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GameTap Thursday: Grimm, Lionheart, Elements of Destruction
The tales of Grimm continue this week on GameTap with Cinderella. Subscribers of the service also have a chance to get their mad scientist on, destroying everything in their path for points, in Elements of Destruction. Grimm: Cinderella (Windows) - We doubt there will be singing mice. If there are, they'll probably die in some gruesome way. Lionheart (Windows) - An action-RPG from 2003 that uses Fallout's SPECIAL system, coupled with Diablo-esque hack n' slash. Elements of Destruction (Window) - Be a mad scientist who likes to destroy cities. In the end, it's a little cathartic. No new free games this week and next week's update will occur on Tuesday, due to the Thanksgiving holiday. The full list of current free-to-play titles can be found after the break.
Let's Pilates cheaply, thanks to Amazon (and more!)
If Let's Pilates is as good as Let's Yoga, then it's a real steal at Amazon today at under $15. Looking for something a little less active? No problem -- tons of games are on sale, and accessories, too. We're not guaranteeing they're all great, but they do have one thing in common: they're cheap as hell. Let's Pilates -- $14.28 Magical Starsign -- $14.18 Warhammer 40k: Squad Command -- $9.45 Avatar: Burning Earth -- $9.45 Brain Boost: Gamma Wave -- $9.45 The Golden Compass -- $9.45 Interactive Storybook DS -- $9.45 Elements of Destruction -- $9.45
X3F TV -- XBLA in Brief: Elements of Destruction and Sea Life Safari
XBLA in Brief examines two unusual Xbox Live Arcade titles this week. First up is Elements of Destruction which has players essentially playing as nature itself, using tornadoes, earthquakes, and lightning to destroy everything in sight. Sea Life Safari on the other hand, is a game about taking pictures of fish. See? Kind of different for XBLA, isn't it? Watch the new episode and decide if either is worth your hardearned MS Points.[iTunes] Subscribe to X3F TV directly in iTunes.[Zune] Subscribe to the X3F TV directly (Zune Marketplace link coming soon).[RSS] Add the X3F TV feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.[M4V] Download the M4V directly.
Elements of Destruction and Sea Life Safari hit XBLA
It's Wednesday and you know what that means! That's right kids, Xbox Live Arcade added a pair of new members to the downloadable family in the form of Sea Life Safari and Elements of Destruction--each asking 800MS Points. The Yin and Yang of game design, Elements of Destruction puts you in the role of a fired researcher hellbent on using a device that controls Mother Nature's wrath to exact revenge on your former employers and in Sea Life Safari you take pictures ... of fish. Expect a full roundup of the titles soon when we attack full force with the vehemence of a typhoon in XBLA in Brief and then later photograph all the kick-ass sea life we send hurling your way. Gallery: Elements of Destruction (XBLA) Gallery: Sea Life Safari (XBLA)
This Wednesday: 'Elements of Destruction' and 'Sea Life Safari' on XBLA
Frozen Codebase, the developer of one of XBLA's worst-reviewed (and likely soon to be delisted) titles, Screwjumper, is back this week, begging for forgiveness in the form of Elements of Destruction. (Our condolences to all two of you who were eagerly awaiting a Screwjumper 2.) The dev's sophomore effort has players unleashing earthquakes, tornadoes, and other natural disaster nastiness as someone who paid 800 MS points for Screwjumper a mad scientist. It runs 800 MS points ($10), but remember these two words: trial version. Moving on, Sierra Online has some family fare on tap in the form of Sea Life Safari. Although other underwater exploration games have surfaced this generation, Sierra's toe-in-the-pool effort looks to be on the shallow end if you're any kind of serious gamer. The game lets kids and their parents poke around under the waves and snap photos of what they find. It's another 800 MS point ($10) release, but, given how basic it seems, we're not quite sure how many folks are going to like the tuna that.http://www.joystiq.com/photos/sea-life-safari-xbla/%Gallery-25311%http://www.joystiq.com/photos/elements-of-destruction/%Gallery-25312%
An XBLA Twofer: Elements of Destruction and Sea Life Safari
It's going to be an "interesting" Xbox Live Arcade release this week as we're being treated to an XBLA twofer this Wednesday, June 18th with the release of both Elements of Destruction and Sea Life Safari.Frozen Codebase's 800 Microsoft point Elements of Destruction is a destruction sim, where your goal is to destroy, blow up and "kablam!" as many things as possible. With two player online and local multiplayer, versus or cooperative and the feeling of having god-like powers, Elements of Destruction may be something to check out.The other XBLA release this week is Wanako's Sea Life Safari (also 800 MS points) where the goal is to explore the ocean and take pictures of underwater creatures. No joke. Now, we aren't going to pre-judge Sea Life Safari (though we really, really want to), but we have a feeling that a sea creature photography game is a very niche gaming experience. Anyhoo, check out all the new XBLA screenshot goodness in the galleries below.%Gallery-25263%%Gallery-25265%
XBLA Achievement Smorgasbord
After the XBLA drought last week, we're now getting hit by a relative flood of new things. First are a few new achievement lists, which include some games that have fallen off the radar a bit. Remember Aces of the Galaxy? We barely did either. The 3D space shooter was originally set to release last fall, and it looks as though Microsoft is finally readying it for release. How about Elements of Destruction? Remember that one? It gives you control over the forces of nature and allows you to use them to wreak havoc. Now Sealife Safari should be familiar enough to resonate, as we did a preview of the on-rails photography game recently. The full lists can be found after the break.
Frozen Codebase, Vicious Engine liplock over Elements of Destruction
The bottle no longer spinning, its narrow mouth points squarely at Vicious Cycle as the company's middleware solution is taken in hand by developer Frozen Codebase to the closet for a little lovin'. The Green Bay, Wisconsin-based studio selected Vicious Cycle's increasingly popular (not to mention educational) Vicious Engine to power its upcoming XBLA title Elements of Destruction. As the title suggests, Elements of Destruction will focus heavily on blowin' stuff up using "spectacularly destructive powers of nature." The game follows last year's Screwjumper and marks the second XBLA release from the studio, which was founded by industry veteran Ben Geisler and is staffed by vets from such companies as Raven Software, Radical Entertainment, and GarageGames. As with Screwjumper, Elements of Destruction will be released by THQ -- as soon as they can get that closet door open.
DS releases for the week of December 17th
It's an odd week for gamers around the world. Europe's got a whopping nothing and Australia might as well have, Japan has its usual flood of DS titles, including some highly anticipated titles, and here in the U.S., we've got an odd mix hitting shelves. Let's hope everyone can find something to keep them entertained! Elements of Destruction Indianapolis 500 Legends Luxor 2 MX vs. ATV: Untamed Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command
Elements of Destruction makes carnage of its trailer
We don't think we can top the two hilariously horrible DS game trailers we showed you last week, but this one comes pretty close.The premise behind the XBLA port Elements of Destruction is simple enough: you play as a force of nature and destroy a bunch of stuff. It's reminiscent of those times in Sim City when you'd send a bunch of natural disasters (and Godzilla) to mess up your town (you sick bastard), only this time you actually control the disasters.Not only does the game look, well, bad, but the trailer just makes everything worse with its EXTREME!!! effects. You can't even see anything because flames, lightning, and tornadoes keep interfering with the screen. Maybe the team behind this trailer should have taken notes from the people who did the Crossfire commercial.Check after the break to see some Elements screens, or we'll make sure the next meteor shower hits your mother's town.
Screwjumper descends onto XBLA Nov. 14
Screwjumper, part of THQ's Xbox Live Arcade lineup which caught us off guard a couple weeks ago, is ready to drop onto XBLA November 14. As you can see from the video above, Screwjumper gameplay involves dropping down a giant mineshaft, defusing bombs and racking up bonuses along the way. The single player mode features four different selectable characters and 20 levels. There's also a two-player offline multiplayer mode and support for four players across Xbox Live.The game was created by Frozen Codebase, an indie studio in lovely Green Bay, Wisconsin, made up of designers and artists from companies you've definitely heard of. Frozen Codebase is currently working on another announced XBLA game called Elements of Destruction, also being published by THQ.
New info rolls in on THQ XBLA games
Our friends over at XBLArcade have uncovered quite a bit of info on the upcoming THQ Xbox Live Arcade games that were announced last month. We're perhaps most intrigued by Elements of Destruction, in which players take control over the forces of nature to wreak havoc on the denizens of earth (as a resident of tornado country, we're curious to see how well this goes over around here ...). The graphics look fairly impressive for an XBLA game, and the promise of controlling tornadoes, lightning, and fire is very interesting. The other games covered include SpongeBob SquarePants: Underpants Slam, ScrewJumper, and Rocket Riot. SpongeBob sounds like what you would expect: a side-scrolling platformer with lots of stuff to collect. ScrewJumper has players falling down a mineshaft, attempting to destroy equipment as they go, and finally rocketing back out to safety. Rocket Riot is a shooter with an 8-bit feel to it and the ever popular addition of a main character with a jetpack.Hit the "read" link for more details and screenshots.
SpongeBob leads THQ Live Arcade lineup
THQ has announced that it plans to bring 4 original titles to Xbox Live Arcade. The foremost titles is undoubtedly SpongeBob SquarePants: Underpants Slam!, which you may recall was mentioned as part of Microsoft's new family initiative. Three other titles are planned, Screwjumper, Elements of Destruction, and Rocket Riot. Currently, Screwjumper is the only title that has been detailed by THQ. The game is about "destroying mining equipment in a freefall environment," which is apparently what Screwjumpers do. Not only that, but there are enough Screwjumpers that they've formed their own union, the foreman of which is a playable character. Yeah, we're confused as well, but it's got online and local multiplayer, which is always a plus, right?Screwjumper and SpongeBob SquarePants: Underpants Slam! should hit XBLA this November.[Via Joystiq]
