Shadow Complex promises to impress

Posted by Brandon Gribin Categories: Action, Downloadable Content, Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace

Whatever line there was between retail games and downloadable titles has essentially been torn down.

You can now download full retail games straight to your console thanks to the new Xbox 360 Dashboard Update. And the Xbox Live Summer of Arcade has been rock solid.

But wait. There’s more.

The final release of Summer of Arcade hits this week - on Wednesday precisely. And it’s been getting stellar reviews.

IGN calls it “one of the best games yet in 2009” - that’s out of all games, not just XBLA titles. MondoXbox says it’s"capable of rivaling even many of the retail games out there.”

Shadow Complex further blurs the line between retail and downloadable games - if not completely destroying that line.

Shadow Complex is a Metroid/Castlevania-style game that features 2.5D side-scrolling action gameplay. Based on the praiseworthy reviews, this one sounds like a winner.

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Trials HD arriving on Xbox 360

Posted by Brandon Gribin Categories: Downloadable Content, Microsoft, Platformers, Release Dates, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace

That’s right, folks - the next installment in the Xbox Live Summer of Arcade is about to drop! Trials HD is coming this Wednesday for 1200 Microsoft Points ($15).

Be prepared for a “full-featured, physics-based motorcycle racing platformer” that includes fifty stages as well as a level editor. Trials HD is an enhanced version of Trials 2: Second Edition.

Sounds like it may be a solid entry in the XBLA line-up. I’m amped to check this one out.

In fact Trials HD already has a few scores listed on Metacritic. Eurogamer boasts Trials HD “may end up being the best thing on Xbox Live Arcade all year.” Woah! Could it surpass ‘Splosion Man?!

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TMNT: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled arrives tomorrow on XBLA

Posted by Brandon Gribin Categories: Action, Downloadable Content, Release Dates, Ubisoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace

That’s right, the arcade classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time comes out tomorrow, August 5th, on Xbox Live Arcade - as part of XBLA‘s ‘Summer of Arcade.’

Re-Shelled promises updated 3-D graphics with the same masterful gameplay. Four player co-op and survival modes will be available both online and locally.

It seems like if you played the 90’s arcade title, you know what to expect. Still, keep your eyes peeled on the game’s Metacritic page for reviews to start pouring in.

It’ll cost you 800 Microsoft Points ($10.)

And by the way, here’s XBLA’s ‘Summer of Arcade’ Lineup:

• OUT NOW: ‘Splosion Man 800 Points ($10)
• OUT NOW: Marvel vs. Capcom 2 1200 Points ($15)
• August 5: TMNT: Turtles in Time Re-shelled 1200 Points ($15)
• August 12: Trials HD 1200 Points ($15)
• August 19: Shadow Complex 1200 Points ($15)

Read More | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled

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‘Splosion Man Review: This game is a blast!

Posted by Brandon Gribin Categories: Action, Downloadable Content, Reviews, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade

‘Splosion Man, currently available for the Xbox 360 on Xbox Live Arcade, is a 2.5-D action platformer where the goal is to “splode” your way through levels.

You play as a guy who can ‘splode himself - which essentially propels him into a jump. The controls are simple - A, B, X, and Y all do the same thing; yeah you guessed it, ‘Splode. You can also perform wall-kicks, akin to many platformers like the more recent Mario games. Of course, instead of just kicking of a wall, you ‘splode off of it.

However, the game’s not so simple once you get going. The catch is that you can only ‘splode three times while in the air before either coming back down to the ground or briefly sliding down a wall to recharge your ‘splode-ability.

Click to continue reading ‘Splosion Man Review: This game is a blast!

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Xbox 360 Fall 2009 Update Preview

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Downloadable Content, Features, Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace

Lucky us, we are getting early access to the Xbox 360 Fall 2009 Dashboard Update this coming Monday. We will bring you all our thoughts on everything we are able to try out. We have a list of stuff we will have access to on Monday, which you can see after the jump, but we were also able to put together a gallery of some of the things we will be playing with as well. You can find all those images over in our Xbox 360 Fall 2009 NXE Dashboard Update Preview Gallery.

Click to continue reading Xbox 360 Fall 2009 Update Preview

Gallery: Xbox 360 Fall 2009 Update Preview

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Summer of Arcade 2009 brings Turtles in Time, Marvel vs Capcom 2, more

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Action, CAPCOM, Fighting, Release Dates, Retro, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace

The second annual Summer of Arcade kicks off on July 22nd, bringing with it one of the most hotly anticipated games to hit the Xbox Live Arcade: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled for 1200 Microsoft Points. Over the course of the following four weeks, the excitement continues. Here’s a look at the schedule for the 2009 Summer of Arcade:

July 22: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles™: Turtles in Time Re-shelled 1200 Microsoft Points
(Ubisoft Singapore®/Ubisoft®): Cowabunga dude! Marking the franchise’s 25 anniversary, everyone’s favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game is back with a brand new look in “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled.” The arcade classic has been revamped with all new 3D graphics, but the same classic beat ‘em up gameplay.

July 29: Marvel vs. Capcom 2 1200 Microsoft Points
(Backbone Entertainment/Capcom): One of the most popular fighting games of all time, “Marvel vs. Capcom 2,” arrives worldwide on Xbox LIVE Arcade. Choose from 56 legendary characters from Marvel Comics and Capcom history, including Ryu and Wolverine. With online multiplayer over Xbox LIVE and enhanced HD graphics, decide your own dream team in the ultimate tag-team fighting experience.

August 5: Splosion Man™  800 Microsoft Points
(Twisted Pixel Games/Microsoft): Fools they were, to tread where knowledge should stay forbidden.  For what emerged was not a man - it was a Splosion Man. “And all who saw him were sploded, for he was the fire and they were but meat.” Able to splode himself at will, the Splosion Man launches his way through levels as an uncontainable force.  From Twisted Pixel Games, developer of the award winning The Maw™, Splosion Man will keep you on your toes as you play through more than 50 single-player levels and 50 multiplayer levels. Nominated by GameSpy, Gamespot, IGN, and 411mania, this meat-riddled splosion-fest took several Best of E3 awards including Best Platformer and Best Downloadable Game.

August 12: Trials HD 1200 Microsoft Points
(RedLynx/Microsoft): Nominated for GameSpy’s Best Downloadable Game of E3 award, “Trials HD” is guaranteed to get our heart racing.” Put on your helmet, and rev your way through “Trials HD,” a full-featured, physics-based motorcycle racing platformer in stunning HD graphics. Tear up more than 50 tracks and test your metal in two unique game modes: Race and Skill. Create, share and download an unlimited number of free tracks with the level editor, and customize your rider to fit your personality.

August 19: Shadow Complex 1200 Microsoft Points
(Chair Entertainment and Epic Games/Microsoft): Winner of numerous Best of E3 awards including Best Downloadable Game from 1UP, IGN, GameTrailers and G4TV, “Shadow Complex” is the next evolution in downloadable games. “Shadow Complex” marries the quality and depth of a full retail title with the stunning visuals of Epic Games’ industry-leading Unreal Engine 3, and a classic side-scroller. Set in the world of Orson Scott Card’s best-selling novel, “Empire,” Shadow Complex provides more than 10 hours of in-depth gameplay and introduces a compelling universe.

Between Turtles in Time, Marvel vs. Capsom 2, and Shadow Complex, this is going to be one expensive summer.

Read More | Major Nelson

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time remake footage

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Action, Konami, Rumors, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade

So, why are we unable to contain our current excitement level? Well, as evidenced by the video above, an updated version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time is currently in development, and if you didn’t know, this is one of the best side-scrolling brawlers of all time. Originally released for the SNES, Turtles in Time allowed players to join up in a Double Dragon fashion, taking control of their favorite turtle, and it worked really well. Check out the video above to see the updated title in action on the Xbox 360. This one should be hitting the Xbox Live Arcade soon enough, but we don’t have any information on a date. Needless to say, it can’t come soon enough.

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Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix trailer

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: CAPCOM, Downloadable Content, Fighting, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade

Let’s hope this is a sign that the game is close to release (hey, they said November!). Above you’ll find the trailer for Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix. While the music isn’t quite what we would think would get people pumped for the game, you can’t say that the graphics aren’t off the hook. This one will be available on Xbox Live Arcade and the Playstation Store later this month. Who’s with me on picking this one up the day it becomes available?

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E3 2008: Xbox Media Briefing: Gears of War 2, Lips, Guitar Hero Tunes, Final Fantasy XIII announced

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, E3, Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace

We’ve entered the auditorium here in the West Hall, and are currently waiting for the E3 2008 Xbox Media Briefing to begin. Very nice setup in here, by the way. Bunch of stage lighting, high definition displays, and…oh, even a mock living room setup. Snazzy. Anyhow, keep it locked here, as we will be bringing you live updates from the keynote as it happens. Any predictions on what we will be seeing announced today?

Oh, as for images, we will update the post with a bunch of those after the keynote ends. We wanna focus on bringing you the text updates for now, mkay?

We start with some Xbox 360 Street Talk, where apparently Microsoft went around town and interviewed people off the streets, and asked them about what they like about Xbox 360. Obviously, all good comments here. Now we get answers for questions like “What is a noob?”, “What does it mean to be ‘pwned’?”, “What does melee mean?”, “What does RPG mean?”, etc. Basically, what do average people know about video game terms. This is kind of like sitting through the advertisement trailers in the movie theater, the ones that come before the actual trailers.

Check out the rest of the keynote after the jump:

Click to continue reading E3 2008: Xbox Media Briefing: Gears of War 2, Lips, Guitar Hero Tunes, Final Fantasy XIII announced

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Xbox Live Arcade Drops Select Prices For One Week

Posted by Paul Hamilton Categories: Casual, Downloadable Content, Sports, Xbox Live Arcade

Microsoft announced that starting at midnight GMT on Wednesday, they’ll be reducing prices for a select number of Xbox Live Arcade titles for one week, ending at 11:59 Tuesday October 2nd. This is similar to the Labor Day sale they ran earlier this month where they dropped the prices on Gauntlet, Zuma and Dig Dug.

The titles featured this time around are Bankshot Billiards 2, Hardwood Spades and Frogger.

The price reductions are less dramatic here, the earlier labor day sale halved the prices of the games while these are marked down less severely: Bankshot Billiards 2 normally goes for 1200 ($15.00) Microsoft Points but has been reduced to 900 ($11.25); Hardwood Spades and Frogger are both usually priced at 400 Microsoft Points ($5.00) but have been dropped to 300 ($3.75). Still, if you were considering any of these games as possible purchases, now might be the time to jump on them. Perhaps combined with the Best Buy/Halo 3 Live promotion you can have yourself a few days of super-cheap online gaming.

Read More | Gamerscore Blog

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