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Hey, we're back up to two games a week now! Well, for the time being, anyway. Will future weeks continue to bring us such generous bounty? Who knows!

The highlight of this week's Virtual Console update is Columns III (Genesis, 800 Points), a sequel to Sega's block-dropping/sorting/busting puzzler that adds in a much-improved two-player mode and a weird storyline where you match wits with...spiders? Sure, okay. Also debuting this week is an 8-bit port of Operation Wolf (NES, 500 Points), Taito's wartime light gun shooter that taught us that pigs and chickens can be stuffed with delicious ammunition.

Before you go spending your Points, be aware that Operation Wolf does NOT allow you to aim and shoot with the Wii Remote or the Zapper, despite the fact that light gun support was the original game's biggest selling point. I just downloaded it myself, and Nintendo doesn't note this fact anywhere outside of the game's operations manual, which you can only read after you buy the game.

Now, Nintendo's infamous for their lazy Virtual Console peripheral support (Rumble pak? Controller pak? What are those?), but removing light gun support from a light gun shooter is unacceptable. The lack of a disclaimer makes it even worse.

Wii-kly Update: Two New Classic Games Added to Wii Shop Channel

Step into two very different types of action this week. Either battle the bad guys to save hostages and preserve freedom or bury your opponents with magical jewels. Whatever you fancy, you'll need to be ready for a challenge: strategize as a fearless hero or manipulate special jewels to raise the crush bar. How do you plan to win today?

Two new classic games go live at 9 a.m. Pacific time. Nintendo adds new games to the Wii Shop 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:

OPERATION WOLF (NES, 1 player, Rated E10+ for Use of Tobacco and Violence, 500 points): A group of desperate terrorists is keeping hostages in their jungle fortress. As a member of the elite tactical squad Operation Wolf, you must invade their hideout, destroy their operations, and get the hostages out alive! Maneuver through a series of missions and fight off soldiers, patrol boats, helicopters, and more. The further you progress, the more enemies you'll have to defeat and the harder they'll try to stop you in your tracks (going so far as tossing knives and grenades at you or wearing armor). Each area along your path ends with a boss battle where you'll have to find and exploit each boss's particular weakness. To top it all off, your weapon options are also limited, so you'll need to conserve ammunition and grenades. Operation Wolf is said to be the most valiant and capable unit in the military--can you save the hostages and win the day?

Columns III: Revenge of Columns (Genesis, 1-5 players, Rated E for Everyone, 800 points): This single-player or multiplayer experience expands upon the game play of the original two Columns titles giving players some extra attacks to spring on opponents. As in the original Columns, jewels fall into a bin, and you have to twist and manipulate them to form matches of three or more in a vertical, horizontal, or diagonal line to keep the jewels from stacking up and reaching the top. In Columns III, special magical jewels do things like raise your opponent's crush bar or lower your own, adding an extra element of strategy to the game. This is a great game to play with friends, so download it today and jump into the action!

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