Christmas Day comes early, with Nintendo detailing what presents await us through the Nintendo eShop this Thursday.
While there is a whole host of special offers available, it is Wii U’s Virtual Console that will draw the most attention through four new arrivals – Duck Hunt, Kuru Kuru Kururin, Mario Party Advance and Mega Man Zero.
Elsewhere, Activision continue to make their games available digitally, EnjoyUp Games serve up Spy Chameleon, and new 3DS HOME Menu themes draw on the Mushroom Kingdom and Animal Crossing for inspiration.
Special Offers (Wii U)
* Assassin’s Creed III, Ubisoft – £7.99 (€9.99) until 1st January 2015, normally £15.99 (€19.99)
* Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag, Ubisoft – £9.99 (€14.99) until 1st January 2015, normally £19.99 (€29.99)
* Cloudberry Kingdom, Ubisoft – £3.89 (€4.89) until 1st January 2015, normally £7.99 (€9.99)
* Child of Light, Ubisoft – £3.89 (€4.89) until 1st January 2015, normally £11.99 (€14.99)
* Just Dance 2015, Ubisoft – £22.49 (€29.99) until 1st January 2015, normally £39.99 (€39.99)
* Knytt Underground, Ripstone Publishing – £3.99 (€4.45) until 1st January 2015, normally £7.99 (€8.99)
* Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth, Ubisoft – £3.99 (€4.99) until 1st January 2015, normally £15.99 (€19.99)
* Pure Chess, Ripstone Publishing – £2.49 (€2.99) until 1st January 2015, normally £4.99 (€5.99)
* Rabbids Land, Ubisoft – £3.99 (€4.99) until 1st January 2015, normally £15.99 (€19.99)
* Rayman Legends, Ubisoft – £11.99 (€14.99) until 1st January 2015, normally £23.99 (€29.99)
* Rock Zombie, EnjoyUp Games – £4.29 (€4.89) until 15th January 2015, normally £6.29 (€6.99)
* Scram Kitty and his Buddy on Rails, Dakko Dakko – £4.49 (€4.99) until 1st January 2015, normally £8.99 (€9.99)
* Sports Connection, Ubisoft – £3.99 (€4.99) until 1st January 2015, normally £15.99 (€19.99)
* Stick it to the Man!, Ripstone Publishing – £3.49 (€3.99) until 1st January 2015, normally £6.99 (€7.99)
* Super Mario 3D World, Nintendo – £34.99 (€39.99) until 1st January 2015, normally £49.99 (€59.99)
* Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Blacklist, Ubisoft – £6.49 (€9.99) until 1st January 2015, normally £19.99 (€29.99)
* TNT Racers – Nitro Machines Edition, Keen Games – £4.49 (€4.99) until 8th January 2015, normally £6.99 (€7.99)
* Toki Tori 2 +, Two Tribes Publishing – £2.49 (€2.99) until 7th January 2015, normally £12.99 (€14.99)
* Watch_Dogs, Ubisoft – £33.49 (€39.99) until 1st January 2015, normally £49.99 (€59.99)
* ZombiU, Ubisoft – £7.99 (€9.99) until 1st January 2015, normally £15.99 (€19.99)
Special Offers (3DS)
* Aero Porter, LEVEL-5 – £2.69 (€2.99) until 4th January 2015, normally £4.49 (€4.99)
* Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale, LEVEL-5 – £2.69 (€2.99) until 4th January 2015, normally £7.19 (€7.99)
* Bravely Default, Nintendo – £25.99 (€29.99) until 1st January 2015, normally £39.99 (€44.99)
* Bugs vs. Tankes!, LEVEL-5 – £2.69 (€2.99) until 4th January 2015, normally £7.19 (€7.99)
* Crimson Shroud, LEVEL-5 – £2.69 (€2.99) until 4th January 2015, normally £7.19 (€7.99)
* escapeVektor, Nnooo – £2.99 (€3.49) until 8th January 2015, normally £5.99 (€6.99)
* Liberation Maiden, LEVEL-5 – £2.69 (€2.99) until 4th January 2015, normally £7.19 (€7.99)
* Mindfeud, Engine Software – £1.79 (€1.99) until 31st December 2014, normally £4.49 (€4.99)
* Pure Chess, Ripstone Publishing – £2.49 (€2.99) until 1st January 2015, normally £4.99 (€5.99)
* The Starship Damrey, LEVEL-5 – £2.69 (€2.99) until 4th January 2015, normally £7.19 (€7.99)
* Weapon Shop de Omasse, LEVEL-5 – £2.69 (€2.99) until 4th January 2015, normally £7.19 (€7.99)
Virtual Console (Wii U)
* Duck Hunt, Nintendo – £3.49 (€4.99)
Originally released as a launch title for the NES, Duck Hunt is a true classic that will really test your reflexes. Ready, aim…pow! If the ducks go down, you win. If the shots go wide, you’ll suffer your hunting dog’s sniggering! Now played with the Wii Remote instead of the Zapper light gun, it’s otherwise exactly as you might remember it. Game A and Game B modes offer different difficulty levels (and a second player can even control the duck!) while Game C ups the challenge further with fast, small clay pigeons. Wii Remote required to play. This is the US version of the game.
* Kuru Kuru Kururin, Nintendo – £6.29 (€6.99)
Steady your hands and steel your nerves for one of the most challenging puzzle-action games ever created. Kuru Kuru Kururin puts you in control of a rotating helicopter that must be carefully manoeuvred through increasingly tight and tricky labyrinthine levels. Avoid the walls and obstacles, or you’ll lose precious time and lives, as you try to reach the goal. It starts simple but soon you’ll be facing moving pistons, floating spikes and all manner of dangers. Kuru Kuru Kururin is easy to pick up but impossible to put down!
* Mario Party Advance, Nintendo – £6.29 (€6.99)
Mario and friends bring the party to Game Boy Advance with a dizzying range of activities for single players plus their pals. Mario Party Advance also introduces Professor E. Gadd’s Gaddgets: wacky toys and tricks that bring the fun outside of the game. Bowser has crashed the party and scattered all the minigames around Shroom City. Collect them all by completing the single-player game boards. Once unlocked, minigames can be played as often as you like. Earn coins to unlock Gaddgets such as the Compatibility Meter which lets you see how strong your friendships really are!
* Mega Man Zero, Capcom – £6.29 (€6.99)
Awakened after a century of sleep, in a strange war torn world, Zero becomes the hero in the first of his own series of adventures. Mega Man Zero sees the cybernetic warrior join forces with a resistance group battling a strangely familiar foe. This new spin-off series introduced new gameplay elements like mission-based levels, and weapons that level-up as you gain more experience; and also Cyber Elves: small but powerful creatures that grant a wide range of useful abilities.
Wii U Download Software
* Spy Chameleon, EnjoyUp Games – £4.99 (€4.99) or £3.59 (€3.99) for those that own 99 Seconds, Abyss, Darts Up, Rock Zombie or Unepic on the same Wii U.
Don’t let the comic look fool you. Being a good RGB agent requires a lot of talent. Spy Chameleon is an arcade-puzzle game where the player must avoid being seen thanks to the chameleon’s ability to change colours and camouflage. Through 5 missions and 75 levels, the player will discover different enemies and abilities to complete these super-secret missions: taking photos of a celebrity with her lover and stealing the secret formula of a successful soft drink are just two examples. Watch your enemies, choose the best path and run to the next safe point. The duration of each level can mean finishing a game in just minutes or spending hours trying to complete the missions and all the challenges, getting the best time among your friends or completing all the achievements.
* The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Activision – £49.99 (€59.99)
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 takes place outside the events of the second film in a unique story where Spider-Man discovers a larger threat to NYC that has turned the underworld upside down. Villains from the film as well as fan-favourite, classic Marvel characters are woven together in a twisted web of adrenaline-fueled, free-roaming, web-slinging action that puts players on a collision course with an evil far beyond Spider-Man’s reckoning.
* Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark, Activision – £49.99 (€59.99)
Explore two unique worlds as your favourite Transformers characters from Transformers: Age of Extinction and Cybertron universes! Weave your way through Earth and Cybertron universes in an unforgettable battle to secure the Dark Spark.
3DS Download Demo
* WRC FIA World Rally Championship The Official Game, Bigben Interactive – Free
Drive all the cars and compete against all the drivers of the 2014 FIA World Rally Championship. Experience all weather conditions on all types of road surfaces with realistic, real-time damage management.
3DS HOME Menu Themes
* ? Block, Nintendo – £1.79 (€1.99)
Celebrate this iconic item with a yellow and black colour scheme, ? Block background, and ? Block folders and icons.
* Animal Crossing: New Leaf Welcome to 2015, Nintendo – £1.79 (€1.99)
Isabelle and Pietro ring in 2015 in this festive theme. Scroll the Touch Screen to see fireworks and party poppers explode.
* Bountiful Boos, Nintendo – £1.79 (€1.99)
This theme stars the bashful Boo and includes ghostly icons, folders, and SFX. Scroll the Touch Screen to animate the lower Boo.
* Completely Goomba, Nintendo – £1.79 (€1.99)
This theme’s ALL about Goombas. It features custom SFX and earthy tones. If you love Goombas, this one’s for you.
3DS Download Software
* Best of Mahjong, GameOn – £1.49 (€1.99)
Relax your mind with the ancient game of tiles. Best of Mahjong features 404 layouts of the traditional tile-matching game in 3D, each with millions of different shuffles to play. The game’s style and interface has been designed for easy and intuitive operation with the Nintendo 3DS stylus or Control Pad. The graphics can be customised with fabulous tile-sets and backgrounds. Sit back, relax and enjoy the endless challenge with this Mahjong game collection.
* Best of Solitaire, GameOn – £2.49 (€2.99)
Best of Solitaire features 101 variations of the most well-known and best-loved single-player card game including Klondike, Freecell, Spider, Pyramid, Yukon. Most games have custom gameplay options so you can enjoy the game with your favourite rules. On-screen instructions allow learning of new Solitaire variations. Statistics are available for players who love to track their wins. Save the game status any time for later. The game’s style and interface has been designed for easy intuitive operation with the Nintendo 3DS stylus or the Control Pad. Sit back and relax as you enjoy the endless challenge and fun with this Solitaire game collection.
* Brutus & Futée, Microids – £6.29 (€6.99)
Brutus & Futée is an adventure puzzle game in which the player takes on the role of the author of an animated series. Help Brutus and Futée find their way and overcome the obstacles they meet. Draw objects and paint or erase the setting to assist the two heroes. Their journey will take them through a variety of different environments and present them with a host of dangerous situations, from an ancient Inca temple full of mysteries and secrets, to the maze in a production studio governed by a rather jittery Boss. With your help, the two heroes will try to rediscover their former glory as famous cartoon stars.
* Puzzlebox setup, Bplus – £2.69 (€2.99)
In Puzzlebox setup you hold the Nintendo 3DS system upside-down. Use the stylus to select a coloured tile on the Touch Screen which is then on the upper side. If you release the colour the tile falls down in the selected column. Let the matching tiles fall down into the glass bottle on the 3D Screen to copy a painting or to complete a setup. Share High Scores in Miiverse.
* Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Activision – £29.99 (€39.99)
Shredder and the Kraang intend to unleash a devastating mutagen bomb that will transform the citizens of New York City into mindless mutants! Join Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo in the fight for NYC in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the videogame! Play as your favourite Turtle Anytime! Booyakasha! Join the Turtle Power and battle through 15 action-packed levels!
* Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Danger of the Ooze, Activision – £29.99 (€39.99)
The Turtles are back in action against the evils of the world! Stop Shredder and his army of mutants as he threatens to unleash the power of a new Super Mutagen that could destroy their beloved NYC.
* The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Activision – £29.99 (€39.99)
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 takes place outside the events of the second film in a unique story where Spider-Man discovers a larger threat to NYC that has turned the underworld upside down. Villains from the film as well as fan-favourite, classic Marvel characters are woven together in a twisted web of adrenaline-fueled, free-roaming, web-slinging action that puts players on a collision course with an evil far beyond Spider-Man’s reckoning.
* Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark, Activision – £29.99 (€39.99)
Explore two unique worlds as your favourite Transformers characters from Transformers: Age of Extinction and Cybertron universes! Weave your way through Earth and Cybertron universes in an unforgettable battle to secure the Dark Spark.
Nintendo Download list: 25th December 2014 (Europe)
