Alex Kidd and Gradius ReBirth Coming to WiiWare

Nintendo is fond of the idea of new weekly releases for its WiiWare service, which is the Nintendo answer to Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network. This week, all those gaming on the Wii are getting two fresh videogames, one for shooter lovers, the other aimed at platformer players.

On WiiWare, Nintendo is offering Gradius ReBirth, created by Konami for single player. The game costs 1,000 Wii Points and is rated E, with a mention for limited fantasy violence. The game is a classic side scrolling shooter in the manner of the recently re-released Bionic Commando.

Players pick up their character and then go through levels that are filled with aliens and other creatures they will have to kill. It's important to make sure that players equip the right weapon for the job and, as the game progresses, they will be able to upgrade their destructive arsenals in order to become even more lethal. Gradius ReBirth developers know how important competition is for gamers, so using the Wi-Fi Internet connection built into the Nintendo Wii, those who get the title can submit their high scores to an online leaderboard and can then take another stab at the game in order to improve their scores.

On the Virtual Console, which is designed to offer younger gamers those classics released for the gaming consoles from Nintendo and SEGA that are no longer in production, the week's release is Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars. The game was initially launched on the SEGA Master System and is also single player focused. It costs just 500 Wii Points and is rated E with mentions for crude humor and comic mischief. Protagonist Alex Kidd has to find 12 missing zodiac signs and six levels in this classic platformer.