Developed by Blaze, the Sega Megadrive Handheld (Streets of Rage Special Edition) comes replete with a bright LCD display and built in speakers. This new portable offers two of the most popular action titles from the Megadrive Streets of Rage series. While it wasn’t mentioned which sequels would be included with the system, hopefully Streets of Rage 3 made the cut. As a sequel, Streets of Rage 3 offered large, arcade-like sprites and smooth gameplay.

The Megadrive handheld also includes Virtua Fighter, Golden Axe 2, Shadow Dancer,  Sonic & Knuckles, Alex Kidd, and Ecco the Dolphin (among others).  Not a bad selection; and with a total of 18 built in games, Blaze promises something for everyone.

There is no mention of a cartridge slot, so we can only assume there isn’t one. The lack of a cartridge slot may sound unattractive to some gamers, but for others looking for retro on the go, this sounds like a promising prospect.

The Blaze Megadrive LCD Handheld Console is available now from www.blazeeurope.com and all leading video game stores for just £34.99.

Features:
•    Includes action titles from the Streets Of Rage series
•    18 Classic Sega Licensed Titles Built In
•    Fully Portable
•    Built in Colour LCD Screen
•    Built in Speakers
•    Includes TV Out Cable for Big Screen Gaming
•    TV Format: PAL
•    Requires 2 AAA Batteries (Not Supplied)

By Mark Sabbatini

So how do the ghosts decide to chase in a two-player game?

Programmer Marcin Wichary says he had lots of help translating most elements of Pac-Man’s original source code into a playable Google logo that set off a frenzy – and fury – for 48 hours starting March 21. But a drastically different maze, the option of having two people play at once and certain quirks in the original made a number of judgement calls inevitable.

Since the ghosts’ behavior and speed is based partially on dots Pac-Man consumes, how do you adjust those factors in a maze with more dots? Do you preserve the original’s bugs, including the famous game-ending “kill screen” on the 256th level – and is something really a bug if deliberately included?

Google’s Pac-Man was programmed by Wichary with graphics artist Ryan Germick designing the logo known as a Doodle. It’s the first interactive Doodle by the company and was released as a tribute on the 30th anniversary of what at the time was the world’s most popular arcade game. Buzz from the Doodle was enormous, topping the most-read list of newspapers worldwide, causing what countless companies said were massive decreases in worker productivity and incensing plenty confronted with the game’s familiar siren soundtrack anytime they were near a computer.

(Although the Doodle is no longer on Google’s homepage, it can still be played online or downloaded. Instructions are at the end of the article.)

The Doodle follows nearly all of the parameters of the coin-op original’s normal difficulty setting in terms of player/ghost speeds, energizer vulnerability times and ghost artificial intelligence. Perhaps the most significant gameplay change – the two-player option – is dealt with in a simple manner.

“Any given time a ghost exits a pen, it will focus its attention randomly on one of two players, and proceed as if the other did not exist,” Wichary wrote in an e-mail interview. “I thought it was a simple solution that perhaps would’ve been implemented in the original Pac-Man under similar circumstances.”

The ghosts retain their chase personalities from the original regardless of the number of players, so Blinky targets a player’s current position while Pinky focuses on a spot two Pac-lengths in front of the direction the player is facing (except when they are energized or retreating to their home corners at specific intervals). That, along with ghosts having to patrol a larger maze, makes a two-player game considerably easier than the original.

Beating or bonding with your human opponent is, of course, another matter.

“What floored us was how well the game translated to the two-player mode,” Wichary wrote. “You can play cooperatively, but if you want to compete, the ghost pointing scheme, for example, is brilliantly conceived: catching the last frightened ghost will net you more points than three previous combined, so you need to strategize when competing against the other player.”

The Google maze has 275 dots compared to the original’s 240, plus an extra energizer in the dead-end capital “G” in the logo. Ghosts emerge from their center pen and increase speed after a certain number of dots are consumed (the exact numbers decrease by level and can also be affected by the amount of time elapsed), but Wichary said he “didn’t make very many changes” in the Doodle version.

“Since some of the original logic counts dots from 0, and some from the max (275 in our case, if I remember correctly), we thought the original numbers should hold up really well,” he wrote.

One change that has a modest visual and strategy impact is the ghosts’ pen is well to the right of center, which Wichary said was an aesthetic necessity.

“We needed to have GOOGLE on the playfield, given our doodle tradition,” he wrote.

Gameplay in the original is largely governed by an invisible grid where each square is one-fourth Pac-Man’s size. That allows for certain quirks such as ghosts being able to touch Pac-Man without killing him and the rare possibility of passing completely through a ghost (the latter must happen during a specific 1/60th of a second interval). The same logic, and thus the same behaviors, exist in the Doodle.

The “kill screen,” which exists in the original due to the inability of the eight-bit level counter to count beyond 255, can also be found in the Doodle. But Wichary notes it’s “a deliberate effort.”

“Alas, it’s not playable, but the way it’s created is a deliberate homage to the original (it’s done procedurally, not just a pre-rendered image),” he wrote.

One element of imperfection – while not actually a bug – was the Doodle automatically started after 10 seconds if the user took no action and there was no option to mute the sound, resulting in the deluge of infuriated messages on Google’s and others’ comment sites. An update eventually placed a mute button on the screen.

The Doodle is written in a combination of JavaScript, HTML and CSS, with Flash used for sound since, according to Wichary, “HTML5 Audio is not yet ready to do things like that.” That means the game plays (soundlessly) on an iPhone/iPod/iPad, but controlling Pac-Man by touching the maze is less than precise.

Translating the arcade’s Z80 processor code to the modern language of the Web involved a variety of sources.

“We had a lot of help from Namco Bandai, we did a lot of ‘research’ using a Pac-Man machine we actually have at Google, and we looked at (The Pac-Man Dossier),” wrote Wichary, the latter referring to Web document by Jamey Pittman widely considered the definitive analysis of the original’s inner workings. “Hard to tell exactly what goes where, but all three sources were crucial.”

Wichary’s creation, while no longer on Google’s homepage, can be played online by going to the company’s Doodle archive at www.google.com/logos.

It can also be downloaded from a number of locations, including www.underealm.com/download/GooglePacman.zip. But it will play without sound unless the user makes an adjustment online to their Flash Control Panel. The site is at www.macromedia.com/support/documentation/en/flashplayer/help/settings_manager04.html. The user selects “Edit Locations,” then “Add Location,” then “Browse for Folder.” When a dialogue box appears, select the folder the Doodle was extracted to.

The Pac-Man Dossier is at http://home.comcast.net/~jpittman2/pacman/pacmandossier.html.

Funspot, The World’s largest Arcade, is a mecca for retro gamers. Their Classic Video Game Museum is filled with coin-ops from just about every era, and they’re fully functional for the public to enjoy.

June 3rd marked the beginning of their 12th Annual International Classic Video Game Tournament. Gamers from wide and abroad are participating to prove they are the very best. The tournament is a 4 day event (June 3rd-6th) and its full of energy and excitement.

Classic Video Gamer Magazine, a professionally printed retro gaming magazine, is covering the event on both their website and in upcoming print issues of their magazine.

You can visit Classic Video Gamer Magazine’s- website for tournament and tour videos of Funspot as well as photos. Updates will be added over the course of the tournament.

We’ve also got a fresh entry in the WarioWare™: D.I.Y. “Big Name Games” series, which spotlights new downloadable microgames created by the industry’s most talented designers. This week’s microgame comes from WayForward Technologies’ Matt Bozon, known for his work on hand-held classics like Shantae and Contra 4. New “Big Name Games” will be added every Monday through July 26, all available to download for zero Nintendo DSi Points™ to anyone with broadband Internet access and a copy of either WarioWare: D.I.Y. for the Nintendo DS™ family of systems or WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase software for the WiiWare service. Visit the Nintendo Channel on your Wii system today to learn more about these games and to see a video of Matt Bozon creating his original microgame, Shantae NAB!

Virtual Console

Mega Man 4
Original platform: NES™
Publisher: Capcom
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Mild Cartoon Violence
Price: 500 Wii Points™
Description: A year after the destruction of Gamma and Dr. Wily’s defeat at the hands of Mega Man, the world is still at peace. One day Dr. Light receives a mysterious letter from an unknown scientist named Dr. Mikhail Cossack. Dr. Cossack plans to eliminate Mega Man and prove himself the greatest robot designer of all time. It’s up to Mega Man to save the day once again. Mega Man 4 provides action-based game play like the earlier games in the series. In Mega Man 4, Mega Man has the ability to charge up energy inside his Arm Cannon, allowing him to fire larger and more damaging blasts.

Nintendo DSiWare

SURVIVING HIGH SCHOOL
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) – Suggestive Themes, Violent References
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Welcome to Centerscore High, where the game changes with every choice you make. Of course, some choices are wiser than others. Play the premiere “Football Season” storyline plus seven episodes for hours of game play. Kick off your story-driven adventures as the new kid in school. See if you can earn a spot on the football team and win the heart of cheerleader Beth or goth girl Raven. Unlock custom looks for your character and meet other kids who can help (or hurt) you. You cause all the drama! Continue to play as different guys or girls in other storylines. Work at the bakery and take on a local mobster. Try out for the school play. Meet challenges on the tough side of town. You can even travel to Europe! Master intense minigames and ace pop quizzes along the way. The exclusive Trophy System tracks your results. Earn four “great endings” and unlock a special BONUS EPISODE. The game looks awesome on the Nintendo DSi system, which you hold sideways like a book. Best…high-school game…ever!

Game & Watch: Donkey Kong Jr.
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Donkey Kong™ is trapped! It’s up to Donkey Kong Jr. to snag the key and set his father free from Mario’s cage. Help Donkey Kong Jr. avoid crows and alligators as he swings his way to victory. Earn points by unlocking the cage, hitting crows and alligators with pieces of food or jumping over alligators. Receive mistake icons by running into crows and alligators or missing a jump for the key. Receive three mistake icons and it’s game over!

Game & Watch: Flagman
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Memorize the order in which flags are raised, then raise them in the same order (GAME A), or raise the correct flag according to the corresponding number (GAME B). Earn a point each time you raise the correct flag, or lose one of your remaining tries if you raise a flag out of order or if you let the time bar run out. The game ends when you have no tries left.

Game & Watch: Ball
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Brush up on your juggling skills with Game & Watch: Ball. Move the juggler’s arms to catch the balls. Drop a single ball and it’s game over

myPostcards™
Publisher: Nnooo
Players: 1
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Create your own postcards and send them to your friends! With myPostcards you can take a picture, write a quick note on it, then save everything as a postcard. Just open your Nintendo DSi system, take a photo and go. You can even customize your postcards by using 32 built-in background themes, various collectible stamps and unlockable elements. Create postcards for any occasion. Use the pen or pencil tools to write or draw. Simply erase anything you don’t like. Five different inks let you add an extra splash of color to your words and your drawings.

WiiWare

Bang Attack
Publisher: Engine Software
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Bang Attack is a fun, colorful puzzle game for players young and old. You don’t have to learn how to play Bang Attack – just pick it up as you go along. The objective is to find identical objects and smash them with your little hammer. Once you have enough points, you can use the Wii Remote™ controller to swing with the BIG hammer. If there’s a banana in the way, simply whack it off the screen. If you have two Wii Remote controllers, you can challenge another player and find out who’s the real champ. It’s not easy, though. You’ll have to deploy tactics and speed at precisely the right moment. You’ll also need to use special bonus objects to hinder your opponent in order to win. Bang Attack features 40 levels over four crazy worlds, ensuring hours of fun for the whole family.

Nintendo adds new titles to the Nintendo DSi Shop and the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time on Mondays. Users with broadband Internet access can redeem Wii Points or Nintendo DSi Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel. Nintendo DSi Points can be purchased in the Nintendo DSi Shop. A Nintendo Points Card™ can be purchased at retail locations. All points from one Nintendo Points Card must be redeemed in either the Nintendo DSi Shop or the Wii Shop Channel. They are not transferable and cannot be divided between the two systems.

Remember that both Wii and Nintendo DSi feature parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit Wii.com or NintendoDSi.com. EXTRA INFO
From: Nintendo of America Inc.
Uploaded: 19/4/2010
Printable version
PR contact details for Nintendo of America Inc.
RELATED ARTWORK
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Nintendo’s latest financial results, showing record profits.
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16/4/2010 DS Wii
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Fishie Fishie, Ironclad, more Game & Watch, Mr. DRILLER: Drill Till You Drop and Learning with the PooYoos go online.
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WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase, Diner Dash, Ogre Battle 64, Disney Fireworks, Save the Turtles, Super Yum Yum Puzzle Adventures…

©2009 Games Press Ltd. Terms and conditions Priv

It is no secret that I like contests. I am all for them, they are fun, interesting and if done right, anticipation is built up in not knowing if you will win the prize or not. The Retro League are offering up a great prize for their first monthly contest that is super easy to enter and should be fun for everyone. This contest will be done through e-mail (theretroleague at gmail.com), just do a short write up about a game you like but others think is a bad game. Simple. This is the current question, check out The Retro League’s site for the latest episode release to find out what the next question will be (you can enter once per week with each entry gaining you one more chance to win the prize for that month).

The prize this month is quite a nice one, an FC16 Go System (check the pic out for a visual on this). This system is kind of like a laptop, with the included screen, type setup that can be played on your TV too with the included wireless controllers. Don’t let this pass you by, the price is more than reasonable.

The Retro League is a weekly podcast and is available at The Retro League.com

Songs like track #5: Twinkle Heart Bubble are simply awe inspiring when you get over the fact that, honestly, no one did this type of music on the NES before. In Twinkle Heart Bubble, you can almost hear the little 8-Bit drummer tapping his drum sticks together, that is just one example of hte great music and effects available throughout. Other songs evoke memories involving everything from the boss level of a really great platformer to a wrestling match.

Track #10: Psyduck Lullaby would be a perfect fit for any 8-Bit RPG that would have featured a town of nothing but men (can anyone name any such RPG’s?).

Check out track #6: Foamy Pixel Wave and try not to have visions of a triumphant hero, or some descendent, recanting tales of adventure and perils that were overcome. If Video Games Live were a minimalist concert, they would probably sound a lot like King of Time.

With nearly 20 minutes of original music that is just amazing in how it was created, you can’t go wrong with King of Time if you miss the days of old. If you are into gaming music, or a retro gamer, then definitely check out The King of Time by Green Leo.

The King of Time by Green Leo – website
Format: Free online in various formats
Rated: 7 out of 10
Closing remarks:

Great album full of retro gaming music, some of which is amazing that it is done within NES limitations.  Stronger songs choices would have definitely raised the score.

At the end of the night one Space Marine stood above, went beyond, the others- Cendoo of the United States of America who is a member of the Tiger Claw forums. Cendoo, you fought a better, more gallant, fight than anyone else that night and have earned our respect.

Doom Night is part of the Friday Night Fragfest, the brain child of Tiger Claw and is going into it’s fourth tournament, for which time, date and prize will be announced shortly.

To participate in Doom Night you will need a couple of things. One, you will need the Doom 2 wad file (Steam has made available Doom II). Second you will need a copy of a freeware program called Skulltag (available here). Further details will be made available, like server address, when they a finalized.

Don’t miss out on the next Doom Night, it will be a blast straight from hell.

This week also marks the kickoff of Nintendo’s WarioWare: D.I.Y. “Big Name Games” series. Several of the industry’s most talented game designers are using WarioWare: D.I.Y. software for the Nintendo DS™ family of systems to create their own one-of-a-kind microgames. New microgames will be added every Monday through July 26, all available for download to anyone with broadband Internet access and a copy of either WarioWare: D.I.Y. for Nintendo DS or WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase software for the WiiWare service. The series gets underway with inventive new microgames from Super Smash Bros.™ creator Masahiro Sakurai and Metroid™ designer Yoshio Sakamoto. To learn more about the games and view an exclusive behind-the-scenes video featuring Masahiro Sakurai, visit http://www.wariowarediy.com.

And just for Club Nintendo™ members, we’ve got a little something extra to offer this week. Starting March 31, members can redeem 80 Coins to download Grill-Off with Ultra Hand!™, a wild game for the Wii console that challenges players to cook a variety of meats with an extendable arm. What better way to prepare for barbecue season than some fast-paced grilling drills on your Wii system? For a taste of the action, visit http://grilloff.nintendo.com.

WiiWare

WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Comic Mischief, Mild Cartoon Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points™
Description: The frantic fun of WarioWare is available for the first time on the WiiWare service! WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase shows off all the different elements found on the WarioWare: D.I.Y. game for the Nintendo DS family of systems. The WiiWare software includes microgames, music and four-panel comics – all with simple controls using only the Wii Remote™ controller. Use the Game Blender and its many modes to play microgames featuring Wario™, ninjas, animals and even classic Nintendo franchises. Check out the Music section to hear or play a selection of songs using a character from Balloon Fight™. In addition to the bevy of preloaded products, you can also receive content from friends, play with products made using WarioWare: D.I.Y. or download games from the NinSoft Store. Let your creativity run wild – even Wario would be impressed with the possibilities for new content!

Diner Dash®
Publisher: Hudson Entertainment
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Use of Alcohol
Price: 1,000 Wii Points
Description: Diner Dash, a popular PC action-puzzle game, has landed on the WiiWare service. Guide Flo, an office worker-turned-restaurateur, as she builds up her empire over four unique diners. Go online to face players in head-to-head. If you feel up to the challenge, join up with a friend or another player online for a Team Dash game where your team will take on six other players to see whose diner is the best in town. (Broadband Internet access is required for online play.) Players take direct control of Flo as she runs around to seat patrons, take orders, deliver food, take payment and bus tables as efficiently as possible within the time allowed. Players who are fond of traditional control schemes may also use a point-and-click style with hotkeys to aid Flo in her quest for customer satisfaction, which is reflected in a heart meter that empties as customers lose patience. If the meter empties completely, then the customer will leave the restaurant.

Virtual Console

Ogre Battle® 64: Person of Lordly Caliber™
Original platform: Nintendo 64™
Publisher: Square Enix
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) – Mild Language, Mild Violence
Price: 1,000 Wii Points
Description: Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber is a tactical RPG originally released for the Nintendo 64™ system. Featuring a gripping storyline with many possible endings, plus a genre-defining character class system, this strategic epic has rightly retained its place in the hearts of tactical RPG fans for more than a decade. The game tells the story of Magnus Gallant, a recently graduated officer of the Palatinean Army who is assigned to the troubled southern region of his native land. There he witnesses the plight of the lower classes – the victims of a tyrannical ruling elite whose only thought is for the preservation of its own lofty status. With civil war brewing, Magnus is faced with a terrible choice: to betray his own noble origins in the name of liberty, or to turn a blind eye to the evils of his rotten society.

Nintendo DSiWare

Disney Fireworks
Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Light up the night with Disney Fireworks! Touch and flick to trigger a dazzling nighttime extravaganza of color and fun. Aim rockets to their matching colors in the sky to set off an explosion and score points. Time them perfectly to improve your Wow Meter and unlock special surprises and rockets. Disney Fireworks comes with five themed environments, original music, 15 challenging levels for each world, high-score tracking and much more.

Save the Turtles
Publisher: Sabarasa
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Comic Mischief
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Save the Turtles takes players to more than 32 of the world’s most exotic beaches in a quest to help tiny turtles find their new home. Players must use the stylus to rub and tap the touch screen of the Nintendo DSi system, digging eggs from the sand and lining up cute reptiles while avoiding crabs, seagulls and litter on their way to the safety of the sea. The game features four modes, including a never-ending survival mode called Turtles Forever, plus several unlockable trophies. Give Mother Nature a hand and help save the turtles.

Nintendo DSi™ Metronome
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points™
Description: The Nintendo DSi Metronome software can be used to help keep tempo –when playing an instrument, for example. It creates a rhythm by playing sounds based on beat and tempo settings, both of which allow a wide range of adjustments. Choose from three metronome designs (including one based on Nintendo’s Game & Watch™: Ball title) and record your own sounds for the metronome to use. Or, if you want to take a break, enjoy a unique minigame: Donkey Kong™ Metronome, in which you make sounds into the microphone to match the beat and have Mario™ jump over Donkey Kong’s barrels.

Nintendo DSi Instrument Tuner
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: The Nintendo DSi Instrument Tuner software can be used to tune an instrument by aligning tonal pitches. The software offers two methods of handling this: feeding sounds into the microphone to measure the difference with a target pitch, or listening to a sample tone. In addition, the standard musical pitch and notation can be changed, as well as the design of the tuner (choose one of three designs). If you’re feeling especially in tune, test your ear by taking on the Tuner Fight minigame’s challenge: Pop balloons as they rise from pipes by making tones that match the displayed pitches.

Super Yum Yum Puzzle Adventures
Publisher: Mastertronic
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Comic Mischief
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Super Yum Yum Puzzle Adventures is a multi-award-winning puzzle game starring a chameleon called Leon. Featuring 48 levels across four worlds and exclusive Nintendo DSi features, the game asks players to navigate many hours of mind-bending game play while trying to rescue Leon’s babies from the belly of Ms. Tum Tum. Leon must eat his way through fruity, fiendish puzzles, licking fruit to change color and choosing the right combinations of fruit to finish each level.

Nintendo adds new titles to the Nintendo DSi Shop and the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time on Mondays. Users with broadband Internet access can redeem Wii Points or Nintendo DSi Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel. Nintendo DSi Points can be purchased in the Nintendo DSi Shop. A Nintendo Points Card™ can be purchased at retail locations. All points from one Nintendo Points Card must be redeemed in either the Nintendo DSi Shop or the Wii Shop Channel. They are not transferable and cannot be divided between the two systems.

Remember that both Wii and Nintendo DSi feature parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit Wii.com or NintendoDSi.com.

Some people are thrown off by the graphics of BOH since they are in the lower resolution (it is a RETRO flavored game, HD graphics just won’t fit in this style).  When a game is designed from the ground up like BOH, with the limitations of the graphics mode fully in mind, a certain level of beauty can be achieved.  BOH has atmosphere so tense sometimes that you can almost feel it.  I know because I have reviewed an earlier version and it rocked.  If you are a fan of Gauntlet, The Chaos Engine or many other retro overhead titles then you definitely should try BOH out.

Below are the additions that have been made to BOH for the 10.0 update:

* adds acceleration to the turning of the main character when standing (allows to turn by small degrees and, at the same time, to change totally direction more quickly);
* makes enemy fields harmful like traps;
* adds sound effects to enemy fields and conveyor belts;
* improves the sound volume balancement of clusters of squares (enemy fields, conveyor belts and traps);
* intensifies the hit sparks effect;
* increases a bit the weapons shoot rate (so killing enemies is a bit easier);
* replaces the “USE ENHANCED/STANDARD WEAPONS” option with the “DIFFICULTY: normal/easy” option, which affects also the spawning rate of enemies;
* removes the “ENABLE/DISABLE BARRIERS” option;
* adds the “NAME REQUEST: once / per session / always” option;
* adds walls graphics to the themes “C64″, “default” and “warm”;
* extends the illumination range of rotating lamps;
* adds music and recoloring of graphics to the mission report screen;
* adds 10 new short pieces of music;
* improves some graphical elements, sound samples and music pieces;
* simplifies menus and adds the number of the non-secret missions;
* modifies the automatic theme switching so that it will not occur after selecting another video mode or another different automatic theme switching option;
* optimizes slightly the graphical engine;
* adds a new secret mission;
* makes some minimal changes to a few missions;
* updates and improves the manuals;
* applies various other changes.

I would like to also point out that users can download the manuals available on Simone’s site that will show you how to create levels.  The fun of BOH is that you can import new levels (either ones you made or those made by others) and keep playing long after you beat the stock game.

Check out Captain D’s interview with Simone here.

BOH version 10.0 by Simone Bevilacqua – website
Platform:  AmigaOS, AROS, Linux, MacOS, Windows
Price: Please check site for current pricing
Due: Now
Demo Available: Yes

Also on DSiWare this week: You’ll need a steady hand as the pressure is on to rescue Leon’s babies from the belly of Ms. Tum Tum in SUPER YUM YUM Puzzle Adventures. And you better watch your back as gangsters are prowling the neighbourhood in Gangstar 2: Kings of L.A.

Get ready for some frantic fun this week as Diner Dash® comes to WiiWare. Help Flo complete all her tasks in the allotted time and pair up with players online to compete for the best diner in town. Or go for the almost spiritual experience of Art of Balance, a physics-based puzzler with great production values. Critically acclaimed when released in North America, it hits Europe this week!

And that’s not all for Wii! The Hanabi Festival has been a great success so far and SQUARE ENIX gives us the honour of an encore with Ogre Battle®64: Person of Lordly Caliber, the first N64 title on Virtual Console since June! There’s more for Neo Geo as well, with the entry of FATAL FURY SPECIAL, which pits fighters of the first games in this classic series against all new characters in one of the best fighting games ever made.

WiiWare – Art of Balance
(Shin’en Multimedia, 800 Wii Points)
Grab your Wii Remote and balance as many bricks into stacks as possible in this physics-based puzzler. With over 100 levels to challenge not only your skills but also your imagination, the game is easy to pick up and hard to put away.

Make the most of the dedicated two player split-screen “versus” mode for extra fun or take on the challenge by yourself.

WiiWare – Diner Dash®
(HUDSON SOFT, 1000 Wii Points)
Diner Dash®, the number one PC Action Puzzle game has landed on WiiWare. Guide Flo, an office-worker turned restaurateur, as she builds up her empire over four unique diners. Go online to face players in head to head matches. If you feel up to the challenge, join up with a friend or another player online for a Team Dash game where your team will take on six other players to see whose diner is the best in town.

Players take direct control of Flo as she runs around to seat patrons, take orders, deliver food, take payment and bus tables as efficiently as possible within the time limit allowed. Players fond of the traditional control schemes may also use a point-and-click style with hotkeys to aid Flo in her quest for customer satisfaction, which is reflected in a heart meter that empties as customers lose patience. If the meter empties completely, then the customer will leave the restaurant.

Virtual Console – Ogre Battle®64: Person of Lordly Caliber
(SQUARE ENIX, Nintendo 64, 1200 Wii Points)
Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber is a tactical RPG for the Nintendo 64. Featuring a gripping storyline with multiple possible endings, and a genre-defining character class system, this strategic game has rightly retained its place in the hearts of tactical RPG fans for over a decade.

The game tells the story of Magnus Gallant, a recently graduated officer of the Palatinean Army who is assigned to the troubled southern region of his native land. There he witnesses the plight of the lower classes – victims of a tyrannical ruling elite whose only thought is for the preservation of their own lofty status. With civil war brewing, Magnus is faced with a terrible choice: to betray his own noble origins in the name of liberty, or turn a blind eye to the evils of his rotten society.

Virtual Console – FATAL FURY SPECIAL
(D4 Enterprise, NEOGEO, 900 Wii Points)
This fighting game, originally released in 1993, pits a total of 15 different fighters against each other. The cast includes the original eight characters from Fatal Fury 2, along with previously unplayable characters Billy, Axel, Laurence and Wolfgang. Finally, three characters from the original Fatal Fury (Duck, Tung and Geese) have returned to the fight.

Building on the appeal from the previous game with its two-line battle system, its special moves and its powerful finishers, and further improving on the series’ formula, this game is truly worthy of the title “special”. Also, if certain conditions are met, special guest Ryo Sakazaki will make a shocking appearance.

NINTENDO DSiWare – Game & Watch™
Experience a piece of Nintendo history with the Game & Watch series on Nintendo DSiWare. Each title is a perfect recreation of a classic LCD game from the early 1980s, including normal Game A and alternate Game B modes.

And no Game & Watch title would be complete without the ‘Watch’ function – each title includes a fully functional clock and alarm.

Game & Watch™: Chef
(Nintendo, 200 Nintendo DSi Points)
In Chef, you are a cook, frantically flipping food with your frying pan for as long as you can. Watch out for the pesky cat, trying to put you off by grabbing your food with a fork.

Game & Watch™: Judge
(Nintendo, 200 Nintendo DSi Points)
Judge is a game of quick reactions, starring the character that would later become known as Mr Game & Watch. Two characters hold signs, on which numbers appear after a countdown. The player with the higher number can hit the opponent, but the opponent can also dodge. Each player can also try to attack before the countdown ends, risking that they may have a lower number. Game A pits you against the computer while Game B lets you play against a friend.

Game & Watch™: Mario’s Cement Factory
(Nintendo, 200 Nintendo DSi Points)
In Mario’s Cement Factory, your job is to keep the factory going. Move Mario around the platforms and elevators, pull the levers to drop cement into containers, and fill up the trucks waiting to make their deliveries. Just like other Game & Watch titles, Game B mode is the tougher challenge; with faster, randomly moving platforms.

NINTENDO DSiWare – Gangstar 2: Kings of L.A.
(Gameloft, 500 Nintendo DSi Points)
Move to the West Coast and immerse yourself in L.A. gang life with Gangstar 2: Kings of L.A. Complete 75 missions that combine the best of action and driving games.

Explore L.A.’s famous neighbourhoods, like Hollywood, Beverly Hills, downtown and the harbour and experience a unique feeling of freedom as you drive anywhere in open environments and feel free to complete missions at your own pace.

With such a thrilling storyline with unexpected developments, will you live the golden life or become just another thug?

NINTENDO DSiWare – SUPER YUM YUM Puzzle Adventures
(Mastertronic, 800 Nintendo DSi Points)
SUPER YUM YUM Puzzle Adventures is a multi award winning puzzle game featuring a chameleon called Leon. With forty eight levels across four worlds and exclusive Nintendo DSi features, players need to navigate over many hours of mind bending gameplay while they try and rescue Leon’s babies from the belly of Ms. Tum Tum!

There are four worlds and 48 individual levels – there are also four mini games in total, one in each world. The game stars Leon the Chameleon who must eat his way through fruity, fiendish puzzles, licking fruit to change colour and choosing the right combinations of fruit to finish each level.

As the Wii Shop Channel and Nintendo DSi Shop are continually updated with exciting and refreshing games and applications, make sure you keep checking the Nintendo Channel, Wii Shop Channel and Nintendo DSi Shop for all the latest news and releases on already available and upcoming Virtual Console, WiiWare and Nintendo DSiWare titles.

Be sure to also check out Nintendo of Europe’s WiiWare portal, which functions as the main hub for the latest WiiWare news and game sites, while at the same time providing the perfect entry point for newcomers to the service. Weekly and all-time Top 10 lists show which WiiWare titles the UK Club Nintendo members are currently downloading most, and which are the most popular of all time.

The portal also provides step-by-step tutorials explaining how to connect the Wii console to the Internet and how to download WiiWare games, as well as a video showing how to use Nintendo Points. Visit www.wiiware.co.uk for all the details. Downloaded games can be saved to Wii’s internal memory or SD card and added to the console’s Wii Menu or SD Card Menu for anytime easy access.