Welcome to 2009, fellow gamers! Hopefully, this year will be as good a year to us as last year was, especially on the Wii Shop Channel. Sure, some weeks were slow, but WiiWare got off to a solid start and the Virtual Console kept churning out good retro games. In the end, we got a bunch of great games and there's no signs of that slowing down this year.
This week marks the first entries on the Wii Shop Channel of the new year, and we've only got two games. One game is a forgotten title from the Super Nintendo, while the other appears to be about building sand castles, but does have a little bit more to it than that.
This week's new titles are:
WiiWare
Sandy Beach (Konami, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone—Comic Mischief, 500 Wii Points): Enjoy a fun day at Sandy Beach as you build elaborate sand castles. You can work peacefully on your sand castle or enter into a battle with invading crabs in Crab Battle mode. Players will strategically build their sand castle and use cannons to defend it against an army of destructive crabs. After successfully defending your sand castle, discover beach treasures and additional cannons with your metal detector to customize your castle even more.
I remember hearing about Sandy Beach and thinking, "Sand castle building? WTF?" Well, as it turns out, Konami's WiiWare title isn't just about building sand castles in a literal sandbox. There also appear to be some tower defense elements via Crab Battle mode. And anything with giant enemy crabs in it that you can hit for massive damage is likely to appeal to the Internet crowd. At only 500 Wii points, this could be a sleeper hit, or at least a sleeper success.
Virtual Console
Kirby’s Dream Land 3 (Super NES, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 800 Wii Points): Kirby, Dream Land’s resident hero (and everyone’s favorite puffball), must once again save the day when the mischievous King Dedede starts causing trouble. Kirby must travel through an assortment of levels, battling an exotic array of enemies (both new and familiar) determined to stop him from completing his mission. Always armed with his trusty ability to swallow enemies and gain special attacks, Kirby can also unite with some of his animal friends and make use of their particular talents. Featuring detailed graphics, challenging boss battles and the distinct charm of a Kirby game, it’s no wonder this title is considered a classic.
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