The LoadDown - 02/08/2010 - Blaster Master Overdrive

Our weekly survey of newly available games that don't require a trip to the store...

WiiWare -- A whopping 4 new games this week.  The first is a very pleasant surprise -- SUNSOFT and Gaijin Works debut Blaster Master Overdrive, a sequel to the classic 8-bit NES game in very much the original style.  I loved the first game back in the day, but the sequels and remakes never managed to recapture the magic, so I'm hoping this one may be more true to its inspiration.  We also get Tomena Sanner, a frenetic and very Japanese action/rhythm game from Konami; Bloons, a simple balloon-popping puzzle game; and Hubert the Teddy Bear Winter Games, a casual multiplayer game collection inspired by (but not licensed by) the upcoming Winter Olympics.

Wii Virtual Console -- One game this week, and it's an unusual one -- Hudson Soft's cheerfully bizarre NES RPG Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom, starring a bevy of heroic vegetables.

DSiWare -- 5 games this week.  Oscar in Movieland is a platforming sequel to the earlier Toyland game.  Link 'n Launch is a sliding tile-path puzzle game similar to the classic Locomotion, with a rocketry theme.  Fieldrunners is a tower defense game with very nice visuals.  Sudoku 4Pockets brings sudoku fans another 3600 puzzles to while away the months.  Extreme Hangman is a hangman game with a variety of comically violent (E10+) ways for the poor man to meet his demise.

XBox Live Arcade -- Last week saw the release of Chime, a music/puzzle game with a very interesting lineup of tunes including work by Moby and Philip Glass.  I haven't had a chance to try it out myself; there's not a lot to the game, but at 400 points (with some proceeds going to charity) it seems to be finding an audience.

PSN Store -- The PS3 saw the release of Fret Nice, a downloadable musical platforming game that can be (but need not be) played with a guitar peripheral.  Reviews have been lukewarm but it's an interesting experiment.