Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Seeing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game on the ESRB's list of upcoming Virtual Console titles should bring joy to our nostalgia-ruled hearts, but we're finding it hard to not be pessimistic about this particular release. We've put more hours into Konami's beat'em up than you can shake a bo staff at, so it's not the actual game that we have problems with.

No, it's just outright jealousy over the XBLA port of the arcade version. While we're stuck with 8-bit graphics and support for only two players, the 360's turtle fans have the original cut scenes, arcade graphics, and online co-op for up to four players! Inconceivable! To add insult to injury, we might have to shell out 600 Wii points for the NES game instead of the usual 500 because of licensing issues. If that'll be the case, we would actually be spending more than what 360 gamers are paying!

We can at least find solace in the NES version's extended levels, extra stages, and Pizza Hut advertising. Also, TMNT II wasn't the only new ninja release spotted on the ESRB's Virtual Console catalog. Ninja Gaiden, Tecmo's 1989 platformer, will also be stabbing its way onto the Wii. Let's see the Xbox try to top us with a game like that! Oh wait...

Ubisoft has been kicking ass this year. In fact, they have been kicking so much ass that colossal EA is feeling a little threatened by their presence.

One of the most impressive Ubi titles coming for Wii is Red Steel. Though we are all about those cracked-out rabbids, being a ninja is way cooler. Red Steel is looking to be one of the best Wii titles and we have the details on the multiplayer modes.

Multiplayer is divided into three separate modes aptly named:

• Deathmatch
• Team Deathmatch
• Mission

While Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch are pretty obvious, Mission mode is what has us most intrigued. During Mission mode, your Wiimote will ring like a phone. After answering it like you would a real phone, a voice tells you what you mission is and you must complete it before your rivals.

After receiving your objective, you will play a kind of hot-or-cold game. The Wiimote will beep as you begin the mission and will beep faster as you get closer to your target. Or, if you are far away from your target the beeping will slow down. This seems like it would be annoying, especially if you can't find your target. We still think, and hope, that it will raise tension in the game and make it more exciting.

Red Steel looks more and more stunning every time we see new images and art for it. We knew that being a ninja was the most bad ass thing on this planet but we never knew that it could look so amazing. Not even a pirate could say no to that screenshot.

Ubisoft is really pushing the envelope with this game (it helps that it is on such an amazing system as well) and we hope it it falls in line as one of the best Wii titles. So far, we see no reason to not be amped about it.

[Via 4 Color Rebellion]