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VC/WiiWare Friday: Happy Hanabi Festival

by JC Fletcher { Jul 3rd 2009 at 10:15AM }

Nintendo of Europe's Hanabi Festival returns, bringing with it, of course, import games! Fantastic stuff is available this week on Virtual Console: Pulseman, a Mega Man-style platformer from a pre-Pokemon Game Freak, and Ogre Battle, the legendary strategy title from Yasumi Matsuno's Quest.

This week's awesomeness extends to WiiWare, with both Bplus's Bit Boy!!, the maze action game that shuffles between various levels of retro, and Gradius Rebirth, which settles at the 16-bit era. And on DSiWare, the Mario calculator and clock apps arrive. Roll your eyes all you want, but they're surprisingly delightful. Details after the break.

Nintendo also announced Hanabi Festival titles you can expect in following weeks: Bomberman '94, Kirby's Dream Land 3, Zoda's Revenge: StarTropics II, MUSHA, Detana!! Twinbee, and the NES Smash Table Tennis!

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Xbox deal this week is a 'Brain Challenge'

by Alexander Sliwinski { May 11th 2009 at 11:00AM }

It's quite the coincidence that after challenging our brains week after week about how the Xbox "Deal of the Week" is determined, Brain Challenge ends up becoming this week's offering. The glorified mobile app isn't "bad," but we still have to think real hard if it's worth the 400

($5) price -- at its standard 800

($10) price, we feel a purchase would put us in the same category as Abby Normal's cerebral matter.

If you're in the market for some cranial exercise, this would be the week to get the Brain Age clone. Just be prepared to learn that a purchase is unlikely to make you any smarter.

[Add Brain Challenge to your Xbox 360 download queue]

Gallery: Brain Challenge (XBLA)

Brain Challenge title update adds Avatar support

by Dustin Burg { Mar 11th 2009 at 6:00PM }

Brain Challenge just joined the short list of Xbox Live Arcade games that support Avatars, as confirmed by Major Nelson's recent Tweet. Avatar support is installed into Brain Challenge via a new title update, automatically downloaded the next time you launch the game online. While we'll take our cameos wherever we can get 'em, Brain Challenge wasn't exactly the next destination we had in mind for our cartoon likenesses. Street Fighter II HD on the other hand ... now that's the kind of game we could really see ourselves in!

Gallery: Brain Challenge (XBLA)

Trophies: Brain Challenge

by Andrew Yoon { Dec 2nd 2008 at 7:17PM }

Are you ready to use some brain power? This edutainment game came out of nowhere, and surprisingly it has Trophies.

View Trophy List | Visit Trophy Portal

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It's a Yummy Yummy Cooking Jam Brain Challenge on WiiWare

by Justin McElroy { Nov 10th 2008 at 3:15PM }

These two entries to the WiiWare have been on Earth for a little over three hours now, so we're going to dispense with making any effort to educate you about them, and just skip right to the making fun of them.

Yummy Yummy Cooking Jam (Virtual Toys, 1-2 players,1,000 Wii Points): Here are just a few names for a game better than Yummy Yummy Cooking Jam. (1) Stalin's Underage Keg Stand Downhill Huckjam. (2) Making Stuff Sticky 2: The Stickying. (3) Imagine Tax Adjusterz.
Brain Challenge (Gameloft, 1-4 players, 1,000 Wii Points): This has been one of our favorite cellphone pastimes for ages now. So, if you use your Wii as a cellphone, we don't think you should pass it up. Also, (4) Pepsi Pete: The Podracing Penguin.

VC Friday: Resistance is futile

by Chris Greenhough { Nov 7th 2008 at 8:55AM }

EX-TERM-IN-ATE! EX-TERM-IN-ATE! Wait, no, those are the other ones. But whatever. The point is: after hearing nothing about Space Invaders Get Even! for months, the game has randomly appeared on the European and Australian Wii Shops. We are unashamedly jigging with joy as we type this. And the extra-terrestial goodness doesn't stop there, for Alien Crush Returns has also joined the line-up. Needless to say, we wholeheartedly welcome our new rulers (of all our spare time).

The other game is Brain Challenge. Sorry, Brain Challenge.

Alien Crush Returns -- WiiWare -- 800 Nintendo Points
Brain Challenge -- WiiWare -- 1000 Nintendo Points
Space Invaders Get Even! -- WiiWare -- 500 Nintendo Points

Gallery: Space Invaders Get Even!

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VC Tuesday: Party time! Excellent!

by JC Fletcher { Oct 14th 2008 at 8:55AM }

How can the Wii have been in stores for two years without a Tetris game? At least Hudson is compensating for the lack of the staple video game with one that is both awesome-looking and cheap. It's being joined on WiiWare by a cheapo darts game and Brain Challenge -- which was actually pretty good on the DS.

On the Virtual Console, a super old sidescroller from Sunsoft that looks like a slowed-down, more awkward Legend of Kage, and a totally cute Taito classic!

Virtual Console releases:

Kanshakudama Nage Kantarou no Toukaidou Gojuusan Tsugi (Famicom, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points)
The New Zealand Story (PC Engine, 1 player, 600 Wii Points)

WiiWare releases:

Darts Wii (1-4 players, 500 Wii Points)
Brain Challenge (1-4 players, 1,000 Wii Points)
Tetris Party (1-6 players, 1,200 Wii Points)

Gallery: Tetris Party

Gameloft developing for PS3 and PSP?

by Majed Athab { Sep 9th 2008 at 6:00PM }

If you've heard of the name Gameloft before, chances are you've played your fair share of Desperate Housewives on your mobile phone. Either that or you've got a thing for WiiWare games. Whatever your poison is, you'll want to keep watch over the primarily-mobile-phone-dev as it just might be making way onto PlayStation platforms.

According to the eagle-eyed at Siliconera, the USK -- Germany's ESRB equivalent -- rated Gameloft's Brain Challenge as both a PS3 and PSP title. It looks like the trivia game might be heading to the PSN as a downloadable title ... at least for Germany anyhow.

Gameloft developing for PS3 and PSP?

by Joystiq Staff { Sep 9th 2008 at 5:50PM }

DS Fanswag: Puzzle pack reminder

by Alisha Karabinus { Mar 22nd 2008 at 4:00PM }

Our latest contest ends tomorrow, which means you still have two chances to get your name in the hat. Just head over to the original post and leave a comment for your chance to win Professor Layton and the Curious Village, along with Brain Challenge.

DS Fanswag: Pick up a professor-approved puzzle pack!

by Alisha Karabinus { Mar 17th 2008 at 9:45AM }

Need a couple of new games to play? DS Fanboy is here for you with another awesome prize pack. This time, we've got Professor Layton and the Curious Village ($29.99), along with Brain Challenge ($19.99). Could two games be any more similar, and yet different? You'll have to try to win them and find out! All you have to do is leave a comment below telling us about your favorite puzzle game of all time.

We've got some good news with this contest as well -- DS Fanboy giveaways are now open to Canadian readers (except for Quebec, sadly)! So if you're 18 or older, and a legal resident of the United States or Canada (minus Quebec), you're cleared to enter once per day between now and March 23. The giveaway will end that evening at 11:59 PM Eastern. We'll select one winner in a random drawing and announce the name of the lucky reader on Monday, March 24. Have questions? Check the official rules.

X3F TV -- XBLA in Brief: Bliss Island and Brain Challenge

by Richard Mitchell { Mar 14th 2008 at 7:00PM }

XBLA in Brief returns this week with a two-for-one look at both Bliss Island and Brain Challenge. Bliss Island is a strange collection of boring mini-games that clocks in at 400 MS points. Brain Challenge is a pretty good knockoff of Brain Age for the Nintendo DS. One of them is actually entertaining. That game is not Bliss Island. We'll give you one guess as to which game was halfway decent. Watch the video above and rejoice in the fact that you will never have to play Bliss Island.

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3).
[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in Zune Marketplace (MP3).
[RSS] Add the Xbox 360 Fanboy Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.
[M4V] Download the M4V directly.

Brains and Bliss make their XBLA debut [update]

by Dustin Burg { Mar 12th 2008 at 12:30PM }

Update: There was some confusion, but Bliss Island is in fact 400 Microsoft points.

Gather the siblings, kids and parents, it's Xbox Live Arcade Wednesday and we have two brand new releases! Both Gameloft's 800 point, mind straining Brain Challenge and Codemasters' ~~800 point~~ 400 point old-school Bliss Island are available for download right now and we're sure both games are eagerly awaiting your purchase. And to help with your downloading decisions, we've ever so kindly uploaded a few screenshots into their respective galleries below. Personally, we're committing to a Brain Challenge trial download, because we're curious to see how much of our noggin those virtual doctors think we use. Here's to hoping we obtain the genius stamp of approval!

Gallery: Bliss Island (XBLA)

Gallery: Brain Challenge (XBLA)

This Wednesday: Brain Challenge, Bliss Island on XBLA

by Justin McElroy { Mar 10th 2008 at 2:15PM }

It's a holiday for puzzle fans on Xbox Live Arcade this week, both for the nose-in-the-books types and those who like their brain-teasing a bit more whimsical. First up is the Gameloft-developed Brain Challenge which (if you haven't already guessed) appears to be in the Brain Age vein, but with the addition of modes (like ones that test your ability to deal with stress and one for the kids) and online multiplayer. You can pick it up for 800 points ($10).

Also on tap, a visit to Codemasters' Bliss Island, where you'll play "Hoshi the Zwooph, a mystical blue creature that emits precise puffs of air to create clouds" (yes, we know, it's a total rip-off of The Wire). You can play through 25 puzzles or challenge friends if you pony up the required 400 points ($5). Both will drop on the service on Wednesday.

Gallery: Bliss Island (XBLA)

Gallery: Brain Challenge (XBLA)

Brain Challenge and Bliss Island headed to XBLA

by Dustin Burg { Mar 10th 2008 at 1:00PM }

This Wednesday, March 12th both the mind hurting Brain Challenge and puzzling lands of Bliss Island will be available for download off the Xbox Live Arcade.

Brain Challenge features numerous questions that'll test your cognitive abilities, online and offline multiplayer and all kinds of progressive charts all for 800 Microsoft points. PomPom Games' Bliss Island is an interesting puzzle game which comes packed with over 25 challenges, nine levels, online multiplayer and can be downloaded for 400 points. Remember, both games will be available this Wednesday and if you can't remember that ... well, then we recommend you give Brain Challenge a purchase. Yah dig?