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

Portable platform games don't get much more classic then this latest addition and if it happens to be one that you haven't played then now is the time to add it to your virtual collection. Anyway enough from me and on with the game!

Available for download this week we have...

• Wario Land : Super Mario Land 3

Price: GB �3.60, EU �4
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Released: 1994
System: GameBoy

After releasing two successful titles starring Mario you'd think that the logical step would be to continue this for the third outing but thankfully for us Nintendo decided to do something drastically different casting Super Mario Land 2's villain Wario as the lead role in what can only be described as a 'sort-of sequel' which went on to spawn many iterations of its own. But this is the original Wario Land which sees our anti-hero Wario fresh from his defeat in SML2 still wanting a castle to call his own so after hearing that the rather sticky sounding Captain Syrup along with his crew of Brown Sugar Pirates have stolen Mario's statue of Princess Peach, taking it to Kitchen Island our larger than life treasure hunter stows away on their ship in search of this mysterious place in the hopes that it has what he's after.

Loosely following on from the previous Mario Land games Wario controls rather differently as he has his own set of moves, of course you can still jump as normal at a press of the 'A' button but using the 'B' button will have varied results depending on which special 'jar you acquire - by hitting a 'mean faced' block - of which there are three that contain special hats such as the 'Horned' hat which allows you to charge a greater distance through enemies/blocks or even stick to certain ceilings, the 'Jet' hat allows you to fly short distances which is perfect for crossing certain gaps and finally the 'Dragon' hat which is perhaps the most useful as it allows you to scorch your enemies for a limited time. You can still charge a short distance with no special hat equipped, you can also 'ground pound' by pressing 'Down' on the d-pad while in the air plus if you walk up to a stunned enemy Wario will automatically pick them up leaving you to decide whether to throw them into another enemy taking out both or dropping them back down only to then flatten them.

The island is split into eight areas each playing host to five levels which you must navigate to find the exit while accumulating coins and hearts along the way which will allow you to take part in mini-games at the end of each level in which you can win... more coins, which in turn equals more lives if you can get enough of them so it's all beneficial. Every fifth level you'll encounter a boss battle, these are usually pretty off the wall but are fun to partake in offering a reasonable challenge before you advance to the next area, you are rewarded for exploring during regular levels however as there are skeleton doors which can only be opened if you've managed to acquire the key so it certainly pays off to check everywhere especially as this will aid you in becoming proficient with the mechanics of the game which are a different beast from other Nintendo platform games while not being too unfamiliar.

Clearly a great deal of work has gone into the visuals as not only is the presentation top-tier from the very title screen right to the very end but there is an astonishing amount of detail that has been etched into every level and while you might expect some levels to be less detailed than others that's simply nor the case here as the level of polish is very fine indeed with just the right amount of contrast to keep you interested. That same level of consistency didn't quite carry over to the soundtrack but the music that is present is still rather spectacular easily containing many memorable melodies beautifully backed up by a sensational selection of sound samples which make the game a joy to hear in addition to view and play.

Wario is well-suited to starring in his own platforming game series but if it wasn't for this first monumental title then he might not be as well know as he is today so it's thanks to Nintendo taking a risk and reinventing a genre which didn't necessarily need the change but most certainly benefited from it in ways that have only now truly become apparent. Quite simply this is one of the greatest portable platformers to ever grace the GameBoy and if for whatever reason you haven't had the pleasure of playing it but have played many of the more traditional Mario titles then you'd more than likely love this as it has a familiar feeling to it while managing to remain decidedly different for all the right reasons.

Verdict : Wario's weird yet wonderful debut doesn't disappoint.

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!