Wii Rally

One game that was made for the Nintendo Wii long before it was ever created was the Samba de Amigo for the Sega Dreamcast. It’s games like this one that make me sad that the Dreamcast did not take off in popularity as well as some other console systems. This classic rhythm game challenged players to shake their maracas in the direction of falling balls. The Wii version of Samba de Amgio continues to offer the classic game play and throws in a few twists of its own to deliver a fun game that makes good use of the Wiimote and Nunchuk.

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Two new WiiWare games and one Virtual Console game are now available at the Wii Shop.

WiiWare

Strong Bad Episode 3: Baddest of the Bands (Telltale Games, 1 player, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older - Alcohol Reference, Crude Humor, Mild Cartoon Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes, 1,000 Wii Points) Strapped for cash, Strongbad heads out to the “Battle Royale of the Bands.”

Art Style: ROTOHEX™ (Nintendo, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 600 Wii Points) Use triangle panels to make beautiful mosaic of stained glass. As the triangles fall, rotate them to group six of the same color together. Once the hex is formed, it’ll disappear and make room for more pieces.

Virtual Console

Earthworm Jim (Sega Genesis, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone - Animated Violence, 800 Wii Points) This classic game originally released for the Sega Genesis features Jim, an ordinary earthworm who finds a space suit that transforms him into a super-intelligent being. Or at least by earthworm standards. Jim learns of the evil plans of Psy-Crow and Queen Slug-for-a-Butt and decides to save the Princess. Run, jump, swing on hooks, and launch cows to defeat interesting characters you will meet on your journey.

Four new games are now available through the Wii Shop. Two new WiiWare games and two classic games come to the Wii through the Virtual Console.

WiiWare

Tetris Party (Tetris Online, Inc., 1-6 players, Rated E for Everyone, 1,200 Wii Points) - The hit puzzle game is back and better than ever in this party version. Tetris Party features 10 never-before-seen single and multi-player variations including Field Climber, Stage Racer, Shadow and Wii Balance Board-enabled modes.

Up to six people can play either in one living room or several since it supports WIFI. You can also see how your Tetris scores rank against the world through the global ranking system.

The Incredible Maze (Digital Leisure Inc., 1 player, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points) - Make your way through the maze using your Wiimote. You can also use the Wii Balance Board to keep your ball on the path and try to guide it to the finish without falling off.

Virtual Console

Digital Champ Battle Boxing (TurboGrafx16, 1 player, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older - Mild Violence, 700 Wii Points) - This first person boxing title will have you throwing jabs, punches, and other moves on your quest to defeat Mother Computer. You have infiltrated the enemy’s domain and now must use your boxing skills to fight Mother’s plan to take over mankind.

GRADIUS® II GOFER NO YABOU (TurboGrafx16 CD-ROM, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone - Mild Fantasy Violence, 900 Wii Points) - This shooter is the sequel to GRADIUS. It features nine stages and is the longest adventure in this series. Players pilot the latest model of the Vic Viper and can choose between Weapons Module and Shields to take on the various enemies they encounter in the varying stages.

The Nintendo Wii console topped the sale charts in September by selling 687,000 units according to the ndependent NPD Group that tracks video game sales in the United States. Coming in second was the Nintendo DS with 537,000 units sold.

Sales for September 2008 are up 37 percent from sales in September 2007. Also from August to September Wii saw its biggest jump in units sold. There were 234,000 more units sold in September than August.

Four video games for the Wii made the top 10 video games sold in September: Wii Fit, Mario Kart, Wii Play, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

Four new games are now available in the Wii shop. There are two WiiWare games and 2 Virtual Console games.

World of Goo (2D Boy, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone—Comic Mischief, 1,500 Wii Points) is a puzzle game based on physics created entirely by 2 guys. Grab living, talking goo globs to build bridges, cannonballs, structures, and more.

Art Style: CUBELLO (Nintendo, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone, 600 Wii Points) mixes puzzle game mechanics with shooter style gaming. Each level starts with a giant cube that players must take aim at to break apart.

SECRET OF MANA (Super NES™, 1-3 players, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older—Mild Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes, 800 Wii Points) is an adventure game that will have the player searching for the tree of mana. Players will battle monsters, find treasure chests, and more.

STREET FIGHTER II’: SPECIAL CHAMPION EDITION (Sega Genesis, 1-2 players, Rated T for Teen—Violence, 800 Wii Points) was the first Street Fighter game released for the Sega Genesis. This fighting game is a classic and still remains a very popular franchise.

Wario is back in a new adventure for the Nintendo Wii. For those expecting something similar to Smooth Moves, then prepare to be surprised. In this game rounds last longer than a few seconds as Wario sets out to save Queen Merelda - or more appropriately the Queen’s never-ending sack of coins.

Wario agrees to rescue Queen Merelda who has been captured by the Shake King. He only agrees after he learns about a magic bag that has endless coins in it that has also been stolen. Now Wario must travel through several different stages collecting coins and freeing Merfles- denizens of the Shake Kingdom.

This side-scrolling action/adventure is a far cry from Smooth Moves with its manic 3 second mini-games. You will hold the Wiimote sideways to play this game, using the control pad to move Wario through the various scenes. You use the Wiimote to shake coins out of bags along the way as well as stomp the ground and pull off other maneuvers that are covered in the first level tutorial. Once you’ve gone through a level and freed the Merfle, it’s time to race back to the start before you are detected by the Shake King’s minions.

Wario Land Shake It with it’s cell shaded graphics and whimsical music makes for fun game play. It’s rated E for Everyone and is for just one player. While the game is fun, it would be better if more players could join in. Every game for the Wii should be multi-player. Still Wario Land Shake It is a lot of fun for one player and is entertaining to watch as well.