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

No less than five games in this edition including everything from super-fast animals and a ghost busting knight to alternative upholders of the law, enough from me and on with the games!

Available for download this week we have...

• Sonic 3
• Ghouls 'n Ghosts
• Shining in the Darkness
• ESWAT: City Under Siege
• Crack Down

Points: 800
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sonic Team
Released: 1995
System: Megadrive

It seems that after producing superior sequel Sonic 2, Sega continued their streak of success with Sonic's third outing which is essentially more of the same but bigger, bolder and in many ways better. It's scale is significantly grander than previous efforts, featuring two playable characters, six unique zones each eclipsing the second games stages three times over and of course; plenty of ring collecting and emerald acquiring.

Starting where their second adventure finished, Sonic and Tails follow Dr. Robotnik to the Floating Island where the Death Egg crashed after being previously destroyed and now the evil doctor is planning to rebuild it. The miracle of the islands levitation is due to the power of the Chaos Emeralds which you must get to before Robotnik; but an inhabitant of the Floating Island named Knuckles the Echidna sees you as a threat and will stand in your way periodically throughout the adventure.

An elemental extension of it's predecessor, Sonic 3 may not be anything drastically new but what it does do is take everything to the next level. On screen action feels a lot more fast and fluid and the sense of speed is perfectly projected though each levels features and facets such as speed boosting buffers, strategically placed springs and of course multiple trademark loops.

New additions to the game include a plethora of power ups including the fire, electric and bubble shields which surround Sonic and give him extra abilities. Tails is now controllable when flying, he also has a useful carry move which comes into it's own in with two players and there is the introduction of bonus stages for obtaining extra lives, rings and continues; not to mention a pseudo 3D special stage where you must collect blue orbs which is rather impressive for it's time and challenging in the later stages.

Even though it owes many of it's gameplay traits to the second incarnation Sonic 3 is still an excellent entry to the series in it's own right. Vivid visuals, astounding audio, and quite simply great gameplay; quite simply the only thing that can make this game even better is would be having the original ability to combine it with Sonic & Knuckles which hopefully will be incorporated when the second part of this truly terrific title is inevitably introduced to the ever expanding emporium of games that is the Virtual Console.

Verdict: A superb staple entry to the Sonic series.

Points: 800
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Capcom
Released: 1989
System: Megadrive

An undisputed arcade classic upon it's original release and this version reprogrammed by Sega is no exception. Near identical in almost every respect this was quite an achievement for it's time, especially considering it was one of the very first MD games to be released and it manages to keep the spirit of the original intact.

Take on the role of brave Sir Arthur the Knight as he sets off once again on a quest to save his girlfriend who was rather unwittingly been kidnapped by Lucifer. Your journey spanning in excess of five large scrolling levels from a graveyard, to a fiery desert, through the castles defense line then descending to the freezing depths of icy underground caverns as you arrive at your final destination; the castle dungeon.

Movement boils down to basic run and jump mechanics coupled with your trusty lance which you can hurl at oncoming enemies along with an assortment of other weapons including knives and throwing stars. There is even a golden suit of armor to obtain which not only boosts your power but also allows you to charge it up in order to make use of a special move; but beware, getting hit by an enemy results in you losing your armor meaning you have to finish the fight in nothing but a pair of boxers.

Audibly the games themes are both curiously catchy while remaining sufficiently simple and are accompanied by some well sampled sound effects. Aesthetically this incarnation remains almost a pixel perfect conversion throughout with only the odd case of flickering in the games more demanding areas; that aside though everything looks wonderfully vibrant with decent sprite animation and a vivid colour palette.

You will discover a decent difficulty level throughout Ghosts 'n Goblins as it is one of those truly rare games which is both a challenge and a joy to play simultaneously. This is as accurate a conversion as you like and is extremely fun to play; improved upon only by the superior Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts in the SNES, this is a true classic of a game thats well worth investing both your time and Wii points in.

Verdict: Once a classic, still a classic.

Points: 800
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sonic Team
Released: 1991
System: Megadrive

Here we go, another dungeon crawler where you play a young hero and (you guessed it) a princess has been kidnapped (along with your father) by a rather frightfully evil fellow known as Dark Sol. He wishes to obtain the keys to the kingdom and so long as those keys are in a place other than within his control then he will continue his reign of tyranny to ensure that his captives are never seen again.

You take on the role of a brave knight who is charged with the task of bringing her back safely and indeed charges his own sum for his services. So with a couple of appointed party members from a village they set off to Dark Sols labyrinth to take down the evil lord, rescue the princess and your father and claim your "modest" bounty, all in a days work then?

Said to bare resemblances to the classic Dungeon Master this couldn't really be further from the truth as for one thing enemy encounters occur completely randomly and the combat isn't in real time. The game is also quite simplistic in comparison with a limited number of obtainable items, an A to B scenario when inside dungeons with little to no deviation and a purely offensive battle system with few chances of tactics.

This game shines however in the visual department with lots of attention to detail thats typical of a Japanese RPG of this era. Everything from the enemies, to the games band of protagonists, the surrounding landscape and the villages and their inhabitants all have a decent amount of character to them which helps to inject a bit of life into what would otherwise be just another run of the mill dungeon crawler.

Shining in the Darkness is essentially very much a style over substance dungeon crawler with a first person perspective. It may not be to everyones tastes but it should provide a decent experience for those who download it and decide that they do like it; there is a fair amount on offer here for the patient, persistent player.

Verdict: Still shines, though it's not the brightest in the series.

Points: 800
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega
Released: 1990
System: Megadrive

Crime has corrupted Cyber City, insolent lawbreakers terrorising innocent bystanders all the while decimating the city of everything that holds any monetary value. Civil civilians aren't best pleased with this however and neither is the city's mayor, who establishes the ESWAT (Enhanced Special Weapons and Tactics) a riot battalion of Cyber Police to deal with the influx of ingrates who are slowly destroying the city.

You take on the role of a battle hardened robotic cop who looks eerily similar toa cross between Robocop and Megaman except you don't get a fully souped up suit from the start but instead you earn that privilege once you make it past the first few levels which are mostly linear and unexciting.

Once you get in that fully equipped suit however, thats when the game really comes into it's own as it's really fun to blast way those good for nothing criminal scum with your veritable assorted arsenal of projectile devices of which to subdue them with.

The vast side-scrolling levels are well designed and realised with a decent level of animation and solid visuals backed up with some solidly sampled sounds to accompany the high octane nature of the game which is respectable and enjoyable in it's own right.

It may never hope to compete on equal ground when being compared to such titles as Contra III or Gunstar heroes but it still manages to give them a worthy run (and gun) for their money. Basically if you like games of a platform action variety then chances are you will find something to like about this; just don't expect it to outshine the true classics which are grouped into the same category.

Verdict: Another fun run 'n gun action game.

Points: 800
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega
Released: 1990
System: Megadrive

An obscure title indeed is one of the first things that springs to mind with Crack Down. Ok so you control a member of the CIA's elite crackdown force, in which your task is to go around a city placing bombs inside specially targeted buildings in order to blow them up.

It's story goes a little something like this; the evil Doctor K has created an army of subordinates in order to take over the world (how original). The only hope lies with two people who can stop him stop him; Andy Attacker and Ben Breaker who are the highest ranked soldiers of the Crackdown force.

You will have a limited set of weapons available to you including a machine gun and super bombs which you use to blow up specifically targeted buildings. Initially though you will start off unarmed although so are many of your enemies so it's relatively easy to wander around one hitting enemies; things do get better though as you will pick up ammo for your pistol and the fun really begins from that point in.

Larger weapons are obtainable but you will also be attacked by soldiers using them too, so you basically creep around levels Metal Gear style taking about enemies, avoiding fire and of course most importantly blowing up your target buildings. The buildings are marked with an "X" and basically you planet the bombs, avoid all obstacles in your way ranging from suicidal exploding robots, pitfalls and other hapless hazards and then exit the level which detonates the bombs and allows you to proceed onward.

Overall it carries a decent concept, is presented in a reasonably detailed top-down view and has some catchy accompanying music. Fun to play in both single player and co-op and a decent arcade conversion; a relatively obscure title which deserves to be discovered now that it's readily available, give it a try if you find it interesting as you could do a lot worse.

Verdict: An original and especially explosive experience.

Another edition of VC Weekly ends but another will begin again soon so until then, enjoy the rest of the week and Game On!

Sam Gittins
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