Icemael

@Gmail Calendar Rep: Mechanically it has evolved tremendously, and the fact that spaceships are often replaced by lolis has no bearing on that.

Sounds like it could be fun to go for a 1CC if the game isn't too long.

The "video above" is just an image, and I'm getting a "video not available" message on the Black Knight Sword footage.

Finally, the sequel to SNK's classic Neo Geo beat' em up Mutation Nation. I've waited for this announcement since 1992.

@maxxgold: Pfft, as if you'd know anything about being older than 13.

This looks very... plain. It's like they sat down and said "let's make the most generic, unremarkable retro shmup possible".

@FriedConsole: It's not a vertical shooter. It's a horizontal side-scrolling shoot 'em up.

I believe him (I like Licth's music way more than Yamaoka's, both as part of and independently of the entertainment it was composed for). The problem with Downpour isn't its composer though, but that it looks to be neither scary nor fun to play.

@TwEE: Zack & Wiki would still cost just as much on Xbox Live. It would just be sold piece by piece instead of all at once.

And no, them being Wii games is still a major factor. If they were WiiWare games they would still have sold like shit. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they would've sold WORSE. Most gamers pay close attention to Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network. The exact opposite is true of WiiWare: gamers care less about that even than retail Wii releases.

Marble rolling, by the way, is no more a genre than "3D gravity-manipulating puzzle games" (see games like Kula World and Ilomilo) or "portal games" (see Portal and its sequel). It's covered by the action-puzzle genre.

@TwEE: Telltale's point & click games sell plenty, and those don't even have good puzzles. Zack & Wiki could've sold gangbusters if they released it piece by piece à la Telltale on Xbox Live, with each world being an "episode".

And "marble rolling" is not a genre, but small, quirky puzzle games are very popular these days if you haven't noticed.