Wednesday Download Wrap Up 5/19/10

Welcome to week 2 of your Wednesday Download Wrap Up! This week Sony gets back in the game releasing four new titles to its PSN Network. If you believe the rumors you might want to start picking up some of these games before the PSN becomes a paid service.

Nintendo
Nintendo lays down the gauntlet once again by releasing SEVEN new titles for downloading. I personally can’t wait until E3 where hopefully Nintendo will release some numbers on how well the DSiWare is selling. We know that the Virtual Console has had at least one one million download seller (Super Mario Bros. 3) and the WiiWare platform has done very well for small developers. Maybe more people have a DSi then I think.

DSiWare FOUR!

Looksley’s Line Up
Description: Looksley the rabbit needs your assistance to finish the story he’s writing. Guide him through a world based on famous fairy tales and folk stories from around the globe, helping him to gather inspiration by finding hidden items along the way. In this unique take on hidden-picture games, you’ll move the Nintendo DSi system to change your view of various 3-D dioramas. Peer deeply into the scene as you shift the system, watching as layers within the diorama move to reveal previously unseen letters and objects. As you collect these letters and objects, you’ll meet new characters and spell words that will open additional stages with more sets of hidden items to find. Particular stages contain secret pictures, testing your observation skills even further. Scour each scene’s incredible depth and detail as you lend Looksley a hand in completing his masterpiece. Players of all ages will love this visual puzzle challenge and be amazed to see that even the same spot can look different from another angle.
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points

Frogger Returns
Description: Frogger is coming to a Nintendo DSi system near you! Frogger Returns takes the heart-pounding challenge of arcade Frogger and moves it into the next dimension. Classic top-down 2-D game play is updated with colorful 3-D graphics, a new perspective, new levels, new enemies and game-changing power-ups to dodge and use. Four stages take the original journey of Frogger from highway to home through a new adventure. Use multiple modes to attack your top scores, race against the clock or just get Frogger to his home pad.
Publisher: Konami Digital Entertainment
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points

A Topsy Turvy Life: Turvy Drops™
Description: Turn the Nintendo DSi system upside down and draw blocks on the touch screen to fill spaces in this topsy-turvy take on puzzle games. Play “Endless Mode” to see just how many points you can get as the blocks on the bottom screen fill faster and faster. The more blocks you clear at once, the higher your score. Play “Puzzle Mode” to test your brain against 30 mind-bending puzzles. Clear all the blocks within the specified time and turn limits. Can you solve the puzzles before time is up?
Publisher: TECMO KOEI GAMES
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points

Flips: More Bloody Horowitz
Description: Anthony Horowitz, the best-selling creator of Alex Rider, gives horror a whole new look in this mischievous collection of macabre tales, exclusive to the Flips series. Including three new stories – each with its own unique feature, such as illustrations and sound effects – Flips: More Bloody Horowitz finds Horowitz at his most wicked. The Flips series brings modern classics to the Nintendo DSiWare service, allowing readers to collect, solve, interact and learn as they progress through the various stories and challenges.
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Players: 1
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points

WiiWare TWO!

BIT.TRIP RUNNER
Description: Discover the fastest, most exhilarating action-platformer to hit the WiiWare service. Race across the moon, kicking down crystal walls and sliding under chomping moon-slugs. Bound through the Robotic Mines and face off against the MinerMech. Dash through the Big City on a quest to find friends and defeat the final boss together. RUNNER is the fourth entry in the award-winning and critically acclaimed BIT.TRIP series. You control CommanderVideo as he runs, jumps, slides and kicks. With exciting modern and retro challenges, you can move through more than 50 levels of addictive game play. Chiptune supergroup Anamanaguchi makes a guest appearance. Join CommanderVideo on his most epic journey yet!
Publisher: Aksys Games
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Wii Points

Blood Beach
Description: You are hopelessly outnumbered and have no choice but to fight and win. Just you, your guns and the thin stretch of Blood Beach stand between you and the entire Japanese Imperial Navy. You have an impressive arsenal of weapons, including the M2 BMG, 40mm M1 and, of course, your Thompson SMG. But the Imperial Japanese Navy will hit you with everything they can muster – “Zeros,” “Bettys” and even Takao-class battleships – in their methodical and relentless push to recapture the Solomon Islands. High scores can be saved for Easy, Normal and Hard levels of difficulty.
Publisher: Coresoft Inc.
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) – Blood, Violence
Price: 1,000 Wii Points

Virtual Console ONE!

Kirby Super Star
Description: That awful King Dedede is at it again – he’s stolen all the food in Dream Land. It’s up to Kirby™ to get it back and ultimately save Pop Star from being overtaken. In what may be the most diverse adventure yet for the round, pink hero, Kirby journeys through six main games and two minigames, finishing with the ultimate showdown in The Arena. Each game offers its own story and style of platforming action, as well as unique environments and an assortment of enemies. Swallowing an enemy allows Kirby to copy the abilities of that enemy, granting him the power to perform special attacks and giving him a new hat to don. In a strategic twist, Kirby can now give up an acquired ability and use it to turn an enemy into a helper. The helper will follow Kirby around and automatically fight as his ally or offer a second player the chance to join in the game by controlling it. There’s never a dull moment as Kirby dashes, flies and swallows enemies in his battle against King Dedede, Dyna Blade and Meta Knight.
Original platform: Super NES
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Wii Points

XBox 360
I’ve never been a big fan of the Metal Slug series. It was one of those games I just never really got into. Having said that, it’s a huge series and I’m sure this edition will sell like hot cakes even if it costs 15 bucks. Also, Star Wars The Force Unleashed was released for Games On Demand this week. I really liked this game when I played it but if I were you I’d just rent it for a few days and play it out. The game doesn’t have a tremendous amount of replay value but it was loads of fun.

XBLA TWO!

Metal Slug XX – Breaking onto the scene is the new METAL SLUG XX™! Joining the fight are the familiar four warriors Marco, Tarma, Eri, and Fio, backed by two allies from The King of Fighters, Ralf and Clark. Adding to the seven multi-path stages, this ultimate 2-D action shooting masterpiece also includes elements such as Combat School, which is loaded with more than 70 missions.
Cost – 1200 Microsoft Points
Developer: SNK PLAYMORE CORPORATION
Publisher: SNK PLAYMORE CORPORATION
Genre: Action

Aqua – Follow the story of captain Benjamin Grey and his trusted fellow engineer Polly Edison in Aqua, as they struggle to save the Aqua world from a treacherous conspiracy, pulling the strings behind a massive conflict of two rival naval empires. In this stylish naval action shooter with tactical elements, you must steer your ship into the middle of a raging naval war, where masses of enemies and allies engage in real-time operations over large, multi-screen maps, presented in a unique distinctive steampunk art style.

Destroy enemies on, above, and below the water surface, and unlock new ship types, weapons, and upgrades to enhance your ship as you progress through an entertaining story-driven campaign accompanied by beautiful hand-drawn comic sequences. Choose your tactics and form your own special squadron to support you in battle, issuing offensive and defensive orders to overcome the enemy and their defensive installations.
Cost – 800 Microsoft Points
Developer: Games Distillery
Publisher: Xbox LIVE Arcade
Genre: Action

Games On Demand TWO!

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
The Star Wars saga continues in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed! Take on the role of Darth Vader’s “Secret Apprentice” in a new chapter of the saga set during the largely unexplored era between Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. Unleash over-the-top Force powers and devastating attack combos on enemies with unique behaviors and reactions every single time you play. Metal bends like metal, wood splinters like wood, and glass shatters like glass as you unleash the Force like never before. Scour the galaxy and defeat Jedi Masters on familiar worlds, including Cloud City, and on strange new worlds, such as the junk planet Raxus Prime. Destroy all who stand in your way in your ultimate quest to do Darth Vader’s bidding. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed allows you to feel the power of the Force like never before in a brand new Star Wars story where your decisions could change the ultimate destiny of the galaxy.
Cost – $29.99
Developer: LucasArts
Publisher: LucasArts
Genre: Action & Adventure

Top Spin 3
TOP SPIN 3 delivers you the most immersive and intense tennis gaming experience on next generation consoles. Real animations and visuals for 20 top pro players to face and play with, real challenge for your own created player each 15 days on Xbox LIVE with the new World-Tour mode, and real tennis brought to you anytime on the court with the very best tennis gameplay to be released this year.
Cost – $19.99
Developer: Pam Development
Publisher: 2K Games
Genre: Sports & Recreation

XBLA Deal of the Week

This week, Xbox LIVE Gold members can purchase The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition for 400 points. Plus, the official Monkey Island Cotton Swab and Lechuck Pirate Hat Avatar items are also 50% off for the week.

Playstation 3
After having a dismal showing last week Sony rebounds with 4 new titles for the PSN this week. Rocket Knight came out last week for the 360. Paul played the demo and said it was the greatest thing of all time.* I would suspect it plays similar on either platform. Another interesting game is The Price Is Right. I couldn’t tell if Drew Carey was in the game or night but he should be. If he isn’t it would seem like a cheap game to me. It does allow you to use your Home avatar so thats cool. It would be even better if you could win real prizes for your Home Home. Or even cooler would be if you could unlock Bob Barker as the in game host! Also for whatever reason (probably because I don’t have a PS3) I couldn’t find the prices for these games. If someone can point me the way to the prices I’ll be much appreciative.

PSN FOUR!

World Of Outlaws Sprint Cars
World of Outlaws Sprint Cars is the first game that lets you race on your favorite dirt tracks, against your favorite sprint car drivers or your friends online. Your career will take your across the country to build your racing empire. Win races, win cash and sponsorships to upgrade your car. See if you have the stamina to be the next World of Outlaws Champion.
Publisher THQ

Lead and Gold – Gangs of the Wild West
Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West is a 3rd person shooter delivering an intense team based multiplayer experience. Relive the violent era of the Wild West as it ought to be with adrenaline fuelled action and fast paced gunfights. Fight gritty battles in beautifully rendered classic western settings. Test your mettle in genre specific game modes and levels tailor-made for satisfying team play.
Publisher Paradox Interactive

The Price is Right
Come on down to play the fabulous Price Is Right game! Feel the thrill of playing in Contestant’s Row and through different pricing game challenges, including Plinko, Cliff Hangers and Punch-A-Bunch and many more of your favorites. Try your luck as you spin the Big Wheel for the chance fabulous prizes and a huge pay-off at the Showcase! Featuring authentic theme music, stages and Rich Fields’ announcer audio create a true-to-show experience!

Features :
20 different pricing games including Plinko, Cliff Hangers, Safe Crackers, Clock Game and Spelling Bee.
Two game modes: single player and multiplayer.
Original, fully customizable 3D player avatars: choose hairstyles, clothing, accessories and more.
Single and Multi-player game modes.
Unlock bonus items as a reward for progress in the game.
Publisher Ludia

Rocket Knight
Sparkster Returns. Featuring gorgeous next-gen graphics and dazzling new environments, blast possuming has never looked so good!
New Levels and Challenges. Play through four exciting new worlds, featuring expansive platform stages and thrilling flight stages.
Thrilling Rocket Action Gameplay. Launch and bounce Sparkster through obstacles and enemies that get in his way. Ricochet off walls, or create a Burst Vortex to repel enemy bombs right back at them. Use Burst Assist and hover in place to maneuver in mid-air, and then shoot Burst Projectiles from Sparkster’s sword to attack distant foes. Rocket Drill through weak walls and create new passageways, and hang from and slide down rails with your prehensile tail.
Who’s the Best? Show off your high scores and fastest times on the PlayStation®Network leaderboards.
Publisher Konami Digital Entertainment

*I actually don’t remember what he said about it.

***UPDATE***

Major Nelson just posted on his blog that three XBLA games have had a permanent price drop starting today –
Braid is now 800 points (was 1200)
Cloning Clyde is now 400 points (was 800)
3 on 3 NHL Arcade is now 400 points (was 800)