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Leedmees and Hole in the Wall are $5 on Xbox Live today
The holidays are here, and that means family, and that means you might have to engage in some actual conversation. It's Xbox Live to the rescue with 50 percent discounts on two family-friendly Kinect titles, Leedmees and Hole in the Wall. Today only, you can grab either one for just $5. Remember, Aunt Bertha's going to have a tough time questioning your life choices while she's busy cramming herself into the shape of a camel-spinning figure skater.
XBLA in Brief: Crazy Machines Elements, Hole in the Wall
It's been quite a while, thanks to Microsoft's Summer of Arcade, but XBLA in Brief is back with two new games this week. First, we have Crazy Machines Elements, which takes more than a handful of cues from The Incredible Machine. Next, we have Hole in the Wall, which uses the power of Kinect to allow players to ... try and fit through a hole in the wall. [iTunes] Subscribe to XBLA in Brief directly in iTunes. [Zune] Subscribe to the XBLA in Brief directly. [RSS] Add the XBLA in Brief feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically. [MP4] Download the MP4 directly. There are new Xbox Live Arcade games released every week. We realize that our readers are busy, attractive people, and may not have time to download and examine each and every new XBLA game. You've got busy, attractive person stuff to do, after all. Not to worry though, because we've done the work for you, downloading every single trial game and giving you a taste of what to expect. Watch XBLA in Brief every week to see which games deserve a closer look. When you have the time, of course.
Microsoft's XBLA plan includes monthly Kinect titles
Fruit Ninja Kinect is only a week away, but Microsoft is keen to assure motion-lovers that more Kinect-fueled Xbox Live Arcade games are on the way. Speaking to CVG, Microsoft product marketing manager for the EMEA region, Robin Burrowes, stated that the company plans to release more Kinect XBLA titles in the near future. Specifically, we should expect new Kinect XBLA games to the tune of "about one a month." Burrowes also said that future Kinect titles will do a better job of leveraging Xbox Live. August is covered, thanks to Fruit Ninja. Let's see where that leaves the rest of the year. Hole in the Wall is expected "this summer," which could mean September. Burnout Crash is coming this fall, and nothing says "fall" like October. Kung Fu High Impact? That's a lock for November. That just leaves December and, hey, what better way to while away the hours of the holidays than by building a world or two in Minecraft? Bam, mystery solved.
Hole in the Wall games officially headed to Kinect
It's hard to imagine Microsoft having even more Kinect games in the wings than were shown at its Kinect-centric E3 presentation, but there's at least one that didn't make it on stage: Hole in the Wall. The adaptation of the TV game show (about trying to fit through hilariously shaped cutouts in walls moving toward you) showed up in ratings last month, and has only now been announced by publisher Ludia. It'll be out on XBLA this summer, with single and online multiplayer, and " hilarious bonus videos from the TV show." But there's an unexpected twist! According to the press release, the deal with TV show producer Fremantle Media is for Hole in the Wall games, plural, and the release specifies that the first Hole in the Wall game is due this summer. It's a series.
'Kinect Me,' 'Crimson Alliance' among new Microsoft games rated
A trio of game ratings appeared on the Australian Classification website today, perhaps spoiling some of the titles Microsoft will announce just around the corner at E3. New entries for "Crimson Alliance," "Fusion: Genesis" and "Kinect Me" all list Microsoft as publisher and run the gamut from Mature-rated to PG to G. Only the Crimson Alliance page notes a developer, Certain Affinity, which is corroborated by the game's Brazilian classification. Likewise a rating for Fusion: Genesis has also shown up in Brazil, where both titles are listed for Xbox Live Arcade. Kinect Me remains the most mysterious of the mystery titles and could perhaps feature some connection to the kinect.me promotional site (pictured above) that's been live since last summer. A source tells Siliconera to expect an E3 announcement of "Kinect Fun Lab," which the site surmises could be a working title for Kinect Me -- both names are at least sufficiently generic-sounding to be one and the same game. Additionally, Brazil has classified two more Xbox Live Arcade titles, Fruit Ninja Kinect and Hole in the Wall (from Ludia), supporting previous ratings of the pair of pending releases.
USK rates Hole in the Wall for Kinect, Cut the Rope for DSiWare
A few hacks have hinted at it, a few minigames in collections like Carnival Games: Monkey See, Monkey Do have touched on it -- now it seems Microsoft is fully cashing in on the very reason for the Kinect's existence: Hole in the Wall. The game, in which players contort their body in an attempt to fit through the titular cavity, was recently rated by the German USK ratings board. No details about the title were included in the rating, other than the fact Microsoft will handle publishing duties. Another, equally exciting new entry on the USK ratings site is a DSiWare listing for Chillingo's infinitely addicting puzzle game, Cut the Rope. Again, there are few details, but a tease posted on the Facebook page of indie developer Abstraction Games (which brought Angry Birds to PSP earlier this year) seems to indicate they'll be in charge of porting the title. We'll let you know when we hear more about these two projects!
Kinect Hacks: Hole in the (Virtual) Wall
We've seen Kinect hacks both practical and innovative -- but we're not sure we've seen any as fun as FrogNY Build-It's "Human Tetris." Modeled after a Japanese game show that came to the U.S. under the name Hole in the Wall, it looks like it has potential to become our very favorite party game.
