The LoadDown -- 01/19/2012

What's new online?  This stuff!


WiiWare -- One new title, a first-person fantasy/RPG/melee game called Stonekeep: Bones of the Ancestors.  The graphics are simplistic by modern standards, and there doesn't appear to be much structure to it, but at 500 points I'm tempted to indulge in its old-fashioned King's Field/Dungeon Master/early Elder Scrolls style.

DSiWare -- Two new titles are up for the DSi and 3DS.  Gaia's Moon is a side-scrolling flying game that looks like a shooter, but is actually more of a dodger, as the player must avoid all manner of obstacles and enemies while being unable to do anything about them.  Anne's Doll Studio: Gothic Collection is a dress-up creativity toy with sharing and saving features.

3DS eShop -- One new release, yet another 2-D black-and-white Game Boy title in virtual form -- the arcade semi-classic Lock'N Chase, a maze game officially adapted by Mattel back in the day and released in handheld form in 1990 by its coin-op parent, Data East.  (In other news, Nintendo is now making free downloadable demos for retail 3DS titles available, starting with Capcom's Resident Evil Revelations this week.)

XBox Live Arcade -- Two unusual, visually unique titles arrive on the XBox 360 this week.  Haunt is a Kinect-based, E-for-Everyone-rated horror game, where the player uses hand gestures to aim a flashlight and open ominous doors and containers, from Masaya Matsuura, creator of Parappa the Rapper.  Scarygirl brings the long-running graphic novel character (and Hong Kong vinyl sensation) to side-scrolling, platformy life.

PS3 on PSN -- A fallow week on the PS3 PSN front this week.  But I'm sure it won't last.

PSOne Classics -- Also quiet here.  Time for PS3 owners to catch up on those games they've meaning to download but never got around to.

Notable on Steam --  For PC gamers, Sega's got Sonic the Hedgehog 4 - Episode 1 (is there ever going to be an Episode 2?) and a PC port of Sonic CD, along with a general sale on all things Sonic this weekend.  Also, indie adventure game studio Wadjet Eye Games' point-and-click Blackwell Legacy series is now available on Steam;  I've recently been playing the company's sci-fi adventure Gemini Rue, and having a great time with it.