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Microsoft's latest inexplicable picks for the Arcade Hits collection

by Richard Mitchell { Sep 22nd 2009 at 3:45PM }

You remember the Arcade Hits collection, don't you? It's the selection of discounted XBLA titles offered by Microsoft. Ostensibly, these are titles that were popular enough that they can now be offered at a reduced price. Now, we have a task for you: We want you to think of three games that you think should be given the honor of becoming an Arcade Hit. Nope, it's not that one. Not that one either. That one isn't even close.

Nope, the three titles that have now entered the hallowed halls of the Arcade hits are Brain Challenge, 3D Ultra MiniGolf Adventures and Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting, all of which will be permanently knocked down to 400

($5) this Wednesday. That's right, a Brain Age clone, a game you forgot even existed and a game that has already been remastered and made better in every way.

Also on sale this Wednesday, for free, no less: Utter bewilderment.

NintendoWare Weekly: Bit Boy!! brings the bits

by David Hinkle { Jul 13th 2009 at 4:00PM }

This week's biggest release is undoubtedly Bplus' Bit Boy!!, an odd title that pays homage to the various bits that make up gaming's past. Bit Boy!! runs the gamut from gaming's humble beginnings during the 4-bit era, all the way up to the last generation's 128-bit capabilities. The goal is to rescue Bit Boy Kubi's pals, who've been imprisoned across the various worlds.

Continued →

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 }

	0 Platinum 1 Gold 4 Silver 7 Bronze	Difficulty: Impossible Online Trophies? Yes Time to Completion: 100+ hours DLC Trophies? No
	View Trophy List	Read More About the Game

Gallery: Brain Challenge (XBLA)

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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.

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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!