So today saw the launch of WiiWare in Japan, with nine games released in total. I’ve now downloaded five games, and have played two extensively enough to offer my first impressions. So here goes…

Star Soldier R - Hudson Soft, 800 points (around £4 in Japan, £6 on PAL consoles)

Tiny but mighty, Star Soldier R might well be the quintessential WiiWare launch title, showcasing both the strengths and the weaknesses of the service. It’s a superb vertically-scrolling shooter that basically plays as a score-attack game - the two main options are Two-Minute Mode and Five-Minute Mode, with the former offering one level to complete within the time limit, and the second offering two stages - both with bosses at the end of each level. As soon as the game starts, you’re attacked by wave after wave of enemies, with tons of small destructible containers underneath, some of which hold coloured orbs - the more prevalent yellows boost your score, while the pink and blue ones improve your weapons and add some tiny drones surrounding your craft respectively. The idea is to build up your combo, by simply destroying everything you possibly can. It’s near-impossible to let it drain right down unless you die, or just stop firing. So the way to a decent score is simply to survive. Which is trickier than you might think - enemies are fast and nimble, and some require plenty of bullets before they explode. Once you’ve beaten the boss (or your time has run out, whichever comes sooner) you’ll be awarded bonuses based on your maximum combo, and the time you have left, if any. Simple, really.

It reminded me of DS title Yoshi Touch And Go - a game much-derided for its lack of content, but which offered great replay value through the simple allure of trying to beat your best score. Though this doesn’t require quite the same kind of dexterity - and becomes repetitive much more quickly - it’s still the kind of game you’ll return to every now and again, especially with the Wi-Fi rankings which add further incentives to keep trying. It does seem a bit silly that the game has to access the local and worldwide rankings for each mode separately (you can’t just scroll between the lists as you can on most Xbox Live games) and the Fast Shot mode - wherein you have fifteen seconds to press the fire button as many times as you can to get a ’shots per second’ rating is utterly pointless. Though I may just be saying that because my 7.6 score is pretty pathetic. But Star Soldier R looks pretty, sounds great (the music is terrific) and I think it’s well worth the 800 points, especially as a launch title.

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Dr. Mario & Bacteria Extermination - Nintendo, 1000 points (around £4.80 in Japan, £7.50 on PAL consoles)

I’ll be honest here - I’ve never been a massive fan of Dr. Mario. Of all the puzzle games out there, it’s one of two really famous ones that I just can’t take to, and I can’t quite explain why either (the other is the PSP’s Lumines). Anyway, for the sake of professional curiosity, I shelled out 1000 points for this new version to see if it could change my mind. And it didn’t, but that’s not to say others won’t find it worthwhile.

There can’t be anyone in the world who isn’t familiar with the mechanics, but just in case: a series of viruses (in the shape of little primary-coloured critters) are wiggling around inside a bottle, and it’s your job to drop pills on their heads to create a row or column of four same-coloured tiles. Make a line of four or more, and any bugs within that line will disappear. The standard version of the game is probably the most comprehensive iteration yet - you can play against friends or random opponents online and you can even send a trial version to someone on your Friends list who doesn’t own the game, if you fancy a quick online match. And there’s Mii support, which doesn’t add much, but it’s nice to see your avatar celebrating a win (rare, in my case).

Bacteria Extermination is a pointer-enhanced twist on the main game. This time you use the remote to drag and rotate the pills as they fall - much slower this time - and you’re even able to control the descent of any tiles which might drop from above any lines you remove.  It starts off simple, no doubt to compensate for the wobblier pill-shifting, but another player can jump in and help out if you’re struggling. Which is embarrassing when it’s a family member who’s never played Dr. Mario before but is much better than you. Harumph.

It won’t convince anyone who wasn’t keen in the first place, and if the pricing structure remains the same in the UK, then £7.50 seems a bit much for such a simple puzzler. But if you like Dr. Mario then this is probably the best version yet.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 25th, 2008 at 11:35 pm by Chris Schilling
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