Welcome to VC Weekly, N-Europe's guide to the wonderful world of Nintendo's download service. Written by Sam C Gittins.

For anyone who fondly remembers the 8-bit era Nintendo have a treat for you with the release of an old NES classic. Anyway enough from me and on with the erm... game!

Available for download this week we have...

• Blaster Master

Points: 500
Publisher: Sunsoft
Developer: Sunsoft
Released: 1988
System: NES

When you consider the 8-bit era there are many classics that immediately spring to mind but none of them can ever really compare to Blaster Master for it is a game that refuses to be shoe-horned into any one specific category. Exploration, platforming and even shooting were blended near-seamlessly into a game experience that is truly like no other even to this very day some near two and a half decades after its original release.

You take on the role of a guy called Jason and you must seek and destroy the boss in each area which will bestow a special power-up upon your armoured vehicle allowing you to progress further than was previously possible. There are two ways to play, firstly as you take out enemies with your craft you'll upgrade your vehicle which improves maneuverability greatly but there are times when you won't be able to use your vehicle and are forced to go on-foot for certain sections.

Upon exiting the vehicle you get to go into smaller areas which change the perspective of the game from side-on to overhead and gives you a set amount of things to well... blast, the clue is in the games title after all. You'll be mostly using the titular blaster but you also have a small supply of missiles and grenades which are very useful indeed, especially when it comes to the games bosses which you will face frequently.

Everything controls amazingly well in this game to the point where you feel in complete control and that is actually something of a rarity, especially these days. It's challenging, both looks and sounds stunning and provides an experience that is quite simply like no other; so if you're looking for something new that's decidedly different from the rest of the game then you should look no further if you've yet to play this classic.

Vibrant visuals, awesome audio and an all-round original offering in the gameplay department puts this title up there with the rest of the classics because truly it's where it belongs and if you've yet to play this then you owe it to yourself to do so, especially at a mere five hundred Wii points; it's a well worthwhile investment.

Verdict : It's a master of original 8-bit blasters.

That's it for another installment of VC Weekly which will return again soon. So until then, enjoy the rest of the week and Game On!

Sam Gittins
[email protected]

Looking for reviews on other Virtual Console games? Or a full list of games available on the system? Then Check out our Virtual Console Index Page.