Drill Sergeant Mindstrong leads Nintendo DLC charge

Perhaps the most iconic drill instructor of the silver screen is Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, the loudmouth, foul-mouthed soldier of Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket. The eponymous character of Drill Sergeant Mindstrong, a new WiiWare game released today, has some large spit-shined boots to fill.

In Drill Sergeant Mindstrong, players team up with three other comrades to outsmart several mind-boggling, mind-training games where concentration and quick thinking are essential. The best scrubs of boot camp are rewarded with promotions. The game can be played with up to three others, and costs 800 Wii points.*

The DS puzzle-game NEVES Plus (600 Wii points) is coming to the Wii this week, featuring tangram-based gameplay from the original console, along with new Egyptian-themed multiplayer modes. With up to three others, players unite to rotate, flip, and move seven stones into each of the 500-plus silhouette puzzles.

Also arriving is an all-new family-friendly sports game, Family Mini Golf. As implied by the title, the game's golf courses are more miniature than professional, featuring bumpers, speed ramps, and fans. Up to eight players can play using a single Wii Remote. The game has a price tag of 500 Wii points with additional golf courses available for download at a later date.

The Wii's Virtual Console will see Hudson's TurboGrafx16 classic SimEarth: The Living Planet pull into orbit. The planet-scale simulation game allows players to guide the evolution of basic organisms into advanced life forms. Players guide their creatures into space and terraform neighboring planets. The game has a price tag of 800 Wii points.

This week's DSiWare release is Art Style: BOXLIFE, where players cut and fold paper into box shapes. Talented box shapers earn money to buy items for their characters' miniature gardens. However, the game will not penalize penniless players by forcing them to fashion boxes into makeshift alleyway homes. The game costs 500 DSi points.

*100 Wii/DSi points = $1