So, remember how NinjaBee teased us with fireball-tossing Avatars last week? It turns out that the developer isn't creating a brand new Avatar game after all. Instead, NinjaBee is adding Avatar support to its turn-based strategy game, Band of Bugs. Yeah, it's not as exciting as the Avatar fighting game of our dreams, but it might be enough to make us blow the digital dust off of the XBLA title. Players will be able to use their Avatars in both the single-player campaign and in Spider Hunter multiplayer mode. The Avatar support will be coming as a free update on July 8.

In addition to Avatar support, NinjaBee is also set release an entirely new campaign for Band of Bugs entitled Tales of Kaloki, though it's very different from traditional DLC. Instead of simply expanding Band of Bugs, Tales of Kaloki actually plays like an entirely new game set in a different universe with different characters. Rather than pitting bugs against one another, players will control spaceships -- which utilize new weapons and abilities -- and try to blast their enemies out of the sky. And, judging from the above image, you can also wreak urban havoc with your Avatar.

As the title implies, Tales of Kaloki is based on another NinjaBee XBLA game, Outpost Kaloki X. The DLC will be available July 8 for 240 ($3). NinjaBee will also be releasing a Band of Bugs dashboard theme on the same day for the same price.

Check out screens of Tales of Kaloki and Avatars in Band of Bugs in the galleries below.

Now, NinjaBee, seriously ... about that fighting game ....

Here's an interesting one. Ninjabee, creator of some of the better XBLA games out there (Cloning Clyde, A Kingdom for Keflings) recently posted a somewhat cryptic Twitter message. The tweet reads simply, "Here's the big news for the day: Ever wanted to throw a fireball with your Avatar?" The message is followed by a link leading to the image above, with the somewhat less cryptic message, "Soon you'll be able to use your Avatar in ways it hasn't been used before..."

First, the obvious answer to the question is a hearty "yes." We want our Avatars to do a lot of things, including some of the things they aren't allowed to do. Second, just what is this message all about? Dare we hope that Ninjabee is working up some kind of Avatar fighting game, perhaps in the manic style of Super Smash Bros. or possibly, dream of dreams, Power Stone? We've reached out to Ninjabee and will let you know as soon as we hear more.

In the meantime ... speculate.

This week on XBLA in Brief, we take Dash of Destruction for a spin. As you've no doubt heard by now, Dash of Destruction is available for free on Xbox Live Arcade. The reason: it's a sponsored game that was primarily created to help sell Doritos. No seriously, you can see the word Doritos right there on the title screen. So, how does Dash of Destruction stack up to that other free advertising game on XBLA? Watch the latest episode to find out.

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Today is the day, folks. Today is the day that Xbox Live Arcade receives the Doritos sponsored Dash of Destruction. Seeing as the game is essentially a glorified advertisement for delicious, yummy Doritos, it's available completely free of charge. Now, we know what you're thinking, the last time a free advergame hit XBLA, well, it was Yaris. Will Dash of Destruction go down the same path of utter and complete mediocrity? With Ninjabee -- one of the better XBLA studios out there -- maybe, just maybe there's hope.

Download Dash of Destruction from Xbox Live Marketplace.

If this looks like a game that should be free, well, it's because it is free. The game, you may recall, is Dash of Destruction, the winner of last year's Xbox Live Arcade Doritos promotion. After a year and change in the hands of developer NinjaBee, tasked with the rather expensive Flash-to-XBLA conversion (it costs your credibility, you know), the "game" is regrettably here. Unfortunately for NinjaBee, thirteen months of stalling was not enough time for the higher power to forget. See what happens when you bet your soul? And lose.

Thankfully, continuing in the proud tradition of Yaris (R.I.P.), Dash of Destruction will be offered to us for exactly 0. This one's on Doritos -- muchas gracias little golden ones!

Last week, Microsoft announced that Ninjabee's upcoming city builder A Kingdom for Keflings will be the first Xbox 360 game to allow players to play as their own Avatar. We spoke with Ninjabee following the announcement and now we have some exclusive new screens and a new trailer showcasing Avatars in A Kingdom for Keflings. Whether you decide to help your Keflings construct their village or just punt them like footballs is up to you. Somehow, we imagine the former is more likely to get your Keflings to dance at your feet, though. Check out the new trailer embedded above and the new screens in the gallery below.

Also, Ninjabee's logo, the ninja bee, needs his own game. Period.

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.

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.

Developer and XBLA evangelist Ninjabee, known for such titles as Outpost Kaloki X and last summer's Band of Bugs, has announced its latest project in comedic fashion, though judging from the video above we're unsure if we should be laughing or mortified. Perhaps a little of both, as we see Ninjabee's Shawn Boyles go from mild mannered artist to vicious murderer thanks to the industrious, if annoying efforts of unseen workers known as Keflings, stars of Ninjabee's upcoming fall XBLA release A Kingdom for Keflings.

Little is known about the game beyond that it will focus on city-building, and will feature "fun and light-hearted gameplay with graphics and original music to match," no doubt creating the perfect atmosphere for stapler-related homicide. Or is that Keflicide?

The finalists were played, the votes were tallied, and only one of the five weaksauce Doritos flash titles would be turned into an actual, factual Xbox Live Arcade title, thanks to Doritos' Unlock Xbox Competition. Announced today was the official winner: Mike Borland will be taking his game concept, Doritos Dash of Destruction, to Ninjabee Studios to be turned into a fully-working XBLA game.

Dash of Destruction has players taking on the role of either a T-Rex or a Doritos truck, in a race around a city to see who can win: the Doritos truck (by making it safely out of the city) or the T-Rex (by eating the Doritos truck). The concept is cute, but the execution on the Unlock Xbox website is practically unplayable.

Like the other four finalists, the Flash-based demo of the game was developed by advergame studio Blockdot. Clearly Blockdot had a lot on its plate while developing these demos, as they all suffer from numerous glitches and other results of rushed coding. It's clear that voting must have been based more on the concepts than the final games. Here's hoping Ninjabee -- whose previous titles include Outpost Kaloki X, Eets, and Band of Bugs -- can turn Doritos Dash of Destruction into something a bit more polished.

Xbox Live Arcade is finally starting to pick up steam and, as a result, more game genres are being represented. We've got fighters, beat 'em ups, puzzle games, arcade classics, board games, and many more. There hasn't been much in the way of turn-based strategy though. That is, there wasn't until Band of Bugs. Coming to us from NinjaBee, the same folks who brought us Cloning Clyde and Outpost Kaloki X, Band of Bugs takes the same lighthearted, humorous approach to turn-based strategy. Read on to find out how Band of Bugs fares.

The kind and generous souls over at Uncle Gamer are at it again. This time, they're giving away a redemption code for Band of Bugs, the latest release from our friends at NinjaBee. We've been having a lot of fun with Band of Bugs so far, and that feeling will only be made better when you realize you didn't pay a dime for it, right? If you'd like your shot at some free, lighthearted strategy goodness, head over to Uncle Gamer and enter. They're accepting entries until Friday, so get cracking!

It's time to pick a winner for our quick and dirty Band of Bugs giveaway. We've sifted through the virtual hat and pulled out a name. That name is ... Joseph Pinero, who reminds us that Band of Bugs goes "SPLAT." Indeed it does, Joseph. Indeed it does. Congratulations, your code will be winging its way to your inbox in no time. If you didn't win, don't worry, we've got lots of contests lined up over the summer. You should be hearing about a new one very soon.

Update: A winner has now been selected. Click here to see the winner.

Insects. Turn-based strategy. At first glance, these two things don't seem to go together. As it turns out though, Band of Bugs (from our friends at NinjaBee) proves that war and insects are the digital equivalent of peanut butter and chocolate. We managed to snag an Xbox Live Marketplace download code for this delicious concoction and we're giving it away to one lucky reader. If you'd like your shot at winning, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post. We'll pick a random winner today at 4:00PM Eastern, just in time to enjoy the game after work. Get to commenting and good luck!

General contest stuff: only one entry per person. Winner will be contacted via email.