On the Wii Shop today: Strong Bad Episode 3, Art Style: Rotohex, Earthworm Jim

Get a Wii Points Card at AmazonToday Nintendo adds new/classic games to the popular Wii Shop Channel. The games go live at 9AM Pacific time. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at stores like Amazon (see Card above).

We’ve included videos of each of today’s games for nostalgia’s sake or so you can see if it’s to your tastes.

This week’s new WiiWare games are:

Strong Bad Episode 3: Baddest of the Bands (Telltale Games, 1 player, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older – Alcohol Reference, Crude Humor, Mild Cartoon Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes, 1,000 Wii Points = $10): Rock and roll! Hurting for cash, Strong Bad sets out to dominate the “Battle Royale of the Bands.” Can he rule the stage and win the big prize? Or will he be drowned out by the competition? Find out in this high-voltage episode.

Art Style: Rotohex (Nintendo, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 600 Wii Points = $6): Use colored triangular panels to create a vibrant mosaic of stained glass in Art Style: ROTOHEX. As triangles fall from the top of the screen, rotate them to group six panels of the same color and create a matching hexagon, or HEX. Once the HEX has been formed, it will disappear, allowing the existing panels to shift and more panels to fill the playing field. A clear-cut goal and two different styles of intuitive controls allow you to focus solely on the game play-which is vital, as the playing field will be full of panels before you know it. With multiple modes (unlock more as you progress further in SOLO mode), special item panels at your disposal, and the ability to play cooperatively or competitively with a friend, there will always be another HEX to create.

This week’s new Virtual Console game is:

Earthworm Jim on Sega GenesisEarthworm Jim (Sega Genesis, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone – Animated Violence, 800 Wii Points = $8): Jim was an ordinary earthworm who did very earthworm-like things, such as flee from crows and eat dirt. One day, during an outer space fight, a suit drops to Earth and falls around Jim. It mutates him into a large and intelligent (at least by earthworm standards) superhero. Play as Jim in this Sega Genesis classic. When Jim learns of the evil plans of Psy-Crow and Queen Slug-for-a-Butt, he decides to rescue Princess What’s-Her-Name. Run, gun, swing on hooks by your head and launch cows at the interesting characters you meet along the way, such as Major Mucus, Chuck and Fifi, Evil the Cat, and Bob the Killer Goldfish.