First things first: House of the Dead Overkill is almost certainly the best on-rails shooter on Wii, and you should go out and buy it immediately. I’m not ready to review it just yet as I’m only three levels in, but I’m confident enough to say it topples Ghost Squad from its throne, despite being a little slower and easier (which some might see as a bonus, anyway).

But I digress: I’m really here to talk about the HandCannon which I picked up from my local gaming retailer for £14.99. It’s a lot of money for what’s essentially nothing more than a plastic shell, but if you’re after a copy of the game as well, some stores are offering deals which make the guns a little cheaper. Or you can get them online for around a tenner. Bargain!

And a bargain it is, because this weighty beast is one of the most satisfying lightguns ever. With the remote slotted in, it’s a pretty hefty number, but it feels incredibly satisfying to hold and shoot. The puny of arm might whine that it hurts after a long play session, but that’s a good thing - it means you won’t complete the two-to-three hour story mode in one sitting. (There’s plenty of replay value; don’t worry if that seems a little short.)

With a comfortable grip, a really cool design, and a chunky solidity to the shell (as well as a clever way of attaching the nunchuk, ensuring compatibility with other Wii shooters) it’s a cracking piece of hardware, and makes Overkill even more enjoyable. If you’ve not got a lightgun, or you’ve only got the Wii Zapper, then this is well worth the investment. Buy two, even - once you unlock dual-wielding mode, you can really make those mutants “suffer like G did”.

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Bloody clever bit of marketing from the guys and gals at Sega - a House of the Dead Overkill poster creator, promoting the lightgun blaster which is released this Friday (or today, if you’re in the US).

Featuring a wealth of titles, graphics, character and background art, you can craft your own grindhouse-style movie poster, adding your own credits if you fancy, and muddying the print for added authenticity. There’s even a bunch of tacky filters you can apply to any part of the poster, along with a host of ‘warnings’ for adult content and such like.

You can see one of my efforts above, and I’ve produced a couple more here and here. Do have a go and feel free to link to your own posters in the comments thread below.

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It’s impossible to link today’s Virtual Console releases together in any meaningful way, so let’s just lay them out one by one. There are three games available for your delectation, each of them weighing in at 500 Wii Points (£3.50).

First off, there’s Sonic the Hedgehog from his Sega Master System incarnation. This game is more for Sonic completists, to be honest, and the more casual fans should check out one of his flashier first three Megadrive outings. It’s a playable enough slice of Hog history, though, and knowing the current direction of the series, it’ll probably turn out to be better than Sonic Unleashed on 360 and PS3. It hasn’t got that blasted “WereHog” for a start.

Next up is Boulder Dash from the Commodore 64, which is a stone-cold classic. (Note to all groaners: that pun was unintentional, honest.) The game’s all about collecting diamonds while trying not to get crushed by boulders or killed by nasties, and while it’s a very early C64 title and certainly looks and sounds like it, Boulder Dash has the nostalgia factor in spades and remains quite charming.

Lastly we have Jumpman, also from the Commodore 64, which aside from the title referencing Mario’s original name in the Donkey Kong arcade game I don’t know much about, other than that it’s a well-regarded old platformer where you jump around defusing bombs. Surely “BombDefusingWhileJumpingMan”, then. This one evaded my childhood memories, I’m afraid, but it’s apparently quite good.

Not too bad a schedule this week overall, then. All three games are up on the Virtual Console for download right now.

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The US service has two new games this week, neither of which are the reportedly excellent Bomberman Blast and MaBoShi: The Three Shape Arcade. Bah.

Still, those of us who own import consoles can rejoice in the return of everyone’s favourite wrestling-mask-wearing misanthrope, Strong Bad. The second in the five-part series of downloadable games - this one’s titled Strong Badia The Free - is available now for 1000 points. Given that I got around five hours’ entertainment out of the first, that’s not bad value.

The second game is flowery puzzler Potpourrii. Any game featuring leprechauns and priced at just 800 points has to be worth a bash, so I’ll be downloading that shortly. Impressions soon.

As for the Virtual Console, our American friends get Mega Man 2 - widely regarded as the best in the series, and ideal preparation for the forthcoming retro-tastic Mega Man 9.

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“His Majesty is aboot tae make an announcement tae youse all. Simmer doon and listen noo.”

No, I’ve not suddenly turned Scottish. This is a genuine line from Dragon Quest: Chapters of the Chosen, out tomorrow on DS. I can’t say too much about the game, as I’ve reviewed it for another publication, but suffice to say, the translation is something very special indeed.

The game itself - as the title hints - is split into chapters, during which you’ll control five different characters, all of whom join the party of your self-styled hero avatar at the end to save the kingdom. But while the structure’s a little different from your average RPG, it’s the dialogue that stands out, with each section getting its own regional accent. It shows a rare attention to detail, and for that Square-Enix’s localisation team should be applauded. It really adds flavour to the script, and makes the characters that much more memorable, Of course, if simple turn-based combat isn’t your thing then it might not be your cup of tea, but I admire a game that really makes an effort to engage in a different way, and so Chapters of the Chosen comes highly recommended, should you find yourself with £30 burning a hole in your pocket tomorrow.

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I’ve spent a couple of hours this morning tending to my garden. But instead of getting lashed with rain, I’ve been doing it from the comfort of my armchair. And that’s because I’ve been playing Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise, the THQ-published take on Rare’s cult Xbox 360 hit (the sequel of which, coincidentally, also launches today).

And it’s brilliant - the game fits the DS like a glove, with the stylus interface a stroke of genius that gives tactile pleasure to the more mundane tasks like digging and sewing seeds. It’s a doddle to control, with some clear icons laid out in a set of supremely well-implemented tutorials. And the graphics are great - obviously not nearly as detailed as its home console predecessor, but every bit as charming, with the creatures just as adorable as they were in HD.

It’s early days yet, but I’m already pretty comfortable recommending Pocket Paradise, simply because it’s such a joy to play. While action-junkies may not be too fond of this sedately-paced relax-em-up, everyone with a yen to chill out and create a verdant virtual environment for gorgeous flora and loveable candy-coloured (and -filled) fauna, then you’ll find plenty to enjoy here.

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Following hard on the heels of Square-Enix’s Game With No Name, and the Nintendo-published Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse, Sega has another dose of horror gaming for Nintendo fans with the release this week of Imabikisou: Kaimei Hen.

It’s been developed by ChunSoft, which is famous for its sound novels (indeed, it’s trademarked the name - any similar titles are referred to as ‘visual novels’) and Imabikisou is another example of the genre, and is a conversion of the PS3 title, released last year - this time with additional content.

It’s a shame, given the success of the Ace Attorney games (which are essentially extensions of the visual novel), that the likes of Imabikisou are unlikely to ever be released outside Japan. Especially as the emotive dream sequences in Xbox 360 RPG Lost Odyssey showed just how effective they can be when translated well. Imabikisou might have relatively little interaction - bar some sections with multiple path choices, leading to multiple endings - but it would arguably make an excellent ‘bridge’ title for those non-gamers who are starting to become interested in videogames through Wii. After all, it’s a halfway house between book and game, and surely fans of horror novels would lap it up. 

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Tomorrow sees the US release of Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo’s Dungeon, a relatively easygoing roguelike which I enjoyed my brief time with when playing the Japanese version - I may well be tempted to import that one. Otherwise, US Wii owners have Wonder World Amusement Park (whatever that is) to look forward to.

The DS also gets two releases of any note - Carnival Games is a portable take on that much loved/hated Wii minigame compendium, while hopefully Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution lives up to the terrific home console versions.

Meanwhile, Japanese gamers can look forward to Hudson’s Puzzle Series Vol. 2 - Illust Logic & Colorful Logic. Wait! Come back! The DS version of this is ace - Illust is basically Picross done really well, and Colorful Logic is just as addictive in its own way. The other key Wii release is Biohazard 0 (above) - never anyone’s favourite Resi, it seems like this apparently straight port will do it few favours. I must say that I enjoyed the GameCube release at the time, though - if anything at all has been added and you’ve never played the GC version (and your Wii is capable of playing Japanese games) then it’s probably worth a look. This trailer certainly reminded me how brilliant the CG cutscenes are.

Last but not least is the latest in the thus-far Japanese-only Legend of Starfy series. Densetsu no Stafi Taiketsu! Dire Kaizokudan has had its official site updated recently, with a few interesting vids showcasing new stages, and a host of outfits for our five-pronged protagonist to make use of. If the clips (and the third in the series which I’m periodically dipping into) are anything to go by, it’s going to be ridiculously easy, but there you go.

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