Nintendo announces 2010 WiiWare, DSiWare schedule @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on February 24, 2010

News: Including two new Art Style games.

In addition to a wide variety of retail Wii and DS releases, Nintendo detailed a dozen new WiiWare and DSiWare games that will be added to the company's download service in the coming months.

The twelve games include two new Art Style titles, Cave Story, Mega Man 10, a new WarioWare spinoff and a wild DSi fighter called Photo Dojo that'll be a surefire hit.

The twelve titles are:

WiiWare

Launching on March 1, Capcom's Mega Man 10 builds upon the huge impact of Mega Man 9, a completely new adventure rendered in classic 8-bit style. This new game looks and sounds as awesomely retro as its predecessor.

Launching on March 8, Max & the Magic Marker from Press Play turns the Wii Remote into an orange magic marker that's literally magic. Players draw lines and objects to help Max reach objects and his ultimate goal.

The long-awaited indie cult classic Cave Story comes to WiiWare with new game play, artwork and music enhancements on March 22. It's classic gaming reborn for 2010.

Launching on March 29, WarioWare D.I.Y. Showcase is a standalone product exclusive to the WiiWare service and available only from the Wii Shop Channel. The game contains more than 70 new microgames and features interoperability with the WarioWare D.I.Y. game for the Nintendo DS family of products. Players that own both games can transfer content between the two via a local wireless connection, and can even play user-created microgames on their television using WarioWare D.I.Y. Showcase.

As the techno music pulses, Nintendo's Art Style: Light Trax puts players in charge of a white beam of light as it engages in a surreal race against other beams across a dark track. Players must keep away from obstacles, use items and look for power boosts if they want to finish first. Art Style: Light Trax launches this spring.

Swim and spin through the primordial ooze in Nintendo's Art Style: Rotozoa as you absorb tiny organisms that match the colors of your tentacles. As you absorb more organisms, your tentacles grow. The challenge increases as additional tentacles are gained, but power-ups can help you survive and thrive. Art Style: Rotozoa launches this spring.

Launching this spring, Rage of the Gladiator from Ghostfire Games is an intense fighting game that asks players to perfect their well-timed moves against an array of opponents. The game is compatible with the Wii MotionPlus accessory.

Launching this spring, And Yet It Moves from Broken Rules requires players to rotate the world to help their line-drawn protagonist progress. Walls become floors and floors become ceilings in this surreal twist on the platformer genre.

Launching this summer, Independent Games Festival Seumas McNally Grand Prize Finalist Super Meat Boy from Team Meat sets a cube of meat off on an adventure to save Princess Bandage. This off-the-wall game is not for the faint of heart.

DSiWare

Nintendo's Photo Dojo is poised to be the cult hit of 2010 when it launches this spring. The game first asks players to pose for 13 pictures and input 10 sound effects. Once that's done, the player becomes the main character in a hilarious side-scrolling fighting game. Create up to eight characters and do battle alone or against a friend on a single Nintendo DSi or Nintendo DSi XL system.

Wired's Chris Kohler described it as: "You take pics of yourself in a variety of fighting-game poses, record your own sound effects, then play what is basically a stripped-down Street Fighter with your pictures and your voice as the character." Too cool.

Launching this spring, Nintendo's Metal Torrent delivers a frantic barrage of gunfire that fills the screen. Players try to convert opponents' bullets into cubes that, when collected, increase their score and fill an energy meter that powers special weapons. Online Leaderboards record scores and movies of top games.

Launching this spring, X-Scape from Nintendo immerses players in an exploratory adventure involving more than 20 planets. Players will pilot their tank through 3D tunnels, fire at enemies and even battle ancient weapons that resemble giant robots.