1,000 Wii points is all you need to score the first four chapters of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney on WiiWare come Monday the 11th, with the fifth chapter showing up in May downloadable content for 100 points. For the WiiWare release the game has been updated with appropriately dramatic Wii remote waggling controls, which alone should be enough for fans who've played through the original several dozen times to give the game another go.

In other attorney-related video game news, Capcom also plans to release a demo for the next DS title, Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, several weeks before the game is released next month.

It's a good time to be an Ace Attorney fan, isn't it?

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney WiiWare First Look! [Capcom]

And maybe it's just the exposed flesh to "super-tight Speedos" ratio, but Muscle March seems somehow a little more deserving of something beyond an E10+ rating and that "comic mischief" doesn't quite describe... this. But here's how the Entertainment Software Ratings Board would describe Muscle March.

Bodybuilders dressed in super-tight Speedos chase down a "protein thief" through cities, villages, and space in this whimsical puzzle-action game. Pedestrians, straphangers, school teachers, farmers, police officers, and librarians are fully clothed as they go about their business; the bodybuilders-not so much. Players must perform correct poses to fit through dozens of holes-in-walls created by the fleeing thief. If players do not pose correctly while running, their muscle men (and one woman) will crash through the walls and lose their stamina. Losing stamina means collapsing to the ground face-first, buttocks-last (flexed gluteus facing the screen). It may also mean that between stages, the happy bodybuilders can dance together in space, throw rocks by the riverside, or flex their pectorales major on menu screens (the lone female bodybuilder flexes her chest muscles, too). But the running gag in the game is the odd juxtaposition of traipsing bodybuilders, scantily clad, with the fully clothed working city dwellers-librarians' eyes agape at seeing their reference sections destroyed by the Posing Ones.

Muscle March [ESRB]

Even Hell's Kitchen Vs. for DSiWare (800 DSi Points) is a stretch, as I can't imagine I am in the majority when it comes to crossover fans of downloadable DSi titles and Gordon Ramsay's reality cooking show. I also can't imagine the game being anything like the show, especially with that E for everyone rating. How will I know my risotto is shit?

Hell's Kitchen is joined by two puzzle games on DSiWare this week, Nintendo's missile-firing Trajectile (500 points) and Aksys's Animal Puzzle Adventure (500 points), which sees players leading animals to barns while avoiding cliffs and other pitfalls. Totilo informs me that Trajectile is actually developed by Q-Games of PixelJunk fame, and is "so far, very good."

This week's WiiWare titles are all new to me. Triangle Studios' Heron: Steam Machine (500 Wii Points) is a game about managing steam pressure in a rubber ducky factory. Then we've got Big Blue Bubble's Pub Darts (500 points), which is about throwing darts at a pub, go figure. Finally, Digital Leisure whips out Fast Draw Showdown (500 points), a gun-slinging game that has you trying to out-draw the fastest guns in the West, or die trying. Fast Draw Showdown uses actual actors as targets, so you know it's got to be a quality product!

Finally (pun semi-intended) we've got Final Fight 3 for the Super Nintendo on the Virtual Console (800 points), which is of course the North American version of Final Fight 6, unless I am getting my Final games mixed up again.

And so begins the third year of the Nintendo Download. Are we off to a good start, or are things just warming up?

Nintendo DSiWare

Trajectile
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points™
Description: Trajectile is a puzzle game that's as much about firepower as it is about brainpower, requiring you to line up your shot and launch a flurry of missiles at enemy targets. Three types of missiles are at your disposal, each one with its own characteristics - but all of them can bounce off walls on their path to smash, blast or drill through enemies and blocks. Along the way, you'll find item blocks just waiting to be destroyed so that you can obtain special power-ups ... and cause even more destruction. Be careful though, as missile type and position are predetermined and you get only a limited number of launches per stage. Complete multiple classes containing numerous individual stages, earning medals when you clear stages in fewer than the given number of turns. Are you ready to take aim at becoming a Trajectile master?

Animal Puzzle Adventure
Publisher: Aksys Games
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) - Mild Suggestive Themes
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Animal Puzzle Adventure is a simple puzzle game where you have to lead various animals to their respective barns placed on the map, while avoiding pitfalls and cliffs and using the objects on the field to your advantage. There are 10 stages per level with a total of five levels, creating 50 stages in all. After clearing a stage, you unlock a piece of a photo. Once you clear all 10 stages in a level, the wallpaper for that level becomes unlocked and you can then view it in the gallery. With so many puzzles to unravel, you'll find yourself immersed in the puzzle-riffic world of Animal Puzzle Adventure.

Hell's Kitchen Vs.
Publisher: Ludia
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Hell's Kitchen Vs. is based on the U.S. TV phenomenon where world-renowned chef Gordon Ramsay puts aspiring chefs through rigorous culinary tests. The game recreates the show's pressure-cooker atmosphere as two players battle head-to-head in an arcade-style kitchen challenge. Try to conquer your opponent in each time-management test, while taking the heat of Gordon Ramsay judging and rating your performance at every stage of the game.

WiiWare

Heron: Steam Machine
Publisher: Triangle Studios
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Wii Points™
Description: Heron: Steam Machine is a game about a factory where rubber duckies are being produced by a large steam engine. On this steam engine, there are four different gauges which you will have to watch carefully. By connecting the pipes, you will earn points and relieve some of the pressure, keeping the machine running just a little bit longer. If one of the gauges reaches its maximum, the machine will eventually blow up, and the game is over. If you were lucky enough to achieve a high score, make sure you enter your name in the list so other players can compete with you. In Multiplayer, you are able to cooperate with friends in maintaining the steam machine. When you play with two, three or four players, the screen is divided into sections with different background colors. Each player is able to solve his or her own part of the puzzle. Players are restricted to their own section of the screen, so you will have to work together to make the pipes fit properly. (Additional accessories are required for multiplayer play and are sold separately.)

Pub Darts
Publisher: Big Blue Bubble Inc.
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Alcohol Reference
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Pub Darts is a simple darts simulation which uses the Wii Remote™ controller's unique controls to mimic dart-throwing motion. The game is set in a local pub where the players will settle in to play some of their favorite dart games, including 501, Cricket, Around the Clock, Killers and Baseball. Controls function just like throwing a real dart. Players are able to create their own personal profiles, including selecting their avatar image from a collection of creative characters and the design they would like displayed on the dart flights.

Fast Draw Showdown
Publisher: Digital Leisure Inc.
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) - Alcohol Reference, Violence
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: When it comes to fast draw there're only two types of people: the quick ... and the dead! Now you have the chance to find out where you stand, or lie, as the case may be. You'll go up against the best quick draws in the business, including one of the world's fastest, Wes Flowers. Unholster your Wii Remote controller and show 'em who the fastest draw really is, in this live-action shooter. You can even take on a friend in multiplayer modes, and see which of you has the quickest draw. You'll need some serious speed and awesome accuracy to take on these gunslingers ... so get ready for some real fast draw action.

Virtual Console

Final Fight 3
Original platform: Super NES™
Publisher: Capcom USA
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) - Animated Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: Following the defeat and subsequent disappearance of the Mad Gear Gang, a small group known only as "Skull Cross" is responsible for a new uprising of vandalism, terrorism and death. The government of Metro City is at a complete loss. Metro City's mayor, Mike Haggar, and Guy are prepared to take on the new gang, but before they can act, the door bursts open, revealing Lucia, Cody's old friend. "Metro City is under attack!" she shouts, "Skull Cross is loose, and they've got something up their sleeves." But before any of them can move, a mysterious man appears in the doorway. "My name is Dean," he says. "I know Skull Cross inside-and-out, and I hate them more than anything. I can help you, and you can help me. We must go!" All four fighters vow to bring Skull Cross down. It will be a tough assignment, and may even be their final fight!

Lukas is a tree spirit who wants to use his power to transform into a tree to help people around the world. Unfortunately, Lukas can only travel in the shadows. Enter Popo, a light spirit who can shine near the mysterious Magic Obelisks to create shadows. Together the two traverse more than 30 stages, overcoming robots, ghosts, and spirits on their quest to find the perfect place to take root.

"It has certainly been a long time coming, but we're very pleased to give North American gamers a chance to play The Magic Obelisk, a game that has been truly a labor of love for us," said Kazuki Morishita, President of GAME ARTS. "It is our goal to bring players not only addictive gameplay, but also an emotional response to characters and their dependence on one another."

It looks gorgeous, in a storybook kind of way. After a decade of remakes, sequels, and the odd licensed title, it's good to see Game Arts getting back to its roots.

Sorry.

Okay, I suck at giving subtle hints. The original Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64 is the 500th downloadable game for the Nintendo Wii. 1,000 Wii points scores you the grandfather of one of the biggest games released on the Wii, or the father of one of the best things going on the GameCube. Between that and the original arcade version of Ninja Gaiden (600 points), which takes place before TECMO mastered breast physics, the Virtual Console could be your best bet in this week's Nintendo Download.

That's not to say there aren't plenty of titles coming on the WiiWare front this week. You've got Nintendo's first-person shooter Eco-Shooter: Plant 530 (1,000 points), which pits you as a recycling plant worker fighting against an evil alien race that has brought Earth's empty cans to life. It's a message about recycling that even lets you recycle a useless piece of plastic - the Wii Zapper. Eco-Shooter is joined by Gameloft's TV Game-Show King 2 (800 points), Playstos' action platformer Pallurikio (1,000 points), and Happy Holidays Christmas from 505 Games (500 points), an application that lets you create Christmas cards and send them to your Wii friends. Aww.

Finally we have DSiWare, with Dragon's Lair making it's downloadable debut (800 DSi points), High Stakes: Texas Hold'Em (500 points) and Hot and Cold: A 3D Hidden Object Adventure (800 points) filling in the H category, and My Notebook Green (200 points) adding green to the colors that My Notebook comes in.

As always, check out the official descriptions below, and be sure to log into the Wii Shop Channel to wish it a happy 500th game.

Virtual Console

Super Smash Bros.
Original platform: Nintendo 64™
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Cartoon Violence
Price: 1,000 Wii Points
Description: Choose from an all-star cast of Nintendo characters in a frantic melee to prove who will be the ultimate brawler. Utilize the easy-to-learn but hard-to-master controls and battle it out in the single-player mode, earning point bonuses and unlocking hidden characters along the way. Enter VS Mode to take on up to three other players simultaneously. Inflict damage using each character's unique set of special moves, familiar items and power-ups, eventually winning by knocking your opponents off the screen in one of the interactive stages, each with a Nintendo theme. Need a moment to catch your breath? Polish your skills in Training Mode or destroy targets in Bonus Stages specific to each character. Are you ready to test your mettle against all comers, including the powerful Master Hand?

NINJA GAIDEN™
Original platform: Arcade
Publisher: TECMO
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) - Alcohol Reference, Suggestive Themes, Violence
Price: 600 Wii Points
Description: Take control of a ninja, master of the Five Ninja Fighting Arts of assassination passed down since the chaotic times of feudal Japan, and enter "Jungle," a terrifying American city, to crush waves of foes who are part of an assassination syndicate. Use three buttons to execute exciting moves like the Flying Neck Throw, the Hang Kick and the Triple Blow Combination. Each stage is based around popular Western misconceptions about ninja and Japan, making the game world a fantastic mix of ninja and American pop culture. Game settings such as the starting number of player characters and the difficulty level can also be adjusted.

WiiWare

Eco Shooter: Plant 530
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) - Fantasy Violence
Price: 1,000 Wii Points™
Description: Earth's empty cans have been brought to life by the Cannoids, an alien race determined to destroy the planet. Only Mack, a technician from the recycling facility Plant 530, stands in their way as Earth's last line of defense. Step into Mack's shoes in this guided first-person shooter as he takes on the invading aliens with only his trusty recycle cannon and a can-do attitude. Blast and vacuum (yes, vacuum) your way to victory, keeping in mind that every shot counts. Your ammo also doubles as your health, and every enemy you destroy leaves behind Can Energy that you can vacuum up and use as ammo. Uncomplicated controls (including optional use of the Wii Zapper™ accessory) give everyone the chance to save the planet, while advanced tactics like consecutive hit combos and the tough Challenge mode give even the best players a run for their money. Are you ready to step up and put a dent in their cans?

TV Show King 2
Publisher: Gameloft
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) - Drug Reference
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: TV Show King is back for a second round. There are 8,000 questions sorted into 12 categories on the program, including general knowledge, sports, movies, music and more. And that's without counting the questions that you can create yourself. Here's everything you need to compete with your friends, or with players all over the world thanks to Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection.

Pallurikio™
Publisher: Playstos Entertainment
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 1,000 Wii Points
Description: Jump and roll with Pallurikio, a fast-paced action platformer that's easy to pick up yet challenging to master. While playing a mysterious board game he found with his friends, Rusty is sucked into a dimensional vortex and finds himself in a mystical and wondrous world where he assumes the aspect of the round and bouncing Pallurikio. Using the Wii Remote™ controller, make Pallurikio jump and roll and help him find his way through more than 50 enticing levels while surviving all kinds of pitfalls and trickeries in Bakumbala Jungle, the far reaches of Palluro Prime and many other weird settings. Featuring physics simulation, Time Attack mode, collectible cards and space rockets to boot, Pallurikio is a game you won't want to miss.

Happy Holidays Christmas
Publisher: 505 Games
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Planning a Christmas party and want to grab guests' attention? Or want to send greeting cards without the hassle of licking stamps? Here's the solution: Create and send fun Christmas cards with this unique WiiWare application. Happy Holidays Christmas lets you make fun Christmas-themed e-cards and send them straight to friends' Wii™ consoles. Add a tree and decorations; choose frames, stickers and music; then write a message to friends you've registered in your Wii Address Book. It might not snow this Christmas, but with this fun new software your holiday is guaranteed to be a happy one.

Nintendo DSiWare

UNO
Publisher: Gameloft
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points™
Description: Get ready to call out "UNO!" on your Nintendo DSi™ system. The world-famous card game has been faithfully reproduced for the Nintendo DSi system and features exciting new rules. With a multiplayer mode that can be accessed by local wireless play or with broadband Internet access and Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, playing UNO has never been so fun and easy, so be the first to get rid of all your cards.

Dragon's Lair
Publisher: Digital Leisure Inc.
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) - Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: You play the heroic Dirk the Daring, a valiant knight on a quest to rescue the fair princess from the clutches of an evil dragon. Control the actions of the daring adventurer and find your way through the castle of a dark wizard who has enchanted it with treacherous monsters and obstacles. In the mysterious caverns below the castle, your odyssey continues against the awesome forces that oppose your journey to the dragon's lair. Dragon's Lair is a fully animated classic arcade game from legendary animator Don Bluth.

Hot and Cold: A 3D Hidden Object Adventure
Publisher: Majesco Entertainment
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: You're getting warm...warmer...hot! You've found Hot and Cold: A 3D Hidden Object Adventure, the new game that puts you on the job of finding people's missing stuff. A voice in your head tells you whether you're Hot or Cold when searching for things. Investigate cases all over town using your unique ability, and discover the secret behind the mysterious voice in your head. Throw objects out of your way, maneuver your way through a 3-D world, follow your Hot and Cold meter and more in this unparalleled hidden-object adventure.

High Stakes: Texas Hold'Em
Publisher: Hudson Entertainment
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) - Simulated Gambling
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Hudson proudly presents the definitive Texas Hold'Em game for Nintendo DSiWare with High Stakes Texas Hold'Em. High Stakes allows players of any level to enjoy Texas Hold'Em game play. The popular No-Limit rule set used in many tournaments is included, so anyone can play with the big boys. With the added functionality of DS Wireless Communications, players can compete with others and test their skills. It's the core Texas Hold'Em experience on your Nintendo DSi system - anytime, anywhere.

myNotebook: Green™
Publisher: Nnooo
Players: 1
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: myNotebook allows you to take notes wherever you are. Just pop open your Nintendo DSi system and jot down your thoughts. Make a list and cross it off, or even play your favorite pen-and-paper games (games not included). You can even personalize your notebook by drawing on the cover and changing the paper type with 18 unlockable squared and lined paper styles. Use the pen or pencil to make your notes or doodles, then erase the bits you don't like. With five ink colors, you'll always be able to make your notes and doodles look stylish.

While Mega Man games can be notoriously hard, Mega Man 10 will have an all new Easy Mode.

Despite a strong showing across all three of Nintendo's downloadable game services, the Virtual Console comes out on top this week, with one of the greatest action games for the Nintendo Entertainment System finally making it onto the Wii. I'm talking about Sunsoft's Blaster Master (500 Wii points). On one hand, it's the story of a brave adventurer travelling through the mutant-infested tunnels beneath the earth's crust in Sophia the 3rd, an armored attack vehicle of unknown origin. On the other, it's a game about a kid looking for his missing frog, Fred. It's one of my favorite video games of all time, eclipsing even Interplay's Earthworm Jim 2 (800 points), also hitting the VC this week.

DSiWare is a close second this week, with titles like Littlest Pet Shop (800 DSi points), Bejeweled Twist (500 points), Yummy Yummy Cooking Jam (500 points), and Gameloft's Miami nightlife simulator Miami Nights (800 points) making up the inclusion of another silly Master of Illusion: Express title.

Not that this week's WiiWare offerings are particularly bad. I'm just not all that familiar with racer Stunt Cars (800 points), petri dish shooter Diatomic (800 points), Natsume's puzzler Moki Moki (800 points), and Rubik's Puzzle Galaxy: RUSH (600 points), so my excitement is held in check by my unfortunate ignorance.

Check out the full descriptions below and see if there's anything worth your while. Other than Blaster Master, of course. That's a given.

Virtual Console

Blaster Master™
Original platform: NES™
Publisher: Sunsoft
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Mild Fantasy Violence
Price: 500 Wii Points™
Description: The New York sewers were never like this. You've fallen down a hidden manhole into a world of creatures so terrifying they'd scare the rats away. You can panic and perish, or blast your way through an endless maze of tunnels in search of secret passages to your escape. Masters of the Caverns lay waiting - prehistoric creatures so powerful and gigantic they literally fill your screen. Load your arsenal and get ready for Blaster Master.

Earthworm Jim 2™
Original platform: SEGA Genesis
Publisher: Interplay
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Cartoon Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: Superhero annelid Jim and his new sidekick, Snott, are back for an off-the-wall sequel in Earthworm Jim 2. Containing more action than your standard platformer from the Genesis era, each stage has a different style and mission, drawing on game play from different genres, including mazes, trivia contests and arcade-style levels. The game also features music composed by Tommy Tallarico. Do you have what it takes to rescue the Princess?

Nintendo DSiWare

LITTLEST PET SHOP
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points™
Description: Experience your favorite LITTLEST PET SHOP pets in a whole new way on your Nintendo DSi system. Play catch with your pets and their favorite toys, dress them up in adorable new accessories and keep them happy by brushing and feeding them. You can even throw a little dance party for your pets and help them rock out to cool songs.

Miami Nights
Publisher: Gameloft
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) - Comic Mischief, Mild Suggestive Themes, Tobacco Reference, Use of Alcohol
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: You won't find a more complete life simulation than Miami Nights: Life in the Spotlight. Begin by designing your avatar with an unbelievable level of customizable physical detail. But it's not your physique that counts. Instead, your life choices and your everyday behavior will influence more than 40 attributes that will make you a unique, progressive individual. The city of Miami is presented to you with no fewer than 30 places to explore. Plus, you'll be able to customize your entire home and interact with your environment in many ways. The most important part of the game play lies in how you interact with other characters. They will be the ones who'll help you achieve your goals. You'll be able to establish and break off different types of relationships with them. It's up to you to act like a bad guy or sweet girl, make friends or enemies, and choose the best way - honest or otherwise - to make your dreams become a reality.

Bejeweled Twist™
Publisher: PopCap Games
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Spin, match, explode - it's a brilliant new way to play. Spin and match explosive gems for shockwaves of fun in this quick-play version of the award-winning PopCap game. Rotate jewels to set up electrifying combos, outwit obstacles like Locks and Bombs, and create high-voltage Flame and Lightning gems. Play the intensely fun Classic mode or take on a friend in the exclusive Nintendo DS Battle mode. No matter how you play, you'll find endless ways to win.

Yummy Yummy Cooking Jam
Publisher: Virtual Toys
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Comic Mischief
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Have you ever asked yourself what it would feel like to be among the stoves of the best restaurants in the world? Do you want to become the best chef there is, preparing scrumptious dishes? Jump right in and enter the world of Yummy Yummy and its mixture of flavors and aromas. In Yummy Yummy, you'll have to satisfy the hunger of the most diverse, colorful set of diners: vampires, extraterrestrials, mafia thugs, Vikings and more. Prepare hot dogs, hamburgers, pizzas and Mexican burritos as quickly as you can before your customers get tired of waiting and decide to leave the restaurant without giving you a good tip. Roll up your sleeves, don your chef's hat and have a great time.

Master of Illusion™ Express: Matchmaker
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Master of Illusion Express titles feature mind-boggling magic tricks that you can perform with your Nintendo DSi system. Learn the illusions, practice up and amaze your friends. Master of Illusion Express: Matchmaker includes two tricks that use your Nintendo DSi system to reveal information about others. Use the Photo Diagnosis trick and stun others by taking two simple photos to pinpoint their exact age. Or have the Matchmaker trick show that another person has favorite dates or favorite foods that are similar to yours. Who knows? You could even land a date or make a new friend.

WiiWare

Stunt Cars™
Publisher: Icon Games Entertainment
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: Stunt Cars takes place on elevated racetracks with very little to stop players from accidentally driving off the side. Turbo can be used to make a car go faster, but it can only be used for a limited amount of time in each race. As you progress through the game's four championship cups, you'll unlock special features such as driver achievement awards.

Diatomic
Publisher: Grendel Games
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Mild Fantasy Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: Diatomic is a fast retro-arcade action game that takes place inside a set of petri dishes. The safe confines of your petri dish are about to be invaded by nine different diatomic creatures that seek to destroy you. Armed with your shield, tail, strategic intelligence and good reflexes, you stand a good chance of defeating the overwhelming odds. You must stay alive during 65 hectic stages spread over five chapters. The high score list shows what kind of player you are. Playing defensively and gaining an all-out defensive high score is harder to pull off than gaining an all-out offensive high score.

Moki Moki™
Publisher: Natsume Inc.
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Comic Mischief
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: It's a mind-bending, gravity-defying puzzler. The Moki are being devoured by the voracious Gromblins, and it's up to you to guide the hapless little guys to safety. Bend, twist and rotate the environment to herd the Moki through a series of brain-teasing puzzles. Along the way, you'll have to contend with deadly pitfalls, spinning blades and shifting gravity. Roll Moki down ramps, grab them with hooks and blast them with jets to guide them safely to the portals. Challenge your skills in 100 unique levels.

Rubik's Puzzle Galaxy: RUSH
Publisher: Two Tribes
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 600 Wii Points
Description: Rubik's Puzzle Galaxy: RUSH is a 3-D puzzle game with more than 70 challenging levels. Players need to guide Cubes to color-coded exit points. Using the Wii Remote™ controller's intuitive controls, players herd the colored cubes along by using Conveyer Belts, Warps, Stop Signs, Directional Signs and Splits. RUSH also includes the original Rubik's Cube as a bonus. Players can attempt to solve one of the four different-sized Cubes alone, compete against a second player or learn how to solve the classic Rubik's Cube.

We've only known about Capcom's retro-riffic Mega Man 10 since Nintendo Power revealed the WiiWare title on Wednesday, introducing the world to the glory of Sheep Man, Rock's latest robot nemesis. Two days is forever on the internet, which is why sites like DeviantArt and Pixiv are being flooded with images of this wooly new foe. I for one am just glad that most of the images only have Mega Man hugging Sheep Man. They've all shown tremendous restraint and deserve cookies.

Head over to DeviantArt and the Japanese site Pixiv to see more lovely Sheep Man creations.

And no, I will not apologize for that headline.

Sheep Man Fan-Art Surfaces [Protodude's Rockman Corner via Capcom]

More 8-bit Mega Man goodness? More hideously inappropriate artwork? Proto Man selectable from the get go? SHEEP MAN!? I'm sold, and I've only skimmed the too-brief article preview that NP has posted regarding the follow-up to Mega Man 9, coming soon to a Nintendo WiiWare service near you. I'd steal Nintendo Power's thunder, but I've already borrowed their magazine art, so you'll have to hit up the link below to find more details.

Could this be what's inside Capcom's mysterious energy block?

Mega Man 10 [Nintendo Power - Scroll down for article - Thanks Justin!]

Kicking things off this week despite a startling lack of actual limbs is Ubisoft's Rayman (800 DSi points). Ubi has taken the original game and ported it to the DSi, forcing him to save his world from the dreadful Mr. Dark all over again, only this time around he can play against the clock to earn bonuses, which might include arms and legs. Probably not.

Four other titles drop for DSiWare this week along with Rayman, including puzzle game Ball Fighter (500 points), local wireless capture-the-flag game Pop Island (500 points), action shooter Army Defender (200 points), and the red version of myNotebook (200 points).

WiiWare keeps it low key this week, with four titles guaranteed to not get you all that excited. Yullaby's Magnetis (500 Wii points) is a puzzle game about creating electric explosions. Nocturnal Entertainment's Flowerworks (1,000 points) is a 20 hour-plus adventure game about a girl named Follie who loses a shipment of flowerworks seeds, whatever those might be. My Dolphin (500 points) is a dolphin training sim. As you can see, nothing too amazing, through Stop Stress: A Day of Fury (800 points), a game about beating things up with a baseball bat in the dreams of the world's most stressed-out man certainly sounds promising.

Finally we have the Virtual Console, which gets the arcade version of Sega's Shinobi (800 points) and Street Fighter Alpha for the Super Nintendo (800 points).

So Rayman, Stop Stress, and Shinobi are on my shopping list. What's on yours? Feel free to browse the full descriptions below to aid in your shopping adventure.

Nintendo DSiWare

Rayman
Publisher: Ubisoft
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points™
Description: The legendary first Rayman adventure is now available from the Nintendo DSiWare service. Play as Rayman and try to save his amazing world from the evil Mr. Dark. Discover a charming universe with colorful landscapes and meet funny characters who'll help Rayman through his quest. Experiment with his abilities as you punch, hang or fly in the air and choose between two difficulty levels. Take advantage of new features in the Nintendo DSi version, such as the Nintendo DSi Camera, map selection on the touch screen and the ability to play against time to win bonuses.

Ball Fighter
Publisher: Teyon
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Ball Fighter is a puzzle game in which you take aim and blast groups of dropping spheres to create matches and clear the board. You can make chains to earn additional points or to make the game more difficult for an opponent. When you destroy spheres in a multiplayer mode, they will be added to the opponent's board, making his or her task more difficult. 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 color. You'll find a variety of single-player modes, including Arcade, Survival, Brain Breaker and Player vs CPU, plus the unique multiplayer mode, all playable on one Nintendo DSi system.

Pop Island
Publisher: odenis studio
Players: 1-8
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Comic Mischief
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Discover a joyful universe where playing is always a pleasure with Pop Island. Colorful and fun, Pop Island is an action-packed capture-the-flag game. Pick a team to join, then run, jump and spin your way around the island in an attempt to collect the priceless flags hidden throughout it. Become a surfing penguin, a flying fish or a waterskiing crocodile as you go all out for victory, unlocking 12 more joyful animals as you rack up points across eight different planets. You might even end up competing as a skateboarding mammoth. Playing alone is plenty of fun, but the madcap action reaches a new level when your friends get involved. By sharing the demo of the game via DS Download Play, up to seven more people with their own Nintendo DSi systems can use a local wireless connection to join you for some head-to-head or cooperative action. With plenty of power-ups, you'll need to concentrate on capturing more than just the rival team's flag to claim victory.

ARMY DEFENDER
Publisher: MINDSCAPE
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) - Cartoon Violence
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Army Defender is an action shooter in which players must defend their base against enemy attacks by controlling a machine gun tower designed to eradicate enemy waves. As the player levels up, the enemy becomes more and more numerous and well-equipped. Attackers include soldiers, tanks, paratroopers, helicopters, jet fighters, bombers and elite commandos. Depending on the enemy type (red or green), players must switch between ammunition colors. The machine gun tower will fire where the player taps the touch screen. Power-ups are made available on a regular basis when a super bomber delivers them onto the base. When a power-up is retrieved, players will be able to upgrade their tower for a limited amount of time. Upgrades include flamethrowers, rocket launchers or concussion grenades that will help contain enemy progression.

myNotebook: Red™
Publisher: Nnooo
Players: 1
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: myNotebook allows you to take notes wherever you are. Just pop open your Nintendo DSi system and jot down your thoughts. Make a list and cross it off, or even play your favorite pen-and-paper games (games not included). You can even personalize your notebook by drawing on the cover and changing the paper type with 18 unlockable squared and lined paper styles. Use the pen or pencil to make your notes or doodles, then erase the bits you don't like. With five ink colors, you'll always be able to make your notes and doodles look stylish.

WiiWare™

My Dolphin
Publisher: T&S Ltd.
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Wii Points™
Description: You are a dolphin trainer. Use the magical stick (Wii Remote™ and Nunchuk™ controllers) to perform in lifelike dolphin shows. Teach your dolphin tricks and have fun watching your dolphin swim and play elegantly with different scenes, music and angles. This game lets you train your dolphin, compete in dolphin shows and watch your dolphin swim freely. Using Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection Pay & Play, you can become friends with other dolphins that have different colors and personalities. You can also buy new toys such as rings and balls for your dolphin to play with.

MAGNETIS™
Publisher: YULLABY
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: MAGNETIS is all about attraction. Connect the magnets to create electric explosions. Solving this frantic puzzle will require quick thinking and foresight. Anticipate connections in order to generate massive chain reactions to win the highest number of points. To get rid of blocks and score points, you must create lines by connecting left and right magnets of the same color by using conductor blocks. The longer the line, the more points you'll get. Team up with as many as three friends in cooperative mode or play against them in battle mode and compete for the highest score.

Stop Stress: A Day of Fury
Publisher: Abylight
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) - Animated Blood, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: Jack's dreams have become a nightmare, and only you can help him to get out. Climb into the skin of the most stressed-out man in the world, grab the baseball bat and prepare to let off more steam than ever before. Destroy everything around you, beat a path through traffic or at the office, and face off against incredible hallucinations. How far will a day of fury take you?

Flowerworks®
Publisher: Nocturnal Entertainment
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 1,000 Wii Points
Description: While our heroine Follie is traveling to meet her auntie with a cargo of mystical Flowerworks seeds, her ship is pulled off course and crash-lands in a particularly dull area of the planet Elilia. Explore with Follie and help her recover her seeds to transform the world from drab to fab. You'll encounter strange inhabitants, some of whom will help Follie in her quest. Others, such as naughty garden gnomes, will hinder it. Flowerworks is a single-player adventure which combines blooming flowers, colorful fireworks, exploration and a whole lot of fun. The game will have the whole family immersed in no time, but be warned: Becoming a Flowerworks master is not for the faint of heart. Flowerworks includes Adventure, FreePlay and Tutorial game modes, with three difficulty settings in a 20-hour adventure.

Virtual Console

Street Fighter Alpha 2
Original platform: Super NES
Publisher: Capcom USA
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) - Animated Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: Street Fighter Alpha 2 explodes with lightning-fast game play and amazing innovations. Quick Move Reversals, Alpha Counters and the incredible Custom Combo System create a new standard for all games to fight by. Push your talents to the limit as you discover new hidden moves and reversals for every character. Neutralize opponents' attacks with high and low Alpha Counters and execute incredible Custom Combos to create your own rapid-fire assaults. All your favorite warriors are back for more. Previously hidden characters Dan, Akuma and Bison are joined by five new fighters: Rolento, Gen and Sakura, plus classic favorites Dhalsim and Zangief.

Shinobi™
Publisher: SEGA
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) - Mild Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: Here's a bit of helpful advice to all you criminal organizations out there: If you're going to hatch an elaborate plot that involves kidnapping children, don't kidnap children who have ninjas for parents. That was the big mistake that a group called Zeed made when it went after the offspring of the Oboro clan. Now Joe Musashi is on the hunt to rescue the young hostages and take out Zeed's leaders, the Ring of Five. As you scour each stage, leave no children behind - Joe can't proceed to the next level without freeing them all. With an unlimited supply of shuriken, his sharpened katana and his deadly fists and feet, Joe will show Zeed why you don't mess with family.

The story starts off with Guybrush klepto-ing his way out of his own grave ("What's all this dirt doing here? Maybe I'll just hang on to some..."). How he got there is covered in the previous four episodes, which we won't spoil for you here. After passing by a Grog vending machine and some other promising-looking puzzle pieces, he encounters the Boatman — that infamous character out of legend who ferries the dead on to whatever awaits them.

In Guybrush's case, this is Crossroads — where Pirates go to die or be half-dead. With a Shred of Life in his pocket and a thin hope that he can get back to his body to be reunited with his wife Elaine, our hero goes on questing in Crossroads essentially the same way he did when he was alive.

Things don't get interesting 'til Guybrush actually discovers the way to return to his body. The demo master behind our tiny sample of Episode 5 didn't reveal how this comes about exactly (something to do with a locket) — but rather jumped ahead to a point in time when Guybrush's ghost was able to communicate to some buddies about why his corpse was being used as a dartboard. Strangely, the pirates were glad to see Guybrush in his corporeal form, but when he somehow got back into his own body, they freaked out and attacked him.

Clearly, this whole life after death thing is more complicated than zombie movies have led us to believe. If Guybrush being back in his body doesn't make his body undead, does that make him a standard zombie or some other iteration of undead? And where does this put his relationship with Elaine because pirates probably have laws about necrophilia.

Our demo ended with one final attempt to repossess Guybrush's body — which landed us in jail this time — where Guybrush got kicked out of his corpse after spending too long in the land of the living. Because the game was in its early days of development, there were no fight scenes to see. But we were told to expect a "good, classic boss fight" at the end of Episode 5.

As for the future of series, Telltale isn't telling. They do intend on releasing the full box copy for PC relatively soon after Episode 5 goes live and they said we can expect that we'll "be hearing from" Telltale "very soon" about their next big project. Also, they did say they were "committed to getting as many things on as many platforms as possible" in response to a question about an Xbox Live release for Tales of Monkey episodes. But again, nothing definite.

And for all you Wii fans out there still waiting for 1) a box copy of Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People and 2) a release date on the WiiWare version of Episode 5, Telltale says 1) blame Nintendocomplicated circumstances and 2) it'll be out whenever Nintendo approves it.

Tales of Monkey Island Episode 5: Rise of the Pirate God is out for PC December 8.

ETA: Telltale's Will Armstrong wants to clarify that the situation is not about Nintendo being slow, but rather that the timing of completing the game and getting it to Nintendo for their submission process is complicated. Hence why they can't guarantee same-day releases between PC and WiiWare episodes.

Really, there's nothing I can add to this trailer. I'll shut up so you can watch without distraction.

Despite adding a grand total of ten new titles across Nintendo's three downloadable game platforms, this week's update is relatively tame. The only real big-name title is the fourth chapter of Tales of Monkey Island for WiiWare (1,000 Wii points). Other WiiWare additions this week include Hudson's zoo simulation My Zoo (500 points), Digital Leisure's helicopter rescue title Copter Crisis (500 points), and a Christmas-themed puzzle game from JV Games called Christmas Clix (1,000 points).

DSiWare gets four new games as well, starting with EA's Foto Face: The Face Stealer Strikes (800 DSi points), which allows players to use the DSi camera and mic to create faces and voices for every character in the game. Outside of that gimmick, its a pretty simple platforming puzzle game, but still more interesting than Master of Illusion Express: Mind Probe (200 points), Sudoku Challenge! (500 points), and PopCap's Bookworm (500 points).

The Virtual Console gets the short end of the stick this week, with Super Nintendo beat-em up The Combatribes (800 points) and TECMO's action/puzzle arcade game Solomon's Key (600 points).

I might pick up Foto Face, if only to have something new to do with my DSi camera. Your thoughts?

WiiWare

Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 4
Publisher: Telltale Games
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E 10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) - Cartoon Violence, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol
Price: 1,000 Wii Points™
Description: Conspiracies, betrayal and shocking revelations as the Tales of Monkey Island intensity builds. Guybrush returns to Flotsam Island, but forget about a hero's welcome. Handed over to De Singe by the backstabbing Morgan LeFlay, Guybrush is seized by an angry mob and put on trial. With a silk-tongued prosecutor in his face and a hangman's noose dangling over his neck, Guybrush must figure out how to defend himself against grave accusations. Meanwhile, the determined Marquis sets his sights on a new and far more attractive test subject. How on earth will the Mighty Pirate get out of this mess? The monthly Tales of Monkey Island tension continues to mount in The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood. Brace yourself for a shocking revelation that will rock the world of Monkey Island to its core.

My Zoo™
Publisher: Hudson Entertainment
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: My Zoo is a relaxing animal sim that puts you in the shoes of an animal breeder, raising up animals you'd normally only dream of. All it takes is a Wii Remote™ controller for a simple, yet fulfilling, connection with nature. There are 12 animal types in total (four sold separately as add-on content). Select your favorites and nurture them to adulthood. Feeding them, petting them and cleaning up their messes are great ways to form a lasting bond. Each animal's personality will change depending on how you take care of it. Watch them get spoiled, turn into over-eaters and more as they grow on a daily basis. Some animals will even have a baby on occasion, and once it's born, you've got another mouth to feed. Game time passes much more quickly than real time, and the different animal types are active at various hours - some during the day and some at night. Sometimes it's fun to just kick back and watch what they do. So what are you waiting for? It's time to create your own personal zoo.

Copter Crisis
Publisher: Digital Leisure Inc.
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Mild Violence
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Copter Crisis puts you in the pilot's seat. As a member of the elite Helicopter Rescue Squad, you'll be assigned to respond to any type of emergency anywhere at any time. As the newest member joining this team, you'll have to complete various missions with the latest in helicopter rescue technology. When you're ready, you'll be tasked with executing rescue missions all around the Black Rock Canyon. Your Wii Remote controller becomes the control stick as you guide your copter along the canyons while avoiding rocks, severe weather and even anti-aircraft fire. Rescue lost hikers, deliver supplies to remote areas, assist on scientific missions and even blast your way into underground cavern systems. Complete all of your objectives and rise through the ranks to take on the toughest rescues and unlock 10 bonus missions. Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection Pay & Play allows you to enhance your flight experience with 10 additional copters, which can give you access to unlimited missiles, larger fuel tanks, cargo holds and even mid-air loops.

Christmas Clix
Publisher: JV Games Inc.
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 1,000 Wii Points
Description: Christmas doesn't have to be all work for Santa, does it? Santa's having some fun and wants you to play along too. You can help Santa decorate the tree by removing the presents and ornaments that he stacks. When you consecutively connect packages without missing a beat, you get extra points. Collect as many candy canes as you can because when you collect enough, Santa will add a special star to the game that can greatly help you get through a level or just bring some additional fun.

Nintendo DSiWare

Foto Face™: The Face Stealer Strikes
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Mild Cartoon Violence
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Your face, your game, you're the hero. In Foto Face: The Face Stealer Strikes, YOU get to be in the game. Using the camera and microphone, you become the hero in your own game. Unlock a variety of hero costumes as you battle the baddies, search for stars and solve platforming puzzles. The Face Stealer has stolen your identity and is creating trouble - and everyone is blaming you. You have to track him down across 15 action-packed stages. Along the way, you'll come across many memorable creatures, both friend and foe. Use the camera and microphone to create faces and voices for every character in your game. Foto Face: The Face Stealer Strikes - a game starring YOU.

Bookworm
Publisher: PopCap Games, Inc.
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Feed your appetite for wordy fun in this download version of PopCap's hit word-puzzle game. Link letter tiles left, right, up and down to build words and feed Lex in Bookworm Classic mode. But watch out for burning letters - they could spell disaster for you and Lex. Use Reward Tiles and spell Bonus Words to boost your score and link your best words to enter the Hall of Fame. Play unlimited levels of word-puzzle fun and learn new words on the go. You'll relax and tune up your brain every time you play.

Master of Illusion™ Express: Mind Probe
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points™
Description: Master of Illusion Express titles are mind-boggling magic tricks that you perform with your Nintendo DSi™ system. Learn the illusions, practice up and then amaze your friends. Master of Illusion Express: Mind Probe uses your Nintendo DSi system as a means of detecting information. Ask a spectator to write down a favorite (or least-favorite) item - person, food or color, for example - and then be astonished when the Nintendo DSi system sounds an alarm to indicate when that item is spoken. Use any variation of likes or dislikes to stun the crowd.

Sudoku Challenge!
Publisher: Digital Leisure Inc.
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Now's your chance to play the brain-busting puzzle game taking the world by storm. With more than 100,000,000 sudoku puzzles, you'll never see the same puzzle twice in Sudoku Challenge! You can select the classic nine-by-nine sukodu game boards as well as Grand Sudoku, which challenges you to complete five intersecting sudoku boards simultaneously. Just a beginner? Don't worry - with three difficulty options, even the most novice player can complete a sudoku with ease. But if you're a seasoned pro, challenge yourself in "Hard" mode and test your true skills. It's time to get your thinking cap on and see how many sudoku puzzles you can conquer.

Virtual Console

The Combatribes™
Original platform: Super NES
Publisher: Aksys Games
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E 10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) - Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: The evil gang known as "Guilty Zero" rules the city, and it's up to you as one of the members of the Combatribes to take them down. Choose one of three characters and fight your way through the city of New York. Progress through the game by tackling the goons and boss of each stage using your arsenal of kicks, punches, throws and other techniques to beat them into submission. Once your stamina bar is reduced to zero, you'll need to use a continue, but when you're out of continues, it's game over. Can you eliminate the threat of "Guilty Zero" and restore the peace in New York City!?

Solomon's Key™
Original platform: Arcade
Publisher: TECMO
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 600 Wii Points
Description: Solomon's Key is an action/puzzle game that lets you control the wizard Dana, delving into a labyrinth to seek out a magical tome called Solomon's Key, an item that will help in your quest to drive away evil spirits let loose in the world. The goal of the game is to use the buttons to create and destroy blocks, and use various techniques to find keys to pass through doors. The game has appeared on a variety of platforms, but the arcade version focuses strongly on the action elements of the game, making it more challenging, and allowing players of all skill levels, from beginners to masters, to enjoy it. Settings like the number of lives and difficulty level can be adjusted.

Nostalgia-craving gamers who couldn't quite embrace Wii-fangled updates Excite Truck and Excitebots: Trick Racing will pop a wheelie over this decidedly old school-flavored entry.

Loved
Ah, the Memories...: Make no mistake, this is Excitebike as you remember it from back in the day. Okay, so you're no longer tethered to a gamepad, and the visuals are more 64- than 8-bit, but by and large the gameplay and presentation will warp you to an era when Back to the Future dominated the silver screen and Madonna's Like a Virgin blared from boom boxes. Racing against the clock, you'll side-scroll your dirt bike over hills, ramps, and passed computer-navigated competitors. Additionally, rough patches will slow you down, while passing over power-strip arrows will keep you from overheating. Super simple bike controls boil down to switching lanes, accelerating, and turbo-boosting. And a selection of increasingly challenging tracks test your reflexes as you time jumps, stick landings, and avoid obstacles. It's fast, addictive, arcadey fun that's a total throwback to a time when a D-pad and two buttons was all you needed to have a good time.

A Few New Tricks.: While playing World Rally will almost have you forgetting you're not clutching a NES gamepad, some minor tweaks have improved the classic formula. Wheelies can now be popped with the D-pad (or by tilting the WiiRemote, if you forgo the "classic" scheme), overheating can be remedied faster by shaking the controller, and item pick-ups will suddenly deform the terrain and erect ramps in your path. Even cooler, a satisfying "vroom" rumbles through the WiiRemote when you rev your engine. Additionally, the visual upgrade supports world-spanning tracks that sport small differentiating touches like cacti and red rock outcroppings in Mexico, and blue waters and palm trees in Fiji. Like the original, there's also a track editor, but now novice game designers can share their creations online. World Rally also allows you to race friends or around-the-world competitors through the Wii's Wi-Fi connection-an awesome feature we'd love to see adopted by more Wii titles .

Hated
Lone Local Racer: In a baffling decision I can only assume was made while exhaust fumes were being inhaled, the designers didn't include local multi-player. Nothing screams old school gaming like a little couch-side competition, so it's shocking a title that so stubbornly sticks to classic design concepts has omitted this simple feature. As much as the online mode is appreciated, up-to-4 player local play would have actually better complemented Excitebike's pick-up-play appeal.

The NES classic outfitted with a few new bells and whistles is a welcome addition to the WiiWare line-up. It's a shame local split-screen play didn't make the cut, but the addition of online multi-player, and the ability to create and share content makes this one worth at least a few laps around the track.

Excitebike: World Rally was developed by Monster Games and published by Nintendo for WiiWare on November 9th. Retails for $10.00 (1000 Wii Points). A copy of the game was provided by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Completed the game and played online mode.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

Where to start? This week is pretty packed, especially in the DSiWare department, with five more Electroplanton to play with at 200 points a pop. There's also a notepad application called myNotenook Blue from Nnooo (200 points), which allows users to jot down notes and features 18 unlockable paper styles, which is nearly too much excitement for me to stand. Add in Gameloft's Castle of Magic (500 points), a platform adventure that uses the Nintendo DSi Camera to transform your character into powerful new forms, and you've got enough DSiWare goodness to have you in leftovers for weeks.

The Virtual Console gets two new old games, and they're both relatively big ones. Super Mario Kart for the Super Nintendo is still one of the best racing games around, and at 800 Wii points its an absolute steal. It is accompanied by
the NES original A Boy and His Blob: Trouble on Blobolonia (500 points), which should be a treat for those who've played the recent reimagining without having played its inspiration.

Rounding up this week's Nintendo Download are four new entries to the WiiWare service. We've got Bit.Trip Void, another entry in Aksys' colorful rhythm-centric series (600 points); Harvest Moon: My Little Shop (1,200 points), which allows players to grow and sell things, building their Clover Town store up from nothing; Little Tournament Over Yonder from Gevo Entertainment (800 points), a strategy game for 1-2 players; and Learning with the PooYoos: Episode 1 (500 points), a brain trainer for children aged 3-6.

Check out the full list below to see if you spot anything that will keep you occupied once Thanksgiving dinner ends and awkward family time begins.

BIT.TRIP VOID
Publisher: Aksys Games
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 600 Wii Points™
Description: The third installment in the retro-arcade BIT.TRIP saga is a synesthetic exploration of rhythm and music as they pertain to our everyday lives and moods. With a control scheme that's new to the series yet wholly familiar to gamers, players have complete freedom to move about the screen wherever they desire, interacting with the music in brand new ways. The classic game-play aesthetic remains as color - and the absence of color - are explored to the fullest. Trip out in four-player co-op and get lost in the beat with a friend. See if you can survive the onslaught of Beats and further your own BIT.TRIP.

Harvest Moon: My Little Shop
Publisher: Natsume, Inc.
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 1,200 Wii Points
Description: Welcome to Clover Town, where you've just taken over your grandparents' farm and shop. The town has fallen on hard times, though. People are leaving, businesses are struggling and the magic of the Harvest Sprites is gone. Can you turn Clover Town's fortunes around and restore its missing magic? Raise crops and animals, then use what you farm at your shop. Keep your customers happy by making wild fruit juices, towering ice cream cones and extravagantly decorated eggs in a series of fun and fast-paced activities that use the Wii Remote™ controller to its fullest potential. Chop vegetables in midair, shake your Wii Remote controller to match your cow's moves, roll eggs through tilting mazes and more. Use your hard-earned money to buy new crops and animals or expand and decorate your shop. Along the way, you'll meet and befriend lots of new and interesting characters, as well as several familiar faces from the Harvest Moon series.

Little Tournament Over Yonder
Publisher: Gevo Entertainment
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Mild Cartoon Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: In the world of Little Tournament Over Yonder, play as a young Prince or Princess and lead your team through numerous battles. Plan and deploy your units to gain strategic advantages. Launch real-time battles between units and fight hard, fast and smart. Build your team, hire new units with different powers, then groom them with battle experience to gain level. With strategic planning and real-time, fast-paced fighting, this game is for the complete warrior - one who works his mind and his muscles. Go for Single-Player Tournament glory or challenge your friend in a 2-Player Versus match.

Learning with the PooYoos: Episode 1
Publisher: Lexis Numérique
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: EC (Early Childhood)
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Welcome to the world of the PooYoos, the first fun, poetic brain trainer for children aged 3 to 6. With the PooYoos, a merry band of adorable baby animals, children will have fun while learning the developmental basics: numbers, letters, lateralization, shapes, colors and more. Children get to dance with their new friends and enjoy lovely interactive rewards. There are two levels of interactivity, so children can play according to their age and level. This game has been designed for use by children who have not yet grasped reading.

Virtual Console

Super Mario Kart
Original platform: Super NES™
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: Get in, sit down, buckle up and experience frantic kart racing in the game that started it all. Select one of eight characters from the Mario series - offering a variety of driving styles - and take on three championship cups in three different kart classes. Win enough and you'll unlock a fourth circuit: the ultra-tough Special Cup. Crossing the finish line in first place isn't an easy task, though, as each track has unique obstacles to conquer. Racers can obtain special power-ups that boost them to victory. For a different kind of challenge, take on a friend in multiplayer races or go head-to-head in a Battle Mode arena, where the object is to pop your opponent's balloons before you lose your own. With more than 15 tracks to master and nearly endless replay value, Super Mario Kart is classic gaming with some banana peels thrown in for good measure.

A Boy and His Blob: Trouble on Blobolonia
Original platform: NES™
Publisher: Majesco Entertainment
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Blob has come from the distant planet Blobolonia in search of an Earth boy to help him save his world. Join him on this fantastic adventure, searching for treasures in mysterious caverns beneath the earth, then traveling to Blobolonia to battle the evil emperor. Discover Blob's amazing appetite for jellybeans and the different transformations that occur with each flavor. Use these shapes to overcome even the most outrageous obstacles. A Boy and His Blob is a fantastic journey filled with constant surprises and humorous characters.

Nintendo DSiWare

Castle Of Magic
Publisher: Gameloft
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Mild Cartoon Violence
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points™
Description: Be prepared for anything as you try to save your friend from the clutches of the horrifying magician Nefastax. Stand up to wild monsters in environments that directly influence your movement. As you navigate this universe, the ground will make you stick, slide, sink, swim, levitate and even walk on the ceiling when gravity disappears. A never-before-seen use for the Nintendo DSi Camera application lets you transform yourself into powerful new forms. Visit an in-game Photo Cabin and search for a real-life object that matches the color of the character you want to transform into. Take a picture of a blue object with your Nintendo DSi system and…presto, you're transformed into a swordfish. You can customize game items - from coins to enemies - with pictures of your choice. Our cute hero's adventure is just too big and immersive for one screen, so he'll have to jump between the top and bottom screens of your Nintendo DSi system. Ready to dive into the adventure?

myNotebook: Blue™
Publisher: Nnooo
Players: 1
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: myNotebook allows you to take notes wherever you are. Just pop open your Nintendo DSi system and jot down your thoughts. Make a list and cross it off or play your favorite pen and paper games (games not included). You can even personalize your notebook by drawing on the cover and changing the paper type with 18 unlockable paper styles. Use the pen or pencil to make notes or doodles, then erase the bits you don't like. With five ink colors, you'll always be able to make your notes and doodles look stylish.

Electroplankton Luminarrow
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Luminarrow plankton are famous for their habit of perfectly following arrow-shaped formations. The plankton spin as they move, changing directions as soon as they come in contact with an arrow that's pointing in another direction. The pitch of the sound they make will change depending on where the arrows are positioned. There are four types of Luminarrow: red, yellow, green and blue. Each type floats at a different speed and makes a distinctive musical tone. The four types of Luminarrow drift together to create beautiful melodies. Completely alter the direction of the arrows to change their sound dramatically.

Electroplankton Sun-Animalcule
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Sun-Animalcule plankton get their name from their tendency to emit light in a sphere around them. The plankton begin as eggs and gradually grow, emitting light and fascinating sounds throughout their entire life cycle. The sounds they make will change as they grow from infancy to maturity, growing very quickly until they disappear completely. Sun-Animalcule plankton only emerge in the morning, noon and evening. They lose strength as the night wears on; that's when the crescent-shaped Falcato plankton take their place. The pitch of the plankton changes depending on where they grow.

Electroplankton Lumiloop
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Lumiloop plankton are curious, donut-shaped aquatic creatures. While stationary, they have the ability to spin at a very high rate of speed. As they spin, the Lumiloop emit unique sounds and a fascinating ring-shaped glow. Lumiloop plankton seem to always grow in clusters of five. They produce sounds at different pitches as they spin together, creating a beautiful harmony. This is called a pentatonic scale. Depending on where they live, Lumiloop plankton that produce several different sounds have been identified.

Electroplankton Marine-Crystals
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Resembling delicate snow crystals, Marine-Crystal plankton float elegantly on the surface of the water. The plankton get their name from their distinctive snowflake shape. They grow in clusters of 35 and line up in very orderly formations. When stimulated, Marine-Crystal plankton spin and produce vibrant sounds. While the plankton do grow in size if they are repeatedly tapped, they gradually return to their original size over time. They are born in four polygonal shapes: triangle, square, pentagon and hexagon. The ends of the crystalline protrusions also take on the same shapes. The tone of the sound they make will change depending on the shape of the Marine-Crystal plankton's body.

Electroplankton Varvoice
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Varvoice plankton memorize the sound of human speech and repeat it over and over. They accomplish this amazing feat by oscillating the long flagellum that extends from their heads. By resonating the vibration with their water-droplet-shaped body, the plankton produce sounds that closely resemble the human voice. The body can expand and contract at will. By changing shape, they can easily manipulate the sound of the voice. Words that the Varvoice memorize and play back in reverse have a particularly strange ring to them. Researchers refer to this phenomenon as Varvoice inversion.

I'd imagine such low-res textures will look worse the bigger your screen. And, in case you missed it, that grey border isn't just ugly; it scrolls as well, which won't be distracting at all.

But that's just hearsay from an overzealous witness violating spousal privilege*. Here's the real testimony regarding Ace Attorney's transition to WiiWare.

*Yes, I would totally marry that game if such a thing were possible.

What Is It?
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney was a crazy-popular adventure crime-solving game for the DS in 2005 where players gather evidence to present at trial to convict criminals. Now it's being ported to the Wii via WiiWare in all its investigative glory.

What We Saw
I played through a segment late in the trial where the murderer in on the stand spouting lies for Phoenix to rip apart.

How Far Along Is It?
It's a straight port with no fancy extras or overhauled graphics, so consider the game done. Ace Attorney hits the United States in January with Justice for All and Trials & Tribulations following in March and May respectively. The bonus fourth episode will also drop in May for an as-yet unspecified low price.

What Needs Improvement?
Annoying Background: Observe the screen and note that little gray border with the Phoenix Wright logo on it. Now imagine that background is actually moving gradually to the upper left hand corner of the screen throughout gameplay. Yeah, kind of distracting, isn't it?

What Should Stay The Same?
OBJECTION!!! The most amazing thing that's been done to Phoenix Wright on WiiWare is adding motion controls – or rather, motion control, because there's only one. It comes when you want to throw an objection out during witness testimony. Now, you could just open up your evidence file and press A to select evidence and then A again to present – or you could press to select and then fling your hand outward a la Phoenix himself to trigger OBJECTION! Which do you think is cooler?

Final Thoughts
Capcom is really supportive of WiiWare between this and Mega Man 9. As long as they don't jack up prices or chop up individual Phoenix Wright games into tiny episodes (which is almost the same thing as jacking up prices), I support the decision to port awesome DS games to WiiWare.

This preview is adjourned. *Thumps gavel*

The series will be released on Nintendo's WiiWare service, with Ace Attorney out in Japan on December 15 (and going for 900 Points). It'll be followed by Justice for All (January 26) and Trials and Tribulations (February 23), both of which will cost a little more at 1200 points.

Finally, on March 16, the fifth case of Ace Attorney - which can only be found in the DS version of the game - will be released separately, for 300 Points. And if it's being released separately, guess that means these are ports of the PC version. Which makes sense.

No word yet, obviously, on a Western release. Stay tuned.

[Famitsu, November 19]