WiiWare: October's WiiWare Picks: 'Building Up Structures'
[With so many downloadable console games coming out each month, it's hard to keep up. That's why here at GamerBytes, we take a look back at the previous month and decide on the top games that were released during the period. The month of October was packed for WiiWare - let's have a look at the highlights.]
It was a puzzler's dream this month for Wii owners. Despite many lackluster additions to the genre on WiWare, October was the month where things started to really roll. World of Goo, Tetris Party, and the numerous Art Style games made puzzlers fun again.
Here's our picks for the top titles of the month:
World of Goo (1,500 Wii Points)
World of Goo is an award-winning, physics-based puzzle/construction game made entirely by two guys. Grab living, squirming, talking globs of goo to build structures, bridges, cannonballs, zeppelins and giant tongues. The millions of Goo Balls that live in the beautiful World of Goo are curious to explore—but they don't know that they are in a game, or that they are extremely delicious. World of Goo Corporation is contractually obligated to state that everyone is a winner, and is enthusiastic to celebrate everyone's Goo building opportunities equally.
Andrew Hayward at 1UP.com writes:
"It's the atmosphere that transforms World of Goo from a great concept to a fantastic game, with production values well above what you'd expect from a tiny indie developer. The crisp, hand-drawn visuals burst with care and creativity, recalling the wonderfully distinct approach of another recent downloadable favorite, Castle Crashers. And the music -- who would've expected such intense anthems from a physics-based puzzler?"
Jonathon Holmes of Destructoid writes:
"It may not be as instantly satisfying as your standard action title, but after just a few minutes of play, World of Goo makes you feel like a genius, a general, and a god all rolled into one."
Click here for the official World Of Goo website.
Tetris Party (1,200 Wii Points)
Tetris Party is a deceptively simple, totally addictive puzzle game that is sure to keep you and all of your friends and family entertained for hours on end. The WiiWare game features 10 never-before-seen single-player and multiplayer variations of Tetris, including Field Climber, Stage Racer, Shadow and Wii Balance Board-enabled modes (Wii Balance Board™ accessory sold with Wii Fit™). Several of the modes give users the chance to take advantage of the unique point-and-shoot capabilities of the Wii Remote™ controller. The party doesn't stop there, though. Take the Tetris fun online via Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection, where you can play multiplayer Tetris against up to five friends at a time. You can also see how your Tetris Party skills stack up against the rest of the world using the global ranking system.
"Tetris Party isn't a perfect game, but it is yet another must-have WiiWare title. For 1200 points and 244 blocks of Wii space, players can sink their teeth into a download that feels more like a packaged game, and less like WiiWare, with over a half dozen new modes to play, leaderboards for all of it, online battle, and a whole slew of options. "
Chris Scullion of the Official Nintendo Magazine UK writes:
"But if you dream of falling blocks, the the huge number of gameplay modes and fantastically addictive online play makes this an essential purchase."
Strong Bad Episode 3: Baddest of the Bands (1,000 Wii Points)
"Rock and roll! Hurting for cash, Strong Bad sets out to dominate the “Battle Royale of the Bands.” Can he rule the stage and win the big prize? Or will he be drowned out by the competition? Find out in this high-voltage episode."
Andrew Hayward at 1UP.com writes:
"While the adventure entertains about as well as its predecessors, Baddest of the Bands makes one notable misstep -- auxiliary elements like Teen Girl Squad and the classic-gaming minigames are less prominent in this iteration."
Marcel Van Duyn at WiiWare World writes:
"Baddest of the Bands sticks with the same formula seen in the previous two episodes and it's still as entertaining as it ever was. Sadly, this episode doesn’t offer any improvements and if you didn’t like any of the other titles then it's not likely to make the entire 'Strong Bad' concept suddenly appeal to you. On the other hand, if you giggled your way through the other two episodes and had a whale of a time, then you simply cannot go wrong here."
Rotohex (600 Wii Points)
"Use colored triangular panels to create a vibrant mosaic of stained glass in Art Style: ROTOHEX. As triangles fall from the top of the screen, rotate them to group six panels of the same color and create a matching hexagon, or HEX. Once the HEX has been formed, it will disappear, allowing the existing panels to shift and more panels to fill the playing field.
"A clear-cut goal and two different styles of intuitive controls allow you to focus solely on the game play-which is vital, as the playing field will be full of panels before you know it. With multiple modes (unlock more as you progress further in SOLO mode), special item panels at your disposal, and the ability to play cooperatively or competitively with a friend, there will always be another HEX to create."
Craig Harris at IGN.com writes:
"Complain all you want that there’s no online support or additional single player options, but that’s not keeping Rotohex from being fun as hell and one heck of a bargain on the Wii."
Corbie Dillard at WiiWare World writes:
"Not only is Rotohex extremely well executed, but it has this certain addictive quality that makes it a lot of fun to play in quick bursts."
