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EndWar, Battlestations, Raiden hit Games on Demand
We hope you like militaristic destruction, because that's what you're getting on Games on Demand this week. Up for grabs are three games about blowing stuff up and not much else. First is Tom Clancy's EndWar, the 2009 voice-controlled real-time strategy game from Ubisoft. Next we have some WWII naval and air combat by way of Battlestations: Pacific. Finally, there's Raiden Fighters Aces, a compilation of the Raiden Fighters arcade shoot-em-up series. You can add one of the games to your download queue with the handy Xbox Live Marketplace links below. Just remember that pricing and availability vary by region. Xbox.com: Add EndWar to your Xbox 360 download queue ($29.99) Xbox.com: Add Battlestations: Pacific to your Xbox 360 download queue ($29.99) Xbox.com: Add Raiden Fighters Aces to your Xbox 360 download queue ($19.99)
New Xbox update to shrink some hard drive installs
Posters on Cheap Ass Gamer who keep track of Xbox 360 hard drive installs noticed that those who'd been admitted to the dashboard update preview program were seeing games take up markedly less space than before (a fact later confirmed by Digital Foundry). How much smaller? Well, DF noticed that King of Fighters XII and Raiden Fighters Aces went from 3.4GB to 703 and 484MB respectively, post update.By DF's approximation, the update allows the system to be more efficient in selecting what non-essential data it puts on the hard drive. Though that results in a big savings in some cases, there are exceptions. Fable 2, for example, is no smaller post-update, leading us to assume Lionhead needed every inch of the disc for all that GOTY material.
Raiden Fighters Aces confirmed for North America
After listings were spotted on both GameFly and Amazon, the North American release of Raiden Fighters Aces has been made official by Valcon Games. You may recognize the company as the publisher of Totally Spies! Totally Party! for the Wii. No? How about Ski-Doo Snowmobile Challenge for the Xbox 360 and PS3? Still no? Never mind then. The point is that Valcon will be bringing Raiden Fighters Aces -- a compilation of all three games in the Raiden Fighters series -- to North America, thus ensuring that Japanese gamers don't have all the fun.There is no official release date, though both Amazon and GameStop point to an April release and a $29.99 price tag.[Via Siliconera]
Amazon and GameFly list Raiden Fighters Aces for North America
According to listings on both Amazon and GameFly, Japanese shooter Raiden Fighters Aces may see life Stateside. Back in March, a demo for the top-down shooter landed on the Japanese Xbox Live Marketplace for all of our phantom accounts to enjoy but, we didn't think the retail game would ever hit North America. The product pages, discovered by Verbal Spew, list two separate publishers: GameFly notes Valcon Games, the house that brought Daisenryaku to North America, will publish, while Amazon lists Zoo Games as the import culprit. No official word on the listings yet, but we're hopeful the shooter will eventually find its way to our Xbox 360s.
Raiden Fighters Aces demo on Japanese Xbox Live
So, you say you're a fan of unscrupulous activities and/or top-down shooters? Boy, have we got news for you! A demo for Raiden Fighters Aces has just been dropped onto the Japanese Xbox Live Marketplace. And just in time, the old "imaginary Japanese XBL account" trick is back in full effect.So, what can you expect? Well, a decidedly old-school, top-down shooter experience for starters. But, perhaps more noticeably, the most aggressive soundtrack we've ever heard in a game. Seriously, it's the sonic equivalent of being repeatedly gut-punched by Ving Rhames. This doesn't seem like the kind of thing that will come stateside, so you may want to give it a whirl while you can.[Thanks, SidearmS]
Raiden Fighters Aces demo hits Japan
In actuality, the headline above should read "Raiden Fighter Aces demo hits any Xbox 360 with a Japanese Xbox Live account." Unfortunately, that headline lacks pizazz, and we're all about pizazz around here. At any rate, the point is that there's a Raiden Fighters Aces demo up on Xbox Live Marketplace for those keen on finding it. The demo gives players a crack at all three Raiden titles in the compilation (Raiden Fighters, Raiden Fighters II, and Raiden Fighters Jet). It also settles the question of whether the title is a retail title or an XBLA release (hint: it's retail). Now we have a new question: will gamers be willing to shell out retail price for a compilation of ten-year-old arcade games. Hopefully Raiden Fighters Aces will debut at a budget price.
Video: three minutes of Raiden Fighters Aces
GameTrailers has posted new footage of Raiden Fighters Aces, which was revealed last month. Unlike last month's footage, which can be missed entirely if you blink too much, this new footage is much more satisfying. Unfortunately, while the video is much longer than the previous one, it doesn't reveal anything new. We can still see that Aces is a compilation of Raiden Fighters, Raiden Fighters II, and Raiden Fighters Jet. We'd still like to know if the game is going to be downloadable on Xbox Live Arcade or if it's a full retail title. As we wait for answers to this and other questions (Live co-op, please?) all we can do is marvel at the shootery goodness of it all. Check it out after the break.
First footage of Raiden Fighters Aces
First of all, we should probably let you know that the "footage" referred to in the headline above is only ten seconds long. That said, we're still damned excited to see visual proof of a Raiden title for Xbox 360. What isn't made entirely clear is whether or not the game is a full retail title or an Xbox Live Arcade game. The description on GameTrailers notes, "Get ready for an action-packed collection of some of the greatest shooters ever created!" which leads us to believe it may be a retail disc. Perhaps the most interesting thing is that this is not Raiden IV, which was confirmed for 360 earlier this year. It's hard to say exactly what's going, but one thing is certain: Raiden on Xbox equals shootery goodness. Check out the video after the break.
