DSiWare - Timeline
Thursday26th Jul 2012
Nintendo Download 26th July 2012 (North America)
Planet crashing, Wario, moles and more
This week we have all three Nintendo consoles catered for, including a long awaited platformer on the 3DS Virtual Console, the latest from Renegade Kid and much more. Let's get right to it. 3DS Virtual Console: Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (Game Boy, Nintendo, $3.99) — This has no doubt been on a number...
Tuesday24th Jul 2012
Review Petit Computer (DSiWare)
Massive potential, minor headache
There are few better places to learn programming than within the BASIC family — heck, it's in the name — which offers general-purpose, relatively simple environments in which to learn the ropes and concepts of coding. Petit Computer is a powerful BASIC coding environment, a type of homebrew application seldom...
News Bonsai Barber is a Snip at 150 Coins on US Club Nintendo
Hairing to go
There's some vegetation in need of a trim if you pop over to the North American Club Nintendo page right now. Bonsai Barber is the latest reward in the program, listed for just 150 coins. Zoonami's bizarre WiiWare barber simulator takes Mario Tennis' spot and will be available until 5th August. Read our Bonsai Barber review if you're...
Monday23rd Jul 2012
Nintendo Download 26th July 2012 (Europe)
Crashing, pinball, candles and athletics
It's another Monday, so let's cheer ourselves up in Europe with news of what downloads are coming this week. This week almost every platform is catered for, so let's get to it. 3DS Download Software: Planet Crashers (Ignition, £9/€10) — Planet Crashers is the latest title developed by Renegade Kid, of...
Thursday19th Jul 2012
Nintendo Download 19th July 2012 (North America)
Kid Icarus, thievery and puzzles
Update details were slower than normal today, but we do now have a mixture of 3DS VC games, a couple of mystery eShop titles and some good-old DSiWare to look at this week. Let's get right into it. 3DS Virtual Console: Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters (Game Boy, Nintendo, $3.99) — Before his high profile 3DS...
Wednesday18th Jul 2012
News First Kart Krashers DSiWare Trailer Skids In
Krash out
Big John Games' Kart Krashers is speeding onto DSiWare and the 3DS eShop later this summer. Unlike many kart racers it's a single player affair; your aim is to charge through 10 courses looking for stars and smashing up any obstacles in your way. Grab enough points and you might just earn some Golden Wheels. Check out the first trailer...
Monday16th Jul 2012
News Starship Defense is Your New US Club Nintendo Reward
Starship super
If you're a US Club Nintendo user with 150 coins jangling around in your cyber-pocket, there's a new reward that might tempt you: Q-Games' DSiWare title Starship Defense, known in Europe as Starship Patrol. It replaces Electroplankton: Rec-Rec and will be available for a limited period of time. Have a read of our Starship Defense...
News Gaia's Moon Flies Into Japan on 25th July
Into the Land of the Rising Sun
DSiWare has its share of budget gems, and it's also a service that deprives some regions of excellent titles for long spells: ask a European DSi enthusiast about Cave Story, for example. Japanese gamers are about to have one of their wrongs resolved, however, with confirmation that Gaia's Moon is due on the country's...
Candlelight delight
Candle Route is a unique and colourful puzzle game starring Sparky, a plucky, anthropomorphic flame charged with bringing light to Crayon Castle before night comes around. The adventure that follows feels a bit like a cross between ChuChu Rocket!, mini-golf, and being a mother duck; most importantly it's beautiful, original and...
Nintendo Download 19th July 2012 (Europe)
Wario, revenge, flipping and learning
The details for this week's Nintendo Download in Europe are out with 3DS, Wii and DSi all getting some love, as well as the long-awaited return of a favourite edutainment series. Let's get to it. 3DS Virtual Console: Wario Land II (Game Boy Color, Nintendo, £4.50/€5) — While Wario's first appearance on...
Sunday15th Jul 2012
Review Ace Mathician (DSiWare)
Smooth operators
Ace Mathician, from Flipper developer Goodbye Galaxy Games, is a unique puzzle-platformer that succeeds in combining the magic of both marsupials and maths. The basic idea is to help a friendly koala named Ace reach the fruit at the end of each single-screen stage by rearranging platforms using algebraic equations. Make no mistake:...
Friday13th Jul 2012
News Limber Up for Decathlon 2012 on 26th July
In time for the opening ceremony
Cinemax is ready to wrap up its sporting summer with Decathlon 2012 in Europe and North America on 26th July, the day before the London 2012 Olympic Games' opening ceremony. The DSiWare download mimics the official decathlon events — that's 100 metres, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400 metres, 110 metre hurdles,...
Thursday12th Jul 2012
Nintendo Download 12th July 2012 (North America)
8-bit summer heats up
Two 3DS Virtual Console games plus new titles on WiiWare, DSiWare, Virtual Console and the eShop make another very strong week for the Nintendo Download in North America. Here's what's going live today. 3DS Virtual Console: Kirby's Pinball Land (Game Boy, Nintendo, $3.99) — The little pink ball makes the most of his rotund...
Monday9th Jul 2012
Review 3, 2, 1... Words Up! (DSiWare)
Fun with words
3, 2, 1... Words Up! is a great example of how simple can be satisfying. This word-unscrambling game does one thing and does it well, providing a solid dose of portable wordplay to anyone looking to test their lexical limits. The basic objective is to create as many words as possible from a bank of seven letters, and there are two...
Nintendo Download 12th July 2012 (Europe)
Sparkles and frogs
This week's Nintendo Download is a metaphorical mixed bag, with 3DS add-on content and WiiWare sitting alongside weird eShop applications. Scan the list below for the full lowdown. 3DS Download Software: Sparkle Snapshots 3D (Nintendo, £4.50/€5) — Remember Sparkle Snapshots on DSiWare? How would you like a similar...
Saturday7th Jul 2012
It may be a map, but it's no legend
Congratulations are in order for Abstraction Games: it released a topography game that's even less fun that it sounds. Topoloco almost deserves an award for just how much it gets entirely wrong. Before you read the rest of this review, know that we didn't expect this to be much of a game, per se. Topoloco markets...
Thursday5th Jul 2012
Nintendo Download 5th July 2012 (North America)
8-bit summer starts
Nintendo of America kicks off its 8-bit Summer campaign this week with new 3DS Virtual Console games, plus there's a new Wii Virtual Console game and some eShop games too. 3DS Virtual Console: The Legend of Zelda (NES, Nintendo, $4.99, 49 blocks) — This game surely needs no introduction. See where it all started for Link and...
Review Flip the Core (DSiWare)
Hit or bore?
We've already seen a few shoot 'em ups pop up on DSiWare, but for the most part the selection has felt more gimmicky than traditional. Flip the Core continues that tradition with a unique "flip" design that allows you to flip the flat background planes, greatly altering the level with one push of a button. And while this interesting...
Tuesday3rd Jul 2012
Nintendo Download 5th July 2012 (Europe)
Vampires, zombies, viruses and mutants
This week's European Nintendo Download plays catch-up with North America and includes DLC for a game about to hit stores. Let's get to it. 3DS Virtual Console: Castlevania: The Adventure (Game Boy, Konami, £2.70/€3) — Considering the enthusiasm that normally greets a new Castlevania title from within the...
News 99Seconds Dodging Its Way to Europe on 12th July
A bit more than 99 seconds to wait
99Seconds is a budget DSiWare game that is ideally suited to short, compulsive gaming sessions on the go, or is the equivalent of a coin guzzler at a local arcade. As our 99Seconds review said, 'had 99seconds an arcade cabinet yelling for our attention, we would stroll right on up to it and put in the equivalent of...
Monday2nd Jul 2012
News The Lost Town Finds Its New Trailer
Shooting and scavenging
The Lost Town - The Dust was an action/adventure title with RPG elements that was set in 2037, requiring you to guide the mysterious Chilia from an overhead view while exploring, shooting monsters and protecting innocents. The sequel — or perhaps prequel — is called The Lost Town - The Jungle and looks like a continuation...
Review Jewel Legends: Tree of Life (DSiWare)
Was it meant for you?
Not that there’s any shortage of them on DSiWare, but right off the bat it should be said that Jewel Legends: Tree of Life is a puzzle game. Not only is it a puzzle game, but it’s a match three puzzle game, which means that you know exactly what to expect with this download. While there are some new features to spice up...
News Petit Computer Lets You Make Games on Your DSi and 3DS
Coming soon
Gamebridge has announced it's bringing DSiWare game creation software Petit Computer to North America this summer. The package serves as an introduction to the BASIC programming language that's powered games for decades. If you're not artistically inclined you can use the 512 pre-packed sprites and 256 backgrounds, or using the DSi's...
News July's Club Nintendo Rewards are Up
Rec-rec and tennis
While we don't know what the Platinum reward is for Club Nintendo members, we do know what games you can spend your Coins on in the coming weeks. Wii Virtual Console: Mario Tennis (Nintendo 64) — 150 Coins. Available until 22nd July. Read our Mario Tennis review to see if it's worth the coins. DSiWare: Electroplankton:...
Sunday1st Jul 2012
Review Escape the Virus: Swarm Survival (DSiWare)
Mini-thrills with micro-organisms
Escape the Virus: Swarm Survival, an offshoot of the WiiWare title Viral Survival from a few years back, is a collection of two score-based arcade games that take place under the microscope. While there's not a lot to this simple petri dish offering, what's there is an awful lot of fun and the core mechanics are...
Thursday28th Jun 2012
Nintendo Download 28th June 2012 (North America)
Monkeys, marvels and more
Some quality original content on 3DS and DSi reaches North America this week, with two free demos to pick up as well. Here's what's out this week. Nintendo 3DS Download Software: Marvel Pinball 3D (Zen Studios, $7.99, 661 blocks) — Take four Marvel-themed tables for a spin in Zen Studios' follow-up to its very good Zen...
Wednesday27th Jun 2012
News CIRCLE Bringing Go! Go! Kokopolo 3D to eShop
Cat scratch fever
CIRCLE Entertainment's prolific output continues with no fewer than 21 titles on the way to the 3DS eShop and DSi Shop in the coming months. One of the most interesting titles is Go! Go! Kokopolo 3D: Space Recipe for Disaster by Tanukii Studios, a follow-up to DSiWare stand-out Go! Go! Kokopolo. We've approached Tanukii for more...
Tuesday26th Jun 2012
Review Goooooal Europa 2012 (DSiWare)
Missing an open goooooal
DSiWare is like any other downloadable game platform: it features gems full of creativity and compulsive play, and then it has titles like Goooooal Europa 2012, which tries to hide its painful inadequacies with a ‘fun’ title and a tenuous link to a major football tournament. The idea of a table football game with stylus...
News Prepare for the Abyss on DSiWare
Don't forget a light
EnjoyUp Games has released a lot of download titles, particularly on DSiWare, with Gaia's Moon standing out as an excellent release at 200 Nintendo Points. That word Gaia has appeared once again, this time as a collectible in upcoming DSiWare release Abyss. The purpose of Abyss is to navigate a robot called Nep2no in the depths...
News Escape the Swarm on DSiWare This Week
Viral survival
Teyon's maintaining its formidable DSiWare output ratio with Escape the Virus: Swarm Survival out in North America this week. The 200 Point download asks you to form the longest DNA chain you can while dodging harmful viruses in Normal mode, or offers a Baby mode where you simply cart the DNA pieces to safety. WiiWare veterans may...
Monday25th Jun 2012
Nintendo Download 28th June 2012 (Europe)
Marvel Pinball and more
A motley group of superheroes headlines this week's Nintendo Download, but there's also the second week of the store's anniversary if you're after a bargain. Here's what's up this week. eShop: Marvel Pinball 3D (Zen Studios, £6.30/€7) — The follow-up to the successful (and rather good) Zen Pinball 3D, this brings with...
Sunday24th Jun 2012
Review Lola's Fruit Shop Sudoku (DSiWare)
Sudoku Jr.
Earlier this year we were pleasantly surprised by Lola's Alphabet Train, a rewardingly sweet journey through simple spelling drills. It was colourful, engaging and inventive. Now we have a sequel in the form of Lola's Fruit Shop Sudoku, and while the previous game's charm is intact, it's a bit less impressive overall. You'd be forgiven...
Thursday21st Jun 2012
Nintendo Download 21st June 2012 (North America)
Dragons, kitchens and so much more
A very busy week this week with WiiWare, Virtual Console, DSiWare and no fewer than two eShop releases reaching North American shores. Here's what's awaiting your purchase today. 3DS Download Software: Order Up!! (Ignition Entertainment, $9.99, 2,488 blocks) — Released at retail in Europe, North America can try...
A small wonder
When it comes to clones, very few genres are more prime candidates than puzzlers. When Tetris hit back in the 80's it was quickly cloned and in fact, is still being cloned to this very day. 7 Wonders of the Ancient World took the match-three idea and attempted to inject a few new twists into the mix but somehow failed to take the...
Tuesday19th Jun 2012
Review Devil Band - Rock the Underworld (DSiWare)
Ear piercing
If musicians really can save the world — Bob Geldof and Bono would both like you to believe they can — then it's a shame they couldn't do it in a game more interesting than Devil Band - Rock the Underworld. CIRCLE's latest essentially takes Plants vs. Zombies, robs it of its charm and adds in a lot more tapping. You control a metal...
Monday18th Jun 2012
Nintendo Download 21st June 2012 (Europe)
Mutant Mudds is here
Well, that was a long wait. Renegade Kid's acclaimed platformer gets to Europe this week, along with a 1000 Point WiiWare adventure and a kickabout on DSiWare. Here's what's up this week. 3DS Download Software: Mutant Mudds (Renegade Kid, £8.10/€9) — What started life as a DS retail game called Maximillian and the Rise of...
Thursday14th Jun 2012
Nintendo Download 14th June 2012 (North America)
Mad dogs, spider-men, mega men and more
A good all-round week for North America: 3DS gets an ageing arcade game, a demo and a 3DS Virtual Console game, DSiWare is graced with a music-themed take on the Plants vs. Zombies formula and Wii owners get a VC game too. 3DS Virtual Console: Donkey Kong Jr. (NES, Nintendo, $4.99) — A rare appearance from...
Monday11th Jun 2012
Nintendo Download 14th June 2012 (Europe)
Sonic, tattoos and a samurai sword
After all the E3 excitement last week it's back down to Earth with a bump this week, with a Game Gear Sonic game and European releases of decent, if long overdue games. Here's what's available this week. 3DS Virtual Console: Sonic Blast (Game Gear, SEGA, £4.50/€5) — Sonic's last adventure on Game Gear (in...
Friday8th Jun 2012
I got 99 problems but time ain't one
Tiny time-waster games like 99seconds really aren't all that dissimilar from the arcade games of old that we now look on so fondly as champions of game design: simplistic ideas with an execution engaging enough to keep the flow of quarters flowing. Here, the concept is a form of extreme keep-away with a slow-down...
Thursday7th Jun 2012
Nintendo Download 7th June 2012 (North America)
Bats, cats, balance and curling
It's a bumper week for North America with new 3DS Download Software, demos, DSiWare, 3D videos and more. Here's what's available today. 3DS Download Software: Art of Balance TOUCH! (Shin'en Multimedia, $6.99) — An excellent puzzle game that tasks you to create a balanced stack of blocks. It's tougher than it...
Wednesday6th Jun 2012
Nintendo Download 7th June 2012 (Europe)
Online Heroes of Ruin demo and more
Talk about a first: tomorrow you can try Heroes of Ruin's multiplayer mode either in local or online play. Here's what else is up for Europeans tomorrow. 3DS Demos: Heroes of Ruin (Square Enix) — Try out one of four classes and play online or in local multiplayer with three others. The game hits Europe next...
Friday1st Jun 2012
News Some Club Nintendo Coin Values Will Change on 1st July
Full details inside
The number of Club Nintendo Coins you'll get for registering certain games will change on 1st July. For some games, the number will decrease; for some, it'll increase. If you want to see whether you should register those games now or wait until 1st July, check out our handy charts, straight from Club Nintendo. 3DS Software:...
Thursday31st May 2012
Nintendo Download 31st May 2012 (North America)
Rayman, 99seconds and more
Wait, what? Another 3DS Virtual Console game? And this one's a Game Boy Color release? Well, if that don't just beat all. Here's what's up and at 'em in this week's bunch. 3DS Virtual Console: Rayman (Game Boy Color, Ubisoft, $4.99, 70 blocks) — The limbless hero lands in Europe today too, so it's a big helping of...
Wednesday30th May 2012
Review Snakenoid Deluxe (DSiWare)
In which the word "deluxe" is cheapened enormously
Last year, we reviewed Snakenoid, a Snake/Arkanoid hybrid from Cinemax that answered our question of how one could possibly combine the gameplay from those two games. That answer was, "pretty disappointingly, thanks for asking." We felt it was a bit of a mess, at best, a complete waste of time and...
Sunday27th May 2012
Review Chronicles of Vampires: Awakening (DSiWare)
Bloody good?
It seems that popular culture's obsession with vampires may be entering its twilight years. If contemporary films, books and TV series focusing on gothic lore ever felt fresh and exciting, that effect has worn off and the bloodsuckers have come to feel a bit bland and tired. Still clinging onto the trend is the second in Teyon's hidden...
Thursday24th May 2012
Nintendo Download 24th May 2012 (North America)
Galleries and snakes
North America gets its third Game Boy Color game today, which is nice. There's some DSiWare too and an update for an eShop favourite. 3DS Virtual Console: Game & Watch Gallery 2 (Game Boy Color, Nintendo, $3.99) — No, your eyes do not deceive you: this is two consecutive weeks of 3DS Virtual Console games in North America...
Thursday17th May 2012
Review Curling Super Championship (DSiWare)
Bowls on ice
DSiWare has been home to some interesting concepts and ideas, developing a diverse library of different experiences of varying standards. Despite this, Curling Super Championship is one of the more unique entries, taking a relatively minor winter sport and turning it into a video game. While some may feel the need to dismiss it off...
Nintendo Download 17th May 2012 (North America)
VC and vampires
After a pretty long nap 3DS Virtual Console wakes up today, and DSiWare swells with a hidden object adventure too. This is much more like it. 3DS Virtual Console: Kirby's Block Ball (Game Boy, Nintendo, $2.99, 40 blocks) — At long last, 3DS gets another Virtual Console game in the rotund form of Kirby. Check out our Kirby's Block...
Monday14th May 2012
News Goooooal Europa 2012 Has the Best Name on DSiWare
Count those Os
Let's play a game. You're Cinemax, a DSiWare developer, and you're making a game about table football. Your past games have gone for the direct route when it comes to names: 90's Pool, Rytmik and, of course, Calculator. You're working on a table football game — what do you call it? If you went for Table Football 2012, sorry — not...
News Chronicles of Vampires Reawakens on DSiWare This Week
Monster, monster
Teyon's Chronicles of Vampires series reaches its horrific conclusion this week in Chronicles of Vampires: The Awakening, heading to DSiWare on Thursday. The 500 Point download is a blend of the puzzle and hidden object genres, so should be right at home on DSiWare. Last year we had Chronicles of Vampires: Origins, which admittedly...
