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Console Downloads: Super Street Fighter Puzzle HD Remix

Super Street Fighter Puzzle HD Remix.This week on comes the anticipated and graphically enhanced arcade cult classic Super Street Fighter Puzzle HD Remix. In addition to upping the graphical fidelity on the game, has also rebalanced the game with the new X’ mode, although the original version will also be available. The game will cost 800 Microsoft Points.

On ‘s this week seems to be sequel week, with the Contra sequel Super C (previously available on XBox Live Arcade) for 500 Wii Points, the SNES role-playing classic Breath of Fire II for 800 Wii Points and the Sega Genesis version of Ghouls n’ Ghosts, the follow-up to Ghosts n’ Goblins for another 800 Wii Points.


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Console Downloads This Week Featuring Metroid and Hexic 2

Downloadable Games for Week of August 13: Metroid, Shining in the Darkness, Cratermaze, Ecco the Dolphin, Hexic 2Following a light week, Microsoft returns this Wednesday to the two game new/old format, dropping Hexic 2 (800 Microsoft Points) and the Sega classic Ecco the Dolphin (400 Microsoft Points). Hexic 2 comes from famed Tetris creator Alexy Patjitnov and follows up the packed-in original XBLA title and adds new modes including same-screen or Live multiplayer; Ecco the Dolphin boasts enhanced graphics and sound plus a “Best Time” leaderboard.

These games join more than 75 others on the service which has been a huge success for Microsoft as detailed in a lecture by Marc Whitten this week at GameFest, where he discussed the company’s plan for attracting the casual gamer to the XBox 360. Whitten stated that they’ve seen a 156% average financial return in the past year on XBLA titles, earning more than $30 million to date. Based on this success they expect revenue on XBox Live Arcade to double in the next fiscal year and predict that by the end of this year they will have reached 45 million downloads of over 100 available titles.

On Nintendo’s similar download service, Virtual Console, they’re dropping three new games this week including the original NES classic Metroid (500 Wii Points), plus the Sega dungeon crawler Shining in the Darkness (800 Wii Points) as well as the TurbGrafx-16 game Cratermaze (600 Wii Points). Nintendo is choosing now to push the original Metroid title onto the VC as a means of keeping their Metroid brand fresh in gamers’ minds as they prepare to release the marquee Wii game Metroid Prime 3: Corruption in two weeks. As part of this effort, next week’s VC title is expected to be the SNES sequel, Super Metroid.

Read More | Gamasutra

BioShock Demo Hits Xbox Live Marketplace

BioShock

has announced that BioShock is gold and they also managed to sneak a demo of the game onto Xbox Live Marketplace. The 1.35 GB download has caused a flood of traffic, and some are reporting errors or stalls when trying to get their hands on a copy. If only PC gamers had such problems; 2K did confirm that they would be releasing a PC demo, but said only that it would be coming “later this month.”

Early reviews for the game have been exceedingly positive and with the game only a little more than a week from release, this should help hold you over for the next eight days.

Read More | Major Nelson

Track & Field Hits Xbox Live Arcade This Week

Track & Field Xbox Live Arcade screenshot

This week the Arcade goes retro with the 24-year-old Track & Field. For 400 Microsoft Points you’ll get the classic button-masher, complete with 4-player split-screen and Xbox Live support. Along with this announcement, Microsoft has revealed some of the XBLA games we’ll be seeing in August and by summer’s end.

Headlining releases this month is Hexic 2, sequel to the XBLA launch game, Hexic HD. We’ll also receive Ecco the Dolphin and War World during August.

And “in the coming weeks,” we’ll see Geon: Emotions, Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, Space Giraffe, Streets of Rage 2, and Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix. (That one’s a mouthful.)

Check after the break for a brief description of all these games, and a few more screenshots of Track & Field in action.

Click to continue reading Track & Field Hits Xbox Live Arcade This Week


Xbox Live Arcade 8/1: Marathon: Durandal And Spyglass Board Games

Spyglass Board Games Xbox Live Arcade

Marathon: Durandal and Spyglass Board Games are now available on the Xbox Live Arcade, as previously announced. Marathon is an old-school FPS originally developed by Bungie, the guys behind Halo. While you may not have had a chance to play it before – or even hear of it – it’s a game that introduced many mechanics into the FPS genre that have been taken for granted for years now, like dual wielding. The game will run you 800 Microsoft Points, or $10. If you liked Doom, be sure to give Marathon a shot.

Spyglass Board Games is a compilation of four very popular classic board games: chess, checkers, mancala, and reversi. Given its cheap price (400 points; $5) and Vision Camera support, it’s definitely something worth picking up if you enjoy any of the included games.

Check after the break for more details on both games.

Click to continue reading Xbox Live Arcade 8/1: Marathon: Durandal And Spyglass Board Games


This Week on Xbox Live Arcade: Marathon: Durandal And Spyglass Board Games

Marathon Durandal Xbox Live Arcade

Finally, Bungie’s Marathon. The game that was arguably better than Doom back in the day, but got little no attention because it was released only on Macs. (That’s what they get.) Marathon: Durandal, however, is actually the sequel to the original Marathon which saw a release on both Windows and Mac. The XBLA port was developed by Freeverse, and includes a variety of features that will make it worth its 800 Microsoft Point price tag – HD graphics, Xbox Live play, and co-op.

Spyglass Board Games has been heavily anticipated by many gamers, as for 400 Microsoft Points you get a sweet package of Chess, Checkers, Mancala and Reversi, all with Xbox Live Vision Camera support.

Both games will be available this Wednesday on Xbox Live Arcade.


Virtual Console 7/30: Star Soldier, Dynamite Headdy, And Drop Off

Dynamite Headdy Sega Genesis boxartWhile the Xbox Live Arcade is set to get the classic Marathon, Virtual Console’s additions this week include Star Soldier (vertical shooter; NES, 500 Wii points), Dynamite Headdy (platformer; Genesis, 800 points) and Drop Off (puzzle; TurboGrafx16, 600 points) – all pretty old titles. This is really a hardcore retro week, apparently.

All three are now available. Check after the break for more details.

Click to continue reading Virtual Console 7/30: Star Soldier, Dynamite Headdy, And Drop Off


Xbox Live Arcade 7/25: Re-Remember How Bad You Are At Contra

Super Contra XBLA

As we reported yesterday, Xbox Live Arcade has given us two games again this week: Super Contra and Wing Commander Arena. Unfortunately, it’s the arcade port of Super Contra, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s, well, Super Contra. Definitely worth the 400 Microsoft Points if you’re a fan. If you’re a newbie to Contra and try out the game only to see you’re awful at the game, don’t worry – most people are.

Wing Commander Arena is a bit of a mixed bag. Because unlike Super Contra, which is the old game you remember, this is not Wing Commander. But, it does feature 16-player Xbox Live multiplayer, which is a first in an Arcade game. At 800 Microsoft Points it might be a bit of a stretch, but if you’re looking for a fun multiplayer 2D shooter, Arena just about fits the bill.

Click to continue reading Xbox Live Arcade 7/25: Re-Remember How Bad You Are At Contra


Xbox Live Arcade 7/18: Bomberman Live And Yie Ar Kung-Fu

Bomberman Live Xbox Live Arcade

Another week with a dual release of Xbox Live Arcade games, and we’ve certainly got at least one solid title here. Bomberman is the classic you know and love, and for 800 Microsoft Points ($10) you get Xbox Live multiplayer support – that right there should be enough to earn your points. And the other Arcade release, Yie Ar Kung-Fu, is probably a game you’ve probably never heard of, but is only $5 and you’ve got Live multiplayer – give the trial a shot before you outright dismiss it.


E3 2007: This Week’s Xbox Live Marketplace Content Update

This post make your head explodeThere were plenty of releases on the Xbox Live Marketplace this week, and thanks to Major Nelson we can now easily compile it all for you en masse. Demos, trailers, Arcade games – you name it, you got it. Apologies if anything was missed, but there was an insane amount of content. Hit up the comments section if you like this story and would like to see a weekly round-up of downloadable content each week. And just as a warning: if lists irritate you, your head will likely explode if you check out the rest of the story after the break.

Demos:

  • NCAA Football 08
  • Blue Dragon
  • Ace Combat 6 (campaign)
  • Stuntman: Ignition
  • The Bigs
  • Harry Potter OOTP

Click to continue reading E3 2007: This Week’s Xbox Live Marketplace Content Update


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