Wii Rally

Two new WiiWare games and two Virtual Console games are added to the Wii Shop including the latest installment of a very popular Internet icon.

Strong Bad Episode 4: Dangeresque 3 (Telltale Games, 1 player, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older – Alcohol and Tobacco Reference, Crude Humor, Mild Cartoon Violence, 1,000 Wii Points) - Strong Bad must stay one step ahead of a bad cop and save the girl in this fourth episode.

Target Toss Pro: Bags (Incredible Technologies, 1-16 players, Rated E for Everyone, 700 Wii Points) - Here is a game that is based on bean bag toss.

SPACE INVADERS: The Original Game (Super NES™, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 800 Wii Points) - Now here is a title that I spent many quarters playing in the arcade. Space Invaders is one of those games etched in video game history. And now it’s available for us to play again.

FORGOTTEN WORLDS (SEGA GENESIS, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone – Fantasy Violence, 800 Wii Points) - This is a 1-2 person side scrolling shooter from CAPCOM. This is another arcade import that keeps its roots on the Sega Genesis. Two warriors from the Forgotten World - or a little place known as Earth - are raised to take on the invaders and reclaim the land.

Cooking Mama is one of those games that seems tailor made for the Nintendo Wii. Your Wiimote is transformed into one of many cooking utensils from knives to spatulas to bowls. While Cooking Mama is a good choice for the Nintendo Wii, does it deliver a fun and wonderful game experience?

For me, the answer is no. I enjoyed Cooking Mama for the DS much better as it is way easier to control it. With the Wiimote, it is harder to carry out the tasks in the game.

The premise of the game is to make a recipe from Mama’s cookbook. You’ll do various tasks during the cooking process from peeling the vegetables to stirring the food to serving it on dishes. What was most frustrating is that these tasks were not easily carried out with the Wiimote. Maybe I was at an awkward position to the sensor bar but it just seemed like it registered my movements slowly - if at all.

If you don’t complete a task, Mama will fix it so that you can move on. Some tasks you might even do better than Mama. That’s always comforting and makes me feel that I might actually get the hang of this game one day.

There are special Wiimote kitchen tools you can buy. I’m not sure if having a spatula and other Wiimotes will improve game play. For right now, though, I think I will stick to the DS version as the controls are really solid on it. There will be another Cooking Mama title released for the Wii in the near future that hopefully will have better controls. This is a fun franchise and definitely worth a second look.

Two new WiiWare games and one Virtual Console game are now available in the Wii Shop. One WiiWare game will give your brain a workout while the other one will test your time management skills.

WiiWare

Brain Challenge™ (Gameloft, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone, 1,000 Wii Points) - Yes, by now we all know that our brain needs exercise just like any other part of our body. Gameloft brings Brain Challenge to WiiWare, giving those wanting to give their brain a workout another option. See who has the biggest brain in three multi-player modes.

Yummy Yummy Cooking Jam (Virtual Toys, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone-Animated Blood, Comic Mischief, 1,000 Wii Points) - For those Diner Dash junkies (like myself) here is a nice WiiWare game that will put to the test those time management/food serving skills. Play career mode and you might just wind up the top chef in town. You will also serve some interesting customers including vampires, ninjas, and mafia thugs.

Virtual Console

Mega Man™ 3 (NES™, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone-Mild Cartoon Violence, 500 Wii Points) - The third installment of Mega Man for the Nintendo system makes it debut on the Virtual Console. Mega Man will have to defeat evil relying on his new slide move and his canine companion Rush.

A casual PC game makes the leap to WiiWare while another classic game gets a face lift. Plus a space classic from the Sega Master System comes to the Virtual Console. It’s not a bad way to start out the month of November. Having played Home Sweet Home for the PC, this should appeal to those who love time management games. The other WiiWare game is really a classic pinball game but has been given a makeover. The Virtual Console game was an arcade smash that made the jump to the Sega Master System. Now it’s made the leap to the VC.

WiiWare

ALIEN CRUSH RETURNS™ (Hudson Entertainment, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone – Animated Blood, Mild Fantasy Violence, 800 Wii Points) This is the incarnation of Alien Crush for TurboGfx. Do you like pinball? Then try this one out. You can even use the Wiimote to nudge the machine.

Home Sweet Home (Big Blue Bubble Inc., 1 player, Rated E for Everyone, 1,000 Wii Points) - This casual PC game comes to WiiWare. In Home Sweet Home, you will need to not only decorate a room but keep your hired labor on time and under budget. Give them a hand when they get hurt or need help to complete a task.

Virtual Console

Space Harrier™ (Sega Master System, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone – Mild Fantasy Violence, 500 Wii Points) - Space Harrier was originally released for the arcade but later made an appearance on the Sega Master System. In Space Harrier, you must fight through the “The Land of Dragons.” At the end of each stage, you must defeat the bosses so that peace can once again rule the land.