In the world of PlayStation 3:

Piyotama hatches in PlayStation Store

SCE Studio Japan's overwhelmingly cute puzzler Piyotama appeared in the online PlayStation Store last week for the temptingly low price of $2.99. Requiring players to shift three colored eggs left and right as they attempt to match four or more of the same color, the game seems to favor luck and constant movement over actual strategy. The game's Sixaxis support reinforces the luck-based play stylings, as players can flick the controller to send eggs flying into the air, causing them to land in entirely different patterns.

While more of a casual distraction than an actual game, Piyotama's cheery graphics and super happy music make it the most enjoyable experience I've ever had watching a giant chicken drop eggs into a bucket. That, my friends, is probably worth $2.99.

Meanwhile, on Wii:

This week on Virtual Console

Nintendo's 500 Wii Point ($5) NES adventure Metroid, NEC and Hudson Soft's 600 Wii Point ($6) time-travelling maze effort Cratermaze, and Climax Entertainment and Sonic! Software Planning's 800 Wii Point ($8) Genesis RPG Shining in the Darkness mark this week's Virtual Console releases.

Nintendo also released a downloadable Metroid Prime 3 Preview, allowing Wii users to watch streaming trailers of the upcoming title.

Slated to arrive on the service August 20 is Nintendo's 800 Wii Point ($8) SNES Metroid entry, Super Metroid>/p>

System updates smooth Wii issues

Two Wii system updates have arrived within the past week. Bringing the system firmware up to 3.0, the first streamlined the Wii Shop Channel interface and added News Channel and Weather Channel functionality to the main Wii menu, among other changes. The second resolved some stability issues with the Internet Channel and ethernet connection issues.

The Specialists retire

The Specialists team has produced the The Specialists 3.0, the final version of its Half-Life mod. Bringing a new game mode, stunts, kung fu attacks, map and weapons to the mod, version 3.0 and its corresponding Linux sever can be found at FileShack.

Explore The Lighthouse HL2 mod

DICE level designer Viktor Lundberg just released his latest side project, a single-player Half Life 2 map entitled "The Lighthouse." According to Lundberg, the map, which is available at FileShack, features a mixture of solo and squad play across a realistic and open environment.

Point of Existence 2 Hits 1.8

The Point of Existence team has updated its Battlefield 2 mod to version 1.8, adding further polish, balances and tweaks to Point of Existence 2. With the fate of Eastern Europe at stake, players can opt to either patch from 1.7 or download the rather large 1.8 client.

The week in patches

- Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword (Firaxis Games) 3.03 retail patch

- Combat Mission: Shock Force (Paradox Interactive) 1.02 patch (Battlefront.net version only)

- DEFCON (Introversion Software) 1.43 retail patch (Not for Steam edition)

- Dreamfall: The Longest Journey (Funcom) US Patch #1

- Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 (GRIN / Red Storm Entertainment) 1.00 to 1.03 patch, 1.02 to 1.03 patch