26 October 2009
Ferry

On Wii Shop and DSiWare today: Zombies Ate My Neighbors, Golden Axe, Ghost Mansion Party, Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 3, Sudoku, PictureBook Games

Nintendo downloads this Halloween week: The WiiWare service invites you to explore a ghostly mansion or face menacing foes in a new Tales of Monkey Island adventure. On the Virtual Console, battle zombies and other supernatural creatures in a Super NES classic, or ward off evil forces in the legendary arcade game Golden Axe. For Nintendo DSiWare users, a portable PictureBook Games title delivers nifty tricks, while sudoku solvers are in for a real treat. And speaking of treats, Wii owners who have their Wii consoles connected to the Internet should check out the Nintendo Week show on Nintendo Channel for an exclusive WiiWare announcement of a fresh take on an 8-bit classic.

Nintendo has now added these new/classic games to the Wii Shop Channel and Nintendo DSi Shop. The games go live at 9AM Pacific time. Users with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points or Nintendo DSi Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel. Nintendo DSi Points can be purchased in the Nintendo DSi Shop. A Nintendo Points Card can be purchased at retail locations or Amazon (see Card on the right).

Where available, we’ve included videos of each of today’s games. Either for nostalgia’s sake or so you can see if any new game is to your taste.

This week’s new Virtual Console game is:

Zombies Ate My Neighbors
Publisher: LucasArts
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) – Cartoon Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points = $8
Description: You will play the game as one of two brave kids: Zeke or Julie. Both kids use the same control scheme and have the same characteristics. If you’re playing in two-player mode, each player must pick a kid. You can’t have two Zekes or two Julies. Each player starts with three lives. When your life bar runs out, you lose a life. There are hidden 1-Up bonuses in the game. You may also earn bonus lives if you have 10 victims left when you finish a level. Get ready to conquer 48 levels of giant ants, mad scientists and big babies. Find seven bonus levels (look for the question marks), earn points and stockpile your water pistols and other weapons.

Golden Axe
Publisher: SEGA
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) – Blood, Fantasy Violence
Price: 900 Wii Points = $9
Description: In this original arcade game that launched the popular Golden Axe series, the evil Death Adder has invaded your land and taken the king and princess prisoner. Three mighty warriors step forward to bring the villain to justice: powerful fighter Ax Battler, Amazon warrior Tyris Flare and mighty dwarf Gilius Thunderhead. They will use their weapons and magic to fight their way through Death Adder’s hordes. Along the way, they’ll mount fearsome, fire-spitting beasts to help even the odds. Team up with a friend and enjoy two-player simultaneous game play for a better chance of survival.

This week’s new WiiWare games are:

Ghost Mansion Party
Publisher: Gameloft
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Mild Cartoon Violence
Price: 1,000 Wii Points = $10
Description: Fazzy the ghost has been locked out of his mansion by some evil spooks, and he’s willing to give his treasure to anyone who can chase them out. Work cooperatively and competitively with friends and family to defeat the ghosts and discover a huge hidden treasure. Travel around this wild mansion in board-game fashion, landing on mini-games that everyone can enjoy. You’ll even engage in challenges on the board itself as you try to collect magic scrolls and hints to reveal the secret word that will open the doors to the treasure. Get your Wii Remote controllers ready – you’re about to play with them in ways you’ve never imagined.

Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 3
Publisher: Telltale Games
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) – Comic Mischief, Language, Mild Suggestive Themes
Price: 1,000 Wii Points = $10
Description: In the third Tales of Monkey Island chapter, Guybrush gets in deep – literally – as his quest for the voodoo exfoliating La Esponja Grande takes a scenic detour through the guts of a giant manatee. Our hero encounters a surprising band of castaways, including the long-lost explorer Coronado De Cava. Can the Mighty Pirate win the suspicious De Cava’s trust? Will sexy pirate hunter Morgan LeFlay prove to be a ruthless enemy or an unlikely ally? Will the group find La Esponja Grande in time to save Elaine from the rampant Pox of LeChuck? And will the world be crushed by the gnashing teeth of a certain demonic skull? Tales of Monkey Island’s moist and absorbing third episode, “Lair of the Leviathan,” will answer some of these urgent questions and raise even more as the five-month adventure builds to its epic climax.

This week’s new DSiWare games are:

Sudoku
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points = $2
Description: SUDOKU offers hundreds of number-crunching puzzles that will stretch your brain power to the limit. Take it even further by playing in the exclusive Newspaper Mode. Add a daily puzzle from your favorite paper and build your very own collection. From Easy to Insane, a total of five different levels are available for novices and masters alike. Enjoy a host of grid designs that will keep you coming back for more. This worldwide phenomenon delivers an exhilarating game of logic that’s not only challenging, but also surprisingly relaxing. It’s everything you want for a quick puzzle getaway. Make life easier by taking advantage of smart features like automatic annotation for effortless calculation of your achievements. Stumped? Get help with error-checking tools and friendly cell hints. Track your stats and test your reaction time with the in-game timer. This addictive brain game has been polished to perfection and renders a sleek design that’s easy on the eyes.

PictureBook Games: The Royal Bluff
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points = $5
Description: Aristocratic opponents square off in PictureBook Games: The Royal Bluff, a game of strategy and deceit. Compete for points by adding or subtracting colored chips from rows on the game board and trying to guess each of your opponent’s secretly assigned chip colors. Once you’re confident in your deduction, issue a Call Out attempt to earn bonus points – at the risk of giving your opponent an extra point if you’re wrong. Three modes of play (Tournament, Free Play, DS Wireless Play) offer a variety of options, from facing off against an assortment of computer opponents to competing in a wireless match with up to four players. Throw Trick Cards into the mix and you’ve got a winning combination of tactics and trickery that’s sure to score points.

26 October 2009 13:06
Ferry

Just found out the surprise WiiWare announcement on the Nintendo Channel is Excitebike World Rally, in 2.5D with online multiplayer, due out November 9th!

27 October 2009 20:01
Uriel

PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME! i really want to get zombies ate my neighbors! but my stupid wii wont update!i get error code 32007! and i went to nintendos official website and it says that the error code means that a lot of people are updating the wii and therefore i cant! please help me out, i also wanted to get lostwinds, but cannot

28 October 2009 05:45
Ferry

Hi Uriel, I’m not sure if I had the exact same code, but a little while ago I had a similar warning about the Wii online servers being too busy. For me it turned out that at that moment my wireless internet connection was in fact too slow! So what I did was reset my internet modem and wireless router and that fixed it for me.

If that doesn’t work, you can always call the Nintendo helpline for support, their number is in your Wii manual (usually in the front or back).