In a nutshell, Flock is an evolved form of Lemmings: Using your ship and it's various beams, you guide sheep, chicken, cows and pigs past obstacles and into the Mother Flocker (be careful about slurring that name). The game will also feature co-op and a map editor. Although we weren't able to see either feature in action, Capcom's Kraig Kujawa told us their goal is to implement cross-console map sharing.

During our guided demo of Microsoft's upcoming stable of XBLA games, Microsoft's Scott Austin informed us that all the games on display would be available in the next four to six weeks on Xbox Live Arcade. All of 'em. If you've been reading the impressions on Joystiq, you'll know that this a reason to be excited. For the record, the XBLA games being shown by Microsoft are:

• Bionic Commando Rearmed
• Castle Crashers
• Galaga Legions
• Braid
• Geometry Wars 2

We expected Microsoft to show off some cool XBLA games at E3, but we weren't expecting four to six weeks of win.

Thanks to the dedicated blogging of the folks at Behemoth, we pretty much knew everything there was to know about Castle Crashers coming into E3 -- it's the followup to Alien Hominid, a game that started out on Newgrounds, and ended up on the XBLA. It's got tons of playable characters, lots of "animal orbs" you can recruit to fight with you, and a great art style and a sly sense of humor. In fact, the only thing we didn't know about it was probably the most important thing: how it actually played.

After playing it with Microsoft Director of Digitally Distributed Content Scott Austin here at E3, we can safely say it's going to be one of the biggest XBLA titles of this year (it's due out before September 21st). Castle Crashers is crazy good button mashing fun, and we can't wait to lay down our hard-earned Microsoft Points for it.

During an E3 appointment today, we confronted Scott Austin, Director of Digitally Distributed Games for Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade, about two controversial XBLA topics: delistings and delays.

Austin was dodgy, unfortunately. When asked when games might start disappearing from the service, he stayed mum, only saying that Microsoft wanted to "keep evolving and improving [its] content." We also asked for comment on the unofficial list of games that met the criteria for delisting, and he agreed that the list is accurate according to the criteria.

We also talked to Austin about the delays that Microsoft has made in releasing content, and he told us that Microsoft runs a very stringent QA process in addition to any processes the developers run for themselves. The largest part of these delays, he said, is "making sure the games we release are high quality" -- Microsoft runs every game through for bugs, and will then send back to the developers any game that has issues. When pressed for a percentage of games that are sent back for bugs, Austin told he us didn't have that information.

Uno Rush has been confirmed for release on Xbox Live later this year. No details on what the game is yet, but we hear that you'll be able to win actual, real-life prizes while playing it, including possibly Xbox accessories, Microsoft Points, or even other games.

We'll keep an eye on anything else we can find out about it -- if old school Uno isn't giving you a Wild Card Draw Four lately, keep an eye out for Rush.

Who knew Pac-Man: Championship Edition would be so good? The surprise XBLA hit has inspired yet another modern Namco remake, Galaga: Legions. Legions will arrive exclusively on XBLA, and will come from the same team that brought us Pac-Man: CE. Expect the same kind of visual redesign and addictive retro gameplay. With this and Space Invaders Extreme (DS/PSP), the retro shooter is back in full force.

With no seagulls in sight, Capcom has unveiled Flock, an arcade title about herding sheep with a UFO. IGN has a preview and trailer of the game, which they describe as a Lemmings-style romp with user-generated levels, 50 stages and co-op. No release date, but it's currently in development for PC, PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade.

[Via X3F]

In anticipation of next week's E3 Media and Business Summit, we've prepared bingo cards for each of the big press conferences, filled with some likely (and some not-so-likely) predictions for what each of the big three console makers intends to announce at arguably the biggest trade shows of the year.

Today's card is for Microsoft (special thanks to X3F). We're going out on a limb and giving Avatars away as the free space. Click on each of the slides above for more information about our predictions. Microsoft's E3 press conference is scheduled for next Monday at 10:30 am PT (that's 1:30 pm Joystiq Time / ET). As always, we'll be liveblogging the event, so you can play along in real-time with us.

Stay tuned for more press conference bingo cards in the days leading up to the conference. (Also: check out our bingo card for Sony's press conference.)

Download a copy (PNG file) and play along!

Update: Only hours after we post this ... N2, you hit my battleship!

Capcom's World War II shoot-em-up 1942: Joint Strike is set to launch the week after E3, July 23 for Xbox Live Arcade and the day after for PlayStation Network. It will cost 800 MS points (US $10), according to a press release. The game is yet another HD remake for Capcom, after giving similar treatment to Super Puzzle Fighter II and Super Super Street Fighter II.

Developer Backbone Entertainment went the extra mile, however, in creating new backdrops, levels and enemies. The game features a new score by frequent Metal Gear Solid contributor Norihiko Hibino. What hasn't changed? It's still a shoot-em-up, so for better or worse, you know exactly what to expect.

We love the Xbox Live Arcade Service (fanboy placation: we love the PlayStation Network and WiiWare too), but it's a well-known fact that there are a number of hurdles a finished game has to clear before it can find its way onto the imponderable internets. One of said hurdles, labeled "the rating process" is actually three-hundred feet tall, covered in flaming, poison-coated spikes, and surrounded by a moat filled with bull sharks in mating season. Metaphorically speaking, of course.

Thankfully, in an act of incredible vaulting prowess, Behemoth's upcoming racist multiplayer beat-'em-up Castle Crashers recently cleared said hurdle, receiving a decisive "Teen" rating (the German judges, obviously confused and unimpressed, gave the effort a 7.5). There are a number of other hoops the adorable brawler must jump through before attaining that coveted XBLA certification, but we're hopeful that we'll be storming cartoon strongholds relatively soon.

Xbox Live Arcade, ever the service to indulge the inner omni-directional shooter fan we all obviously have, is getting another dose of run-one-direction-while-shooting-in-another this week – with an extra-special added bonus. Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 (800 MS points) is just one of several Capcom retro resurrections hitting Live this year and provides a highly stylized new take (with three-player coop) on the arcade classics Commando and Mercs. Of course, that added bonus we spoke of is a "golden ticket" into the Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix beta, which will be available for download on June 25 to anyone who purchases Commando 3. Is that a deal anyone can pass up, Ryu? "Sho-you-can't!"

Wolves (or shooting) not your thing? Voltex (the developer, not a Ukranian pop star) has you covered in ah-dorable little frogs this week with Frogger 2 (800 MS points). This spiritual successor to the coin-op classic (also available on XBLA) features new levels, new artwork, and what no XBL game can be without: a co-op mode (for up to four players, in this case). This release should at least make the parents of young'ns hoppy.

Over the last few days, we asked you to pick the best and worst of the Xbox Live Arcade titles that are potentially up for delisting. We've now tallied the votes and the results are in:

Best:

1. Texas Hold 'Em (12.77%)
2. Marathon: Durandal (12.48%)
3. Contra (9.18%)

Worst:

1. Shrek N Roll (12.00%)
2. Yie Ar Kung-Fu (8.37%)
3. Screwjumper! (6.48%)

You can view our picks for best and worst here. We want to make a special note regarding the Yaris game, which was not included because it would pass the delist hurdle of over 6% conversion rate (hint: it had no demo and was free; the devil is in the details). We don't know if Microsoft will be that stringent regarding its guidelines, but there is poetic justice in noting that the developer, comprised of former Blizzard North staffers, suspended operations in April.

Earlier this week we presented our opinions of the best and worst of Xbox Live Arcade's potential delisters, and yesterday we asked you to vote for the best on XBLA's chopping block. Now it's time to find out what you think is the worst. You know, that XBLA game that, if personified, you'd probably gossip about and avoid at parties.

After the break, vote for your Worst of the Worst, and if you're so inclined, tell us why in the comments below. Results will be tallied tomorrow.

Yesterday, we presented our opinions for the best and worst of the Xbox Live Arcade potential delisters. Now, it's time to hear your opinion.

After the break, vote for your Best of the Worst, and if you're so inclined, tell us why in the comments below. Results will be tallied for Friday. Oh, and stay tuned tomorrow where you get to sound off on the absolute worst Xbox Live Arcade title.

Although Microsoft has yet to make a formal announcement about any games that fall into the company's new delisting policy for games on Xbox Live Arcade, we do know the criteria for titles in danger (six months old, 65 or less Metacritic score, less than 6% buy the game after trying the demo). There's no way of knowing what games have less than 6% adoption rate, but we do know what games are old and poorly reviewed.

We've revisted every single XBLA title on the chopping block (the demos, at least) to give quick impressions on the rogue's gallery of titles. Find out which games were the best of the worst and, well, worst of the worst. Meet the games who may be evicted from XBLA by hitting that fancy button above. Or don't ... don't press the button!

Vote: Your pick for best of the XBLA chopping block, and also the worst of the XBLA chopping block. (Update: The results are in.)