Over at the WiiWare section we have one new game: Pop’Em Drop’Em. It’s one of those puzzle games where you match the blocks. For 500 points, it doesn’t seem too bad to have something casual like this, but it seems like there could be several of these as java games online (I’m just saying) for free. This one is definitely for the puzzle people with 500 points they can spare.

More information from Nintendo below:

WiiWare

Pop’Em Drop’Em SAMEGAME (Hudson Entertainment, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points): SAMEGAME is a simple yet engrossing puzzle game where you must clear matching blocks in sets of two or more. Score high by clearing out more blocks at once. If you manage to clear the entire grid, you can keep on playing with a whole new layout. Getting rid of all those blocks is the key to racking up points. Adjust the difficulty level in a one-player game by trying different grid sizes and multiple colors. Up to four players can face off in any one of three multiplayer modes. “Fame Game,” the most straightforward choice, is similar to the one-player version. “Shame Game” turns the tables by forcing players to go for the lowest score. “Blame Game” is a free-for-all as everyone vies for blocks on one big grid. Choose from different block styles, background graphics and music to customize your playing experience.

Virtual Console

Bomberman®’94 (TurboGrafx16, 1-5 players, Rated E for Everyone—Comic Mischief, 700 Wii Points): Bomberman has arrived to restore peace on the planet, which has been split into five parts by an evil hand. In addition to the nine members of the Bomber Family, the character Rooi shows up to lend a hand. Jump on the eggs that appear from destroyed soft blocks and you can ride one of five types of Rooi. Each Rooi has different special abilities—use them well and you’ll ride to victory.

DETANA TWIN BEE (TurboGrafx16, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone—Mild Cartoon Violence, 700 Wii Points): It’s the popular vertical-scrolling shooter renowned for its cute and comical world. Here come Twinbee and Winbee on a mission to save the planet from evil alien invaders. Standing in their way are six stages full of goofy enemies. Play as Twinbee in single-player mode, or team up with Winbee in two-player cooperative mode. With powerful attacks like Big Shot, or Twin Attack and Burst Attack in two-player mode, there’s plenty of sting in their arsenal. Use your Shot to transform Bells into items with various effects. Stock up on these bad boys to expand your attack range and really have a blast.

WiiWare

BIT.TRIP BEAT (Aksys Games, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone, 600 Wii Points): BIT.TRIP BEAT is a rhythm game that brings retro action into the present, letting you use the motion-sensing Wii Remote™ controller to bounce beats. Retro visuals, classic game play, four-player multiplayer and an 8-bit soundtrack will get you in the zone and rock your world. The challenges are mighty, but if you can stay cool as the difficulty increases, you’ll discover the beginnings of the BIT.TRIP saga.

Virtual Console

Summer Games II™ (Commodore 64, 1-8 players, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points): A thousand athletes. A hundred countries. Billions watching around the world as you enter the stadium, marching confidently among your nation’s strongest, fastest and boldest young men and women. Your gaze sweeps the crowd as you realize the scope of your achievement. You are about to compete against the world’s best athletes in a 3,000-year-old competition. This is the pinnacle of athletic achievement: the Summer Games. Summer Games II challenges your competitive skills with a series of athletic contests for one to eight players. Experience the excitement and realism of eight different events: cycling, equestrian, fencing, high jump, javelin, kayaking, rowing and triple jump. Practice each event to sharpen your skills, then choose from the 18 countries you can represent in the competition.

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• The Weekly Wii Update Has a Secret [Wii Downloadables] (kotaku.com)

There are some good music choices for the beginning of March. Here’s what we got this week:

Rock Band

We got one straggler from the No Doubt update from a few months ago:

• “New” - No Doubt ($1.99)

Our big update is a full album. Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble have their full album, Texas Flood. As always the tracks individually are $1.99 and for the whole album, it’s $15.99. Here is the full list:

• “Dirty Pool”
• “I’m Cryin’”
• “Lenny”
• “Love Struck Baby”
• “Mary Had a Little Lamb”
• “Pride and Joy”
• “Rude Mood”
• “Tell Me”
• “Testify”
• “Texas Flood”

Guitar Hero World Tour

We have (i’m assuming) some European tracks this week. Each track is $1.99 and there is the European Track Pack 03 which is 5.49 and includes the three songs this week:

• “Break It Out” by Vanilla Sky
• “C’est Comme Ca - Les Rita Mitsouko
• “In the Shadows” by The Rasmus

Lips

We got three tracks this week, all three quite poppy and catchy.

• “Hook Me Up” – The Veronicas
• “Lips of an Angel” – Hinder
• “Shake It” – Metro Station

There apparently is an update to the actual game coming soon. The Lips Title Update includes song leaderboards, a mic calibration tool, and a news ticker for DLC announcements and other Lips-related updates.

It’s a snow day for me and how do I celebrate? One of my favorite childhood games has come out on the Virtual Console. I doubt that many people played Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen. It’s a great game that reminds me of Populous, probably the reason I like it so much. It’s mostly an RTS, with some Japanese-RPG elements, and I’m not just talking about the anime style. I almost beat the game, but some of those enemies are hard. Quite hard. I also took a long time on each level, so I probably would have gotten the “Really Bad” ending. Eh, it’s okay. Even more of a time warp, I realized the game was originally rated “K-A” wow. I miss confusing age ranges.

For the WiiWare we have a family game: “Family & Friends Party.” Sounds like a Mario Party/Monopoly esque game. I guess if you have seven friends, I’d suggest it. This one is only 1000 points, so it could be budget alternative. This also seems like it would have been rated “K-A.”

Here’s some more info from the press release:

WiiWare™

Family & Friends Party (Gammick Entertainment, 1-8 players, Rated E for Everyone, 1,000 Wii Points): Have fun with all your friends and family as you take on some very exciting challenges. This is an interactive board game for as many as eight players of all ages. The goal is to be the first to complete a series of challenges. During each turn, a challenge will be played by one or two players per team depending on the type of challenge you’ve been given. (Other players on your team can still help and support you). There are six different “Single” challenges that must be played cooperatively by members of the same team. Family & Friends Party can also suggest “Versus” challenges, which must be played competitively by all teams at the same time.

Virtual Console™

Ogre Battle™: The March of the Black Queen™ (Super NES™, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone, 800 Wii Points): It’s up to you to defeat the Empire. It’s been nearly a quarter of a century since the Zetegenian Empire first conquered the Kingdoms of Zenobia with a wrath of fear and bloodshed. You are the leader of a band of rebels who’ve fought to preserve the last shred of honor in this desperate time of treachery. Manage the ranks of a full-blown rebel army, complete with hundreds of characters, magic items, weapons and mystical Tarot cards. You must succeed in ousting the evil usurpers-your fate, and that of the entire population, depends on it.


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Rock Band

We get a whole bunch of stuff this week for Rock Band DLC. A 5-pack of alternative country style music, and a 3-pack of Jimmy Eat World songs. I’m a fan of Neko Case and never knew how to categorize her. I had her under independent. “Alt Country” is actually an interesting phrase.

Alt Country 5-Pack

• Drive By Truckers: 3 Dimes Down
• Lucinda Williams: Can’t Let Go
• Neko Case: People Got a Lot of Nerve
• Old 97s: Time Bomb (LIVE)
• Steve Earle: Satellite Radio

Jimmy Eat World 3-Pack

• Jimmy Eat World: Futures
• Jimmy Eat World: Lucky Denver Mint
• Jimmy Eat World: Sweetness

Each track is $1.99 or 160 Points. The Alt Country pack is $8.49 or 680 Points, and the Jimmy Eat World pack is $5.49 or 440 Points. I’m almost floored in the fact that they have a 5-pack out, which is great to see. Especially since all five are different.

Wii players will get the following songs from The Cars this week.

• Good Times Roll
• My Best Friend’s Girl
• In In Touch With Your World
• Don’t Cha Stop
• You’re All I’ve Got Tonight
• Bye Bye Love
• Moving In Stereo
• All Mixed Up

Guitar Hero: World Tour

I’m almost floored because I never noticed that the song that they use in their commercials. Finally “Old Time Rock & Roll” and two other Bob Seger songsare available. The Bob Seger Track Pack, priced at $5.49/440 Points, includes these songs:

• Old Time Rock & Roll
• Her Strut
• Get Out of Denver

Each song is also available individually for $1.99/160 Points each.

Lips

Here is the list of Lips songs available. The first three are up for 160 MS points each. I’m not sure about the next three, especially with the prices wavering between 160 and 180.

• How To Save A Life by The Fray
• Swing Life Away by Rise
• Speed Up by Funkerman
• The Adventure by Angels and Airwaves
• Amber by 311
• In The Shadows by The Rasmus

So it turns out that the cryptic clues that Nintendo sent out were actually clues about the Commodore 64, Earthbound fans have to wait another day. We have three classics from the Commodore 64, each 500 points. The three 8-bit games are: The Last Ninja, International Karate, and Pitstop II. I’m just hoping that the controls are somewhat responsive, from what I recall the controller only had a joystick and two buttons which seems perfect for the Wii. But really is 500 points worth it when one could buy those cheesy “25 Games in one” plug-ins for a better price? I may be cynical because the game quality just doesn’t seem worth it to me.

Over on WiiWare, there finally is some form of First Person Shooter. There is wi-fi usage and aliens. I’m assuming that any fan of the FPS should consider. Granted, the Wii still has the age and reach problems (younger, and Nintendo seemly wants more females) and this game may be lost in the shuffle.

Here’s some more information:

WiiWare

Onslaught (Hudson Entertainment, 1-4 players, Rated T for Teen—Animated Blood, Violence, 1,000 Wii Points): Onslaught is an FPS that puts you in the middle of a futuristic war between humans and insectoid aliens. Become part of the Elite Interstellar Strike Force and fight against an overwhelming onslaught of alien life forms. Enjoy the rush of mowing down wave after wave of aliens with machine guns, grenades and more. Feel your heart pound as you battle gigantic boss aliens. Beyond the normal game, Onslaught includes additional modes that let you play with rivals from around the world using Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Team up with as many as three other players in Free Battle mode, or compete on special maps to see who can get the most points by killing enemies before time runs out in Ranking Battle mode. (Router and broadband access required for online play. For more info, go to www.nintendo.com.)

Virtual Console

The Last Ninja™ (Commodore 64, 1 player, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older—Animated Blood, Mild Violence, 500 Wii Points): The evil Shogun Kunitoki has long envied the powers of the Ninja brotherhood and would do anything to acquire their knowledge. To this end, he has sworn an oath to their total destruction. Once every decade, all Ninja must travel to the Island of Lin Fen, where they pay homage to the Shrine of the White Ninja and receive further teachings from the Koga Scrolls. Seizing the opportunity, Kunitoki summoned forth all the spirits from the depths of the Nether World and flung their full force against the amassed Ninja. None escaped the wrath of Kunitoki. Word of this unnatural disaster soon reached Armakuni, the last Ninja. Gathering all his courage, he has sworn to wreak a terrible revenge on the Shogun and all his followers. What unforeseen hazards await him?

INTERNATIONAL KARATE™ (Commodore 64, 1-2 players, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older—Mild Violence, 500 Wii Points): INTERNATIONAL KARATE is a simulation of a karate tournament in which one person can play against the computer or two players can compete against each other. During the game, you’ll fly to various locations around the world. In all stages of the game, a wise old judge will watch over you and award you either a half-point or a full point, depending on how successful a hit has been.

Pitstop II™ (Commodore 64, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points): Pitstop II was the first game that brought serious auto racing action to the computer screen—the thrill of battling an opponent, the excitement of fighting for the lead out on the track, and the suspense of struggling to be the first out of the pits. Third-person graphics and a split-screen display allow one or two players to experience the challenge of car racing head-to-head. Six of the world’s toughest tracks are waiting, from Brands Hatch and its hairpin turns to the mile-long straight of Vallelunga. You can practice against the computer, but nothing will compare to the fun of racing against another person. Indeed, Pitstop II proves that car racing was never meant to be a solo sport.

Rock Band DLC

Rock band seems to be having a little bit of slim pickings this week:

• Wasted Again - Turbonegro
• Black Sunshine - White Zombie
• More Human Than Human - White Zombie

We got ourselves three rock tracks for Rock Band this week. Each track is $1.99, but there is no track pack version of the three this week. I guess it’s spring cleaning until next week’s double pack. There’s definitely a lot happening next week.

The Wii is also slowly catching up with their downloadables. This week’s line-up includes seven master recordings from Nirvana’s popular Nevermind album. The songs are:

• Breed
• Lounge Act
• On a Plain
• Polly
• Something in the Way
• Stay Away
• Territorial Pissings

The seven Nirvana tracks are available now. Each track will cost $2 or 200 Wii Points.

Guitar Hero World Tour DLC

Paul McCartney fans rejoice, there are three Wings tracks. The pack itself is ($5.49) and each individual track is $1.99, as always.

Wings Track Pack

• Jet
• Junior’s Farm
• Hi, Hi, Hi

It’s not the Beatles, but the songs are still quite catchy.

This week for the Wii we have a very space theme. The games this week are Evasive Space and Life Force

Life Force is actually based off of Gradius. Personally, I love the Gradius series. Sure, I’m not great at it, but you always need a side scroller/shooting game. I just recall that all of the different superpowers. If you’re a big fan of the series and haven’t played it already, I would also suggest Gradius III which has been out for the Virtual Console for almost a year.

For Evasive Space, I like the colorfulness of the game, but I would definitely suggest making sure that your Wii-mote is well calibrated. I have a slight problem with having to hold up the Wii-mote up almost the whole time, but the game looks quite creative.

Nintendo has also given a cryptic clue for something that will be released. They use the words “fun surprise” so I’m not sure whether it means a game or not. This is their clue:

From AZ to NC, if you’re a fan, your applause could rattle your walls, windows, door. You might enjoy this news whether you live in a brick house or Vanderbilt dorm. Even people living along Route 286 in rural Pennsylvania ought to be excited. It’ll feel like a bunch of birthday greetings and, really, who could ask for more?

I dunno, but I guess we’ll have to wait. Here’s more info about the two games below:

WiiWare

Evasive Space™ (Yukes Company of America, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone – Mild Fantasy Violence, 1,000 Wii Points): Launch a one-of-a-kind mission to rescue the stars. The universe is going dark, and it’s up to you, Konki the Stellar Guardian, to set things right. Dr. Dark Matter and his roving band of space thieves have stolen many of the Constellation Stones that make up the heavens. It’s time to suit up, power up, recover the Stones and once again bring light to the night sky. Using the Wii Remote™ controller’s unique pointer capabilities, simply point and thrust Konki through 20 dangerous time- and collection-based missions in the harshest of environments. Navigate through narrow, mazelike astral caves riddled with space worms, steam pipes and mining drills. Explore vast space stations while avoiding turret fire, mines and huge crushing gears. Weave through cluttered asteroid fields and gaseous planetary rings. Evade the hazards, pick up precious items and ship upgrades, and save the Constellation Stones before the night sky is lost forever.

Virtual Console

Life Force (NES, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone – Mild Fantasy Violence, 500 Wii Points): This classic shooter, originally ported to the NES in August 1988, is a spin-off of the seminal Gradius series. Pilot the Vic Viper through six stages of intense action, alternating between horizontally and vertically scrolling environments, and take on wave after wave of enemies. Destroy particular enemies throughout the game (which takes place within the body of an enormous alien) to release power-up capsules and equip your ship with your choice of more powerful weapons, extra speed and shields. Utilize the power-ups carefully, though, as a fearsome guardian lurks at the end of each stage and won’t be easily defeated. You can go it alone or bring along a friend to take on the challenge simultaneously. Do you have what it takes to save your planet?

Rock Band

Our downloads this week come from the Fratellis.

• The Fratellis - Creeping Up the Back Stairs
• The Fratellis - Flathead
• The Fratellis - Henrietta

As always, the tracks are $1.99 (160) or 5.49 (440) for The Fratellis 01 pack.

And since the Wii is still trying to play catch-up here is their weekly downloads:

• Rush “Tom Sawyer”
• Rush “Red Barchetta”
• Rush “YYZ’”
• Rush “Limelight”
• Rush “The Camera Eye”
• Rush “Witch Hunt”
• Rush “Vital Signs”

All tracks are original master recordings. Remember the price is 200 Wii points (aka $2) per track.

Guitar Hero

We have what they are calling the “Acoustic Track Pack” :

• Incubus - “Drive”
• The Shins - “New Slang”
• Ryan Adams - “Wonderwall” (cover)

For this week it’s all about “acoustic” hits. Totally love the songs “Drive” and “Wonderwall” (cover or not). I would definitely suggest them myself. You can purchase the songs individually for 160 MS Points, $1.99 on PSN, or 200 Wii Points. The track packs will cost 440 MS Points $5.49 on the PSN.

Lips DLC

And for the pop stars…

• Olivia Newton John – “Magic” (160)
• Avril Lavigne – “My Happy Ending” (160)
• The Pussycat Dolls featuring Snoop Dogg – “Buttons” (160)

My personal suggestion? Probably the Pussycat Dolls track. Mix that with some seductive dancing and you got yourselves a Lips party! Find someone and sing to them. That will attract a mate. Lol.

Mario Paint? A music game? Yeah, the 1992, Super Nintendo favorite brought one of the most creative outlets for music production. The very basic music composer that was included in the game was a breakthrough. Sure there were only three songs packaged in the game (including the Mario theme) and the measures were limited (about 24 if I recall correctly). You had the ability to make your song 3/4 or 4/4 time and there were several “instruments” that you could play. My favorite was the face that made some odd baby sound.

There are a lot of games that come with peripherals, but the Mouse was perfect. It was something so 80s/90s with the emergence of the home computer (aka the PC). There weren’t many games that supported the mouse but this one was well worth the buy.

On a side note, I loved the Gnat Attack game. Swatting bugs? Only Nintendo could get away with something oddly everyday and make it fun.

This game would fit perfectly for the Wii and Nintendo should consider. Especially with the gaming genre spreading out to more casual players, a game like Mario Paint would be great for children, adults, men, women, anyone really. The Wii-mote would be a decent replacement for the mouse, though if one could plug in either a USB mouse or a Gamecube-plug based mouse; that would be amazing.

Anyone who needs a Mario Paint music fix can Google “Mario Paint Composer” . There have been several versions created so find the one that’s best for you.

Here are some of my favorites:
– Sonic’s Green Hill Zone
– The Beach Boys: I Get Around
– Street Fighter 2: Balrog’s Stage

The last song brings back some good memories of Street Fighter 2, but that’s another day of reminiscing.

LIT actually seems like fun, except for the fact that your eyes may bug from straining at the television. It’s funny, I just played X-Files for the PS2 this weekend and all I was using was the Flashlight. I think the game is an interesting puzzle/horror concept. The graphics are a little Playstation-ish, but definately one to look forward to.

More info below:

WiiWare

LIT (WayForward Technologies, 1 player, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older—Violence, 800 Wii Points): Dark creatures have taken over Jake’s high school, and it’s up to you to guide him through each classroom in order to be reunited with his girlfriend Rachael. Existing light sources must be used smartly to create bridges of light for Jake to cross. One false step and Jake gets pulled into the darkness. Along the way he’ll encounter twisted versions of his school’s faculty, which must be battled in order to advance. LIT is a horror/puzzle game that requires the Wii Remote™ and Nunchuk™ controllers. It contains 30 levels, five boss battles, replay modes and several unlockables, including multiple endings, Dark Mode timed challenges and an unlockable character.

Virtual Console

Wolf of the Battlefield™: MERCS (SEGA GENESIS, 1 player, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older—Mild Violence, 800 Wii Points): Following a rash of terrorism outbreaks and increasing opposition from guerilla fighters, the U.S. government has decided to hire a group of professional mercenaries to undergo secret missions, battling through enemy lines to go where no ordinary soldier would dare to go. Based on the popular arcade game, the SEGA GENESIS version of MERCS lets you play as a MERC and also adds an original mode, allowing players to choose from five different characters. Take no prisoners as you shoot, drive jeeps and tanks, and clash against huge bosses to accomplish your mission.

Rock Band DLC

This week our Rock Band DLC brings us some Irish hard rock from Thin Lizzy, as well as the Pretenders and Pat Benetar. Also someone named Nikko from the Nickelodeon channel is included.

Thin Lizzy 3-Pack

• Thin Lizzy - Boys Are Back In Town (Live)
• Thin Lizzy - Cowboy Song (Live)
• Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak (Live)

The pack is $5.49 (440 Microsoft Points) for the Thin Lizzy 3 pack.

• The Pretenders - Precious
• Pat Benatar - Hit Me With Your Best Shot
• Nikko - Break My Heart
• Nikko - Don’t Tell Me

These tracks will be $1.99 (160 Microsoft Points) and the two Nikko tracks will be $0.99 (80 Microsoft Points) each. These tracks will be released Tuesday for Xbox and Thursday for Playstation.

Guitar Hero World Tour

This week’s theme for GH is Southern Rock Track Pack. I would definately suggest the CCR track, but the other two are great.

• Creedence Clearwater Revival- Commotion
• Ram Jam - Black Betty
• ZZ Top - Gimme All Your Lovin’

The Southern Rock Track Pack is available via Xbox LIVE Marketplace for 440 Microsoft Points and from the PlayStation Store for $5.49. The songs are also available as singles for 160 Microsoft Points, $1.99 from the PlayStation Store and 200 Wii Points.

Lips

• Fallin’ – Alicia Keys (180)
• In My Place – Coldplay (180)
• Building a Mystery – Sarah McLachlan  (160)

There apparently is a Grammy theme this week to celebrate for the Grammy’s on Sunday. The prices are still floppy, but I would actually only suggest the Sarah McLachlan song anyway.

Fun Fact: The Japanese version of Karaoke Revolution isn’t much of a revolution, it actually is just the karaoke section without the pitch grading.

Visually this game doesn’t really push the bar. Even the most modern versions of this game still looks quite like the Playstation 2 version. Then again, why are you looking at the background and not the words?

After they quickly got rid of the headset and instead used the Microphone the game went up levels. The best part about the mics? They are USB so they could be used for other singing games. I personally plug in mine to my computer whenever I use Skype. The Microphone works for several games including Rock Band and High School Musical: Sing It. Somehow SingStar microphones aren’t compatible but that’s just confusing.

The latter versions of Karaoke Revolution started adding American Idol, an easy progression. The first Idol version didn’t have Paula Abdul, but instead Laura. Don’t worry, Laura equally didn’t really bring much to the table either. Paula showed up in latter versions with American Idol attached to it. The three judges look accurate enough, but still have that weird silly avatar look to it.

My biggest criticism for the latter games that wasn’t a flaw in the earlier game was the limited number of songs. The original game had about 36/37 songs. All of the latter games have 40 songs. Although the PS3 and Xbox360 games make you download the songs (after purchase of course) both of those disks could hold so much more. Many of the songs that are available for download aren’t even new. There are about 84 songs on Rock Band 2.

All in all, like most music games Karaoke Revolution is a fun party game. Secretly it makes a great solo game. Trying to teach yourself how to keep pitch, breathing techniques, and correct posture are great things for a singer. …Then again if you don’t have it, sometimes you can’t grow.

This week on the Wii we got two WiiWare games and one for the Vitrual Console. I remember Sonic Chaos as a kid and all I remember was that this game was quite slippery. Possibly because I was playing the Game Gear version. The now defunct Electronic Gaming Monthly gave Sonic Chaos the Best Game Gear Game of 1993 Award.

As for Snowboard Riot, I think the biggest draw is the fact that you can use the Wii Fit’s Balance Board as one of the ways to control your character. I’m not exactly sure how you do 360 spins with it, but I assume that it involves your wii-mote. It seems like there is only four characters to pick from.

Here’s the info from the Press Release:

WiiWare

Snowboard Riot™ (Hudson Entertainment, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone-Mild Fantasy Violence, 1,000 Wii Points): This snowboard racing and battle game can be enjoyed by multiple players and is compatible with the Wii Balance Board™ accessory. In an intense scramble for first place, guide your character down the slopes while snatching up items to attack and defend against rivals along the way. Up to four players can battle and participate in various ranking modes via Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection.

LONPOS (Nintendo, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone, 800 Wii Points): Looking for a puzzle game that anyone can play, but still offers plenty to master? Look no further than LONPOS, with its straightforward premise and large variety of puzzles to solve. Each puzzle revolves around a rectangular playing field of 55 spaces. Using a set of 12 pieces, the goal is to place every piece into the playing field, filling it completely. The higher the level, the more pieces you’ll need to fit correctly into the playing field. Challenge yourself with two single-player modes or bring a friend to compete against or cooperate with. When you think your skills are worthy, use Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection to check out how you compare with other LONPOS players or download additional puzzles and backgrounds. (Router and broadband access required for online play. For more info, go to www.nintendo.com.)

Virtual Console

Sonic Chaos™ (SEGA MASTER SYSTEM, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points): Play as Sonic or Tails in Sonic Chaos, which was originally made for the SEGA MASTER SYSTEM. Dr. Eggman (a.k.a. Dr. Robotnik) has stolen the Red Chaos Emerald to create nuclear weapons. This has thrown the remaining Chaos Emeralds off balance, causing them to transport to a parallel universe. As a result, Sonic’s home, South Island, is sinking into the ocean. Speed through various levels in your crusade for the six Chaos Emeralds. Perform Strike Dashes and Super-Peel Outs as Sonic, or Spin Dash and Fly as Tails, and restore order in Sonic Chaos.

Rock Band

This week for our Rock Band DLC we get another helping of the Grateful Dead. Six tracks in all.

Hell In a Bucket
Don’t Ease Me In
Cold Rain & Snow
Doin’ That Rag
Fire On the Mountain
Uncle John’s Band

These tracks will be available on Xbox 360 in the Xbox Live Marketplace on January 27th, and they will be up on the Playstation 3 in the Playstation Store on Thursday January 29th. They’ll cost $1.99 (aka 160 Microsoft Points) apiece, or $9.99 (aka 800 Microsoft points) for the full Grateful Dead 6 pack.

Wii players will be able to grab the following songs starting Tuesday the 27th.

Smashing Pumpkins - Siva
The Cars - Just What I Needed
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Gimme Three Steps
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Tell Me Baby
Oasis - Live Forever
30 Seconds to Mars - Attack

Guitar Hero World Tour

The Track Pack will have his classic anthem Born to Run, and his new single My Lucky Day. The pack coincides with his newest album release Working On A Dream.

You might want to hurry as the limited time is from Tuesday till Wednesday Feb. 4th to download for free. As of February 5th, you will have to shell out $3.99

“Born to Run” Bruce Springsteen
“My Lucky Day” Bruce Springsteen

The Oasis album Dig Out Your Soul, has been available since the 27th. The full album will be available for download for 18.99 dollars or 1520 Microsoft Points.

“The Turning”
“I’m Outta Time”
“(Get Off Your) High Horse Lady”
“Falling Down”
“To Be Where There’s Life”
“Ain’t Got Nothin’”
“Nature of Reality”
“Soldier On”

Lips

Lips continues their odd pricing scale with their three songs this week. I’m still under the assumption that they overpriced one (Rihanna) because they assume that she will sell the most.

“Sunday Morning” by Maroon 5 (160 MP)
“Take A Bow” by Rihanna (180 MP)
“Water Runs Dry” by Boyz II Men (160 MP)

Mad Maestro! was released in 2002 under the Fresh Games label. The label to this day only created five games and probably the one I remember the most from the five was Mister Mosquito. The whole game had a very Japanese feel to it and I appreciate Eidos for attempting to bring it to the US. The premise basically revolves around a conductor (Takt) and his youth orchestra. He is asked to help save the concert hall of Bravo Town. Somehow, by playing their classical music around the town they save the town.

I never really understood the premise, because most of the time you were practicing your music on the locals. Convincing people that they love each other is nice and I like the idea that music can heal your situation. I find it odd that the whole town dances with you when you do well, but I love when you’re messing up that it rains heavily and gets dark.

Oddly enough, the controls are similar to Britney’s Dance Beat, where the controls are based off of the clock-like diamond, but the difference is that the diamond would actually change size with the tempo. That and the direction is usually counter-clockwise. One of the best things is that the game actually used the sensitivity, if you pressed too hard or soft you got penalized.

Visually, I thought the game was solid in it’s color choices. They were very bright and cheery, and got really depressive as you started to go downhill. I thought that visually, the Circus scene was probably the most colorful and freaky at the same time.

The classical music chosen for the game was great. There was a lot of unlockable music content as well. One normally doesn’t hear classical music in a rhythm/dance game so it was a happy change of pace. I doubt anyone would be converted to listening to classical music based off of this game, but it might have become a ring tone.

The game was underrated, as is most of the really Japanese music genre. This one definitely was an odd combination of colors, sounds, and controls, but it was oddly gratifying.

Players of Metal Gear Online rejoice!  Today Konami is releasing a new mission. The Bomb Mission is free to all registered MGO users and it will automatically be added when players sign in.

Here’s an excerpt from the press release:

In the new mission, the offensive team’s objectives will be to detonate a bomb at a targeted location in the map and protect it until it explodes. The defending team must protect its stronghold and prevent the planted bombs from detonating by using a special coolant to nullify an activated bomb and stop the attacking team from approaching the base. To complete the mission and come out victorious the attacking team must detonate the bomb within the mission time limit if they fail the defending team wins.

It’s nice to see Konami release free items to the masses. If you recall there are several downloads for MGO, but you have to download those. But the bomb mission is free. So go online and have fun.

Rock Band

Eight new tunes will be hitting the street today from the folks at Harmonix and MTV. These include a three pack from the Steve Miller Band and some great singles.  Regular pricing of 160 MS points ($1.99) per track or 440 ($5.49) for the SMB pack applies.

Steve Miller Band “Space Cowboy”
Steve Miller Band “Take the Money and Run”
Steve Miller Band “The Joker”

Godsmack “I Stand Alone”
Belly “Feed the Tree”
Ghost Hounds “Wind Me Up”
Mute Math “Typical”
Rob Zombie “War Zone”

If you Have a Wii, these songs are now available:

Nine Inch Nails “March of the Pigs”
Nine Inch Nails “The Collector”
The Ramones “Rockaway Beach”
The Clash “I Fought The Law”
Jimmy Buffett “Margaritaville”
Jimmy Buffett “Volcano”

All six tracks will be available for 200 Wii Points each. At this time, the Wii still can’t handle track packs.

Guitar Hero World Tour

This week we hace the “Australian Rock” Track Pack, the songs are 440 Microsoft Points ($5.49)

Silverchair  “Tomorrow”
Wolfmother  “Dimension”
The Vines “Outtathaway!”

Lips

I still don’t exactly understand why some songs cost more than others. Blame Microsoft.

Hate That I Love You - Rihanna feat. Ne-Yo (180 MP)
Thnks fr th Mmrs - Fall Out Boy(160 MP)
Look What You’ve Done - Jet (160 MP)