Super hard, when I played this game by myself it totally kicked my ass. But with a second player it's marginally doable and really quite fun. If you want a two player challenge, this is it.

Progress: Gave Up -- Got to level 3

It's been a real trip. Aside from that one mission where I had to sneak Tassadar through a Terran installation (with all the retries it must have taken me nearly 3 hours), I never found the campaign frustratingly hard, but at the same time it was usually satisfyingly challenging. The final mission might actually be regarded as easy, but it was still way fun.

Props must be given to Blizzard for giving a strategy game a good story, when it would be just as easy for it not to have one at all. Granted, it doesn't have the full effect unless you read the supplemental material in the game manual, but the way it flows into the campaign missions is superbly done. When combined with never-ending online multiplayer fun, and a reasonably robust map editor, StarCraft is truly a classic game.

Progress: Finished campaign, no cheats!

Despite having a dangerous amount of homework and recently downloading a ton of Virtual Console games (best birthday ever), StarCraft's hook is lodged firmly in my gaping, bloody maw. I've spent a considerable portion of the past day nursing my love-hate relationship with the Zerg and exterminating their intelligent and attractive enemies. It has been a while since I played the game with this level of earnest, but now all the magic is flooding back. Splendid.

Progress: Protoss 1

This is the best game on the Wii's Virtual Console, hands down. The single player is your tried-and-true standard Bomberman fare, but the multiplayer - which you can play with up to five players - is nothing short of extraordinary. The formula is simple (despite occasional stage gimmicks like conveyor belts and teleport holes), and is a wellspring of endless fun. Not just good for a retro game, Bomberman '93 is currently one of the best games, period, on Wii.

Progress: Gave Up

It's a little rough around the edges, but Streets of Rage is pretty close to what we know today as the modern Beat-Em-Up. There are some weapon pickups and health items and so forth, multiple attacks (jump kick, suplex, piledriver!), and three ethnically appropriate characters with no real gameplay difference. With two players, this is a great Virtual Console selection.

Progress: Gave Up -- Round 8

A Gauntlet-style action RPG for up to five players. Choose from several cool classes, including Fighter, Warlock, Elf, and Knome! Use your class-specific attack (a colored projectile) to beat up enemies and destroy their spawn points.

Not much to look at, but Dungeon Explorer has some promise for multiplayer hijinks on Virtual Console.

Progress: Gave Up

Take a space shooter, and turn the spaceships into kids with laserguns. Gunstar Heroes is brilliant in its simplicity and excellently tuned in difficulty. Upgradeable weapons, constant crossfire, and awesome music make it a surprisingly addictive retro title, especially with two players. I would rank it a Virtual Console must-have.

Progress: Gave Up -- Finished like two levels

Another Xmas VC purchase. Slightly better than Altered Beast: variety of selectable characters, mountable beasts, giant axes, fire everywhere.

Progress: Gave Up -- Level 2?

Rise from your graves!

I bought this little guy for Virtual Console with Xmas Wii points. Playing it at first was hilarious, but the novelty wore off pretty quick, what with the grating sound and the klonky (that's not a word... yet) controls. But, you could do worse.

Progress: Gave Up -- Third level?

Long ago, in the before-time, I actually did manage to beat the entire StarCraft single-player campaign, without cheats even. But a few years ago a hard drive mishap resulted in the destruction of these records. Recently I've been feeling an itch to try again, and apparently I had already worked my way up to Terran mission 9 (there are ten Terran missions, then ten Zerg missions, and finally ten Protoss).

So I did Terran 10: The Hammer Falls last night, which I can still recall as one of the greatest challenges of my young video game life. There were many setbacks to be sure (remember: Save Early, Save Often), but I eventually powered through, and wiped my opponents off the face of the map before destroying the mission-critical Ion Cannon. They were quite helpless against my victory fleet of invincible Battlecruisers.

I still consider StarCraft's appeal remarkable, given that it is going on eight years old now. The balance struck between complexity and simplicity is commendable. (Where is the DS and/or Wii remake?)

Progress: Zerg Campaign Mission 1