Virtual Console Roundup

Kid Chameleon

• Platform: Megadrive
• Wii Points: 800

Do we really need another cute kid scrolling platformer on the VC? We've got Wonder Boy. We've got Alex Kidd. Even Kid Icarus.

Kid Chameleon does, at least, have some semblance of originality. He's a plucky teen sucked into a VR world (and if that doesn't tip you off to the game's vintage, nothing will) where he can take on nine different identities by picking up masks. Each one grants varying abilities, almost always pertinent to whatever situation awaits you.

It's hardly the worst game on the VC service, and I'm aware it has its defenders, but while the mask gimmick is cute, it's really no different to the way Mario changed his form by collecting mushrooms and feathers. Add it to the list of quite good games that just aren't worth 800 points because of the console they appeared on.

6/10

World Sports Competition

• Platform: TurboGrafx 16
• Wii Points: 600

It's about time someone got around to re-releasing one of the many joypad-spamming sports games as a retro download and it's fitting that it's the Wii, a console launched on the back of a cute sports compilation, that breaks the tape barrier first.

Sadly, Hudson's World Sports Competition is no HyperSports. It certainly looks the part, from the chunky arcade style graphics to the endearingly garbled speech samples, but the gameplay balance is just skewed enough to limit the pick up and play appeal. Most damaging is the ferocious difficulty level, with qualifying scores set just out of reach and opponents given to superhuman feats of speed and accuracy.

It's generously proportioned, with eighteen events spread out over six categories - track, field, rowing, shooting, archery and swimming - but the only way you'll get to sample them all is in training. When playing the main Olympic mode, if you fail one event, you're out of the tournament.

It doesn't help that there's no in-game explanation of how some of the games work - there are some notable differences from the better known button-mashers - and if you're playing with the Wiimote, the tiny buttons and d-pad can prove a real hindrance.

Worth a punt if you're gagging for some athletic action, but not the best in its field.

6/10