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

The gods of gaming giveth what we want this week with one "must have" classic and three reasonable distractions. Anyway, to the games!

Available for download this week we have...

• Streets of Rage 2
• ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron
• Kid Chameleon
• World Sports Competition

Points: 800
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega
Released: 1993
System: Megadrive

When the original Streets of Rage was released it was a competent scrolling beat em up that managed to be a punch and kick above the competition, although the genre itself was nothing new the title managed to create a unique style of play that worked well. Perfectly playable in single player though arguably superior in it's co-op mode it was fun to play while it lasted and more importantly formed the foundations for it's superior subsequent sequels.

Streets of Rage 2 isn't another uninspiring update but instead a superior sequel which has been given a complete overhaul. Taking place after the events of the original, the story starts with the discovery of the kidnapping of Adam Hunter (one of the original street fighters) by his kid brother Skates. When the other two members of the trio (Axel Stone and Blaze Fielding) learn of this, together with Skates and Axel's friend Max they head out once more onto the streets of rage to stop Mr X once again...

From the start the respectable roster of playable characters both old and new really helps to keep the game varied and provides a decent balance. This equilibrium extends to the rest of the experience starting with the very first stage where everything from the geared up graphics and sublime scene � setting score by legendary composer Yuzo Koshiro to the spot on controls feels just right.

No more is the completely nonsensical reserve weapon from the original which consisted of a police squad car firing an air-strike of rockets regardless to your location in the game and introduced are two alternative special moves assigned to the Y button for each character which deal out a drastic amount of damage at a small cost to your life gauge. Other moves include jump and direct combat moves assigned to A and B respectively with more executable moves assigned to combinations of all three action buttons and the D pad.

Fighting your way through the games eight lengthy stages (double the length of the original) is a satisfying experience; the mechanics feel greatly improved and more "real" overall with plenty of moves which allow for both creative combos and two player exclusive moves that add to the tag-team tour-de-force that is the co-op mode and work well in the welcome extra that is the V.S battle.

With a plethora of punishing pain inflicting objects such as knives, lead pipes, samurai swords and pipe bombs, excessively eccentric enemies including manic motorcyclists and leather clad dominatrices with electric whips Streets of Rage far outdoes it's predecessor. Add to that the gorgeous graphics with top notch animation, masterful music plus a near perfect control system and you have one of the best 2D scrolling beat em ups ever made on any format; worth the points? Most definitely.

Verdict: Still all the rage it ever was.

Points: 800
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega
Released: 1993
System: Megadrive

ToeJam & Earl in it's original form was something quite unique when it was first released; taking an isometric perspective the player took control of either extra-terrestrial TJ or Earl in an attempt to gather the ten pieces of their ship which was destroyed when they crash land on Earth. The game was entertaining as it employed a wide range of power ups such as spring shoes and integrated it's own brand of trademark humor.

This sequel however employs a much more generic 2D platform template; for one thing it's side scrolling as opposed to isometric and offers a great deal less in the way of variety. Taking place immediately after there first accidental adventure, the story revolves around the dynamic duo arriving back on there home planet of Funkotron with some unexpected cargo; a number of Earthlings stowed away on their ship and are now infesting planet Funkotron.

Your mission is to track down the Earthlings, trap them in large jars and ship them back to Earth in spaceships all the while keeping an eye out for the ten beloved objects belonging to Lamont the "Funkapotamus" so they can persuade him to return to his favorite funk-filled planet. All this takes place over fifteen levels where you basically use your "funk scan" skill to track down the elusive, escapee, eccentric earthlings which range from Ghost Cows to a Naked Man in a Box.

Despite scoring points for being all things weird and wonderfully wacky, the proceedings become rather dull after the first few levels and is best enjoyed in two player mode as this makes things much more enjoyable. At the very least, ToeJam & Earl 2 retains the spirit of the original through it's audio and visuals but ultimately loses it's feeling of relative freedom in it's dimensional trade-off; though it's worth a look if your after an obscure platform title because this easily stands out as one of the strangest of it's era.

Verdict: A fun-filled frolic through Funkotron.

Points: 800
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega
Released: 1992
System: Megadrive

Sega may have invented Sonic which offered it's own high speed orientated brand of gameplay but even they couldn't deny the success of Mario which offered more in the way of depth at the time. And so Kid Chameleon a carbon-copy clone was created in an attempt to pilfer a piece of the pie; the main difference here is the ability to wear masks with bestow alternative persona's upon the main character.

Plot-wise the game is a self referential paradox in a way as you are playing a game which revolves around KC getting sucked into a game which he plays called "Wild Side" this happens after several other kids had been transported to the game world via holographic projectors; and so the real game begins as you set off to rescue everyone inside a game world that has now become "real".

So, the games main selling point, the masks; this is probably the best element of the title as you get to change into various alternate characters ranging from Red Stealth ( a samurai who can break through floors with his sword) to Maniaxe (a Jason Voorhees style character who throws axes). Each of the alter egos allows you to progress towards the end of the stage with their various powers but thats where the magic ends.

Kid Chameleon has in excess of one hundred levels, but will you see them all? It's doubtful due to the dullness in design. If you enjoyed this the first time around then chances are you'll enjoy it again but for anyone who's yet to play it; you may want to save your points and purchase a Mario platform title because like the titular chameleon, this is just an average Nintendo clone in Sega branding.

Verdict: Pretends to be Mario but doesn't compare.

Points: 600
Publisher: Hudsonsoft
Developer: Hudsonsoft
Released: 1992
System: Turbografx

A compendium of sports based mini games inspired but not licensed by the Olympic games, fun... I don't know if it's just me but I found it near impossible to be even remotely enthusiastic about this game. Not just because the majority of sports don't interest me but due to this title really not having much going for it.

Basically you compete in most of the mini games by brainlessly button bashing in an attempt to win the events. A few of the games require a bit more input such as the shooting based ones which require cursor movement via the D-pad but thats about it.

Soulless single player, mundane multiplayer and an exasperating experience all round; there really aren't any selling points unless you actually enjoy this kinda of "game" and even then you would be much better off waiting for something comparatively decent like California Games to be added to the VC. A title that has no real point isn't worth any of yours.

Verdict: Shamefully shoddy sports simulation.

That's all for this week. But by a curious quirk of the gaming space-time continuum, next week's edition- i.e today's Virtual Console updates- will be coming very soon. Any time now actually. Game on!