From pulse-pounding action to mind-bending puzzles and beyond, this week’s lineup of new downloadable games offers a dizzying variety to satisfy players of all stripes. New additions for the WiiWare^™ service include the sci-fi adventure of BLASTER MASTER^™ OVERDRIVE and the speedy fun of Tomena Sanner, plus a pair of family-friendly games to help parents and their kids brighten up the dog days of winter. For the Nintendo DSiWare^™ service, new attractions include the rocket-powered puzzles of Link ‘n’ Launch^™ and the tower-defending thrills of Fieldrunners. And lest you should think cucumbers are only (more…)

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Riders featured in the forthcoming Wii™ video game Triple Crown Championship Snowboarding score big at Winter X Games 14 this past weekend in Aspen, CO.

Hannah Teter took bronze and Gretchen Bleiler won gold in an amazing half pipe competition. Seth Westcott got his eighth career X Games medal with a silver in snowboard cross (SBX) and Nate Holland became the first athlete to five-peat in the Winter X Games by winning his fifth consecutive gold in SBX. Lindsey Jacobellis took her third straight X Games win with gold in the same event.

On top of those amazing performances, the final roster for America’s 2010 Olympic Snowboarding team has been (more…)

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Excalibur, the next add-on table for their wildly popular Pinball FX game on Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. Excalibur launches today and is available for 200 Microsoft Points.

“Ever since our launch back in 2007, we knew we had a great pinball game on our hands,” said Zsolt Kigyossy, Managing Director for ZEN Studios. “We love to return the support of our fans by releasing addictive add-on tables, and Excalibur is no exception. We hope everyone enjoys this fun and multi-faceted table as much as we loved creating it.”

Excalibur follows in the footsteps of fellow expansion tables Buccaneer, Nightmare Mansion, Street Fighter II Turbo and Earth Defense in delivering a fast and frenetic pinball experience. Earn your seat at the Round Table amongst the greatest knights in King Arthur’s court! Participate in duels or jousting tournaments for honor, and defend Camelot against the Robber Knights!

Excalibur features include:

• Duel with other Knights of Camelot and try to retain the “King’s Champion” title as long as you can
• Utilize Merlin’s tips and suggestions to lock balls in his tower in order to start Magical Multiball
• Relive some of the most famous Arthurian legends by spelling T-A-L-E and spinning the Round Table
• Hit swinging targets to open the hidden path that leads to Morgana’s lair filled with sorcery
• Sneak into Mordred’s dungeon, or lead a full siege against his fortress
• Earn some extra points by participating in jousting tournaments

Pinball FX combines the arcade thrills of traditional pinball with enhanced game play, unparalleled graphical detail and exciting, innovative features not found in any other pinball game. For more information about Excalibur or Pinball FX, please visit www.pinballfx.com.

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Look Out for Numero UNO with New Game Downloads from Nintendo

You needn’t be bilingual to appreciate the first of this week’s fantastic downloadable game offerings. Like the classic card game upon which it’s based, the new UNO^™ game for the WiiWare^™ service is all about inclusive, social fun that anybody can pick up and enjoy.

UNO is also available for the Xbox360 in the Arcade Download section.

Other fresh WiiWare fare includes the inventive puzzle title bittos+ and the hidden-object game “Aha! I Found It!” The Nintendo DSiWare^™ service welcomes a trio of diverting hand-held delights this week: the strategy-based NUMBER BATTLE^™, the arcade-style AiRace: Tunnel and the action-packed Escapee GO! Last but not least, Virtual Console^™ fans should prepare to vanquish spooky specters with the arrival of a true Super NES^™ classic, Ghoul Patrol^™.

WiiWare

UNO
Publisher: Gameloft
Players: 1-6
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 1,000 Wii Points^™
Description: Get ready to call “UNO” on your Wii^™ system! The world-famous card game is faithfully reproduced for the Wii console with some exciting new rules. Thanks to a multiplayer mode (additional Wii Remote^™ controllers required) that’s playable on one Wii console or online via Nintendo^® Wi-Fi Connection (broadband Internet access required), UNO has never been so fun and easy.

bittos+
Publisher: MACHINE
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: The next big thing in casual gaming, bittos+ is all about rotating, moving and placing game pieces onto a game board to make squares and, more importantly, squares within squares. Playing bittos+ provides hours and hours of entertainment for the whole family, with boatloads of challenge and replay value for even the most avid gamer. With luscious environments, multiple modes to unlock, game styles to suit every mood, multiple real-time reactive control methods, in-game Awards to collect and high-score boards for the entire your household, bittos+ is a new game-play experience that will sweep you away.

“Aha! I Found It!” Hidden Object Game
Publisher: Ateam Inc.
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: A hidden-object game for everyone has come to the WiiWare service. Try to find 12 particular items among a crowd of on-screen objects as fast as you can, from big fish to tiny earrings, easy-to-find items to well-hidden ones. Unlike most other hidden-object games, this one lets you play along with friends and family (additional Wii Remote controllers required) and compete to see who’s best at finding the hidden objects in each stage. With 10 stages and more than 277 different items, there’s plenty of searching fun to enjoy. Also, with items changing position each time you play, you can enjoy each stage again and again.

Nintendo DSiWare

NUMBER BATTLE
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points^™
Description: From Japan comes NUMBER BATTLE, a board game that invokes the ancient art of feng shui while challenging players to clear the playing field. Take turns against human or computer opponents to reach a target score by placing numbered tiles on the board and linking the arms of each tile in various ways. Watch for the Winds of Change to possibly blow over the board during (more…)

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For Pokémon fans, good things come to those who don’t wait. The new Pokémon^™ HeartGold Version and Pokémon^™ SoulSilver Version games for the portable Nintendo DS^™ and Nintendo DSi^™ systems will launch across North America on March 14, but consumers will have the chance to receive a reward for pre-ordering the games beginning Feb. 1. Those who take advantage of this pre-sale opportunity can receive a Legendary Pokémon figure crafted by Kaiyodo, an internationally renowned figure-making company, while supplies last at major retailers, giving fans of the blockbuster series yet another way to enjoy its vast and imaginative cast of Pokémon characters.

Consumers who pre-order Pokémon HeartGold Version will receive a figure of Ho-Oh^™, a Legendary Pokémon that circles the skies of the Johto region on rainbow-colored wings. Those who pre-order Pokémon SoulSilver Version will get a figure of Lugia^™, a Legendary Pokémon that dwells deep (more…)

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