Nintendo Store Update: Mario's Picross

Tetris may be the archetypal Game Boy puzzler, but it wasn't the only successful brain teaser Nintendo produced for its popular portable system. Another such offering leads this week's additions to the company's downloadable storefronts, as Mario's Picross has debuted on the 3DS eShop.

Tiny pictures of ducks have never been so rewarding.

Now available for $4, Mario's Picross is a logic puzzle in which players must darken squares on a large grid to reveal hidden pictures. Gamers need to deduce which squares will need to be darkened based on a series of numbers running down the top and side of the grid, detailing how many consecutively darkened squares exist in each row and column. Mario's Picross includes more than 250 such puzzles for players to ponder.

The 3DS can also play this week's trio of new DSiWare additions. Combat-hardened action gamers can pick up Subdued Games' B Team Episode 2: Ice & Venom for $8, while those looking for a less violent alternative can find it in the $5 Go Fetch 2, which has players controlling a puppy fetching tossed balls. Finally, Selectsoft is adding to the edutainment section of the DSiWare store with the $8 language software Play & Learn Spanish.

Rounding out the week's offerings is Monochrome Racing on the Wii. Published by Nordcurrent, the $5 top-down racer has players upgrading colorful cars and tearing around black-and-white tracks strewn with power-ups. The game includes more than 80 tracks and 10 cars.