The LoadDown -- 12/08/2011

We're in the busy period between Thanksgiving and the Winter Solstice holidays here in the US, which means there may not be much time for gaming for many of us grown-up gamers.  Too bad, because there are some interesting new downloadable titles hitting the wirewaves...


WiiWare -- One new game and one free demo this week.  New tower-defense title Paper Wars: Cannon Fodder -- which sadly is no relation to Sensible Software's classic Amiga military comedy/strategy game Cannon Fodder -- takes an odd marketing approach, proclaiming itself the "worst game ever" due to its paper cutout-style graphics and self-described "annoying sound effects."  There's also a free trial demo of September's release MotoHeroz.

DSiWare -- Two new games here for the DSi and 3DS.  Castle Conqueror -- Against (listed as Against - Castle Conqueror on its own title screen) strives to give off a Conan the Barbarian vibe, but it's yet another tower-defense game and a fairly simplistic one at that.  There's also Word Searcher 4, a.k.a. Searcher 4 Word (just kidding).


3DS eShop -- One new title this week, and this time it's not just an emulated classic Game Boy title. Pushmo is a neat puzzle/platform game that makes good use of the system's 3D capabilities, as the player must push and pull platforms in and out to make a path to the goal.  Nintendo seems to be giving this one some marketing support, so maybe we'll see more downloadable activity on the 3DS.  The 3DS also gets a system update this weekend that allows users to shoot 3D video using the system's stereo camera.


XBox Live Arcade --  One new, family-friendly title this week: Apples to Apples, an XBLA adaptation of the popular party game that for once doesn't look like it abandons the original concept for the sake of technology.


PS3 on PSN -- One new game here -- Wanted Corp, a sci-fi bounty-hunting twin-stick shooter.


PSOne Classics --  This platform has been fairly lively of late.  Another classic RPG title arrives with Square-Enix's Final Fantasy VI, ported to the Playstation from the SNES in 1999.

Notable on Steam -- I'm going to experiment with something new here; I am not going to try to list every title that shows up for PC/Mac gamers on Valve's Steam service, because there's just so much going on there.  But when there's something truly new and interesting I'll try to mention it here.  This week saw the release of some major new content for the 2008 tower-defense hit Defense Grid: The Awakening -- the new 8-level package You Monster features GLaDOS, the psychologically manipulative AI personality from Valve's Portal games, who changes up the rules between waves to bring new and entertaining challenges to this excellent game, while insisting she's doing nothing of the sort. I've been wondering when a proper sequel might be in the works -- this $4.99 add-on works for me!