Welcome to VC Weekly, N-Europe's guide to the wonderful world of Nintendo's download service. Written by Jordan Khoviteri-Zadeh.

I'd like to start a little differently this week, and tell you a little about myself. Now, this has some significance to my reviewing, so please read as it will give you a better understanding of my gaming background.

At the moment, I am only 18 years old. This means that the NES debuted before I did! I remember the first console we had, was a Commodore 64, all those... very long years ago. I in fact barely remember playing it, which is a shame really since apparently it had a lot of classics on it. After that, we very much became a Nintendo household for a while. My brother bought an NES in the early 90's which I played on a heck of a lot. Unfortunately it was his console, not only that but back then I didn't have the best taste in computer games, but I do remember owning all the NES Megaman games, so I had some knowledge. After that, we got a SNES for my brother's birthday with Street Fighter II Turbo, I could beat him back then... and I still can now. After that, we had a Megadrive and a Mega CD for a while, all I remember of those was Magic Carpet and Sonic CD. I don't even think we owned any of the Megadrive Sonic games. After that, I didn't own a games console up until 1999, that year I bought an N64 with a couple of games, notably Super Smash Brothers and Pokémon stadium and since then I've been a Nintendo nut, buying each console and handheld that's been released and also investing into Microsoft's consoles the XBOX and XBOX360.

I didn't mean to make that sound, as if I was going on about my past. More just to give you an incite about what I've played. I probably know a lot more about retro games now than I did when I was a child though.

Another comment I got last week, was how little I seem to play these games. That's actually true, for two reasons. One, some of these games are pretty damn difficult and that makes it hard to get through, also I get literally an hour of play out of these games maximum before I have to start research and then start to review.

Anyway, let's get on with the proceedings. This week, three games were released they are:

• Ice Climber
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
• Splatter House

Points: 500
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Released: 1985
System: NES

If you've ever played Wario Ware or Super Smash Bros. Melee you'll know exactly what Ice Climber is about. You control either a female (Nana) or a male (Popo) Ice Climber and you must climb your way to the top of the level. That's right, this is a vertical platformer and the only way to get to the top is by jumping and destroying ice blocks above you with your hammer. But only if it was that easy! Ice Climber also includes a cast enemies and traps, including: Topis, Nitpickers, and polar bears. The enemies either come out from each side of the stage, or randomly drop on top of you like the icicles. It makes it a little more difficult, but after a few levels where only the ground patterns that you have to smash through change, it starts to tire. After you complete each stage, there is bonus stage at the top of it, where you collect anything from egg plants, carrots and corn and hit the bird at the top the level for extra points leading obviously to extra lives.

Ice Climber, like a lot of early NES games, was seen as a 'warm up' for later more complex games: this means it's incredibly linear. Don't let this get to you, the gameplay is timeless and it's still a great thrill to play.

Graphically and audibly, this game never tested the NES. It uses simple sprites and backgrounds. Enemies are instantly recognizable and the colour palate used is great. The music is fantastic, you will be humming it after a couple of levels and the sound effects are basic but suit perfectly. Although this game is a nice spin on the platformer, against games such as Super Mario Bros which is the same price, your choice is really a no brainer.

Verdict: Fun, but annoyingly simple.

Points: 500
Publisher: Ultra Games/Konami
Developer: Konami
Released: August 17th 1990
System: NES

Everyone's favourite heroes in a half shell; named after your favourite classical Italian artists! Can you remember the theme tune to the TV series? Yeah, I know you can. Anyone who was anyone was watching the turtles back in the early 90's and even now they're bringing them back, with new games by Ubisoft and a new movie. But, let's go back when it wasn't all cel shaded and CGI, when it was in fact, arguably a better series.

So, at the start of the huge Turtle lovefest, in 1990 Ultra games released the original Turtles game. Which I, in fact, remember owning... I don't remember it being that hard though. The game plays a little differently from the arcade game that came out in the same year, of course it was much more basic, and after all it was on the NES not on a huge arcade cabinet. The game has two parts, an 'over world' area, where you must avoid enemies with an over the head camera where you may enter the other part of the game, the combat area. The game then flips to a side-on view, where you must kill all the enemies, including the boss characters. You can also change between any turtle you want and they have all their own unique abilities. Leonardo has a pair of Katana, Donatello has a bo staff, Raphael wields a pair of sai and Michelangelo takes nunchaku into battle.

How do the graphics and audio stand up? Graphically, it's not half bad at all. The game, although early in the NES', life looks great and they used the licence very well. With colourful and interesting backdrops and sprites the game really shines. The sound effects and music are awfully tinny, but you can't blame them for trying to push the NES further than anyone at the time. Yes, this is one rose tinted game that actually still delivers. Thank the gods! However... should you own an Xbox 360, there is an alternative. Released at a cheaper price is the arcade game from 1989, which plays totally differently however. It's a 2D side scrolling beat 'em up, but the 360 version does support four player online. Something we obviously don't have. The choice is yours: NES or Arcade version.

Verdict: Turtle power! This game still packs a punch.

Points: 600
Publisher: Namco
Developer: Namco
Released: April 21st 1990 (US Date)
System: TurboGrafx-16

The final game is Splatterhouse: a game which, thanks to the Jack Thompsons of the time, and due to the consoles technical limitations, ended up far worse than the original version. Now, I've played the arcade game, a couple of years ago and I really enjoyed it. I went into this game expecting more of the same. It's really not, at all. Splatterhouse on the TG-16 was cut to hell.

Splatterhouse is a 2D side scroller, but not like Streets of Rage or the previously mentioned Turtles game. This game involves zombies, bats, flesh worms and chained up corpses that spit acid. Fun, eh? Well, the original version featured far much more, it was far darker and far more fun due to this atmosphere. You must go from simply travel left to right to the end to the stage, killing everything in your path with your fists or whatever weapon you can pick up off the ground whilst avoiding whatever traps are on the floor or ceiling.

Sounds fun you might think? Well err... this game is missing a lot and there's a reason you should wait just a while longer. The game is missing its best weapon (the meat clever), its missing the corpses and its missing the splitting body animations and it still was the first game with a parental advisory rating, but its fairly tame these days. The game was heavily influenced by many horror movies such as Friday the 13th, Poltergeist and Evil Dead II. Splatterhouse 2 and 3 released on Mega Drive were far better games; you should wait for these if you want a Splatterhouse.

Compared to the arcade port, the TG-16 version is a joke in terms of graphics and sound. The musical score is far better in the arcade version as are the sound effects. The graphics are far less atmospheric, with poorer lighting and sprite work.

Verdict: Shoddy and tame arcade port.

That's us for this week, enjoy your crime-fighting reptiles! And remember, you can keep up to date with our Virtual Console reviews on our uber-cool VIRTUAL CONSOLE PAGE.