Painting a pretty picture

It's Thursday, which comes before Friday, but also means Nintendo Download day. This week throws up a fair bit of content on 3DS, including four retail downloads with one high-profile release and the return of a PC classic, while DSi owners also have a couple of options to look forward to. Feast your eyes on this week's offerings, below.

3DS Download Software

Monster Shooter (Gamelion, $6.99) — This top-down shooter made its name on iOS and Android devices, and arrives on the 3DS eShop to offer its brand of alien blasting, with all of the unlockables and incentives typical of a smartphone game. As the title suggests it involves shooting lots of things, though it can be a tad repetitive and is also let down by some auto-aim quirks. Check out our Monster Shooter review for full details.

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3DS Retail Downloads

Disney Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion (Disney Interactive Studios, $39.99) — Available from 18th November, this 3DS-exclusive accompanies the series sequel set to grace Wii and Wii U. Adopting a 2D platforming style with some twists, while drawing heavy inspiration from Sega Genesis title Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse, this is full of promise. There's also a demo available on the eShop, so there's the chance to try before you buy.

Hotel Transylvania (GameMill Entertainment, $29.99) — It's a movie tie-in that arrived in stores way back on 18th September, so this is a rather curious inclusion. It must also be said that the words "movie tie-in" don't often go hand-in-hand with high quality game experiences, and this one fails to be an exception. Our reviewer would choose "squandered potential" if they were only allowed two words to summarise, but thankfully you can read plenty more words on the subject in our Hotel Transylvania review.

Myst (Maximum Games, $29.99) — This one arrived in retail stores on 26th October, but now makes a surprise appearance on the eShop. It's a re-make of a highly regarded point-and-click PC title from the 1990s, promising revamped visuals and a 3D effect that the publisher claims "jumps from the screen and really puts the player in the game". No doubt retro PC gamers will contemplate it, even at a retail price point.

American Mensa Academy (Maximum Games, $29.99) — The second retail download this week from Maximum Games, this time it's a wannabe rival to Nintendo's own Brain Training franchise. Originally released in PAL regions during the summer as Mensa Academy, that version published by Square Enix, it now makes its way to North America under new ownership.

DSiWare

Jump Trials (G-Style, 200 Points) — It's a budget, minimalist platformer that seems to be similar in style to GO Series: 10 Second Run. That's not necessarily a bad comparison for this new title to live with, though it'll have it's own style to try and charm us with; we'll limber up and put it through its paces in our review, soon.

Working Dawgs: A-Maze-Ing Pipes (Big John Games, 200 Points) — Aside from having a rather humorous title, this one offers 80 puzzles that'll involve using the stylus to place pipes, or bombs to clear obstacles. It's all about getting water through the piping system to save a construction site full of hard-working "dawgs", but we'll see whether it gets the plumbing right in our upcoming review.

Nintendo Video

Dinosaur Office: Thanksgiving Special! — When Craig is faced with spending Thanksgiving alone, he discovers the true spirit of the holidays.

So that's your lot, with four third-party retail titles making an appearance on the 3DS eShop. Let us know what you think, and what'll be accounting for your hard-earned funds, in the poll and comments below.

What will you be downloading first this week? (189 votes)

  1. Monster Shooter (eShop)3%
  2. Disney Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion (3DS retail download)20%
  3. Hotel Transylvania (3DS retail download)  0%
  4. Myst (3DS retail download)4%
  5. American Mensa Academy (3DS retail download)1%
  6. Jump Trials (DSiWare)1%
  7. Working Dawgs: A-Maze-Ing Pipes (DSiWare)1%
  8. Nothing for me this week70%

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