Although it didn’t have anything like the fancy wireless wands or web browsing capabilities of the Wii, there was always something quite enchanting about Nintendo’s N64. Ultimately it was never going to beat the PlayStation in terms of its market share, but the 64 still brings back fond memories of endless nights blasting the hell out of each other on Goldeneye, or missing dozens of lectures to concentrate on Super Mario 64. The chances are that as soon as the GameCube came along, your N64 went out with the rubbish – a decision you’ve probably lived to regret if you’re anything like us. Thankfully, Project64 helps you to transport yourself back to those halcyon days by allowing you to emulate all your old favourite N64 games on your PC.

The application is designed to play ROM files, which are essentially 'images' of the data inside an N64 cartridge. Graphically, the games are pretty good, although not quite as sharp as we remember, with a few too many jagged lines and blocky sprites for our liking. This is understandable, given that the games were originally intended to be played on a TV, which has a completely different way of perfecting pixels. Nevertheless, the overall visual experience is quite authentic, and is complemented by crisp audio reproduction.

In terms of its performance, Project64 is able to handle most ROMs without any problems and we didn’t experience any compatibility issues. Be warned though, that you’ll need a decent amount of RAM and a fairly good graphics card if you want to avoid any jerkiness when playing some of the more sophisticated games, such as Super Smash Bros. There are lots of options within the emulator for tweaking the visuals, including changing the screen resolution, running in full-screen mode or applying anti-aliasing. However, the audio functions are limited to a bog-standard volume control.

Thankfully, the fun of playing N64 games with your pals isn’t lost in this emulator and Project64 supports up to four players. As you can imagine, it’s pretty tricky fitting four people around one keyboard, so you’re best off using USB controllers if there’s more than two of you. Another nice touch is the inclusion of a cheat mode, which provides you with the opportunity to power-up your games or access special options, much as the old Action Replay cartridges used to. Each game has its own set of cheats, which is great for prolonging the life of a game or getting through particularly tough levels.

Project64 is the closest thing you’ll get to the N64 without actually buying the console itself and it performs better than other Nintendo emulators, as well as generic solutions such as MAME. It may not be a pixel-perfect recreation of the device, but it’s certainly entertaining enough to keep you off work for a few days.

Download Project64 2.1 in Softonic

If you look at your map, you should see the new Super Skyrim Brothers Abandoned House Map marker next to Winterhold. Just travel to the Abandoned House, enter it, and read the note you'll see on the table. It'll warn you not to sleep in the bed, but disregard it and go ahead and sleep in the bed anyway. A dream sequence will be initiated once you fall asleep, and you'll be able to access the mod that way.

Super Skyrim Bros will let you enter a new mini-Kingdom to play in Skyrim. The Super Skyrim Bros mod won't affect anything outside of that specific Kingdom, meaning brick blocks, question blocks, and Super Skyrim Bros enemies won't exist anywhere but in this specific world.

You will find a box of costumes to wear that are reminiscent of Super Mario Bros. Your goal in Super Skyrim Bros is to rescue Princess Toadstool and take out enemies like goombas as you go. It's a fun mod to have installed, particularly for old school Nintendo players.

To make use of Super Skyrim Bros, you'll need to have the full version of Skyrim installed. Just unzip the file and copy the contents into your Skyrim game folder. It's a pretty simply process, especially if you've installed other mods before.

Super Skyrim Bros is a fun way to immerse yourself in both the RPG elements of Skyrim and old school Nintendo action simultaneously.

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Project Giana is considered a derivative of The Great Giana Sisters, which was essentially a Super Mario Bros clone. This original PC release is expected to be followed by releases on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network.

Based around the concept of a little girl stuck in a dream world, Project Giana lets you explore various worlds with beautiful graphics. You can bounce around to avoid opponents and obstacles in each level, as well as collect gems. Jumping on the heads of most enemies will defeat them.

Giana can switch between two appearances at will - either cute or more punky. Each form has its own abilities and vulnerabilities that go along with it. Whenever Giana transforms in Project Giana however, so does the appearance of the dream world. You can switch from a landscape made up of candy to something more nightmarish very quickly as a result. The music will change along with the scenery switch as well.

You can use an Xbox controller or just your mouse and keyboard to control Giana, although the latter is a bit clunky and difficult to maneuver. In this demo version of Project Giana, also note that your progress will not get saved should you die.

The graphics are what makes Project Giana stand out most, although gamers of all ages should find gameplay fun and challengeing.

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FiNCK stands for Fire Nuclear Crocodile Killer, which doesn't seem to have much to do with the game! This is a platformer which uses mechanics from Mario to create puzzles. To reach the exit on a level requires you to intelligently use the resources you have been given.

Scattered around FiNCK's levels are various blocks you can pick up and move, plus animals, like jumping blocks that can get you into high places, and a variety of birds, each with its own effect like flight or extended jumps. Sometimes FiNCK can be pretty tricky, and there's no help after the original tutorial level. Some levels have multiple exits, and it's impossible to know from the start which you should take, or whether it matters!

FiNCK's graphics are simple but effective, although the colors can seem too dark. The soundtrack is excellent though, and each area has its own theme tune. In fact, it's worth playing just for the music! As well as the basic game, there are premium upgrades available, to get the soundtrack in MP3 format, and also to unlock a level editor. Custom levels can be downloaded from the FiNCK developers forums that have been created by other gamers.

FiNCK is a playable and atmospheric game, but doesn't quite come up to the standards of the game it was inspired by. However, with some persistence and patience, it's a great little platformer.

Download FiNCK 1.1.2 in Softonic

After the success of the DS's New Super Mario Bros, Nintendo is making another return to 2D platforming on the Wii console.

This promises to be the Wii game of the year, and if you're mad about all things Mario, check out this Mario wallpaper. New Super Mario Bros. Wii Wallpaper features the most important characters, Mario, Luigi, Yoshi and Mushroom, with typical Mario-world platforms in the middle distance. There's no princess, so we must assume she's got herself kidnapped again!

The images are high quality, in a great range of resolutions, so there's sure to be one to fit your monitor. There is even an iPhone wallpaper included! The only disappointment is that there's only one image, even if it is in twelve resolutions!

New Super Mario Bros. Wii Wallpaper is a high quality image that'll brighten up any desktop with the famous plumbers.

Download New Super Mario Bros. Wii Wallpaper in Softonic

Mega Mario is intended to be a remake of the original Super Mario Bros game, featuring improved graphics and smoother movements, but I must say it falls quote short of the expectations.

The game does actually recreate the original adventures of good ol' Mario, including the original scenarios, enemies, bonuses and even background music and sound effects.
However, graphics are far from having been improved at all. Also, movement feels awkward, in the sense that when you press the spacebar to jump, Mario takes a while to react and moves like being recorded in slow motion.

That said, you can still have fun with this clone, especially by creating your own levels with the built-in editor.
A basic Super Mario Bros clone with all the original game's elements, plus a level editor.

Download Mega Mario 1.6 in Softonic