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XBLA Awards: Braid can't rewind loss to Castle Crashers

by James Ransom-Wiley { Mar 23rd 2009 at 6:52PM }

Castle Crashers recovered from a 4-month gimp to be crowned the Xbox Live Arcade "Game of the Year" in the second annual community voting awards. Somewhat surprisingly, Castle Crashers also managed to nab "Best Co-op Mode" despite being virtually unplayable online for four out of its seven months in release. On its way to top honors, The Behemoth's beat-em-up notably beat out its fellow indie nominee, Braid, which was famously dismissed by an American youth spokesperson.

Braid's losing streak continued in the "Best Single Player Game" category, which was claimed by Orange Box cutout Portal: Still Alive (oh right, it has "exclusive" challenge maps), but Jonathan Blow's timeless effort did mange to win "Best Innovation" amid stiff competition. (We were certain Kefling's innovative "use of Avatars" was a shoo-in.)

The complete list of awards and recipients is posted after the break.

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FanPoll'08: XBLA Game of the Year

by Xav de Matos { Dec 26th 2008 at 1:30PM }

This year has brought us a slew of incredible Xbox Live Arcade titles so whittling the list down to five contenders is a difficult task. In the end the top honors went to the five titles we felt delivered on all promises made and showcased greatness, even through their shortcomings.

Read more about these five nominees:
A Kingdom for Keflings
Bionic Commando Rearmed
Braid
Geometry Wars 2
Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix

Voting closes at 12:01am on December 30, 2008. Results will be revealed on December 30, 2008.

X3F TV -- XBLA in Brief: A Kingdom for Keflings

by Richard Mitchell { Nov 19th 2008 at 7:15PM }

After a week with no XBLA games, we were ready to sink our teeth into something new. This week, we not only get A Kingdom for Keflings, but it also happens to be the first Xbox 360 game that lets players use their Avatar as a playable character. We take the game and our Avatar for a spin in the latest episode of XBLA in Brief. Check it out in the video above.

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A Kingdom for Keflings finds the XBLM

by Dustin Burg { Nov 19th 2008 at 1:30PM }

Newly available for purchase off the Xbox Live Marketplace is A Kingdom for Keflings, a brand new Xbox Live Arcade game from the folks over at Ninja Bee.

At 800 Microsoft points, A Kingdom of Keflings is a city building sim where you play a giant who takes mini Keflings and ~~demands~~ firmly suggests what they should do to improve the cityscape. Best part, A Kingdom for Keflings is the first game to incorporate your new NXE Avatar. Bossing lil' Keflings around just couldn't be any more enjoyable.

Gallery: A Kingdom for Keflings (XBLA)

A Kingdom for Keflings: First Xbox Avatar game on Nov. 19 with NXE

by James Ransom-Wiley { Nov 6th 2008 at 12:55PM }

Microsoft is ushering in the New Xbox Experience with A Kingdom for Keflings, the first Xbox 360 title to feature playable, in-game Avatars -- as GIANTS, no less. Developed by NinjaBee, who teased the game in June, the city-building sim supports 4-player Xbox Live multiplayer and "works perfectly with Xbox Live Party" (we should hope so!). While you can carry and assign jobs to Keflings (uh, the game's tiny, humanoid slaves), we have yet to confirm the ability to use Keflings to poke out other Avatars' eyes. But what an experience that would be!

A Kingdom for Keflings can be yours -- and your Avatar's -- for 800

($10) when it hits Xbox Live Arcade on November 19th.

Gallery: A Kingdom for Keflings

NXE Avatars coming to (some) older XBLA titles

by Randy Nelson { Oct 31st 2008 at 3:30PM }

In its latest video exposé on the New Xbox Experience, the Gamerscore Blog has teamed with Major Nelson and a few project insiders to show off how Avatars will work in several older XBLA titles. Specifically, Uno, Bomberman Blast, Hardwood Hearts, and Hardwood Spades will all incorporate the virtual "yous" in various ways.

In the case of these games, player Avatars will be visible on-screen – you can't actually play as your Avatar in Bomberman, sadly. The video does show that players will be able to be ... themselves in the upcoming Ninjabee town building game, A Kingdom for Keflings. (This is likely the new title the Gamerscore crew refer to in their blog update.)

A title update for Scene It? Box Office Smash will roll out on Nov. 19 to enable in-game player Avatars (looks like the game didn't ship ready for NXE after all.) Check out the full video below the break.

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NinjaBee unveils XBLA title A Kingdom for Keflings

by Dustin Burg { Aug 4th 2008 at 2:45PM }

After receiving a not so informative announcement video, then receiving a much more informative gameplay video, NinjaBee has finally lifted the announcement curtains on their latest XBLA project, A Kingdom for Keflings. Including some screenshot love too!

A Kingdom for Keflings is a city building simulator where you'll play a giant who builds, designs and constructs a city all in an effort to attract the much tinier Kefling population to live in. And with all kinds of customization options, different seasons to experience and four player Xbox Live co-op gameplay, A Kingdom for Keflings sounds like another NinjaBee hit ninja-hit. Press release after the break and a few screenshots below.

Gallery: A Kingdom for Keflings (XBLA)

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First footage of A Kingdom for Keflings

by Alexander Sliwinski { Jul 24th 2008 at 1:00AM }

It appears NinjaBee is ready to talk a little about its upcoming city builder, A Kingdom for Keflings. Teasing the title in a viral video last month, the company finally gave some details to IGN, details which make the game look and sound like a cross bee-tween SimCity and Gulliver's Travels.

It appears the player takes on the roll of a Gulliver-esque character and must build a kingdom for the Keflings, with the final goal being to create a castle. The game features 50 buildings, a tech tree and optional quests. Isn't it interesting that all the different smaller-scale city builder games, like Hinterland and My Life as a King, are releasing this year? Check out video for A Kingdom for Keflings after the break.

[Via X3F]

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SimCity Lite for XBLA? - A Kingdom for Keflings

by Terrence Stasse { Jul 23rd 2008 at 1:30AM }

So who's read Gulliver's Travels? Raise your hands, don't be shy. Hmmm, more than we would've thought. Those familiar with the tale should remember the island of Lilliput (and its rival) which was the home of, well, tiny people. A Kingdom for Keflings is rather similar in concept: you're a giant among insects (so to speak). From there the game concept adds in some dashes of SimCity and Black & White, as the goal is simply to build a city and castle as well as attract more Keflings.

While coming to us from the same devs who did Band of Bugs, A Kingdom for Keflings looks like it's doing things that we've all seen before. Hopefully Ninja Bee will find the sweet spot of city-building, avatar control, and simply watching the simulation play itself out, so that the game doesn't simply tread old ground.

Ninja Bee finds A Kingdom for Keflings

by Dustin Burg { Jun 4th 2008 at 1:00PM }

Taking a different approach to the traditional video game press release, the crew over at Ninja Bee have put together their creative minds announcing a new XBLA game A Kingdom for Keflings and the fact that they've actually hired twenty of these mysterious Kefling creatures to help around the studio. You can watch some of the Keflings' super helpful soda handiwork in the Ninja Bee produced video above. Interesting, no?

Details are extremely light, but all you really need to know is that A Kingdom for Keflings is some sort of game that'll release this Fall, will feature "light-hearted gameplay with graphics and original music to match" and will somehow incorporate a bunch of three foot tall Keflings. Maybe it'll be an updated Lemmings-style game. Or maybe an elf simulator.