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Darwinia Comes to XBLA, And The Return Of Blaster Master

impulse weekly
by Matt Miller on February 09, 2010 at 01:09 PM
2,630 Views
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This week’s downloadable game releases, delivered in one neatly tied package.

Darwinia was originally released on PC and Mac in 2005, but its latest version is now headed to Xbox Live Arcade. Darwinia+ combines all the gameplay of the original and combines it with the multiplayer-enabled Multiwinia, then proceeds to update both for a first appearance on consoles. The game blends strategy, puzzle, and action elements to great effect. The Darwinians are tiny AI creatures that live within a massive network of old computers. They are pit against a computer virus that’s out to destroy them, and it’s the players task to help them survive, flourish, and expand their population. This clever and original title will hit on Wednesday, February 10th, for 1200 Microsoft points, better known to your credit card as $15.



Don’t let your head explode or anything, but there’s a sequel to Blaster Master. Yep, you’re as surprised as we were. Blaster Master Overdrive is available on WiiWare, and it retains many of the features that made the original such a beloved classic on the NES. Gameplay alternates between side-scrolling vehicle levels and top-down action stages. The game’s out now, and available for download for 1000 Wii Points ($10).



A late announcement came our way last week, so it didn’t make it into last week’s installment of Impulse Weekly. But it’d be a shame to miss out on mentioning Fret Nice, which showed up on PlayStation Netwrok last Thursday. Tecmo’s downloadable game will happily populate your hard drive for $14.99. The game’s a strange beast. Ostensibly a platform game, Fret Nice can be played with either a normal controller or a guitar controller. While playing, nailing particular musical riffs will destroy your enemies. Each enemy type has its own unique combination that must be played to finish it off. The highly stylized paper-cut-out look of the game and the unique control mechanics are worth a look.



As always, wondering which of these, if any, you’ll be picking up. Any other short-form downloadable games on your radar in the coming weeks that you'd like to hear more about?

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  • by Tuesday, February 09, 2010 at 01:19 PM

    These games look pretty good(especially Blaster Master) but I'm still waiting for Perfect Dark on XBLA.

  •
    by Tuesday, February 09, 2010 at 01:26 PM

    sounds promising..

  •
    by Tuesday, February 09, 2010 at 01:30 PM

    Darwinia+ sounds very intriguing; time to fill up my hard drive a bit more.

    Also, I second Clever Doug's post.  I won't go into a large rant here, but WHY WON'T RARE GIVE US THE RELEASE DATE!?!?!?

  •
    by Tuesday, February 09, 2010 at 01:51 PM

    um i might pick up these games but to much to play and to lil time and money so i dont know if i should

  •
    by Tuesday, February 09, 2010 at 02:41 PM

    I THIRD Clever Doug's post.  I'm still waiting for Rare's masterful IP to hit the XBLA scene, it's been like 10 years since I have played that awesome title.  And I know I'm wishing for way too much when I say this, but it would also be so cool to see GoldenEye 007 come to XBLA, but I know that will never happen.

    Other than that, Darwinia looks like an intresting download, I especially like the idea of small computer AI's fighting for their lives against a menacing computer virus, lol.

  •
    by Tuesday, February 09, 2010 at 02:54 PM

    When's the second dlc coming out for ASSASSINS CREED 2 coming out?

  •
    by Tuesday, February 09, 2010 at 03:03 PM

    OMG!!!!blastermaster sequel this is huge,im so getting this after i get out of work.

  •
    by Tuesday, February 09, 2010 at 04:30 PM

    I saw Fret Nice come out but didn't pay it much attention... but it does look kinda interesting.  There was a demo for it too, so I think I'm gonna download it.

    Thanks for this article ^_^  

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    by Tuesday, February 09, 2010 at 04:30 PM

    I saw Fret Nice come out but didn't pay it much attention... but it does look kinda interesting.  There was a demo for it too, so I think I'm gonna download it.

    Thanks for this article ^_^  

  •
    by Tuesday, February 09, 2010 at 05:57 PM

    sounds awesome

  •
    by Wednesday, February 10, 2010 at 01:18 AM

    BLASTER MASTER OD! Yeah, baby! That game is such a surprise, but I'm super glad it exists. The original Blaster Master formula (Metroid with a tank mixed with some psuedo-Gain Ground-esque overhead shooting) is such a promising one, but is ultimately let down by bad controls. I mean, c'mon, what top down NES shooter DOESN'T allow 8 way shooting? Only Blaster Master. There's a lot of stupid design decisions that let taht title down. Which is why Overdrive kicks ass!

    Sure, it's less charming than the original game (despite the remixed happy music), but it play SO MUCH BETTER. 8 way shooting in the top down sections, strafing, hitting UP to enter doors instead of down like the weird NES version - it's sooooo much more playable now. And it looks like a respectable SNES game. Wish it was less than 10 dollars, but it's worth the money. Such a good download. Not perfect though - where's my widescreen option Sunsoft?

  •
    by Wednesday, February 10, 2010 at 12:06 PM

    I am sad that Blaster Master is not on XBLA.

  • by Wednesday, February 10, 2010 at 08:05 PM

    Darwinia+ looks like it's worth checking out. I think I'll grab the demo.

  •
    by Tuesday, February 23, 2010 at 09:21 PM

    Why is it called Darwinia+? That sounds like Darwinism, or evolutionism which is a load of crap and gibberish.

    Might take a look at Blast Master Overdrive or Fret Nice though I'm busy finishing up Battlefield 1943 to prepare for BC2!