In Today's Release: IGN Uncovers System-wide Wii Numbers, CNN to Provide Wii News Headlines Nintendo Classics You Shold Not Miss on Wii's Virtual Console

Anyone know what time it is? Yup, it's Game Time once more. Today I look at IGN's discovery of the Wii Numbers system for Nintendo's new console, CNN's deal to provide news headlines to American and Japanese Wii owners, and look at five old-school hits worth playing on Wii's virtual console.

First off, IGN has discovered that the Wii appears to replace the ever-so-clumsy DS handheld's Friend Code system - which is one of the biggest annoyances with playing DS games online over Wi-Fi - with something called Wii Numbers. And the Wii Numbers system appears, for once, to be system-wide - meaning that once you enter a friend's Wii Number into your Wii's address book, it applies to everything you do on your Wii (which quite possibly includes playing games online). So this could be a Godsend for those who dread the system used on the DS like it was the plague. Full details can be found in the episode 30 of IGN Weekly (on the web: http://media.games.ign.com/articles/693/693580/vids_1.html).

Next up is a look at the Wii's news channel, or rather where its headlines are going to be coming from - at least in the U.S. and Japan. Apparently CNN has signed up to be the official provider of news to the Nintendo Wii in both markets, according to UK publication EDGE Magazine. Currently, details are scarce, but it appears that headlines will be presented by category, and an interactive globe will be used to find news stories from around the world. A separate channel within the Wii Channels menu will be available as well to provide weather forecasts, as previously announced by Nintendo, that will likely receive data from CNN and its weather data partners as well.

In addition, the publication also reported that rumors have begun to circulate that an enhanced version of the Wii with DVD playback returned to the console may hit Japan next year, that Sega has shifted some of its development away from Sony's Playstation 3 in favor of the Wii, and that Nintendo originally planned a $200 price point for the Wii until retailers gave them the thumbs down with the primary concerns being about profits and how the price would affect sales (considering how poorly the GameCube sold compared to Sony and Microsoft products).

Finally today, I look at five old-school classics you can expect to download to Wii's virtual console that you just cannot miss. The first, of course, is Super Mario Bros. This game is not only the one classic that is most synonymous with the Nintendo brand, it is also the one game considered to be the most responsible for bringing videogames out of a nasty slump back in the 80's that nearly destroyed the American portion of the videogame industry while introducing one of the most popular videogame characters in history to the masses!

The idea is simple - you take control of an average Joe plumber-turned hero named Mario, tossed into a fantasy world quite unlike ours, to rescue that world (and its princess) from the diabolical clutches of the shelled lizard beast we now know as the evil Koopa Troop kingpin Bowser. And this game proved so successful that countless sequels were developed for nearly every Nintendo platform since, from the popular Super Mario Bros. 3 to Super Mario World, and from Super Mario 64 (the series' first 3D outing) to even the popular DS mega-hit New Super Mario Bros.! This is one classic that truly stands the test of time.

Second on my list is the Legend of Zelda. The first game for any console to actually track your progress in between sessions, Zelda (and its countless sequels) set the standard for adventure quest games that would later lead to a large number competing series (such as Sony's Dark Cloud). The premise for most Zelda games is to protect the Triforce (the mystical power of the Gods of the fantasy realm of Hyrule), rescue the series' titular princess Zelda, and fight back the evil Gannondorf (or Ganon for short) to save the realm from who-knows-what.

Third on my list is Dr. Mario. This clever puzzler sees Mario take up medical school only for a virus experiment to go on the fritz - and then you must use an experimental Megavitamin to control the viruses and bring things back to normal. This clever puzzler has never been matched in its simplicity, uniqueness and addictive qualities by any other game (except maybe by Tetris) and has been released in several forms to almost every Nintendo platform since (including a Nintendo 64 version that added a storyline mode that you must see to believe!)

Fourth on my list is Sonic the Hedgehog. Now I know that this is not necessarily a Nintendo title, but with Sega supporting other console developers these days rather than creating its own hardware platforms it's only natural that this title, which introduced one of the other great mascot characters to the videogame world, make the list. In this game, you take the titular hedgehog on a quest to save the Chaos Emeralds (think of gemstones with some sort of strange power and you'll get the idea) and save Sonic's world from the clutches of the mechanical war machine creator known as Eggman (a.k.a. Dr. Robotnik.) Unlike Mario's adventures, Sonic games rely on pure speed to reach the goal, smashing all kinds of mechanical contraptions with a mean somersault jump or by rolling across the ground, and collecting all of the Chaos Emeralds in the game's bonus levels to get the best ending. It's fast-paced gaming at its finest that is largely unequaled by any other series.

Finally, I suggest the original Metroid. This game, which puts you in the armored suit of an intergalactic special agent bounty hunter looking into the capture of a specimen of the series' titular alien species by space pirates, pits you against two powerful alien beats, the nefarious Kraid and Ridly, before sending you on a collision course with the Mother Brain, considered to be one of the videogame industry's best villains of all time! Plus, you get a fast-paced escape sequence, plenty of adaptors for heroine Samus Aran's famous armored suit (including classics such as the Morph Ball, missiles and the ever-popular Ice Beam) and the ability to expose her identity if you make it through the game fast enough. All this makes for one of the most engaging science fiction videogame adventures ever!

Well, that's it for today, so until next time keep those gaming fingers moving and stay in the game like there's no tomorrow! In the meantime, post your thoughts here in the comments or drop me a line at jdavis9172@hotmail.com if you have any gaming tidbits to share. Happy gaming!