Ogre Battle Arrives on the Wii Shop Channel

Gamers in the United States who enjoy playing on the Nintendo Wii and have hooked it up to the Internet can now download two new releases that are available through the Wii Shop Channel.

There's one game coming via WiiWare, a service that aims to deliver small, family friendly games weekly, and one game coming to the Virtual Console, a service that aims to offer younger players a chance to enjoy the most interesting and engaging games of the previous generations of consoles made by Nintendo and by SEGA.

On WiiWare, gamers can buy and then download Family & Friends Party. The game was created by Gammick Entertainment and it's perfect for crowds, as it supports up to eight players. The title is rated E, which means it's safe for kids, and costs 1,000 Wii Points. What players get is basically a digitized board game. Teams are formed and players compete in order to be the first to complete all the challenges offered by the game. Each challenge is aimed at one or two players from each team, with the others playing a supporting role. The are also six challenges, called “Single,” that need the cooperation of the whole team, while “Versus” challenges are played by all the teams at the same time.

Arguably, the Virtual Console is getting a more interesting title. Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen was initially playable on the Super NES gaming system. It costs just 800 Wii Points. The game is pretty complex, combining hundreds of characters that you can interact with, magic items with varied powers, weapons and tarot cards, which are some sort of global powers. The plot evolves around the Zetegenian Empire and its subjugation of the Kinggoms of Zenobia. As the leader of the last band of rebels, the player has to throw off the shackles of slavery and defeat the evil empire.