Now Playing: 08.04.2011

It’s that time of week again! That’s right – you’ve just entered Now Playing, the place where Nintendojo gives you the heads-up on all the latest releases. As long as a game’s on a Nintendo console, it’ll show up here. So come back every Thursday and you’ll never have to miss a beat!

WiiWare

August 4th, 2011
Monochrome Racing (Nordcurrent)

eShop

August 4th, 2011
Mario’s Picross (Jupiter)

DS

August 9th, 2011
Pucca Power Up (Rising Star Games)
Spy Kids: All the Time in the World (Majesco)
The Mysterious Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (O-Games)

DSiWare

August 4th, 2011
Go Fetch! 2 (Agetec)
Play & Learn Spanish (Selectsoft)
B Team – Episode 2: Ice & Venom (Subdued Software)

I’m afraid there’s not much to be excited about this week on the gaming front, folks. Everything new ranges from either lackluster, licensed or *cringe* educational. Some may say these games are made for kids and that we shouldn’t be dissing them, but even the most hard up child addict shouldn’t be expected to flounder through these landmines.

First up, we have Spy Kids: All the Time in the World – a numbingly generic platform experience for Nintendo DS based on the 4-D movie of the same name. In this game, players are forced (and I do mean forced) to step into the shoes of the two newest Spy Kids as they race against the clock and puberty to overthrow a Nazi organization led by a hyperion mastermind known as “The Timekeeper”.

I think E.T. phoned home and called in some friends.

Pucca Power Up, another gloriously licensed game set for release on August 9th, features six segments following protagonists Pucca and Garu through their adventurous love story. This quirky mismatch between the daughter of a noodle vendor and a ninja challenges players to help the two cartoon characters on their quest for true love (which in their case boils down to a kiss). Players will also learn new skills from Master Su and complete complex mini-games such as “Kissing Garu” and “Jumping off the Cliff” along the way. Well, at least it has a catchy theme song.

If you prefer classic stories to games based on movies and cartoons, then you may find some intellectual solace this week in The Mysterious Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. This self-proclaimed “thrilling mystery” and hidden object game takes you to the streets of London in 1886 (sound familiar?) where the murder of a prosperous citizen with a faultless reputation is posing puzzling questions to the townspeople. Players must take on the role of Professor Layton Doctor Lautrec Inspector Newcomen to gain the wit they’ll need to best the thirty brainteasing mini-games and unravel the town’s hidden secrets. (For the record, we are aware that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was a real short story and this is just some backwards irony. Please literature fans, don’t be dismayed. -Ed.)

And if those three weren’t enough, DS has also been blessed with a sequel to B Team – Episode 1 (cleverly titled B Team – Episode 2) alongside two other DSiWare titles, with one in particular promising to teach players how to speak Spanish.

¡Ay, caramba!

On the positive side of handheld releases, the few gamers who presently own a 3DS were today given the option of purchasing a port of the critically-acclaimed Game Boy title Mario’s Picross for a meager $3.99. This unique game features Mario as an archaeologist who chisels away to form images on a classical Picross grid.

And in what may be Wii’s weakest week to date, European developer/publisher Nordcurrent alone has saved us from total nothingness with a multiplatform download titled Monochrome Racing. Like the name suggests, the game is a racing simulator set in a black-and-white world where color acts as a scarce resource that must be competed for in Grand Prix tournaments.

So, what games won’t you be buying this week (or ever)? Are you interested in playing another Layton clone? Does this week bring back bad memories of Atari’s dried up alien cash-in? Let us know in the comments below!