Xbox Live Arcade and Virtual Console Releases This Week

Posted by Paul Hamilton Categories: Virtual Console, Wii, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade,

There are six new games to choose from this week on Xbox Live Arcade and Virtual Console, though none of them are original games (which you expect from VC but even XBLA is arcade ports this week). Plus, most of this week’s games are relatively inexpensive with one exception.

Games this week include Bonk 3: Bonk’s Big Adventure, Adventure Island, Landstalker: The Treasures of King Nole, Donkey Kong Jr. Math, Cyberball 2072 and Fatal Fury Special. Details for the releases are below.

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Read More | Nintendo Press Release

Gallery: Xbox Live Arcade and Virtual Console Releases This Week

Take that, Heptagon!! Geometry Wars Heading to Wii, DS

Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Action, Nintendo DS, Retro, Wii,

Buttonbasher brings us the scoop from the latest issue of Nintendo Power, noting that the XBLA hit Geometry Wars will be hitting Nintendo’s platforms this fall. The new game, Geometry Wars: Galaxies will feature what sounds like a quest-style single player game, in addition to multiplayer and ports of the original 2 Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved XBLA titles. The Wii version will (of course) use motion controls, and the DS version plans to use the touch-screen. Personally, I’m hoping they add an option to put the dual-analogs on the classic controller to good use.

The game is expected to hit in the fall and will hopefully carry a budget-style price, given that the xbox 360 title has been out for years now.

Read More | Buttonbasher

Gallery: Take that, Heptagon!! Geometry Wars Heading to Wii, DS

Original Prince of Persia Hitting XBLA

Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Adventure, Ubisoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade,

Prepare to work hard to get these achievements… the original Prince of Persia, that’s right the 2D side-scroller with play-control of doom will be making its way to the Xbox 360’s Live Arcade. As a bonus, it’ll feature updated graphics (think 2.5D) and from the look of this trailer you can expect a few added surprises. As Joystiq is keen to point out, this game will tie in graphically with the Sands of Time game, featuring the emo-prince character model that we’ve all come to know and love (except in Warrior Within of course - there was nothing loveable about him there).

The original PoP and it’s 2D sequel are some of my fondest old-school gaming memories, so I’m hoping the folks developing this re-telling don’t screw it up. It’s all in the ridiculously hard play control, guys. We’re guessing around $10.00 for pricing (800 MS Points), and it’s slated to be released Q2 this year.

Read More | YouTube.com

Gallery: Original Prince of Persia Hitting XBLA

Live Arcade Gets Catan, Centipede

Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Retro, Strategy, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,

Microsoft continues its string of multiple Live Arcade releases this week, this time with the hugely anticipated Catan along with arcade classics Centipede and Millipede. Catan has had board game geeks waiting eagerly; the Live Arcade version of the classic Settlers of Catan strategy board game will hopefully live up to expectations. The game will sell for 800 points ($10) and features decent single player offerings with a supposedly strong AI along with four player multiplayer support over Xbox Live. Centipede and Millipede get bundled together for 400 points ($5) and promise updated graphical modes. Both titles will hit Xbox Live this Wednesday.

Read More | Gamerscoreblog

Gallery: Live Arcade Gets Catan, Centipede

Two Live Arcade Titles For The Second Week Running

Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Internet, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,

Somewhat shockingly, Microsoft is blessing Xbox 360 gamers with another two Live Arcade releases this week. After last week’s somewhat iffy Gyruss and 3D Ultra Mini Golf Adventures comes a couple of more interesting releases. The first is Eets: Chowdown, an updated version of the popular shareware release from Klei Entertainment. The gameplay has been described as a mix of The Incredible Machine and Lemmings, and the HD resolution 2D graphics look sharp for the Xbox 360 release. The game hits Wednesday for 800 MS Points ($10). Also in release this week is Pinball FX, which looks to be a pretty standard pinball release for the console. However, the game will support flipper control using the Xbox Live Vision camera, which seems like it would just be tiresome. The table art looks good, though, and appears to be tailored for HD resolutions. The game will also apparently support online multiplay as well. Pinball FX will also sell for 800 MS points.

Read More | Gamerscoreblog

Gallery: Two Live Arcade Titles For The Second Week Running

Boom Boom Rocket Launches Tomorrow

Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Action, Electronic Arts, Music, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,

Bizarre Creation’s latest Xbox Live Arcade title hits the Marketplace tomorrow; Boom Boom Rocket will sell for 800 Microsoft Points ($10). The game features Bizarre’s particle effects as fireworks layered over a 3D cityscape. Combining fireworks, classical music, and cityscapes will certainly draw comparisons to the PS2 title Fantavision, but hopefully this, combined with music/rhythm gameplay, will be an original enough creation to set it apart. Certainly Bizarre Creations is familiar with remixing order gameplay styles to create something new; Geometry Wars still stands as a unique mix of classic arcade archetypes.

Read More | Gamerscoreblog

Gallery: Boom Boom Rocket Launches Tomorrow

Castlevania Now Available On Live Marketplace

Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Action, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,

The classic PlayStation version of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is now available on the Xbox Live Marketplace. The game sells for 800 Microsoft Points and the demo clocks in at slightly less than 100 MB, which makes this the first Live Arcade title to break the previous 50 MB barrier. So far, the gameplay seems to be true to the older PlayStation version, but with added achievement support and various scaling modes to support HDTV resolutions. Some of the scaling modes seem to work better than others, but one should be able to find a decent match to whatever display device is in use. The original soundtrack for the game makes it to the Xbox 360 largely intact, but one can tell that music was fairly heavily compressed to get it into a reasonable file size for Live Marketplace. Beyond this and the mushy Xbox 360 D-Pad, the port is a good way for gamers to experience the title on the 10th anniversary of its release.

Read More | Gamerscoreblog

Gallery: Castlevania Now Available On Live Marketplace

Castlevania To Break Live Arcade 50 MB Limit

Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Retro, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,

When Microsoft announced that Castlevania: Symphony of the Night would be heading to the Xbox Live Marketplace, gamers were concerned that the production values of the game, most notably the lush soundtrack, would have to be compromised for the release in order to fit the game within the Live service’s strict 50 MB limit for Arcade downloads. Gamespot was able to confirm with Konami that they were able to get an exception to the rule to bring the console game to Live Arcade intact. Gamespot also confirmed with Greg Canessa, Live Arcade group manager, that while the company would issue exceptions from time to time to the 50 MB limit, the majority of Live Arcade games will still have to fit within the size restrictions. Microsoft’s size limitations exist to open Live Arcade titles to the widest audience and for portability on memory cards, and Konami’s exception to the rule should not change that.

Read More | Gamespot

Gallery: Castlevania To Break Live Arcade 50 MB Limit

Treasure Talks Next Generation Gaming

Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Action, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, Retro, Wii, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade,

1up recently talked with Treasure, creators of the famed Radiant Silvergun and Gunstar Heroes, about their future development plans for next generation consoles. Treasure is working hard on their Xbox 360 shooter, which should feature 3D graphics with classic 2D-style gameplay. The company confirmed that the game is being developed by the same team that created Ikaruga, but is shying away from calling the game a Radiant Silvergun sequel, which puts into doubts recent rumors of a true sequel. Treasure also talked about their upcoming releases for the Virtual Console, and potentially some releases for the Xbox Live Arcade. The company also seemed excited about possibly developing for the Wii specifically; a future release seems more likely than not. Unfortunately for PS3 fans, however, Treasure doesn’t believe they will have the resources to work with the Playstation 3 for some time. Overall, the interview is an interesting look at a developer approaching the next generation consoles with current graphics but a somewhat retro design esthetic.

Read More | 1up

Gallery: Treasure Talks Next Generation Gaming