USA WiiWare Update: Magnetica Twist

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Posted Mon, 30 Jun 2008 - By Darren Calvert

Ball busting fun in Magnetica Twist!

Ball busting fun in Magnetica Twist!

If you are a puzzle game fan then you are in for a treat this week as Magnetica Twist is up for grabs. Anyone who is familiar with PopCap's Zuma will know exactly what is on offer here. There should be no complaints about this being a cheap copy of Zuma however, it is the other way around if anything – Mitchell got there first in 1998 with their arcade game Puzz Loop, or Ballistic as it came to be known outside of Japan.

Europe got this a few weeks ago under the guise of Actionloop Twist so our review is all ready and waiting to help you decide if you should spend your precious Wii points on this or not. You can check out our Magnetica Twist review here.

More from Nintendo’s Wii-kly update:

Nintendo adds new and classic games to the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time every Monday. This week’s new games are:

Magnetica Twist (Nintendo, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone - Comic Mischief, 1,000 Wii Points): The classic puzzle game Magnetica is now available on WiiWare , putting its own unique “twist” on the puzzle-game experience. You’re surrounded by marbles, marching slowly but surely down a track. Use a launcher (piloted by a Mii™ of your choice) to shoot marbles with matching colors and wipe them out before they reach the end of the track. Control couldn’t be simpler, as all you need to do is twist the Wii Remote™ controller to aim and press the A button to shoot. And the game play remains as addictive and deep as you’ve come to expect in Nintendo’s puzzle games, with five varied play modes, advanced mechanics such as the ability to lob marbles, and a never-ending supply of combos. This definitely isn’t your typical game of marbles.

If you are more of a fighter than a puzzler then you could download Fatal Fury 2 on the Virtual Console today instead. New games on the Neo Geo are always a good thing and this brawler is one of the best on the system, well worth a look!

Posted in North American Releases.

Screenshots

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Have your say about this story

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1. DEMON212 United Kingdom 30 Jun 2008, 13:39 GMT

Great game :)

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2. Boringman54 Canada 30 Jun 2008, 13:40 GMT

Aww, I wanted something good.

3. citizen_zane United States 30 Jun 2008, 13:57 GMT

You guys forgot to mention that new DLC was added for FFCC: My Life as King.

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4. morphballer United States 30 Jun 2008, 13:57 GMT

News flash! Magnetica Twist is good.

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5. KnucklesSonic8 Canada 30 Jun 2008, 13:58 GMT

YES!!!!! :D

Too bad I have no Wii Points. :(

6. RGVEDA Germany 30 Jun 2008, 14:02 GMT

So...now Europe has to catch up the US Only Games :)

There are no EU Only Games left...

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7. KnucklesSonic8 Canada 30 Jun 2008, 14:04 GMT

At least it wasn't Plattchen, though. I would be screaming. XD

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8. PALgamer Spain 30 Jun 2008, 14:30 GMT

Didn't NOA say that they would only let one title per publisher a month? Two Nintendo titles this month for America.

Have fun with it, it is a good game.

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9. FroguinZX United States 30 Jun 2008, 14:31 GMT

NOOO! I wasted my money on Gyrostarr! Nintendo lies! THEY BROKE THEIR OWN RULE! cries

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10. KnucklesSonic8 Canada 30 Jun 2008, 14:54 GMT

I noticed that too... I guess it's only because July 1st is tomorrow.

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11. breaderer United States 30 Jun 2008, 15:02 GMT

still waiting for SBCG4AP

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12. KnucklesSonic8 Canada 30 Jun 2008, 15:47 GMT

You'll be waiting till at least mid-July. Most likely, August to be honest.

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13. andy836 United States 30 Jun 2008, 15:54 GMT

so much for the other games that were suppose to come out today.

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14. KnucklesSonic8 Canada 30 Jun 2008, 16:35 GMT

Nothing was "supposed" to come out today. It was purely speculation.

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15. andy836 United States 30 Jun 2008, 16:43 GMT

I thought KOD, MLE, or SPOGS where suppose to come out today.

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16. Wii Ownz All United States 30 Jun 2008, 18:06 GMT

What new DLC is available?

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17. KnucklesSonic8 Canada 30 Jun 2008, 18:57 GMT

andy: Indeed. Well, they were supposed to release THIS MONTH, anyway, and this was the last day for that, so I guess I know what you mean. I guess Nintendo is saving them for July.. Which kinda makes sense, too, in a way. That way Nintendo can have a first-party release next month also so they don't run out of things to release this summer (which is unlikely when you like at all the things that are finished that are still waiting to be released, and all the WiiWare very close to completion). After that point, more WiiWare will be revealed as having reached a point close to release since there are some WiiWare titles that are in development that we don't even know about, including rumored WiiWare titles.

But the longer we wait on MLE the better. I hope it comes at a time when I'm busy with another game so I won't care about the update. xD As you can tell, I don't have high hopes for MLE. As for SPOGS, it has potential but the track design needs some improvement from what I saw in the trailer before I could see it as being worth a purchase.

Anyway... I think it's certainly interesting, to say the least, that Nintendo is ifnding ways around their.. "rule". They probably used tomorrow's statutory holiday as an excuse somehow. Then again, it's not like the other developers would know/have a big say since Nintendo decides when things release anyway. XD

Another thing: It's better we save these titles for July since first-party support for Wii is lacking this Summer (only Super Mario Sluggers, sadly, but I am really looking forward to trying it) so WiiWare will certainly help rectify that.

Wii Ownz All: First off... it sure does! :D Secondly, to my knowledge based on what I heard from before, they're just more new costumes. I may be wrong, though.

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18. x.SuperMario.x United States 30 Jun 2008, 19:09 GMT

Knuckles holds the record for the most comments on the Monday release articles.

Anyway, at least we got a good game. I probably won't buy it, but its much better than Major League Eating, or SPOGS.
Hopefully my birthday next Monday will bring some games I'm interested in though.

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19. KnucklesSonic8 Canada 30 Jun 2008, 19:27 GMT

Lol, SuperMario. ;)
That would be awesome if on your birthday would come your most anticipated title. :o

Doubt it, though, since I'm sure it's either Strong Bad or World of Goo, am I right? ;) I REALLY hope Plattchen releases next month. I'll be so happy! :)

And agreed: Magnetica is much better than MLE. As for SPOGS, maybe not much better but definitely better. SPOGS has a great concept but it's lacking in quite a few aspects. But we'll see. I have a feeling they'll iron things out. ;)

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20. x.SuperMario.x United States 30 Jun 2008, 19:34 GMT

World of Goo would make me happy.
Or great VC games, but I think it's safe to assume that won't happen. :P
Unfortunately I'm probably the least enthusiastic person when it comes to Strong Bad, the show has never really appealed to me, and I don't think the game looks much better. But I guess it's just me.

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21. andy836 United States 30 Jun 2008, 19:47 GMT

@KnucklesSonic8
well they really only broke their rule by one day so i'm sure no one is going to complain. I really hope MLE never comes out lol, but i know i it will :(
SPOGS might be good it looks okay for now hopefully they will have added online. I'm actually sort of looking forward to the new mario baseball game it looks pretty good so far. I think that Plattchen will release this month at least i hope. Though today's wiiware game seems pretty fun so I'll probably get it within the next two days or so.

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22. KnucklesSonic8 Canada 30 Jun 2008, 19:48 GMT

@SuperMario: Strong Bad doesn't appeal to me that much either. ;)
World of Goo WOULD be awesome but it's not coming until (at the earliest) August. Most likely September. ;)

I'm quite happy about Magnetica being added to the catalogue. I mean, it's no World of Goo, obviously, but being the big puzzle fan that I am and having tried Zuma in the past, this caught my interest since it came out in Europe. Ever since then, I thought it would release the week after and when it didn't, I was kinda surprised in a way, forgetting completely about Big N's "rule". xD I'm glad we have it now but I'd be happier if I had Wii Points to even try it out. Heh.

edit:
@andy: Indeed. Noone's gonna say anything, and that's exactly why. Well that and considering how close July 1st is. If it was on, say Friday, they wouldn't have "gotten away with it". Heh.

Lol. Yeah, and I wish MLE wouldn't get added either cause that's a waste of an update. xD
I know we probably shouldn't be bashing the game before it's even released but I mean... it's just not appealing at all. Normally, I'd give it a try before passing judgments but this is an exception.

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23. Objection_Blaster United States 30 Jun 2008, 20:27 GMT

I had heard we'd get Plattchen today so I think that it and MLE will release enxt week. See? Its one crappy game and one good one! But of course MLE will go up to #12 minimum because we Americans are stupid.

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24. andy836 United States 30 Jun 2008, 20:28 GMT

@KnucklesSonic8
yeah i dont like strong bad that much its okay. i wish world of Goo would come earlier. I'd like to see a video of plattchen it sounds kool.

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25. Peznaze United States 30 Jun 2008, 20:44 GMT

What? Magnetica? Really? How very odd. Just goes to show that the Regginator's Drunken Staggering defies prediction. And logic. And common sense. And his own rules.

As for MLE, I really hope Mastiff's filing suit. Nobody cares about MLE on any day other than July 4th. Nintendo just destroyed a huge chunk of their potential sales. Just like the Grinch actors couldn't go on strike during the holiday season, to not have MLE available when Nathan's Hot Dog Contest happens is no good for their business.

Another 1 WiiWare week, and a repeat publisher in the same month. Makes one think there's very, very, very little available WiiWare left to release at present. Wonder what's taking so long? :P

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26. KnucklesSonic8 Canada 30 Jun 2008, 20:52 GMT

@Obj_Blaster = Plattchen? If ONLY! I'd be even MORE upset if it did though. that's my most anticipated title... And lol @ what you said about the alternating of games. Plattchen is in Nintendo's hands, though... And I'm still bitter about their removal of DK Bongo Support. Big N = Idiots! Sorry... I won't go on with that rant...

@andy: Indeed. I want World of Goo bad too but we should count our blessings. At least we're getting it. Poor Europeans aren''t. Which sucks... BAD. :(

@Peznaze: Pssh, yeah really. XD And I'm sure some are beginning to wonder the same thing about Nintendo "preparing" things for release. Because there are quite a few games that ARE done but need to be released onto the services by Nintendo, that's all. It's all on Nintendo's shoulders and they're pulling off the same thing they did with the VC... sorry.. the same thing they're CURRENTLY doing. We're still getting crappy VC Titles (for the most part anyway). I mean, I won't deny that there are some fighting games as of late that have been added that I'm sure some may argue are good even though I don't play those types of games). But c'mon. 1 WiiWare a week? Again, we should be counting our blessings. Consider the state Europeans are in. Having one a week isn't a huge loss, really, especially when it's not a crappy title.

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27. Stratos United States 30 Jun 2008, 22:01 GMT

Wait...Nintendo removed bongo support? I thought it was a third party game?

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28. Peznaze United States 30 Jun 2008, 22:23 GMT

Nintendo tests all WiiWare before release. They told Plattchen that Bongos were no longer supported and asked that they remove that feature. So they did, replacing it with a "shared wiimote/nunchuck" 8P mode that their PR people say is "much better". :(

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29. Stratos United States 30 Jun 2008, 22:40 GMT

Can't they hide it as an easter egg? Nintendo is a stick in the mud. >8P
"much better" translates into much dumber in my book.
I want to use my dust collecting bongos for something new.

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30. Virus United States 01 Jul 2008, 00:05 GMT

Well, I'm glad that the majority is content with this week's WiiWare releases. Personally, I'm a bit more bitter than some of you other gamers cough KnucklesSonic8 cough. :P I was hoping for two releases... just for a few decisions. I makes me wonder what's happening to those 100 games that are in development for the WiiWare... Oh well, I'll let all of you celebrate while I whine away in some dark corner for a week.

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31. Objection_Blaster United States 01 Jul 2008, 00:15 GMT

@Stratos That would be funny but Ninty would probably get pissed about them going behind their backs....totally worth it!!

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32. PALgamer Spain 01 Jul 2008, 10:47 GMT

NOA has to let NOE catch up, that's why you have single releases. Let us see how many we get this Friday, it will be funny, uuuhhhmmm, OH! I can see it, it's My Pokemon Farm, har har har.

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33. DEMON212 United Kingdom 01 Jul 2008, 13:11 GMT

I say MPR and Pirates, as the DS Pirates is out soon. In like 2-3 weeks. So if we don't get it this week, we'll get it on the same day as the DS one.

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34. Quimby Australia 01 Jul 2008, 16:41 GMT

@KnucklesSonic - I'm with you on the bongo racing thing. I decided to not buy that game because of it.... grumble, grumble. Still, I do have Jungle Beats (wicked).
Magnetica looks kinda meh. If you know what I mean. I hate 1 game weeks. Does anyone remember looking forward to VC update day? just a memory now :-)

35. Symphonia King United States 01 Jul 2008, 18:33 GMT

Yeah I don't really want this either. There really isn't any WiiWare game I'm interested in besides MM8 and WoG, and those stll have a while...

36. Symphonia King United States 01 Jul 2008, 18:33 GMT

...and Pirates.

37. Mazero United States 01 Jul 2008, 20:18 GMT

Does the US version of Magnetica Twist still have the diffuculty options on 1-player hard mode like in the European version?

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38. AtTheDriveIn92 United States 03 Jul 2008, 02:02 GMT

@Symphonia King
check out the other games the developers of Pirates are making and see if you're still interested in it. Total garbage lol, there's an article about it on IGN.

39. Symphonia King United States 03 Jul 2008, 16:26 GMT

Well, i'm barely into pirates.

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40. AtTheDriveIn92 United States 03 Jul 2008, 21:52 GMT

Ninjas>Pirates

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