Pilot a Ship or Dodge Viruses This Week in Nintendo's Downloadable Titles

Nintendo announced this week's downloadable-game releases for the Nintendo Wii and the Nintendo DS. Owners of the Nintendo DS will have the opportunity to pilot a ship, bet huge sums of virtual money at poker tables or solve transportation problems in the titles available through the DSiWare service. The WiiWare service offers Nintendo Wii owners the chance to play as an animal, a unit of DNA or a trippy beam of light.

This week, DSiWare titles include Metal Torrent, World Poker Tour Texas Hold'Em, Real Crimes: Jack The Ripper and Advanced Circuits. Metal Torrent is a vertically scrolling shooter that features online leaderboards for those that wish to brag about their high scores and is available for 500 Nintendo DSI Points.

World Poker Tour Texas Hold'Em is a rather self-explanatory title. Highlights include a multiplayer component and a price of 500 Nintendo DSi Points. Real Crimes: Jack the Ripper is a hidden-object game with realistic 3D graphics that comes at a heftier price of 800 Nintendo DSi Points. Advanced Circuits is a puzzle game that is available for 200 Nintendo DSi Points.

ArtStyle: light trax, Manic Monkey Mayhem and Viral Survival are the games available this week through the WiiWare service. ArtStyle: light trax is an unusual racing title that puts gamers in control of a white beam of light, while the viewpoint shifts between 2D and 3D, and it costs 600 Wii Points. Manic Monkey Mayhem is a cartoon brawler that features multiplayer and that has a price point of 800 Wii Points. In Viral Survival, one gets to play as a DNA unit that must dodge virus attacks. The game is priced at 500 Wii Points.

This week, the special downloadable offers from Nintendo include a new, free mini-game designed by Chris Slate, editor in chief of Nintendo Power magazine, for DS and Wii versions of WarioWare: D.I.Y. Photo Dojo for the DS is available for free until June 10, after which it will be priced at 200 Nintendo DSi Points. Photo Dojo lets players create fighters utilizing their own photos and then use them in single-player and multiplayer karate brawls.