Nintendo adds new and classic games to the Wii Shop Channel and two games to the WiiWare Channel. This week’s new games are:

WiiWare™

Dr. Mario® Online Rx (Nintendo, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone, 1,000 Wii Points): The doctor is in! Mario™ takes a break from his adventuring ways and once again dons his stethoscope for a new generation of germ-battling mayhem. In addition to the classic mode of using vitamins to exterminate viruses, you’ll find two battle modes and an online multiplayer mode where you can hone your skills against players from around the world. Feel like challenging a friend who doesn’t have Dr. Mario Online Rx? Then the WiiWare-exclusive Friend Battle Demo is just what the doctor ordered. Or maybe you’d like some help taking on those nasty viruses? Try out Virus Buster, where four players can simultaneously move capsules simply by pointing at them with a Wii Remote™ controller. Any way you look at it, Dr. Mario Online Rx is a prescription for fun that everyone can enjoy.

Family Table Tennis (Aksys Games, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points): It’s time for some good old family fun, and what’s more fun than table tennis? Just like a real family, choose your character from a cast of four, which includes Daddy, Mommy, Sarah and Billy. There are four table tennis-tastic stages where it doesn’t matter if you’re an indoors or outdoors table-tennis player. Pick your poison from a gymnasium, a forest park, a beach or even an amusement park. Choose from Single or Versus mode, or select a minigame to play. In Versus mode, you and a friend can play against each other to see who is the better table-tennis player. And if Single and Versus modes aren’t enough, select between three minigames, which include Target Table Tennis, Thrilling Table Tennis and Matching Table Tennis. The appealing cell-shaded graphics and endearing music, on top of the super-fun game play, will have you and your family playing from morning till night. Get your paddles ready.

Virtual Console™

City Connection™ (NES®, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone - Comic Mischief, Tobacco Reference, 500 Wii Points): Based on the arcade hit, a young man born in California sets out to tour famous sites and cities around the world. As he drives the highways surrounding these locations, the road is painted white as proof of his visit. Only once all sections of the road have been painted will he move on to the next location in his world tour. Not surprisingly, the local police will chase the driver and do their best to stop him from completing his goal. In addition, cats roam the highways and spikes lie in wait for unsuspecting drivers. To combat these dangers, the driver’s customized car can jump, fire cans of oil and collect balloons to warp to a new stage. It’s the ultimate road trip.

Metal Slug (NEOGEO, 1-2 players, Rated T for Teen - Blood, Violence, 900 Wii Points): Released in 1996 by SNK, Metal Slug is a side-scrolling military-action game. Players control Marco and Tarma, both members of the special-ops force Team Peregrine Falcon (commonly known as Team PF), and battle their way through stage after stage of intense action. The goal is to try to overthrow General Morden and win back the stolen weapon, the Metal Slug. Players must blast through waves of enemies and machines (while also jumping over any obstacles in the way) to advance through the stages. It’s not as hopeless as it might sound, though—weapons such as heavy machine guns, shotguns, rocket launchers and flamethrowers, as well as the Metal Slug itself (which appears frequently in the game), will make the battle easier. Take on General Morden with a friend to lighten your load and ramp up the excitement even more.

This are some images of the Pongle Paddle Controller Concept For the Nintendo Wii console (more…)

More About: Pongle, Paddle Controller, Nintendo Wii

Wii Play press release

Less than 12 weeks ago, people around the world first picked up a Wii Remote™ and realized Nintendo is changing video games forever.

The realistic game play of Wii Sports™ turned parents and grandparents into gamers, and launched a new Wii-based party and fitness craze. Today Nintendo builds on the momentum with the arrival of Wii Play™, a collection of nine new games in the Wii Sports style that lets players fish, play pool or shoot targets with the motion-sensitive Wii Remote. Wii Play joins Wii Sports as the party-game centerpiece at family get-togethers and grown-up game nights. To emphasize the multiplayer nature of the game, Wii Play comes packaged with a Wii Remote. The combo could also be a great way to show your valentine how much you’d like to play together!

Wii Play includes games like Fishing, which uses the Wii Remote like a fishing rod; Billiards, which uses the Wii Remote as a pool cue; and Shooting Range, a target practice game played in the style of the classic Duck Hunt® game from the Nintendo Entertainment System®. Other games include Table Tennis (use paddles to rally for points), Charge! (control a charging cow), Tanks! (a tank battle) and Laser Hockey (use the Wii Remote as an air hockey paddle). Two games make extensive use of players’ Mii™ caricatures. Pose Mii asks players to orient their Miis in a variety of different positions to match silhouettes, while Find Mii requires them to locate specific Miis within an ever-growing crowd.

“Wii Play builds on the types of games and experiences people have come to love in Wii Sports,” says George Harrison, Nintendo of America’s senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. “Millions of people around the world are recognizing Wii as the future of gaming. We are changing how people play games, who plays and how many play.”

All the games in Wii Play are easy to learn and difficult to put down. Veterans and newcomers alike will discover fun and entertaining challenges that will have friends and family competing for hours on end. Core gamers can invite their non-gaming friends and relatives to give Wii Play a try, thereby bridging the gap between the two groups and expanding the world of video games to new audiences.

Wii software typically retails around $50, while the MSRP for Wii Remotes is $39.99. Wii Play, which comes packaged with a Wii Remote controller, is available at an MSRP of just $49.99. Wii Play, Rated E for Everyone, is available now. For more information about Wii Play, visit Wii.Nintendo.com.

Source: Nintendo press release

This is an excerpt from the Review of the Nintendo Wii Game WarioWare: Smooth Moves by Cubed3

Yes, the multi-player is supposed to add a lot of value to game (playing darts passes the time nicely enough, but flinging the controller between people as you complete many micro-games in a row grew old in the GC version…), but recalling the situation found with the GameCube edition, getting three friends that want to look like complete idiots seems difficult and the one-player side alone does not justify the £39.99 price tag. Sure, there are nice options like being able to watch video sequences repeatedly, beat your highest scores on the micro games (which really do go crazily fast the longer you play!) or take part in extended mini-games (including a gun shooting one, block balancing puzzle game and a Breakout-style affair that uses a ping-pong paddle controlled completely by the Wii-mote to bounce the ball through barriers), but still this probably would have been much more appealing at a lower price-point.

Full Review

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This is some parts od the IGN interview with Tomm Hulett (project leader) about the upcoming Nintendo Wii game Trauma Center: Second Opinion

“(regarding the name) It immediately implies certain features, like the second playable doctor, a second look at the storyline, etc…The new doctor adds a new dimension to the plot, and I think the new sixth chapter is far more interesting than that of the original game…yes you’ll still be dealing with GUILT, the super-virus. But, I think the new sixth chapter is a lot more grounded in reality…the new operations can be tackled chronologically as they appear, or you can complete “Derek’s” game first, and then go back and play the new doctor stuff.”

“I think the coolest new tool is the Defibrillator. It just seemed like a natural fit for the Wii, so we really argued for its inclusion. You move your controllers forward to place the paddles on the patient, then you see a voltage meter. You have to press the Z Button and B Button at the same time when the voltage is at the right level…The controller does rumble while you operate and I think that’s really what sets this version apart from the DS version…”

“There is no widescreen mode. For this game, that would require a lot of programming because the screen is your entire playing field…As you know many Wii developers are not including Wi-Fi support at this time. Trauma Center is no different…I thought the controls couldn’t be done better than they were on DS. Oops. Well, I’m here to say that I am reformed — I think the rumble-enhanced tools as they appear on the Wii are great, and really help to immerse you in the O.R…”

“Newcomers will easily find 20 to 30 (or more) hours of play in the game, depending. Of course, there are always those unlockable bonus missions…”

More About: Nintendo Wii, Trauma Center: Second Opinion