On the Download: January 29-February 4

Booting up the Nintendo eShop today expecting some exciting new demo or possibly a new 3DS Virtual Console, sadly nothing.  For those looking something to download to their 3DS this week, I will be talking about the big new release on the eShop later in this post.  I was a little upset especially with the fact there has not been a new 3DS Virtual Console game in over a month.  Nintendo and other developers have a plethora of great games from the Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game BoyAdvance systems that they can re-release for the 3DS such as Castlevania Adventure, The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages/Seasons and Mega Man Zero.  There are a good number of titles already on the 3DS Virtual Console, but for the huge library of games released on the Game Boy family of handhelds there should be a new 3DS Virtual Console game at least once or twice a month, even more.  Enough of my little rant, let us get down to business and take a look at some of the biggest downloadable games this week.

For those old enough to remember, there was a day and age when cartoon comedy shows such as Family Guy and South Park were actually good.  After what seems like endless seasons of brain-numbingly stupid jokes and absolute no plot, these shows are long over stayed their welcome.  Back twenty-some years ago, The Simpsons was the best show of them all and it got its own arcade beat-em up made by the great game developers at Konami.  Personally, I remember playing this arcade game at the hotel my family and I would go to each summer when I was younger and I had a ball dropping quarters into this fun beat-em up. Well this Friday on XBLA and next Monday on PSN, Konami will be re-releasing their classic licensed beat-em up with a few cool additions to the game.  These additions will be four player online co-op play, new modes and other bonuses such as the never-released Japanese version of the game, classic flyers and posters and a character guide.  For 10 dollars or 800 Microsoft Points, you could relive a classic beat-em up from the 90s with up to three friends.

For the last few years, Q Games have been making a bunch of unique games under the PixelJunk banner.  The PixelJunk series was exclusive to Sony consoles and handhelds as you could only find them for purchase on the PSN Store.  Now PixelJunk has come to the PC through Valve's Steam client with the release of PixelJunk Eden, the first game in the series.  The PC version of PixelJunk Eden has a number of new features the big feature is the newly re-imagined controls which are made especially for playing on the PC.  In each of the 15 levels, known as gardens, in Eden, you control the agile Grimp toward the Spectra that is hidden in the level.  Jump, swing, climb your way through vibrant plant-life solving puzzles, completing unique challenges and defeating enemies on your way to find Spectra.  Right now, PixelJunk Eden is on sale for 8 dollars or 12 dollars if you pick it up with the original techno soundtrack from indie artist Baiyon.  For those who have missed out on this series while on the PS3 and PSP, should check out this unique indie game that along with the the other installments in the PixelJunk series has received a vast amount of critical acclaim.

Speaking of former exclusive games jumping to other gaming platforms, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, which was originally exclusive for the Nintendo DS, was just released today on the App Store.  Ghost Trick follows the recently deceased Sissel as he tries to piece together the mystery surrounding his death.  As a ghost, Sissel can jump from inanimate object to inanimate object and perform tricks to solve puzzles and save others from meeting their demise.  If something goes wrong and a person you are trying to save dies, you can rewind four minutes before their death to get another chance at being the hero.  Currently, the first two chapters in Ghost Trick for the iOS are completely free, but to unlock the complete game you must shell 10 dollars.  It might seem steep for an iOS game, but considering finding the DS version is almost zero to none, there is no better deal for this great adventure-puzzler.

Other than disappointing me with the lack of support for the 3DS Virtual Console, Nintendo has been hitting it out of the park with these downloadable exclusives for the 3DS.  First Pushmo, now Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword.  In Sakura Samurai, you play as a young samurai tasked with restoring peace to Japan by rescuing Princess Cherry Blossom, the daughter of the gods.  To complete your task, this young samurai must battle devious foes and bosses across feudal Japan.  The meat of this downloadable game is in the combat as you seamlessly transition from enemy to enemy dodging, parrying or blocking attacks while making attacks of your own.  In between battles, you can traverse villages in order to talk to NPCs, stock up on rice cakes, upgrade your sword and save your progress.  To say the least, Nintendo's downloadable offerings should get people excited as it looks like the Big N means business in the downloadable space.  Just like Pushmo, Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword is only 7 dollars.  If you pick it up now or a little later in the year, Sakura Samurai looks to be another great downloadable game for Nintendo's 3D handheld.