This week features EA's SimAnimals for Wii and DS, the long-awaited release of Ultimate Shooting Collection, and Southpeak's latest DS game, Big Bang Mini.
This quiet week features a few new releases, including EA's SimAnimals for Wii and DS, Tommo's Ultimate Shooting Collection for Wii, Southpeak's Big Bang Mini for DS, Dreamcatcher's Inkheart, and Majesco's WonderWorld Amusement Park.
In the downloadable content realm, Guitar Hero: World Tour and Rock Band 2 both add more tracks. Guitar Hero: World Tour gains three more songs from the Australian Rock Pack while Rock Band 2 adds six more songs from the backlog.
Wii Games
SimAnimalsPublisher: Electronic Arts Cost: $49.99 ESRB Rating: Everyone EA's SimAnimals is basically the Sims, but instead of screwing with people, you screw with animals. The player must manage the lives and relationships of different animals so he can journey deep within the forest and unlock different areas like woodlands and swamps. SimAnimals features more than 30 animals from the Northern Hemisphere such as bears, foxes, owls, and rabbits. Also, there is a four-player cooperative mode exclusively for the Wii version. |
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Ultimate Shooting CollectionPublisher: Tommo Cost: $29.99 ESRB Rating: Everyone The oft-delayed Ultimate Shooting Collection contains three different vertical shooters, including two that have never been release in the U.S. The three games, all developed by Milestone, are Chaos Field (released for GameCube as Chaos Field: Expanded), Radio Allergy (was supposed to be the final GameCube release before it got cancelled), and Karous (a spiritual sequel to Radio Allergy). Each game features cel-shaded graphics and distinct gameplay mechanics. |
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DS Games
Big Bang MiniPublisher: Southpeak Interactive Cost: $19.99 ESRB Rating: Everyone Big Bang Mini is a vertical shooter that involves igniting fireworks instead of firing guns. Featuring nine levels, players use the touch-screen to launch fireworks at incoming enemies. If they miss their mark, then the fireworks explode and eschew debris that the player must avoid. Each level concludes in an intense boss fight and, after the boss is defeated, a vibrant display of fireworks called the Final Bouquet. Big Bang Mini features online leaderboards and five separate modes: Arcade, Challenge, Relax, Mission, and Versus. |
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InkheartPublisher: Dreamcatcher Interactive Cost: $29.99 ESRB Rating: Everyone Based on the upcoming movie, which itself is based on the book by Cornelia Funke, Inkheart is about a young girl named Meggie whose father can brings book characters to life by reading aloud their stories. With the console being held like a book, the game is a series of puzzles and challenges with four different playable characters. |
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SimAnimalsPublisher: Electronic Arts Cost: $29.99 ESRB Rating: Everyone The DS version of SimAnimals is similar in concept to the aforementioned Wii version. Featuring Sims-like gameplay with animals, SimAnimals puts players in control of taking care of animals in an expansive forest. As the player makes friends with the more than 30 different types of animals, he unlocks more and more areas in the forest, ranging from swamps to eerie abandoned cabins. The DS version features full use of the touch-screen and the ability to blow into the mic to control the wind. |
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WonderWorld Amusement ParkPublisher: Majesco Cost: $19.99 ESRB Rating: Everyone Based on the Wii game that came out last year, WonderWorld Amusement Park features 30 different carnival mini-games spread across six different zones ranging from Spookyville to Space. Players unlock outfits and accessories by winning tickets in the various mini-games. WonderWorld Amusement Park also features competitive multiplayer for local play. |
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DLC
Guitar Hero: World Tour
This week's Guitar Hero: World Tour track pack comes with an Australian theme as three different rock groups hailing from Down Under are represented. Each song is available separately for 200 Wii Points ($2).
- "Tomorrow" by Silverchair
- "Outtathaway!" by the Vines
- "Dimension" by Wolfmother
Rock Band 2
Six more songs from Jimmy Buffet, Nine Inch Nails, and two classic punk bands hit the Rock Band 2 Wii Music Store. The songs are all from the large backlog of downloadable Rock Band songs and they are all available for 200 Wii Points ($2) each.
On the heels of this week's announcement was also the revelation that the regular weekly Rock Band 2 downloadable content will begin hitting Wii the same time it hits Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in February.
- "I Fought the Law" by the Clash
- "Margaritaville" by Jimmy Buffet
- "Volcano" by Jimmy Buffet
- "The Collector" by Nine Inch Nails
- "March of the Pigs" by Nine Inch Nails
- "Rockaway Beach" by the Ramones
For Nintendo's Virtual Console and WiiWare releases for this week, check out our weekly article.
