On the Download: February 12-18

Finally after weeks of begging, Nintendo has delivered what I have wanted for a while.  We got a new game for the 3DS Virtual Console.  It is not a Game Boy or Game Boy Color game as Nintendo released Super Mario Bros., which the Nintendo Ambassadors received a while back, to those who did not pick up the 3DS at launch.  For those who already have Super Mario Bros. for their 3DS, you can download the update that adds the save system that can be found in all 3DS Virtual Console games.  Also the Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D demo landed on the Nintendo eShop this week.  In short, the demo gives a nice small slice of the game's opening level, but nothing substantial enough to convince undecided gamers to go out and buy it this coming Tuesday.  If you are wondering why I talked about all the Nintendo downloadable stuff in the intro?  It is because I have a full order of downloadable games to talk about in this week's edition of On the Download from the new PS Vita to XBLA and PSN to the iOS.  On the Download is packed to capacity, so let us not waste anymore time.

Released alongside the release of the First Edition Vita Bundle, Super Stardust Delta can only be downloaded on the Vita's PlayStation Store.  Super Stardust Delta is the newest entry in a series of twin-stick shooters made by Housemarque and published by Sony.  In Super Stardust Delta, you control a ship orbiting a planet, which is the game's play area.  While in said planet's orbit, you must dodge and/or destroy incoming asteroids and enemies in order to earn the highest score, which you can then upload to the online leaderboard.  At it's core, Super Stardust Delta is an arcade shooter in the vein of Geometry Wars.  It includes game modes such as Arcade and Planets and mini-games like Crush and Disc Slide, which use the Vita's other features to the best of their abilities.  For those itching for more Super Stardust Delta, there already is a DLC that adds a additional four game modes for you to download.  For those interested, Super Stardust Delta will set you back 10 dollars, which should not be much trouble to Vita owners who are sick of playing Little Deviants (the game that came in the First Edition Bundle).

As the first game to release in Microsoft's XBLA House Party, Warp is a unique, cute yet extremely gory puzzle game.  You play as Zero, a cute looking creature who has the cool ability to warp through and even into animate and inanimate objects.  Zero's warping powers play into the game as you try to escape your captors' laboratory. That means tons and tons of animated blood and gore as you can warp into enemies be it scientists or armed guards and cause them to explode from the inside out.  Even though it is a Mature game, Warp looks like a very promising puzzle game.  You can buy it now on XBLA for 800 Microsoft Points or wait until the game releases on PSN and PC for 10 dollars on March 13th.

Back last summer, I downloaded the best platformer you can find for the iOS in League of Evil.  So I was surprised and excited when I saw a trailer for League of Evil 2 last week.  The biggest upgrade with League of Evil 2 is with the new hand-drawn graphics, which does not carry over the 8-bit aesthetic from the first game, but still look very good.  League of Evil 2 also adds over 100 new bit-sized levels to play, boss battles to beat and costumes to wear.  At 1 dollar, it is very hard not to pass up League of Evil 2, but be warned there are quite a few bugs with the game.  In my experience playing League of Evil 2, I have run into some problems with the touch controls not responding at times and a severe stability problem.  In the forty minutes I played League of Evil 2, my game crashed close to 10 times, which made me lose all my saved data.  Actually if you completely close down the app to free some memory on your iDevice, you lose all your saved data.  That is unacceptable Ravenous Games and I refuse play League of Evil 2 until these huge problems are fixed.  So download at your own peril, but at 1 dollar grab League of Evil 2 now before it goes up to 3 dollars and wait for the inevitable update to make this game playable.