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

It's a triple-bill of titles from Nintendo; ranging from space exploration in both second and third dimensions alongside worldwide fighting. Anyway enough chatter, on with the games!

Available for download this week we have...

• Metroid
• Silent Debuggers
• Street Fighter II' Turbo: Hyper Fighting

Points: 500
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Released: 1987
System: NES

Metroid, who would have thought that 20 years on the franchise would have seen several successful sequels, spin-offs and even make that fabled transition from second to third dimension. The third entry went on to become the definitive example of it's genre; but it all started here with this; the original side - scrolling mission.

You assume the role of intergalactic bounty hunter Ms Samus Aran who is dispatched by the galactic federation to retrieve a stolen life-form known only as "Metroid" by any means necessary from the clutches of the Space Pirates. Being a cyborg Samus is equipped with a range of weapons which must be used to her advantage as she follows the evil beings to the planet Zebes in order to destroy Mother Brain.

When originally released this game was like nothing else before it; loosely it can be defined as a side scrolling shooter but to be correct it's more exploration than shooting which is emphasized very early on. One of the first power-ups you obtain is the Morph Ball ability which allows Samus to gain access to more of the games sprawling map in addition to use bombs later on.

As you further advance deeper into the masochistic maze that is the game world you will discover where the real challenge lies as you journey through seemingly symmetrical screens only broken up by an altered colour palette and slight changes to rock formation and enemy sequences. Obtaining the various upgrades to your arsenal ranging from missiles, elemental beams and even the odd energy tank or two will play a vital part in the progress and eventual success of your mission; perseverance is key in this challenging title.

If you have never played this original Nintendo classic which spawned the legend that is Metroid then you may wish to take the opportunity to do so now; it's visually dated but audibly strong and still offers a great challenge. For anyone who has played it though be it in original NES form or as an obtainable extra via the combination GC's Metroid Prime / GBA's Fusion or even is NES classic / Zero Mission form theres little to warrant download but this VC incarnation complete with additional save feature is just another way to play it.

Verdict : It's not super but it's still Metroid.

Points: 600
Publisher: Hudsonsoft
Developer: G-mode
Released: 1991
System: Turbografx

A poor Dungeon Master clone vaguely spliced with elements of Alien; thats the only way to describe this corridor blaster in which you take on the role of a dwindling debugging duo who are apparently known as bounty hunters. Don't be fooled by Silent Debuggers though as these two have got nothing on Samus; this title which starts off with a glossy anime style intro and interesting music turns out to be shamefully shoddy in motion.

Your mission (if you can be bothered to accept it) is to investigate an unmanned space station and destroy as many monsters as is humanly possible and reach the core of the ship to deactivate an elaborate bomb all within one hundred minutes. This involves a tiresome trek through the tedious tunnels of the vessel; each being almost completely featureless and identical accompanied by a horrendous frame-rate throughout.

Continuing along the claustrophobic corridors you will eventually encounter some enemies; you are able to tell when they are coming by making use of a motion detector which beeps faster as you draw closer to alien activity. Then it's just a few pointless presses of a button which separate you from victory as the enemies have virtually non existent A.I and there is virtually no way to target where you can shoot apart from directly in front due to the fixed first person viewpoint.

Move forward, turn a corner, find an enemy, shoot, move on; it's a case of lather, rinse and repeat after that as there is nothing more to the experience aside from checking the map or periodically charging up your health and ammo. That really is it, there are no further challenges to this game as it's just an endlessly repeated process from start to finish; if you can even be bothered to get that far.

It's difficult to recommend a game which is pointless to play so I won't, instead I would advise avoiding this simplistic space based shooter. Promising from the title screen and downhill from the moment you press the start button; it's not even worth downloading as a curiosity as it's just yet another piece of substandard software from Hudsonsoft, yes it's good to have the Turbografx on the VC but games like this are a waste of time, points and aren't even worth the "few" blocks in system memory that they consume.

Verdict: Lackluster, linear, lunar lameness.

Points: 800
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Capcom
Released: 1993
System: SNES

Well, Street Fighter II... what can be said about this ultimate classic two-dimensional brawler which easily has more character and charm than a huge proportion of successes in the fighting genre that made it to the third dimension. In fact all credit to Capcom for avoiding the temptation of making a dimensional which really isn't required; the Street Fighter series is easily one of the greatest classic examples in the fighting genre and it's continued success is ultimately owed to this undisputed classic.

It must be emphatically stressed though that this isn't just any version of Capcom's classic combative coin-up but it is "THE" definitive version; while it's true that the game in World Warrior form has been available on the VC for some time now, this Turbo incarnation is superior for several reasons.

As the name suggests this "Turbo" version of SFII is a fantastically faster and frenetically paced variant which is improved ten-fold due to this seemingly simple speed selection option which lets you decide how fast you want to play. It really does make all the difference and after playing Street Fighter this way you will most likely never want to go back to the comparatively slower original which rarely rivals the speed of a snail.

Other notable changes that were made this time around include slight changes to the colour palette on certain backdrops which otherwise remain thankfully intact and unchanged; which is just as well because the original level set remains the best in many respects. Also available is the ability to play as any of the original quartet of bosses (Balrog, M.Bison. Sagat and Vega) or even as identical combatants which is a welcome addition to the two-player mode which remains as fantastically fun as it always has been.

As aforementioned this truly is one of the finest fighters available which defined the genre for many upon it's original much coveted SNES release and still remains as perfectly playable as it always has been. A truly great example which hasn't aged noticeably by any stretch of the imagination; if you have yet to play this or have already experienced it years beforehand then this is an excellent opportunity to own this masterpiece.

Verdict: An awesome addition and a credit to the Virtual Console.

And here ends another edition of VC Weekly which will return soon(ish)... so until then, enjoy the rest of the week and Game On!

Sam Gittins
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