<![CDATA[Kotaku: the nintendo download]]> http://tags.kotaku.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/kotaku.com.png <![CDATA[Kotaku: the nintendo download]]> http://kotaku.com/tag/thenintendodownload http://kotaku.com/tag/thenintendodownload <![CDATA[The Nintendo Download: You, Me, And The Cubes]]> There's tennis, a last ninja, a little strategy, and a shot of MySims in this week's Nintendo Download, but once you get past those it's just Me, You, and the Cubes.

You, Me, and The Cubes is a puzzle game for WiiWare from Kenji Eno of D and Enemy Zero fame. Shake your Wii remote to give birth to mysterious creatures called Fallos, and then throw them at cube structures in the hopes that they will keep their balance until you run out of Fallos to toss. Cubes with different properties shake things up as you play through dozens of stages in both single-player and co-op multiplayer modes. You, Me, and the Cubes is available today for 1,000 Wii points.

I will not comment on how wrong the phrase "shaking your Fallos" sounds.

Also on WiiWare this week is the return of Aksys' family in Family Tennis (500 Wii points), which involves a family, preferably yours, playing tennis.

DSiWare likewise gets two new games today, with a dose of strategy from the Clubhouse Games Express: Strategy Pack (500 DSi points), which comes complete with Backgammon, Field Tactics, Turncoat, Grid Attack, and Connect Five. If you prefer to use your DSi for cuteness rather than thinking, EA unleashes the MySims Camera (200 DSi points), an application that allows you to superimpose adorable 3D MySims characters over your real-world images.

Wrapping things up on the Virtual Console is Last Ninja 2 for the Commodore 64 (500 Wii points), the classic action/adventure game that proved the previous title, The Last Ninja, completely false.

As always, check out the official descriptions below, and let us know if you'll be making any choice selection from this week's Nintendo Download.

WiiWare

You, Me, and the Cubes
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Comic Mischief
Price: 1,000 Wii Points™
Description: Experience a unique combination of strategy and skill as you maintain a level playing field in the physics-based action puzzler You, Me, and the Cubes. The action centers around Fallos, mysterious creatures that resemble humans and have an ability to balance on a playing field of 3-D cubes. First, create a pair of Fallos inside your Wii Remote™ controller by shaking it up and down. Next, determine suitable places for the Fallos to land, then fling them to the selected cube with a swinging motion. After that, the Fallos are on their own. If your placement is sound, the Fallos will remain stable and you'll clear the stage after tossing a required number onto the cubes. But if the weight or locations of Fallos causes the cubes to tilt and sway too much, the Fallos will lose their balance and fall off. Adding to the challenge, you'll find that some cubes have different properties, making tosses tricky and further threatening the stability of the Fallos. Guide Fallos through dozens of single-player stages or invite family and friends to join you in two-player cooperative mode.

Family Tennis
Publisher: Aksys Games
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Comic Mischief, Mild Suggestive Themes
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Daddy, Mommy, Sarah and Billy return for some hard-hitting, fast-paced tennis action. Battle it out between the happy family members as you vie for the top spot. Choose from three different modes: Elimination Match, Free Match and Thrilling Rally. Play against the CPU or compete with friends. Elimination Match mode pits you against the CPU to test your skills, while Free Match mode allows you to play against another player under conditions of your choosing. Thrilling Rally mode lets you join up to three other players and rally to see who can get to 100 points first.

Virtual Console

Last Ninja 2
Original platform: Commodore 64
Publisher: Commodore Gaming
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) - Mild Violence
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: The ninja known as the Mystic Shadow Warriors were the elite fighting force of ninth-century feudal Japan. The evil Shogun Kunitoki was once beaten, but he has gathered all his mystic powers to create a modern-day tyranny in Manhattan. Face your archenemy Kunitoki in the urban jungle and conquer him with your ninja skills. Transported to 1988 Manhattan by an unknown force, the ninja leader Armakuni must find a way to defend himself against the unknown dangers that lie before him. Will this be the final battle? Can you vanquish the evil Kunitoki once and for all?

Nintendo DSiWare

Clubhouse Games Express: Strategy Pack
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1-8
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Prepare yourself for a lesson in tactics as you play through five strategy-based games in this Nintendo DSiWare version of the popular Clubhouse Games. Take on an opponent in the classic Backgammon, invade an enemy base in Field Tactics, sandwich your opponent's pieces to capture them in Turncoat, create strings of five in a row in Connect Five and guess where to attack your opponent's pieces in Grid Attack. Play by yourself or use DS Download Play to host as many as seven friends.

MySims Camera
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Players: 1
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: MySims Camera is a camera application that utilizes popular MySims characters. You can take photos and overlay 3-D MySims characters to bring them into the real world. The 3-D characters can be animated, moved, scaled, rotated and cropped. You can also draw on the photos with the stylus or use the stamp tool to add more art and style. Create a unique frame and save the photos to the Nintendo DSi Camera album to share with friends. MySims Camera is a fun, creative experience for the entire family.

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<![CDATA[The Nintendo Download: Phantasy Monkey Battle League]]> The solo player reigns supreme in this week's Nintendo Download, with four games perfect for loners of all shapes, sizes, and dispositions.

Telltale's Tales of Monkey Island continues this week in WiiWare, with Guybrush Threepwood searching for a cure to the mysterious Pox of LeChuck, which he caught in the last episode due to his trademark improvisational skills. 1,000 Wii points gets you back into the adventure. Those of you who prefer sitting in front of the television shaking your WiiMote might prefer Tecmo's 3-2-1 Rattle Battle!, a series of rattle-based mini-games for 500 Wii points. It's single-player, but you can upload your scores to see how you compare against others on a global scale. Sounds...exciting?

Not nearly as exciting as this week's Virtual Console title, Sega's Phantasy Star for the Sega Master System. The journey into the stars begins here, with 500 Wii points and a tolerance for severely dated graphics the only items you need to experience the first chapter of the Phantasy Star saga.

The DSiWare service gets another title this week as well, with Nintendo's Puzzle League Express delivering four single-player modes of puzzle goodness for 500 DSi points.

Definitely seems to be some interesting games from aged franchises this week. Of course the stage is stolen by a combination of 3-2-1 Rattle Battle! and sarcasm. Check out the full descriptions below for more info.

WiiWare™

Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 2
Publisher: Telltale Games
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) – Alcohol Reference, Cartoon Violence, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes
Price: 1,000 Wii Points™
Description: Guybrush's adventures continue on the high seas as pox-plagued pirates lay siege to the innocent Mer-People. Between defending the Mer-People and dodging the persistent pirate hunter hot on his trail, Guybrush manages to catch up to his beloved wife and despised arch-nemesis, but the reunion is short-lived. Now Guybrush must focus on eradicating the Pox of LeChuck before more harm can be done. And as the Mighty Pirate draws closer to a cure, the waters will only grow murkier in this thrilling chapter of the epic saga.

3-2-1, Rattle Battle!
Publisher: Tecmo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Comic Mischief
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: 3-2-1, Rattle Battle! is a party game packed with exciting mini-games. Intuitive controls mean that anyone can enjoy playing – just grab the Wii Remote™ and shake it to "rattle." Great fun for single players, but the party really gets started when you register high scores on Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection to see how you measure up against players from around the globe.

Virtual Console™

Phantasy Star™
Original platform: SEGA Master System
Publisher: SEGA
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone 10 and Older) – Animated Blood, Mild Fantasy Violence
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Originally released on the SEGA Master System, Phantasy Star is a pioneer in the role-playing game genre. Alis is the fearless female protagonist out to avenge her brother's death at the hands of cruel dictator King Lassic. Players must guide Alis and her troops through the sprawling environments of the Agol solar system in an attempt to defeat King Lassic and liberate the people of Agol. Engage in dynamic turn-based combat with dragons, ghouls, giants and magicians by using unique weapons such as glowing daggers, crossbows and magic spells.

Nintendo DSiWare™

Puzzle League™ Express
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points™
Description: The ever-popular Puzzle League comes to Nintendo DSiWare. As it is with all good puzzlers, the concept is simple: Connect blocks of the same color to clear them from the screen and prevent your stack from becoming too high. There are four single-player modes to choose from: Endless (survive to earn a top score), Clear (eliminate all blocks above the line), Score Attack (score as high as possible in two minutes) and Vs. COM (use items and combos to attack a computer opponent). You can choose from a variety of background music to help get you in the zone, and even play in horizontal or vertical mode by holding the Nintendo DSi system normally or like a book. Whichever way you play, you're guaranteed maximum fun.

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<![CDATA[The Nintendo Download: Random Monday Morning Goodness]]> What this week's Nintendo Download lacks in must-have titles it makes up for in sheer guts, with brain training, puzzles, a little golf, and a simulated planet all on offer.

Of course, when I say lacking in must-have titles, that doesn't mean completely bereft of them. The sole DSiWare title this week is Art Style: Boxlife, and for many of us, Art Style translates directly into Buy Me. The series hasn't done me wrong yet, and even though this one is about climbing the corporate ladder via folding paper into boxes for 500 DSi points, I am still planning on picking it up.

WiiWare has three titles this week, though honestly none really catch my eye. XSEED's Drill Sergeant Mindstrong (800 points) is a mind-training game with a party flair, and at this point I can move things with my mind so we're good. Yukes brings us Neves Plus (600 points), a tangram-based puzzle games that I am sure would be lovely on any other day than a Monday morning with a slight caffeine headache. Finally we have Aksys' Family Mini Golf (500 points), and considering my family consists of two cats, that's probably not for me either.

Rounding things out on a planetary scale this week is the sole Virtual Console title, SimEarth: The Living Planet (800 points), the TurboGrafx16 CD version of one of the less wildly-popular Sim series games for the PC. Perhaps I should have led with that one and finished up with Art Style?

Anything grab your interest this week? Wait - before you say anything, official descriptions follow.

WiiWare

Drill Sergeant Mindstrong
Publisher: XSEED Games
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) - Mild Language, Mild Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points™
Description: Line up and get ready to use your mind. Drill Sergeant Mindstrong is a party game that allows up to four people to play at once. Players become boot-camp trainees under the tough Drill Sergeant Mindstrong, going through mind-boggling, mind-training games. The rules are simple, but concentration and quick thinking are key. Become the top boot of your class and earn promotions based on your efforts. This game is best played with friends and family.

NEVES Plus™
Publisher:YUKES Company of America
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 600 Wii Points
Description:Try your hand at the newest puzzle craze to come out of Japan, NEVES Plus! Enhanced for WiiWare, NEVES Plus not only retains all the simple, mind-bending tangram-based game play from the original Nintendo DS™ version, but also includes new multiplayer modes wrapped up in an Egyptian theme. This time, you and up to three others can work together to move, rotate and flip the seven Lucky stones into each of the 500-plus silhouette puzzles. You can also challenge one another in new multiplayer modes such as Versus, Speed, Lucky Number and Party Mode. Whether you play every mode by yourself or with friends, NEVES Plus is set to charm you with harder-than-they-look silhouette puzzles.

Family Mini Golf
Publisher: Aksys Games
Players: 1-8
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Daddy, Mommy, Sarah and Billy are back for some mini-golf action. Play through multiple golf courses that contain obstacles ranging from bumpers to speed ramps to fans and more. Up to eight players can play together using a single Wii Remote™ controller. You can download new courses to expand your fun-filled mini-golf experience, creating even more complex and difficult challenges to overcome. Can you conquer all the courses and become the mini-golf champion?

Nintendo DSiWare

Art Style: BOXLIFE™
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points™
Description: Climb the corporate ladder in the world of BOXLIFE using your wits and... paper? Use the Nintendo DSi™ stylus to cut and then manipulate the paper into a box shape. Be careful-if you're not efficient with your cuts, you'll waste paper and be penalized. R&D mode teaches you new patterns and challenges you to complete various ranks, while FACTORY mode gives you the chance to earn money by making as many boxes as possible from an endless sheet of paper. Success in each mode brings its own reward: Clear ranks to earn a promotion, change your character's appearance, and use your earnings to acquire new items for your character's miniature garden. With this game's stylish graphics and catchy sounds, thinking inside the box isn't such a bad thing.

Virtual Console

SimEarth™: The Living Planet
Original platform: TurboGrafx16 CD-ROM
Publisher: Hudson Entertainment
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Violent References
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: An entire planet becomes your laboratory in this large-scale simulation game. Players help foster new life and promote its evolution into life forms of higher intelligence. Guide civilization along the path of evolution until it can achieve Exodus, the ultimate goal of settling on another planet. The basic challenge of the game is to maintain a comfortable environment for the life forms by adjusting atmospheric and geological parameters. Small organisms called Prokaryote and Trichordate will grow and evolve into a multitude of life forms. Making a drastic change is a recipe for disaster. The key to success is making small adjustments and watching how the life forms react. SimEarth also includes planets with environments different from Earth, such as Mars and Venus. Try your hand at terraforming these planets with harsh conditions and creating a world where life can thrive.

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