii Points), Last Ninja 2 (500 Wii Points), Clubhouse Games Express: Strategy Pack (500 DSi Points), and My Sims Camera (200DSi Points).
On Wednesday Xbox 360 gamers get three titles: The Warriors Street Brawl, Ion Assault, and Zombie Apocalypse, which will all be selling for 800MS Points/$10. Zombie Apocalypse will also be available on PSN this Thursday for $9.99, along with Fallout 3's Broken Steel.
Hit the jump for all the fine print on this week's downloadable games.
Follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/terryterrones
