Four At Once, Once Again –
Nintendo has taken a new approach to their digital Club Nintendo rewards.
Starting just a month ago in December 2012, Nintendo began to offer four digital downloads at once instead of two games every other week. This trend has continued in the first month of the New Year by offering three Virtual Console titles and one unknown WiiWare game simultaneously. These four games will be available for over a month, expiring on Feb 10th.
Game #1 – Tetris (3DS Virtual Console)
Price – 150 Coins, normally $3.99
Available Until – Feb 10
Summary – One of the most popular handheld games of all time is available as a digital download. This is the Tetris you know and love: addicting gameplay, timeless music, and no more squinting at a pea green screen.
Opinion – Yes, this is the Tetris that you grew up with but the lack of 3DS wireless multiplayer support is a major downfall. But even though you can’t take on your buddy, this game is still worth 150 survey coins.
Worth Your Club Nintendo Coins? – Yes.
Game #2 – Snowpack Park (WiiWare)
Price – 150 Coins, normally 800 Wii Points
Available Until – Feb 10
Summary – Use your Mii to gather penguins and play a bunch of mini games with them.
Opinion – This game is probably more for younger gamers or fans of laid back titles like Animal Crossing or even Mario Party. If you are into collecting hats, this is your game.
Worth Your Club Nintendo Coins? Meh…
Game #3 – Punch-Out! Featuring Mr. Dream (3DS Virtual Console)
Price – 200 Coins, normally $4.99
Available Until – Feb 10
Summary – You are Little Mac, a tiny boxer with the courage of a lion. The goal is to fight through the ranks until you become the World Champ. Who said tough guys don’t wear pink jump suits?
Opinion – The important aspect to point out here is that this is a 3DS Virtual Console game, not a WiiWare Virtual Console game. Even though this is a boxing game, Punch-Out! is more of a puzzle game based on reflexes as opposed to a pure boxing sim. It might not have Mike Tyson, but this is one of the NES’s standout titles as each boss battle is unique. If you think about it, Punch Out! is kind of like the first Shadow of the Colossus.
Worth Your Club Nintendo Coins? – Yes.
Game #4 – Mario Kart 64 (Wii Virtual Console)
Price – 200 Coins, normally 1000 Wii Points
Available Until – Feb 10
Summary – The first sequel to the SNES original hit, Mario Kart 64 offers timeless tracks, an impressive roster of characters, new weapons and new multiplayer modes.
Opinion – Mario Kart 64 is one of the best reasons that the N64 had four controller ports. But even if you never touch the same-sofa multiplayer, the single player offers plenty of entertainment in the GP race mode and Time Trials. This game is awesome and still holds up today.
Download it? – Absolutely!
Also, the very rare and limited edition Golden Nunchuk is also back in stock. But don’t expect it to be available for long.
The Wii U has now been out for a couple months and still is not part of the Club Nintendo program. Perhaps the Big N is waiting for a stronger user base before including Wii U specific downloads..? Either way, having four games to select from is nice, but waiting over a month to see what the next batch is going to be is the hardest part. January, however, has offered some high quality titles that should give gamers a good excuse to spend those precious survey coins.