14 DAY TRIAL // As every week goes by, Nintendo makes available three new classic titles, up on Wii's Internet service, the Virtual Console (if we can use the adjective "new" when talking about "classic" titles, which are "old"). And here are this week's three, bringing back memories of the good old days when video games were so innocent, that boys weren't interested in girls until the age of 15 or so.
Lode Runner: The player controls the hero, or "Runner," who collects gold nuggets located around every stage, all the time avoiding capture by enemy robots. The action itself is simple, but the stages are designed as increasingly challenging puzzles, and none of the 50 stages is as easy as it seems. The Runner avoids enemies by digging holes in the floor to the right and left of his position?by doing this, he can clear a path to places that, at first glance, seem unreachable. Players must collect all the gold nuggets in every puzzling stage if they want to escape to the next. In addition to normal play, this version of the game features an Edit Mode that allows players to design their own stages. (NES, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points)
Sonic the Hedgehog 2: Dr. Eggman (aka Dr. Robotnik) is back to continue his zealous search for the Chaos Emeralds needed to fuel his new Death Egg contraption. The evil doctor secretly follows Sonic to his vacation spot, Westside Island, and launches a full-scale attack, imprisoning all the helpless animals of the island and turning them into mindless worker drones. Now Sonic must thwart the doctor's plans at all costs. This time he isn't alone, as a peculiar two-tailed fox named Miles Prower (aka Tails) decides to aid him in the battle. Together they must locate the Chaos Emeralds before Dr. Eggman does, and put an end to his diabolical scheme. (Sega Genesis, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 800 Wii Points)
And last, but not least, Golden Axe II: Not long after the devastating reign of the wicked Death Adder, another evil arose. Dark Guld and his minions invaded and took hold of the prized Golden Axe with plans to destroy it. Once again, as a fierce barbarian named Ax-Battler, a fearless female Amazon known as Tyris-Flare or a ferocious dwarf named Gilius Thunderhead, you will wield steely swords and powerful magic in an all-out war to recover the sword. Once you slash your way through the six side-scrolling levels, you'll get the chance to defeat Dark Guld once and for all. (Sega Genesis, 1-2 players, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older ? Fantasy Violence, 800 Wii Points)
So I guess Nintendo has exceeded the 100 milestone, regarding downloadable titles through Virtual Console. 103, is it? I hope I haven't missed any. However, with so many classics available to download for so very few Wii Points (more or less), where exactly are gamers supposed to store all of them? With those SD cards that provide 2 gigs of space, not even casual gamers can have their fun.