If you loved the classic shoot-em-ups like Space Invaders and Galaga, then you'll love Teeter Torture. It's basically a Galaga clone, but it comes with one hilarious, and not to mention challenging, twist that'll test your gaming skills. Your cannon rolls on top of a board, which is balanced between two TNT plungers. If the board tilts too much to either side, BOOM. There's a video in the full article to give you an idea.


Download: Teeter Torture

European Wii owners rejoice! Three gaming classics, each hailing from a legendary console in its own right, are headed right for you in this week's Virtual Console update for all PAL Wii owners.

First up, we have the classic RPG title Breath of Fire II. Contained herein are all of the elements necessary for an epic story of light versus dark, good versus evil, with the bonds of friendship and steadfast courage conquering all in the face of fear.

You've got battles, betrayals, friends, enemies, allies - and of course, the dragons you'll have to defeat along the way. Stepping into Ryu's boots to undertake his epic journey of self-discovery will set a Wiimote-swinging adventurer back 800 Wii points.

Next is the all-time favorite alien-shooter, Galaga '90. Blast through dimensions, wormholes and interplanetary orbits to quash the multicolored alien menace who, after a couple of rounds, will unleash a cute-yet-demoralizing Galaga Dance to try and throw you off your game.

All but the most hardcore of pilots fall prey to this underhanded tactic, but the galaxy needs you to pull through and save it! Eradicate, obliterate, destroy! Blasting off into Galaga country to shoot yourself some galagas will cost you the mere pittance of 600 Wii points.

Finally, for those of us who want a more down-to-earth game experience yet with all of the intensity, here's Volleyball to get your serve on. Featuring eight male or female teams to choose from, players will first partake in practice rounds before taking the fight to the international courts.

The world is watching, will you serve your opponent's defeat on a silver platter or get served yourself? Use whatever you can - lobs, smashes, spikes and dives - and come out on top! Armchair smashers can get the ball rolling with a simple fee of 500 Wii points.

Very good games, at very good prices. Updates as we get them!

A few updates ago, we reported that the classic space shooter, Galaga '90, has recently been made available for purchase on the Wii Shop channel for Virtual Console play. Now we give you a reason to purchase this very awesome retro hit for your VC library by showing you the cute Galactic Dancing routine the aliens do in a gameplay video update.

Judging from the video, it's clear that the elements that made Galaga '90 so darn addictive are still there: the catchy music, the colorful graphics, the ability to make high-scoring chains when you shoot down the aliens as they swoop in. And yes, they still explode into funky fireworks when you manage to score a hit.

This could also be the first case where we lament on the player being a bit too good - as there wasn't much of the aliens left when Galactic Dancing kicked in. Oh, well. Enjoy the video!

As reported in a previous post, Galaga '90 has made its way to the Wii Shop Channel, along with other classics such as Wave Race 64 and Adventures of Lolo.

The vintage NES game Adventures of Lolo will let players take the role of Lolo as he plows through a haunted castle, defeats the Great Devil, gets his girl, and pretty much save the day. With neat tricks such as turning enemies into eggs and shielding himself from attacks via the Emerald Framer, saving the day certainly isn't impossible. The game will cost gamers 500 Wii Points.

Wave Race 64 (from N64 as its name implies) will put gamers into their very own watercraft, where they can make their way through nine courses. Four characters will be selectable, each with their own quirks and techniques that add flavor to every race. Want more challenge? Not only will you deal with the usual sharp turns and ramps, rough weather conditions will try to hamper your way to the finish line. This game costs 1,000 Wii Points.

Finally, the much-awaited Galaga '90 is now out (who doesn't want Galaga?) for 600 Wii Points. Check out the new releases for some classic gaming fun!

 

Australian Wii owners will be getting five TurboGrafx 16 games on the Virtual Console next week. The line-up is pretty solid which includes Air Zonk, China Warrior, Dragon Spirit, Devil's Crush, and Bloody Wolf.

While we already posted an announcement of the entire games list for the month of August, it's rather unexpected that they rolled out both Air Zonk and Devil's Crush in the same week. Both games were well received by the gaming community when it was first released and has since gained quite a following. Both games were revolutionary for their time with really awesome graphics and gameplay that made people wish they had a TurboGrafx 16 console.

Don't think that the great VC TurboGrafx 16 releases end next week though. We can still look forward to Neutopia, Galaga 90', Cratermaze, and Dropoff to be making an appearance this month so we'll be keeping you posted on that.

  

For those of us who can fondly remember blasting hordes of slowly-advancing aliens who make it a point to march side to side for the fun of it, here's a blast to the not-so-early past courtesy of the good folks of Hudson: the U.S. release of the space-shooter Galaga '90, coming exclusively to the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console this August 6. Sweet!

So what's new with the second coming of the insanely-popular shooter? Besides still featuring the intense alien-blasting action that made it a hit during its time, the Virtual Console version of the game will also include Dimensions - pretty much alternate versions of stages you've already encountered, or about to.

To access these dimensions, you'll need to nab a particular item in mid-round called Blue Capsules. Collect enough of these beauties, and you get access to the harder, later dimensions.

Other nifty features they kept intact in the game is the ability for your fighter to become a Triple Fighter, the ability of the Galaga Boss to make a prisoner out of your ship, and the cute Galactic Dancing routine that the Galaga perform every so often.

Certainly a very welcome addition to any Nintendo Wii owner's VC library - and at only 600 Wii Points, it's literally a steal. So if you're hankering for some retro love that's Galaga-flavored, be sure to snap it up as soon as it gets available.

   

Ever since the Australian Virtual Console got TurboGrafx-16 classics, there has been a deluge of games that were released on it. Some were a little more known than others, but most would agree that they are all pretty fun to play.

Looking for more of the same, we scoured the net to see what new treats awaited gamers based in Australia. Thankfully, the Aussie-Nintendo forums had exactly what we were looking for. A complete listing of next month's list of TurboGrafx-16 video game titles. In addition to this, we also found posted there a list of the VC games that will be released next week.

Anyway, we're not going to keep you waiting any longer, here are the games:

Next Week on VC:

• Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention
• Blazing Lazers
• Dead Moon
• J.J. & Jeff
• Ninja Spirit
• World Sports Competition
• ...and two more unannounced SEGA Games
  

August VC TurboGrafx releases:

• Air Zonk
• Bloody Wolf
• China Warrior
• Cratermaze
• Devil's Crush
• Dragon Spirit
• Drop Off
• Galaga '90
• Neutopia

It's any one's guess what order these games will be going out, but it doesn't look like it would really matter because the line-up is pretty solid whichever way you look at it.

A simple search at the online database of the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) will yield interesting results that should make any Wii owner happy. Accordingly, a lot of classic video games have just been rated, clearly slated for the console's Virtual Console (VC).

You have to take note though that these titles have just been rated and there's no telling when they will go live. Just the same, it's interesting to know what titles we could be having next month, or probably even next week.

With all that jazz said, here's the list:

• Shinobi III: Return Of The Ninja Master
• Eswat: City Under Siege
• Wrecking Crew
• Strider
• Devil's Crush - Naxat Pinball
• Drop Off
• Shockman
• Battle Lode Runner
• Silent Debuggers
• Bonk's Revenge
• Volley Ball
• Yoshi's Cookie
• Landstalker: The Treasure Of King Nole
• Ghouls 'n Ghosts
• Ninja Spirit
• Galaga '90
• Blazing Lazers
• Axelay
• Probotector Ii: Return Of The Evil Forces
• Super Mario Bros. 3
• Crack Down
  
• Sonic The Hedgehog 3

As you know, the Namco Museum Remix video game for the Wii is actually many games in one. It has "remixes" (i.e., versions that have been re-invented and re-created) of a bunch of Namco classics like Galaga and Rally-X, as well as added in nine more classics like Super Pac-Man, Dig Dug, Mappy, Gaplus, Xevious, and Galaxian.

This video features two of the Namco Museum Remix games. The video starts with Rally-X clips and ends with two Galaga levels.

If Pac-Man meets go-kart racing is your style, you'll enjoy the first Rally-X clips. Personally, I was rather bored by the first two clips (but that's probably because whoever was controlling Pac-Man kept on setting himself or herself up for nasty crashes).

But at 3:03 into the video, things really pick up with the Galaga remix. It looks more alive and happy - and we look forward to shooting down the bad guys with the Wiimote. However, I'm kind of a bit disappointed that the features that made Galaga fun are missing (others have pointed out that there are no extra points for shooting whole rows).

All in all, this looks like an early demo version, and Namco probably has other features they still want to add to the game (for example, wouldn't it be nice if the Galaga Pac-Man could get abilities that would let him dodge those shots being aimed at him?).

Namco Museum Remix is being developed by, and will be published by, Namco, that well-loved game company. The game is being scheduled for the 3rd or early 4th quarter of 2007.

Lovers of casual games who have flocked to the Wii will rejoice at this title.

Is there any particular video game that still haunts you up to this very day? One that, if you died today, you'll be sure to be earthbound because of this one "unfinished business"? Okay, so that was morbid. But that pretty much drove the point home now, didn't it?

I first got introduced to the wonderful world of gaming consoles through the NES, otherwise known as the Family Computer in Japan. Now this little wonder brought me some very fond and special memories growing up, thanks to its wholesome and now-retro 8-bit graphics. Games like Galaga, Battle City, Twinbee, Contra, and of course, the immortal Super Mario Bros. kept me company during stale afternoons, with ignored chocolate-covered donuts sitting beside me across our living room floor.

And then came a whole new generation of gaming consoles. Handhelds like the Game Boy and its successors, and even the simplistic Game & Watch, to the more powerful modern consoles we have today, all played a part - no matter how minute - in my formative years. They certainly kept me off the streets, for sure. I guess I only have them to blame for my not having developed that "streetsmart" gene in my system.

Even after all those games and gaming machines, however, I still couldn't let go of that one NES game that I never got to finish: Adventure Island.

Not that I didn't find the adventures of Master Higgins interesting or exciting enough for my own amateur taste, back then. But with the onslaught of newer game titles coming along, and with the irrational, almost neurotic desire of finishing a level without any scratch or bruise or diminished life for my Master Higgins, I did not realize that I had slowly and unwittingly pushed it to the back of the game shelves.

And then I got busy with other things - Tetris, Metroid, school, dates, friends, sneak-outs at night, the X-Files, Castlevania, high school prom, college admissions, Need for Speed Underground, Sex and the City... and good ol' Master Higgins remained in the webbed corner of my consciousness. Not to be disturbed, and more importantly, never to disturb me. Until we met again, that is.

Read on to see if we share the same hang up experience over that one unfinished game, and to see what else is on QJ's list by clicking on Full Article!