This is one of those release weeks where you take a first glance at the games and are once again disappointed with what WiiWare and VC have to offer, but after a little time checking out Groovin’ Blocks (Empty Clip Studios, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 800 Wii Points) Final Soldier (TurboGrafx16, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone—Mild Fantasy Violence, 700 Wii Points) and Cho Aniki (TurboGrafx16 CD-ROM, 1 player, Rated E10+ for Everyone and Older—Mild Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes, 900 Wii Points) you realize this is a deceptively good set of games. Sure it’s two more shooters and a puzzle game, but unlike other weeks all three of these games are actually interesting, despite the fact you probably haven’t heard of at least two of them.

Puzzle games on WiiWare, or anywhere for that matter, aren’t really lacking, but Groovin’ Blocks, despite having a horrendous name, actually looks interesting. Players line up similar colored blocks to score points, which is pretty basic. However, if you keep your puzzle solving to the rhythm of the music you gain extra points. I personally have no rhythm, but the combination of puzzle gaming and music gaming still sounds good to me. Hopefully, it works as good as it sounds.

Final Soldier and Cho Aniki are both shooters, though they do scroll in different ways, so that’s something. Final Soldier is probably the least of the three games, as it’s only a decent shooter in the Soldier series, of which I have played only one game and left for good. Cho Aniki on the other hand has never been released in the U.S. or Europe so this is the first time many of us are getting a chance to play the super quirky game in which you must protect the universe’s supply of protein from a weight lifting emperor. Yup, and this is considered the most normal of the Cho Aniki games.