14 DAY TRIAL // With little in the way of blockbuster titles announced for the first quarter of the year for the Wii, the videogames Nintendo puts up on its digital download WiiWare service are all the more important in keeping the player base satisfied. This week brings three new games aimed at a wide variety of players.
The most exciting release of the week is Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse on the Virtual Console, a game originally released for the NES console. It puts the player in the adventuring shoes of one Trevor Belmont, forefather of the notorious Belmont family, and the guy who must battle Dracula even before the events of the first two games in the well known series.
The game introduces a transformation mechanic allowing the protagonist to become a young vampire hunter called Syfa, a pirate who can wall climb, called Grant, and even to turn into Alucard, the long forgotten son of Dracula himself. Remember that even if you complete the game, Dracula is still a threat. Castlevania III costs 500 Wii Points.
Jungle Speed, created by Playful Entertainment, is basically a card game that tests the reflexes of the players, as well as their ability to concentrate. Because it supports up to eight players, the whole family can join in as gamers battle for a totem placed in the middle of the playing table. Jungle Speed is played in rather quick rounds and the loser takes the cards of the winner and anything that went into the pot. The ultimate goal is to be the first player that gets rid of all the cards. The title costs 1,000 Wii Points.
Planet Pachinko, created by Allied Kingdoms, is a wholly different experience. The game is rather slow and requires a lot of thinking, while being best played in single player or co operative mode. The idea is that, far in the future, an advanced civilization has locked up all their wealth in temples dedicated to the ancient game of pachinko, which the player must get into by using a wide arsenal of gadgets like rockets, lasers, grenades and slime launcher, plus a whole lot of smarts.