If there’s one guest who’s welcome at any holiday party, it’s MarioTM. This season, the Virtual ConsoleTM service invites you to join Mario and his Mushroom Kingdom crew for the classic, family-friendly fun of Mario PartyTM 2, now playable on the WiiTMTM service to help keep your days merry and bright: the unique sci-fi strategy of Inkub and the funky robot challenge of Frobot. (A demo version of Frobot is available for zero Wii PointsTM.) If you aim to fill your holiday week with hand-held adventure, take a look at the latest arrivals for the Nintendo DSiWareTM service, including Dragon’s Lair® II: Time Warp and Cosmo Fighters. No matter where the season leads you, here’s hoping it’s a warm and happy one.
system for the first time ever. You’ll also find new additions to the WiiWare Virtual Console
Mario Party 2
Original platform: Nintendo 64TM
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Mild Violence
Price: 1,000 Wii Points
Description: Get ready to party like it’s the year 2000 all over again, complete with fancy costumes, bags of surprises and games galore. Mario and his Mushroom Kingdom friends return for a new round of Bowser-bashing board game action in Mario Party 2. Each of your favorite characters dons a differently themed outfit to take part in five fun-packed Adventure Boards: Pirate Land, Western Land, Space Land, Mystery Land and Horror Land. Then battle BowserTM on his own specific board – if you’re brave enough. Up to four players (additional accessories required, sold separately) can travel around the boards and compete in minigames for coins while also using items to gain an advantage. Win the most stars and become the ultimate victor: the Super Star. Or, if you just feel like proving your minigame mettle, visit Mini-Game Land. Head to the Mini-Game Stadium and replay your favorites, including the Item, Battle, Duel and Chance Time minigames.
WiiWare
Frobot
Publisher: Fugazo
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) – Mild Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes
Price: 1,000 Wii Points; demo version available for 0 Wii Points
Description: Frobot is programmed to make love, not war. But when his five foxy girlfriends get botnapped, he doesn’t skip a beat in taking the fight to the streets. Blast your way up from the Funkytown Slums to the BotBlocker HQ and save them. In Burn Baby Burn mode, earn powerful weapons including the Robo Hustle dash and the Jivestalker disco ball to help take on the Man. In The Big Payback, journey through a story mode filled with action, adventure and fro-frazzling physics puzzles to rescue your girlfriends. In Superfreak, find hidden power picks and upgrade your style. It’s a fight to the last Fro in Frobot’s multiplaya arena. Face off with up to three of your friends on one screen to see who will earn the spotlight. In It’s Raining Guns, access an expanded arsenal of funky weapons, including the Bass Bomb grenade and the Heartstopper shield. And in Do the Hustle, you can unlock multiplaya maps by beating single-playa levels in record time.
Nintendo DSiWare
Dragon’s Lair II: Time Warp
Publisher: Digital Leisure Inc.
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) – Suggestive Themes, Fantasy Violence
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi PointsTM
Description: Princess Daphne has been spirited away to a wrinkle in time by the evil wizard Mordroc, who plans to force her into marriage. Only you, Dirk the Daring, can save her. Transported by a bumbling old time machine, you begin the rescue mission. But you must hurry, for once the Casket of Doom has opened, Mordroc will place the Death Ring upon Daphne’s finger and she will be lost forever in the Time Warp. Dragon’s Lair II: Time Warp is a fully animated arcade classic from legendary animator Don Bluth. You’ll make your way through time by using your Nintendo DSiTM system to move and wield your sword. Beware of your foes, for they are numerous. Only you can save Princess Daphne.
