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

If you like Capcom games then you're quite possibly in for a treat as the latest update to the Virtual Console contains not one but two arcade titles. Anyway enough from me and on with the games!

Available for download this week we have...

• Exed Exes
• Ghosts 'n Goblins

Points: 800
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Released: 1985
System: Arcade

As scrolling shooters go Exed Exes is neither brilliant or terrible this is possibly because it feels like a culmination of games you've played before, namely the basic pattern seems to mimic Xevious what with it being a vertical shooter that puts you up against various patterns of enemies and features a great deal of parallax scrolling. The enemies that you're up against are mainly insect-based too which draws parallels with the classic Centipede which is no bad thing of course.

But it's not completely unoriginal because as you play you'll enter 'Hi-Point' areas which are essentially bonus sections within the level that help to break things up a little but best of all you can grab a power-up which turns all of the enemies into fruit which you can then collect for a huge points bonus, it's a nice touch that adds a bit of light relief to the otherwise repetitive proceedings.

This is where the game falls down as each level starts off with you blasting a few waves of flying enemies, then it's onto some turrets which suddenly 'appear' in certain formations followed by some slightly larger enemies then the aforementioned bonus round, a few more small enemies and finally on to the boss fight which will always consist of a huge block-shaped structure with turrets attached at various points the size and shape of which will vary as the game progresses.

Essentially though that's it as after the first stage it's a case of rinse & repeat gameplay which can get quite old rather quickly; the controls are solid enough plus the graphics are reasonable but unfortunately the sound that keeps on looping which seems almost mystical at the start soon grates a few stages in.

Would I recommend it? Well I certainly wouldn't write the game off but how much you actually get out of a game like this will largely depend on how much of its repetition you can take as it seems to be one of those games that's simply best played in short bursts. It's eight hundred point price-tag may seem a bit steep for some so you'd be advised to check out other available shooters first before buying this.

Verdict : Essentially entertaining in essence but not essential in itself.

Points: 800
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Released: 1985
System: Arcade

If you think familiar ground is being trodden here then you'd be right as some two years ago the NES version of this classic game was added to the VC and famous as that version is it's still not quite the same as the original arcade game that many loved back in the day. Looking set to capitalise on this Capcom have seen fit to release the arcade version of the game but if you've already played the NES version then is this really worth your hard-earned Nintendo points?

At first glance of the lance things don't seem that different, you still guide our protagonist Arthur a lone knight who must journey through six punishing stages while utilising five different weapons in an attempt to defeat his nemesis Astaroth and of course save the princess which is all in a days work for our hero. Superior graphics and sound are the first main difference as being an arcade release this naturally has better aesthetics than its technically inferior console-based port.

Though our hero may appear strong it really doesn't take much for him to take a turn for the worse, you'll start each life with a full suit of armour but if you so much as get hit slightly then Arthur loses it and must continue his adventure in his boxer shorts. Although somewhat comical you must be careful as one hit in this state and our protagonist will turn into a pile of bones and it'll be the end, until you opt to try again of course.

You'll most likely lose your armour many times while playing even more-so here than in any other game in the series especially at the hands of such enemies as the Red Arremers who will no doubt succeed in taking you out multiple times. As if this wasn't bad enough things gets worse as your only real weapon of any use is the lance you start with, while you can acquire a dagger which will at least increase your throwing speed but the real kick in the teeth comes when you discover you'll need to use the worst weapon in the game - your shield - in order to beat the last level and if you don't have it then you need to go back for it; be warned this is a challenging game and not for the faint of heart.

Of course the biggest slap in the face is that one you actually complete the game � assuming you do � you'll then get sent back to the first level where you must complete the whole game again this time with faster enemies if you want to see the games 'true' ending. So yes the game is challenging and is a classic in its own right but if you've already played the NES version then you may want to give this a miss unless you're a huge fan of the series, if you've never played it before though then you owe it to yourself and being that this is the best version you'd be wise to invest the extra points if you wish to play the game as it was originally intended.

Verdict : A ghoulishly great yet gruelling game.

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
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