Water, fire and much, much more

Never let it be said that the Nintendo Download lacks variety. On the same day that Nintendo launches new water-based puzzle game Fluidity, Korner Entertainment conquers completely the opposite end of the scale with virtual fireplace simulator Fireplacing. DSiWare is equally varied, with portable music studio Rytmik: Rock Edition rubbing shoulders with Oriental tower defence game Dairojo! Samurai Defenders. Virtual Console even gets a double whammy, with a classic 8-way shooter landing alongside a side-scrolling platform shooter about a legendary Monkey King. There's a little something for everyone today.

WiiWare

Fluidity (Nintendo, 1200pts) – Known as Hydroventure in Europe, this is a new physics-based puzzle platformer from Nintendo that sees you take control of a mass of water, able to change states into ice and steam in order to traverse the tricky stages. Our review will be available later this week.

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Heart and soul

Kinect can be used to create art but what about music? Yep, that too, with this Kinect piano hack letting players tickle the ivories with no keyboard required.

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Snow more puns, we promise

Fluidity wets WiiWare's appetite today, so there's no better time to show off this new trailer from Nintendo revealing more about the multiple forms you'll be able to use in the game.

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Analogue sticks and more

Move's a simple beast, really: glowing sphere, gyrometers, accelerometers and that's about it. But what if it could be more? Recently revealed patents filed by Sony show the different avenues the controller could have taken in its route to market, including analogue sticks, twistable balls and a pressure-sensitive sphere enabling the controller to function like a traditional joystick.

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Agape at the weather news: 3º on Thursday, 6º on Friday! What will we do with these tropical temperatures? I'm getting my shorts out.

Donkey Kong in at 13 though

Plumbing collection Super Mario All-Stars 25th Anniversary Edition just launched in the UK and had an underwhelming first weekend of sales, missing the top 20 altogether and landing at number 22.

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Surprise!

Relentlessly talkative industry analyst Michael Pachter recently claimed Microsoft was creating Kinect shortages to drive demand, but now Xbox UK and Ireland boss Neil Thompson has stepped in to say that's simply not the case.

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Explosive toilet rolls included

Raving Rabbids Travel in Time has probably given historians plenty of bother with its anachronistic view of history, but now it can similarly perplex anyone with a web browser with the official Flash minigame from Ubisoft.

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Stocking filler

If you've not been able to participate in the LittleBigPlanet 2 beta, do not despair: you'll get your chance to play it soon, with a free demo available across North America on December 21st and December 22nd in Europe.

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Get your head in the game

Microsoft has repeatedly stated it's really not that interested in bringing 3D gaming to Xbox 360, despite competitor Sony's biggest titles all featuring stereoscopic 3D support. A new Kinect hack shows the sensor's ability to track heads can create an impressive 3D effect without the need for a costly 3D camera.

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