Virtual Console Roundup

The impact of the dual arcade/home release is very apparent in the gameplay. It's all very brash and bold for a golf game, presented with the same sort of gusto that SEGA brought to bass fishing. You get four courses, six golfers from around the world and the option for match play against a friend, or stroke play with one or two players.

The graphics are as good as you'll find on the VC, given that this is a game that was released fairly recently in comparison to others, while the lashings of clear speech also make it stand out from the crowd. It's pleasantly presented and, because of its arcade roots, skips right past the sort of technical guff that typifies modern golf games.

What really makes Turf Masters click is the control system, which is refreshingly different to the usual method. Sure, it still hinges on stopping an oscillating power bar, but your timing no longer has any effect on the aim of the shot. Hooks and slices are not punishment for stopping the gauge late or early, but assigned to buttons and able to be set with precision before you take your swing.

Instead, you now have a second rising and falling gauge, which sets the height of your shot - something dictated by your power in most golf sims. Hit the gauge dead centre and you'll strike the ball at the perfect angle for maximum distance. However, it also means that you can purposefully take a high, short shot to clear some trees, or aim low to minimise the effect of wind speed. It may not sound like a sweeping revolution, but when so many golf games all use the exact same method of determining your shots, even something slightly different like this can feel liberating.

But while the arcade nature of the game has resulted in something more accessible, it also means that the need to entice gamers to shovel in more coins rather spoils the flow. You have a reserve of strokes, rather than lives, but the effect is the same. Go too far over par and it's game over. This being the console version, there's nothing to stop you from continuing - and the game actually saves which hole you were up to, even if you switch off the Wii - but it does mean that the code has an ulterior motive for ramping up the challenge. Wind speeds can get really silly if you're playing too well, and some of the fairways are downright sadistic. One even has the hole at an angle on the side of a slope.

It's not saying much for Neo Turf Masters to be the best golf game on the VC, but when you consider that it's superior to the brand new Golf: Tee It Up! on Xbox Live Arcade, it's not hard to realise what a shrewd addition this is.

8/10

City Connection

• Platform: NES
• Wii Points: 500
• In Real Money: GBP 3.50 / EUR 5 (approx)

After the dizzying discovery of two genuinely great games on the Virtual Console, you have to feel a bit sorry for City Connection. It's certainly not great - it's not a beloved mould-breaker like IK+, nor is it an underseen gem like Neo Turf Masters - but it is a fairly decent example of early arcade gaming, and one that justifies the 500-Point cost.

The concept is as random as it is simple. For reasons unknown, you have decided to drive to various well known cities around the world. To prove you've been there, you have to paint all the roads (aka "platforms") white. The police don't like this, and try to stop you in the only way 1980s arcade enemies could think of - they zip about from left to right and get in your way. Hit a po-po and your car explodes. Yeah. Stick that in your CCTV street crime show, Mr Telly Producer.

The "paint everything" gameplay reminds me of Q*Bert - actually it reminds me of something else, but I can't put my finger on it - while the horizontal scrolling has a very Defender-esque feel. It's simple, it's fairly addictive and it's exactly the sort of thing that people pay to have on the mobile phones, or to play on Sky TV's games service. It's certainly not worth getting passionate about, but if downloading either of this week's other new games has left you with 500 Points burning a hole in your pocket, you could always give this a try.

6/10