It always makes me double-take when I notice that North America is getting something after Europe. Especially when that something is from Nintendo. But that’s what’s happened with the return of WiiWare demos. Hooray! They arrived in Europe earlier this month, and North America gets the goodness from Monday.
It was a year ago that Nintendo last deigned us worthy of demos, but that was a distinctly short-lived effort. And America came first.
This time it should be different: there will always be a selection of demos available, though the line-up will forever be a-changing. The Nintendo UK website even has a list of what’s currently up for grabs. How very thoughtful.
In fact, it looks like BIT.TRIP FATE has been added since I downloaded a batch of them, so I’ll have to check that out. Last year the demo of BIT.TRIP BEAT nearly converted me to a full purchase – and having returned to it this week, it may yet (though I’m still rubbish at it).
Of the demos recently added, the most interesting is Chronos Twins DX, which hurt my brain, but in a good way. You have to control one jumping-and-shooting character in both the past and present, on different screens. It’s good, and explained far better here.
Another remarkable sampleable treat is Jett Rocket. Remarkable, because it made me realise how long it’s been since I’ve played a generic 3D platformer. It was fun, in an I’ve-not-paid-for-this kind of way. I’d just dig out Ty the Tasmanian Tiger or something if I wanted a fix of this sort of thing.
I may as well pass comment on the other demos, while I’m here. Furry Legends is cute and quite snazzy, but the inertia doesn’t feel right, and the controls are a tad awkward. Zombie Panic In Wonderland seems like a nice enough shooter, but I’ll stick with House of the Dead: Overkill.
Finally, ThruSpace: High Velocity 3D Puzzle has an admirably descriptive title, and also hurt my brain: rotate Tetris-style pieces in three dimensions to fit through gaps. I fancy more patience is required for that than I’m willing to give – which is a criticism of me, not the game.
In conclusion: hooray for WiiWare demos!