While our official reviews on the games are still a few days away, we thought we'd take a quick look at the service. The WiiWare service is accessible via the Wii Shop Channel, when users turn on their Wii's today they'll be prompted to update their console. The update only took us a few minutes and it adds a new WiiWare button to the Wii Shop Channel, which sits between the Virtual Console and Wii Channels options.
How the Wii Shop Menu looks now.
The service has launched with six Wii Ware titles, which include Dr. Mario & Germ Buster, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King, Lost Winds, Star Soldier R, TV Show King and Toki Toki.
Games for Wii Ware will range in price, with games currently on the service ranging from 800 - 1500 points. Nintendo is selling 1000 Wii Points for $15, or 2000 Wii Points for $30, so 100 Wii Points is equal to $1.50. Below we have taken a quick look at the launch games, with all the information you should require to make a purchasing decision.
Dr. Mario & Germ Buster
Price: 1,000 Points
Real Money: $15.00
Publisher: Nintendo
Anyone who has been gaming for a while is sure to be familiar with the Dr. Mario series. The game plays out similarly to Tetris. In the game, Dr. Mario throws vitamins that the player needs to line up to destroy the viruses in the game. Dr. Mario & Germ Buster doesn't fundamentally change this formula, but does add online play, so you can play against your far-away friends.
The game also includes a new Germ Buster mini game, which utilises the Wii Remote. In the Germ Buster mini game players move the Wii Remote to move the pills. Dr. Mario & Germ Buster is the perfect puzzle game to launch on the Wii Ware service and looks to us to be a must download for anyone who is a fan of the original games.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King
Price: 1,500 Points
Real Money: $22.50
Publisher: Square Enix
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King is one of the flagship launch titles for the Wii Ware service. It is the third title in the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles series and is the most expensive game currently available on the WiiWare service.
My Life as a King is a fantasy city building simulator in which the player has to create a Kingdom from nothing. In the game players start with a bare town and they will need to build towers and castles to bring in new residents.
Players should be warned that while My Life as a King is a unique title for the service, the 1500 points purchase price is only the beginning. Downloadable content for the game is available right now, with even more downloadable content on the way. In fact, there's at least another 2000 points worth of downloadable content set for release in the next few months.
LostWinds
Price: 1000 Points
Real Money: $15.00
Publisher: Frontier
Most people will probably fall in love with LostWinds before they've even played it. The good news is that LostWinds isn't just an adorable looking game, but a completely unique game from Frontier. Lost Winds revolves around a young boy named Toku who has to save his homeland from the elemental Balasar.
The gameplay in LostWinds is truly unique, with players using the Wii Remote to draw directional paths to control the wind. Wind is essential in LostWinds, with the wind enhancing Toku's jumps and helping Toku to solve puzzles.
Star Soldier R
Price: 800 Points
Real Money: $12.00
Publisher: Hudson Soft
Star Soldier R is a futuristic scrolling game, which is the 12th title in the Star Soldier series. The game features classic Star Soldier gameplay with updated 3D graphics. Much like previous Star Soldier games, the game is all about high scoring and power-ups.
TV Show King
Price: 1000 Points
Real Money: $15.00
Publisher: Gameloft
TV Show King is a bit like the Wii's version of Buzz!. The game consists of a three round trivia contest and includes support for up to four players. There are more than 3000 trivia questions in the game, which cover a wide range of subjects, ranging from geography and general knowledge to pop culture. 20% of the questions are also region specific questions - related to Australia.
Like with most of these games, the main appeal for TV Show King is in the multiplayer. The game looks to be a rather basic version of Buzz!, but is available at a budget price point, so may be worth a look.
Toki Tori
Price: 900 Points
Real Money: $13.50
Publisher: Two Tribes
Toki Tori is a remake of a Gameboy Color game which was originally released in 2001. Toki Tori is a Puzzle-Platforming game which has been rejigged to make full use of the Wii Remote. The main appeal of Toki Tori isn't just the fact that the game looks brilliant, but the puzzles. The game contains some very difficult puzzles and even those people who played through the Gameboy Color version of the game will be challenged.
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