On the Download: March 11-17

When the console games release schedule seems to calm down, the downloadable games seem to pick up.  We got some big releases on each of the Big Three's downloadable services.  On another note, a week after Mass Effect 3 released on consoles and PC, EA decided to release their Mass Effect 3 companion app, Datapad.  While this app should have been released a week ago, I am just happy it has come out.  Datapad has a little Galaxy at War mini-game that will help boost your Galactic Readiness Rating, but other than that it is not much of a game.  Datapad is more of a resource for hardcore Mass Effect fans to interact with their favourite game while on the go and for free, it does not hurt to download.  Enough of my Mass Effect tangent, let us get down to the biggest downloadable games of the week.

Not one, not two, but three new Virtual Console games landed on the Nintendo eShop today.  Why the release of three new Virtual Console games you might be asking?  It is to celebrate the first batch of Game Gear games to release on the eShop.  The three games are Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble (5 dollars), Shinobi (4 dollars) and Dragon Crystal (3 dollars).  Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble follows Sonic and Tails as they race against Dr. Robotnik, Knuckles and Nack the Weasel to collect all five Chaos Emeralds. Platform through six zones, five bonus stages and a 3D stage.  Joe Musahi goes portable in the Game Gear Shinobi game.  Fight through tough side-scrolling levels of Neo City as you look to save your kidnapped students from the forces of evil.  Finally Dragon Crystal is a classic turn-based dungeon crawler.  You are given 30 randomly generated dungeons to conquer on your quest to find the Magic Goblet.  For those who never experienced the Game Gear or remember it fondly, at a few dollars each these games should be a great download.

The final game in Microsoft's XBLA House Party, Ubisoft's I Am Alive has been the most anticipated.  First shown off way back in 2008, I Am Alive has been on many gamer's radars as it is a unique take on the survival horror genre.  Instead of fighting evil supernatural beings like zombies, you are just fighting to survive the hostile post-apocalyptic environment and other survivors.  I Am Alive takes place one year after a cataclysmic event that wipes out most of human civilization and leaves the world barely habitable vaguely known as the Event.  You play as a man named Adam.  Adam has just returned to his hometown of Haventon in order to reunite with his wife, Julie, and daughter, Mary.  I Am Alive is all about surviving.  You will have to fend off hostile survivors with anything from an empty hand gun to a machete or intimidating them to the point they just leave you alone.  I Am Alive also has a big emphasis on climbing and exploration.  You will have to scale wrecked structures and navigate hostile environments.  While completing these tasks, you will have to watch your stamina because if you run out of stamina, you die.  I Am Alive sounds like a fairly interesting downloadable game.  For those interested in picking it up, I Am Alive will run you 1200 Microsoft Points or 15 dollars when it releases on PSN later this spring.

From the creative minds of thatgamecompany, the studio behind great PSN downloads Flow and Flower, comes Journey.  Exclusive to PSN, PlayStation Plus users have been able to pick this game up for a week now.  In Journey, you play as nameless robed figure.  You are dropped in a vast desert.  You see a mountain off in the distance and decide to walk in that direction.  That is all the exposition that Journey has.  You are dropped in the world and let loose to explore in whatever way you see fit with no map or instructions to tell you where to go.  If you are online while playing Journey, you can encounter another player.  While you cannot speak to each other directly, you can use wordless shouts to communicate if you want.  You are not forced to play with this person, you can go your separate ways or stay together and help each out.  It is all your choice.  A lot of good things have been said about Journey and it looks to be another innovative and artistic adventure from thatgamecompany that gamers should pick up.  If you have 15 dollars to spare, this is a journey that you should not miss.