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Speedball II in development for XBLA
Since we will almost certainly never get our HD remake of American Gladiators on Xbox Live Arcade, we continue to look to other sources to get our fix of games based on fake sports. Imagine our relief then when we heard that Speedball II: Brutal Deluxe was in development for XBLA by Empire Interactive. The pseudo sports game was originally released for the Genesis and a slew of other systems.For the uninitiated, Speedball is a bit like handball, except crossed with ice hockey. Oh, and the ball's made out of steel. So yeah, awesome. This new version will feature HD graphics (naturally), more teams and online multiplayer. The official release date? Not soon enough. (CVG says August -- for 800 Microsoft points.)
Double Dragon kicks XBLA next week?
According to its publisher, Empire Interactive, Double Dragon is headed to Xbox Live Arcade next week. The press release actually concerns the announcement that Empire Interactive is bringing Speedball II to Xbox Live Arcade. A quote from the Clive Kabatznik, CEO of Silverstar Holdings, of which Empire Interactive is a subsidiary, spilled the beans. According to Kabatznik, "Double Dragon will launch next Wednesday, and will be our first foray onto Xbox LIVE Arcade." While we love our futuristic death sports as much as the next gaming blog, the impending release of Double Dragon has us all atwitter. As we've reported before, the game features "enhanced" graphics, but they actually seem less detailed than the original. We'll be sticking with the retro graphics, thanks.How much would you be willing to pay for the classic brawler?[Via Joystiq. Thanks, DJ Dunk]
FlatOut to bring Carnage Ultimately in June.
Fans of the FlatOut racing series are in luck, as in June there will be a new gen installment released for Xbox 360. FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage is currently under development by BugBear Entertainment from scratch to make full use of the 360 hardware. You'll be able to drive recklessly through five single player modes, choosing from a dozen different vehicles, or take your aggression out over Xbox Live's two multiplayer modes. Also confirmed is that there will be downloadable content available through Xbox Live Marketplace after the game's release.Promised as being the best FlatOut installment yet, and hot off the heels of the successful FlatOut 2, are you looking forward to this? Or do you think it will get lost in the pile of games coming out in June that we mentioned in our podcast?
Help us put Bubble Bobble on XBLA
It was a month and a half ago when we began our series, "That should be on XBLA," in which we pick a classic game that would be a perfect fit for Xbox Live Arcade. The first game we picked was Taito's perennial action puzzler, Bubble Bobble. The idea behind "That should be on XBLA" is to get developers to notice that their games belong on Xbox Live Arcade.It looks like Taito was listening. Taito's publishing company, Empire Interactive, has a thread running in their forum right now, which reads thusly:"Hi All I hope you can help us out with a bit of retro advice, If you were to pay to download a Taito Classic what would your top 3 be ?? Also, without giving the game away :) would online multiplayer be important to you downloading it ?? Come on guys - post your lists and let us know what you want."While the post doesn't directly mention Xbox Live, we're pretty sure that's what this is all about. We're also pretty sure he's talking about Bubble Bobble with that question about online multiplayer. Note to Taito: hell yes, online multiplayer is important!So, make your voices heard, loyal readers! Registering for Empire Interactive's forums is a snap. Go do it and tell 'em what you want (and don't forget to tell them who sent you). Our list looks like this: Bubble Bobble Arkanoid New Zealand Story It's not like you can play any Xbox Live today anyway. You might as well do something constructive.[Via Xboxic]See Also:That should be on XBLA series
