Nintendo Download Update: Mega Man, Dark Void Zero and Zaxxon
Something for everyone this week as the Virtual Console, WiiWare and DSiWare all get some great new games, with a healthy dose of laser-blasting sci-fi action
Starting off the action this week are the eagerly awaited Mega Man 10 from Capcom and BIT. TRIP VOID, the latest BIT. TRIP game from Aksys. The new Mega Man game continues the back-to-the-past retro journey started by last years Mega Man 9 – a game that eschewed modern gaming conventions by sticking to a classic 8-bit style presentation complete with old-school controls and crushingly high difficulty typical of the classic Mega Man games. Mega Man 10 has players once again collecting powers and beating bosses such as Blade Man and Sheep Man on a path to defeat the evil Dr. Wily. Original? No. Reliable? Hell yeah. Mega Man 10 can be had for 1000 Points.
Joining Mega Man on WiiWare is BIT TRIP. VOID for the usual price of 600 Points. After hitting beats with a paddle at the start of the series, then firing at them with a four-way laser, the third game sees you navigating a nasty black void. You need to swallow up black blocks this time which expand your side, making it harder to avoid the white blocks.
The Virtual Console finally receives a new game this week, too, and its for the arcade branch. Zaxxon from SEGA is apparently the first game to utilise the lovely isometric view type, helping make up for its 28 years of age. Typical of games from that era, only one button and a D-pad are required, meaning the shmup gameplay is quite simple. The 500-Point price somewhat justifies that, though.
Moving on, DSiWare makes up the majority of new titles with four releases. Dark Void Zero would be the most exciting out of the bunch, finally arriving here after seeing an American release in January. After originally being conceived as a parody of Dark Void on HD systems, it was later developed by Other Ocean Interactive into a real DSiWare game. Its a fully retro NES-style experience, just like Capcoms work with Mega Man 9 and 10 for WiiWare. It has actually received much higher praise on average than the full-blown Dark Void experience, too, so its definitely worth a look for 500 Points.
Real Football 2010 for 800 Points is an updated version of Real Football 2009, a retail-to-digital port released last year very early in the services life. The 2009 version was pretty good, and so should this be, but were not sure yet if its worth upgrading if you bought the first one.
The last real game out of the bunch is Pinball Pulse: The Ancients Beckon, developed by Fuse Games, the makers of the retail title Metroid Prime Pinball. Its meant to be very realistic, but does only contain one board. You cant complain too much when its only 500 Points, though. Closing out the week is Flips: The Bubonic Builders, another Too Ghoul for School book from the more comprehensive retail game. Its probably worth giving one of these a go if you have a young child, and if they do like it, getting the retail collection would be wiser than buying each bit separately.
