It's Monday, which means US Wii owners get some more updates for their Virtual Console (click full story for more info):

Ice Hockey (NES)
Gunstar Heroes (Megadrive)
Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (Megadrive)
Alien Crush (TurboGrafx16)

The pick of the bunch here is arguably Gunstar Heroes - possibly one of the finest scrolling shooter/platformers ever made. No word on when Europe is going to start getting updates yet.

Dec. 11, 2006

Later today Nintendo will add four new classic games to the popular WiiTM video game system's Wii Shop Channel. The four new titles will be added at 9 a.m. Pacific time. Nintendo will add new games to the channel every Monday. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week's new games are:

Ice Hockey (NES®, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points): Ice Hockey is hard-hitting, fast-action competition that re-creates all the excitement of the sport from faceoffs to penalty shots. Players pass the puck and shoot to score while using defensive tactics, including fake shots and ice brawls to crush adversaries. It's up to the player to find the best strategy to win the game – finesse or power.

Gunstar Heroes (Sega Genesis, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points): The Gunstar 9 planet was peaceful for many years until the vicious dictator, Colonel Red, kidnapped the Gunstar twins' older brother and used mind control to make him his slave. Players face many different enemies and bosses while battling to stop the dictator from unleashing "Golden Silver the Destructor" with apocalyptic consequences.

Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (Sega Genesis, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points):
Dr. Robotnik is stamping out music and fun in Mobius with his giant robotizing Mean Bean Steaming Machine. Before he turns all the citizens of Beanville into robots, players must save the day by gathering up beans in matching colors and defeating Robotnik's guards.

Alien Crush (TurboGrafx16, 1 player, 600 Wii Points): Alien Crush is a fan-favorite pinball game that features a sinister sci-fi theme. Play through a two-level playing field that comes to life with pulsating alien creatures. Rack up a high enough score, clear the board of these extraterrestrials and discover secret bonus stages. The game features realistic pinball action, complete with a tilt function and two selectable soundtracks. Do you have what it takes to fight back against this alien infestation?