Portable Planet

The Wii Virtual Console has three more titles to choose from this go-round, and at least two are certifiable classics. The other one will never, ever touch our Nintendo Wii, but that’s mostly because of Super Smash Bros. Melee. And that’s not really Ice Climber’s fault.

This week Wii takes you back to the classic old-school era with a selection of action-packed titles which will have your heart pounding and hands sweating in minutes.

Nintendo fans will remember the charms of Ice Climber from the Nintendo Entertainment System. Players take control of a small Eskimo who, armed only with a hammer, must make his way up an icy mountain, breaking blocks to make new routes and defeating enemies which block his way. With perilous black-ice, deviously placed indestructible blocks and challenging time limits, this game will have you on the edge of your seat.

Next in this weeks tour of 1980s culture we travel from the arctic mountains to the sewers of New York where we meet four bright green 80s ninjitsu legends in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Again making its debut on the NES, this game requires players to battle through five large stages to foil a criminal plot threatening the city. Players can switch between their favourite Turtles at any time during the game allowing you to pick the ideal pizza-eating reptile for every situation.

Finally, challenge your nerve and take on the game which gave birth to the survival horror genre with Splatter House originally for Turbografx. Following a storm, the hero and his girlfriend take shelter in a creepy mansion. When our hero wakes the next morning his girlfriend is gone and a hockey mask is stuck on his head, giving him superhuman strength. Using this new-found power, players must hack and slash their way through seven levels full of undead and save their girlfriend from the evil which has taken control of this house.