Joystiq

King of Fighters '98, Arkanoid, Space Invaders Extreme, Metal Slug 7, and more heading to XBL Arcade

Kevin Kelly — 2008-10-08T23:38:00+00:00

Filed under: Arcade, Retro, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, Fighting, TGS, Casual

Hot from the Microsoft keynote at the Tokyo Game Show comes more retro arcade action. Been jonesing to play more Arkanoid ever since that thing came out back in 1986? It was Breakout on steroids, and ate quarters like Cookie Monster eats chocolate chip cookies. Super Arkanoid and Space Invaders Extreme will be out on XBLA this winter, and it'll be joined next year by Metal Slug 7 , R-Type and The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match.

The games will all be updated with new graphics, music, two-player and online modes, and will do a good job towards filling that vintage hole in your heart. Now Capcom, please give us some Darkstalkers, and we'll be happy.

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First Mega Man 9 DLC now on WiiWare, coming this week to XBLA/PSN

Ross Miller — 2008-10-06T05:05:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360

The first two (of five) reminders that Mega Man 9 is not a retro title -- also known as premium downloadable content -- is available now on WiiWare and will be coming to Xbox Live and PlayStation Network on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively (via press release). As previously noted, you can expect Endless Attack (300 Nintendo points) and Proto Man (200 NPs) this week. Proto Man has a charge shot, slide and a reflective shield, but he also takes double damage and is knocked back twice as far.

The remaining DLC -- Hero, Super and Special modes -- are expected October 20 for WiiWare, with the XBLA/PSN content presumably coming the same week.

Gallery: Mega Man 9 DLC

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Banjo-Kazooie XBLA remake dated for Nov 26, sequel in 2009 [update]

Ross Miller — 2008-09-24T13:40:00+00:00

Filed under: Retro, Microsoft Xbox 360

Microsoft today released -- and promptly pulled -- a press release via Gamerscore blog (original link; via TeamXbox) announcing that the Banjo-Kazooie Nintendo 64 remake is coming "exclusively" (i.e. we're guessing no Virtual Console release) to Xbox Live Arcade on November 26 for 1200 ($15). Additionally, Microsoft announced a Banjo-Tooie remake is coming in early 2009.

Those who pre-order Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts will get it about two weeks early (the game launches just under two weeks prior on November 14). Achievements in Banjo-Kazooie will unlock content in Nuts and Bolts via the "Stop n Swop" mode. ~~We don't know why Microsoft pulled the press release, but we'll let you know when it's back up.~~ Update: It's back up.

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This Wednesday: Hail to the King, Duke Nukem 3D is back

Ross Miller — 2008-09-22T13:40:00+00:00

Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, First Person Shooters

Lines you're likely to hear from this week's Xbox Live Arcade release, Duke Nukem 3D:

"What are you waiting for? Christmas?"
"It's time to kick ass and chew bubble gum. And I'm all out of gum"
"I ain't afraid of no quake!"
"What are you? Some bottom-feeding, scum sucking algae eater?"
"Hmm, that's one "Doomed" Space Marine."
"I should have known those alien maggots booby trapped the sub."
"And I thought 10 guns was hard to carry!"
"Damn! I'm looking good!"
"Nobody jacks with our Independence!"
"I can't wait to play myself in Duke Nukem Forever, coming Fall 1998."

Killing alien scum will cost you 800 ($10).

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X08: XBLA Duke adds saved films, rewind feature

Xav de Matos — 2008-08-22T08:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360

According to a Microsoft representative at X08 in Toronto, Duke Nukem 3D will include two new features when it releases "sometime in September": A saved film and gameplay rewind feature. As explained by the rep, the rewind function allows players to rewind a portion of the game if they had a particularly enthralling firefight with LARD troops or to undo any major mistakes (e.g. including death). The saved film feature works as you would imagine: Players are able to take saved clips from multiplayer and share them online with friends. With this much new content added for an Arcade release Duke Nukem might just become popular again. Someone should really look into releasing a new game in that series ... oh, wait.

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X08: Hands-on Portal: Still Alive (XBLA)

Xav de Matos — 2008-08-22T08:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, First Person Shooters, Puzzle

A buzzing noise fills the room as you are shaken awake. Bright lights bounce off the windowed walls of your 4 foot by 5 foot holding cell, making them twice as bright. As you rise from your bed and adjust your eyes a timer clicks from beyond your transparent walls and immediately you can't help but to fear you've seen this all before.

Portal: Still Alive is the upcoming Xbox Live Arcade title based on the critically acclaimed original found in The Orange Box from Valve. Those who were unfortunate enough to never play the original Portal are in luck as Portal: Still Alive is essentially the exact same experience but with a few added bonuses.
"With Portal: Still Alive, you're getting the original game that comes in The Orange Box," an Xbox representative told us. Experienced players need not worry, however, as Portal: Still Alive will sport, "a host of new levels and new achievements." As recently confirmed by Doug Lombardi, some of the new levels included are the maps found in Portal: The Flash Version map pack, currently available for free on the PC.

Explaining how Portal: Still Alive feels is harder than you'd imagine it would be. It would be easy to say it felt like Portal -- since it is exactly that -- but one key element was missing from our hands-on time: the sound. Forget the enigmatic pops and buzzing noises emitted from turrets, the metallic bounce of energy orbs or the whizzing noise of a freshly summoned portal; removing the sound made us realize how important the dialog was to Portal's success. While sounds will be included in the final build of the game (breaking news!) the noisy atmosphere helped to confirm one of our lingering fears: with no new audio from fan favorite GLaDOS for the bonus levels, Portal: Still Alive feels lifeless.

If your wish for Portal: Still Alive is extra challenges with a disregard for story, then this Arcade release is exactly what you want (and it controls as well as it ever has with an Xbox 360 controller). However, if you're not okay with the lack of any story elements, Still Alive may have you worried that the Portal train is making an unnecessary stop on Microsoft's Arcade.

Portal: Still Alive is slated to release exclusively on the Xbox Live Arcade by the end of the year.

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Jonathan Blow: Microsoft made Braid demo shorter

Jason Dobson — 2008-08-12T19:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Adventure, Puzzle

Jonathan Blow's masterwork, Braid, has quickly become the water-colored poster child for indie game development. However, while both critics and players alike have been singing the game's praises since it was released a week ago, there are some things that Blow wishes would have turned out differently. Specifically the XBLA demo, which he originally wanted to represent a larger portion of the full game, a bubble that Microsoft was only too happy to burst.

"There was one little issue at the very end of development when [Microsoft] wanted me to make the trial version shorter than it was," recalled Blow in an interview with SavyGamer, adding belief that "it's ok to give people a significant portion of the game because if they like it, they'll want to play the rest." Nevertheless, this apparently didn't jibe with Braid's publishing overlords, as Blow noted that he and Microsoft argued back and forth over the demo's length before settling on the teaser we have today. So, tell us, was the result enough to make your virtual wallet 1200 MS points lighter?

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This Wednesday: Bionic Commando Rearmed, Fable 2's casino sidearm

Ross Miller — 2008-08-11T14:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Arcade, Retro, Microsoft Xbox 360

Part 3 of the exciting five-part XBLAugust series, in which our heroes now throw aside their time warping abilities and receive an implanted bionic arm for swinging around and shooting non-Hitlers into oblivion. If you wish to enlist into Bionic Commando Rearmed on Xbox Live this Wednesday, you're going to have to shell out 800 MS points (US $10). PC and non-Euro PlayStation 3 owners will also get their BCR fix this week, although those who favor the keyboard and mouse will pay a $5 premium.

Also coming out this week is Fable 2's XBLA gambling counterpart Pub Games, which will let you earn money now before the game's October 21 release. Entry fee to ye olde casino is 800 MS points (US $10), or free if you pre-order Fable 2 at a participating retailer.

Gallery: Bionic Commando Rearmed

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Metareview - Braid (XBLA)

Ludwig Kietzmann — 2008-08-07T14:01:00+00:00

Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Adventure, Metareviews

Capturing the essence of Jonathan Blow's Braid within a single sentence isn't the easiest thing to do, especially not if you want to avoid run-on monstrosities like: It's the game about a tie-wearing, time-traveling gentleman on a quest to rescue a princess, inconveniently held captive at the end of six beautiful worlds filled with all manner of puzzles which require fiddling with the flow of time to solve also it's really, really good according to reviews. So, let's go with "it's really, really good according to reviews" and leave it at that, eh?

IGN (88/100): "Xbox Live Arcade needs more games like Braid. Heck, gaming on all platforms needs more titles like this. Imaginative, innovative, and engrossing, Braid is a spectacular achievement. If only the experience lasted a little longer and there weren't as many puzzles with singular solutions."
Edge (90/100): "Braid remains a beautiful and brilliantly demanding game that barely contains its dense population of ideas, taking its place alongside Geometry Wars and Pac-Man Championship Edition as one of the finest original titles available on Live Arcade."
Eurogamer (100/100): "I've gone to bed thinking about Braid, and I've woken up thinking about it. From the fragments I remember, I'm pretty sure I've dreamed about it as well. Braid is that sort of game."

Gallery: Braid

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Fable 2 lands Oct 21 in US, Oct 24 in Europe

Ross Miller — 2008-08-07T13:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Adventure, RPGs

click for more Fable 2 imagery

Although we already knew Fable 2 was arriving in October, Lionhead Studios has revealed the awaited title will hit US store shelves, then proceed to raise a family while it waits to be purchased, on October 21. European gamers can expect the game days later on October 24. For those who want to start padding their virtual wallets early, the Xbox Live Arcade Pub Games will land August 13.

Lionhead also unveiled an image of all that you can expect to get if you pick up the Limited Edition copy of the game. Details of the LE after the break.

Gallery: Fable 2

[Via X3F]

Bonus DVD - Includes new 'Making-of Feature' with Peter Molyneux and the team at Lionhead Studios and concept art viewer
Bonus In-Game Content (Requires LIVE account) - Includes "The Hall of the Dead" Dungeon, "The Wreckager" Legendary Cutlass Weapon and Otherworldly Bonus
Collectible Hobbe figure with accessories - From the Qee Collection comes this one-of-a-kind Hobbe figure. Nasty, brutish, and short, he roams the countryside, preying on travelers and spiriting away the children of the unwary.
48-hour Xbox LIVE Gold Trial Card - With Xbox LIVE Gold, players can show off their individual hero by inviting friends into their unique version of Albion or they can visit their friends' Albion, and earn additional gold, experience and renown to take back into their own.
Five printed Fate Cards - These five beautiful cards foretell the Hero's great destiny to journey across all of Albion, encountering deadly enemies and enigmatic allies. The path leads to a choice that will change the world forever.

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The official Braid walkthrough says, 'Please do not use a walkthrough'

Ross Miller — 2008-08-07T01:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360

If Braid is causing you some trouble this week, let us direct to you designer Jonathan Blow's official walkthrough for the newly-minted Xbox Live Arcade title. Sort of. Let us explain... No, there is too much. Let us sum up. In a nutshell, Blow's advice is to "deal with it."

According to the guide, "Some of the puzzles will be hard. But when you manage to solve those hard puzzles, you will feel very good about it. [emphasis theirs] The game will feel very rewarding. Don't rob yourself of that feeling by reading a walkthrough!" While we agree with the sentiment, for irony's sake, our fingers are crossed that Braid will hit Top 10 Wanted FAQs on GameFAQs.

Gallery: Braid

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OFLC rates R-Type Dimensions for Xbox 360

Jason Dobson — 2008-08-04T08:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360

The Bydo Empire just won't stay dead, as Australia's Office of Film and Literature has rated a previously unknown title called R-Type Dimensions for the Xbox 360. Little is known about the game other than it is being authored by Lode Runner dev Tozai, leading us to believe that the title, be it a shooter, strategy game, or some kind of R-Type-themed cooking sim, will be released over XBLA.

While R-Type Dimensions has yet to be rated by the ESRB, we doubt an official announcement is far behind. What we do wonder, however, is that if this does turn out to be a XBLA shooter, what the folks at Tozai know that Cave does not.

[Via GamerBytes]

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Revealed XBLAugust prices incorrect [Update]

Ross Miller — 2008-07-30T13:45:00+00:00

Filed under: Arcade, Microsoft Xbox 360

The official Japanese Xbox 360 blog has posted prices for Xbox Live's "Summer of Arcade" series (i.e. five weeks of awesome releases). Let's review:

July 30: Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 (800 MS points / $10)
August 6: Braid (1200 MS points / $15)
August 13: Bionic Commando Rearmed (800 MS points / $10)
August 20: Galaga Legions (800 MS points / $10)
August 27: Castle Crashers (1800 MS points / $22.50)

At $22.50, Castle Crashers would hold the record for most expensive XBLA title. The total price for the Summer of arcade is $67.50, which is a little bit more than a standard Xbox 360 title + applicable tax. The prices are currently set for Japan only, but they generally don't differ with the North American releases. Is your wallet prepared?

Update: Microsoft tells Shacknews these prices are incorrect, and that the final prices won't be revealed until the Monday before each respective game launches.

[Via X3F]

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Zombies!!! coming to Xbox Live Arcade???

Kevin Kelly — 2008-07-30T08:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Retro, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, Adventure, Casual

Hopefully that's enough punctuation in one headline for you. Apparently an eager gamer had sent in some ideas on how to turn their Zombies!!! game, which pretty much keep them rolling in brains and entrails, into an Xbox Live Arcade title, and was told "that they were already underway with this very project." We decided this was something we needed to look into ourselves, given our love of tabletop gaming.

We caught up with Todd A. Breitenstein of Twilight Creations in the extremely slim booth congregation at Comic-Con's gaming portion and he said, "I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of such a project... but do you think it would be cool?" A tile-flipping game was an escape from ravenous zombies plot? Heck yes, we would. While we enjoy getting our game on in Catan, Carcassonne, and even Ticket to Ride, we'd also love to see some good old-fashioned killing of the undead happening as well. Maybe they could even include their flipside game Humans!!! in the deal.

[Thanks, Barry!]

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XBLAugust: Castle Crashers, BC Rearmed, Braid, and Galaga

Ross Miller — 2008-07-28T13:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Action

The official Microsoft Gamerscore blog has just outlined how you'll be spending our weekly allowance for the next month. Five major Xbox Live Arcade titles are debuting over the next five weeks (that's one each week). Pause your game of Coffeetime Crosswords and check out the schedule:

July 30: Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2
August 6: Braid
August 13: Bionic Commando Rearmed
August 20: Galaga Legions
August 27: Castle Crashers

Only the previously-dated Geometry Wars 2 has a price at the moment (800 MS Points / US $10).

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Joystiq E3 hands-on: Flock

Ross Miller — 2008-07-21T08:30:00+00:00

Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Puzzle

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.

Gallery: Flock (XBLA, PSN, PC)

Part of the fun is failing, as Kujawa seemed to prove by spending most of the session either showing me different ways to kill my flock or doing it himself. There are some benefits to killing, as the flock will leave behind slabs of meat that can be used to distract enemies.

Kujawa provided some insight into the focus testing of the game. The aim of the developers was appeal to as many people as possible, male and female. What came from that is the inclusion of "angels" that flies up off screen after one of your flock members dies (think: Milky from Blur's "Coffee & TV" music video). Another decision that came from focus testing was the removal of timers; you can take as long as you want to finish a level, although you earn medals depending on how fast you finish.

Best part of the demo? A Rube Goldberg-esque level that ends with one sheep being catapulted into the Mother Flocker. Kujaway told us an improved version will likely be making its way into the final game. Flock is coming this holiday season to Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and PC.

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Castle Crashers, Galaga Legions, more on XBLA in 4-6 weeks

Richard Mitchell — 2008-07-17T19:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, E3

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:

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

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Joystiq E3 Hands-on: Castle Crashers

Mike Schramm — 2008-07-17T10:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Features, Microsoft Xbox 360, Adventure, Fighting, E3

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.

The game is basically a beat-em-up in the spirit of Streets of Rage, or any number of licensed games of yesteryear. You always move right (a flashing pointer shows you the way to go when it's open), mash buttons to crush enemies when they fall across your path, and then the whole thing is punctuated with the occasional wacky encounters and boss battles.

But Castle Crashers is so much more -- as you take out enemies, you earn experience points, and the more points you get, the more moves and abilities open up. And combat gets complicated, too -- you start with just a hack and slash, and then open up a power hack, and then a spinning attack, and then a sprint attack, and oh yeah, there's a mana bar for each character, and spells to cast (for each of many strange character types in the game) that can also be unlocked, and so on. And that's all just within level 3. Oh, and did we mention the totally cute pets that give you various abilities and statuses? The complexity in the game is mindboggling, and the action is frenetic, but it never forgets that at its heart, it's still just a fun beat-em-up. It's like playing the frontend of the TMNT arcade game with the backend of Final Fantasy Tactics.

And both the art and humor in the game is divine as well -- during the stage we played, there was a huge battle going on behind the foreground, and in the areas we walked through there were soldiers playing dead, enemy creatures doing unspeakable things to soldiers that really were dead, and NPC soldiers trying to do CPR on dead soldiers (that's how you can bring fallen players back to life as well). And at the end of the stage, we were threatened by a big, angry viking boss, only to have another, much larger, viking boss knock a door open flat to crush the first one -- turns out we were fighting the bigger guy.

Behemoth has refined their cartoony style since Alien Hominid -- that game suffered from its Flash roots, but Castle Crashers doesn't suffer from that problem -- it's gorgeous in HD, and every character, background, and boss that we saw oozed with style and color.

And when we did finally beat the boss (it turned out to be a viking battering ram, and we had to hack away at the little enemies populating the inside until they could take no more), we saved a beautiful princess, and discovered that she only wanted one suitor. So after vanquishing all the enemies around us, we then turned on each other to finish off the stage.

Castle Crashers is great fun, looks terrific, and just might end up being the best original XBLA game ever. We'll know for sure when we actually get a chance to play through it -- the pre-October release can't come soon enough.

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Microsoft's Scott Austin talks XBLA delistings and delays

Mike Schramm — 2008-07-16T18:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, E3

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.

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Uno Rush confirmed for XBLA

Mike Schramm — 2008-07-14T14:18:00+00:00

Filed under: Arcade, Microsoft Xbox 360, Online, Meta (about Joystiq), E3

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.

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