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2.5er in XBLA this week; Catan, Centipede & Millipede
For the last two weeks in a row, Microsoft has put out two Xbox Live Arcade titles each Wednesday. This week, however, they're changing it up by giving is three titles! Well, two and a half, really, but still, it's pretty badass. We got some retro love with Centipede and its sequel Millipede, packed together for 400 Microsoft Points, complete with "Evolved" versions of both. On the newer side of things, Catan, for 800 MS points, will also be available. We know a lot of readers have been looking forward to Catan coming Arcade, and now the wait is almost over, with two more sleeps to go. So, which off these three two are you going to play Wednesday?
And now, the 6 Pac-Man contest winners...
After giving a single copy of Pac-Man away yesterday, today we have 6 lucky winners from the 309 commenters. The winning numbers, provided by Random.org, are: 253, 171, 166, 246, 32, 121. Which means that NYBOY07, Nukie, Jared Brown, DjDATZ, Riley420 and Justin A should expect an email sent to them with their redeem code for Pac-Man on Monday. Congrats to the winners and thanks to everyone for participating. Keep your eyes on X3F for future contests and giveaways. Thanks to Uncle Gamer and Gamerscoreblog for supplying us the six codes.
Bizarre's Boom Boom Rocket firework blow out
Bizarre Creation's latest Studio Update goes into the mechanics of Boom Boom Rocket's fireworks. While it has no effect on the gameplay, it's cool to see the amount of detail that went into creating the different types of standard fireworks. On top of that, the details on what purpose they have in the musical timing, and when they are most frequently seen is also cool. Beyond the description for the types of fireworks, Bizarre also shed some light on the size of the title (around 73 MB), the level of detail in the city, and even a few of the easter eggs found in the environment. If you want to get the full skinny, click the "Read" link.
Carcassonne coming in June
Sierra Online announced that Carcassonne will be hitting Xbox live Arcade this coming June. The last we heard from the title it was being announced back in August alongside Catan and Alhambra. There are no specifics as to when in June, but one could surmise that the release will fall on either the 6th, 13th, 20th, or 27th. How can we be so sure? Well, they're Wednesdays, for starters. If you want us to narrow our prediction down, we're going to stick with the 13th, as the number is lucky. Are you down for some tiling city action on Live Arcade?[Via QJ.net]
It's OFFICIAL: Double header on XBLA this Wednesday
The blokes over at Gamerscoreblog just confirmed that 3D Ultra MiniGolf Adventures and Gyruss will both be hitting Xbox Live Arcade this coming Wednesday. They also confirmed our (sound) predictions about the price, with MiniGolf coming in at 800 Microsoft Points and Gyruss at half that, which is standard issue for retro remakes. You can also check out the flickr sets for both games to take a look at their screenshots. So, we asked you before, which of these two are you the most interested in?
XBLA doubling its pleasure this week?
Update: This has since been confirmed by Gamerscoreblog.CVG is getting the word out that this Wednesday may be a first for Xbox Live Arcade. They're saying that we'll not only be getting one, but two Arcade titles available for download. Previously rumored Gyruss will be giving gamers their retro fix, as well as (Hyper) Ultra 3D Minigolf Adventures (Mega Xtreme to The MAXX). Our guess is that Minigolf will run you about 800 MS Points and Gyruss will be 400. That all being said, we're still going to slap the "Rumor" tag on this one until we get more information, as two titles in one week is currently unprecedented. Should this happen to follow through, though, which game would you plan on picking up, if not both?[Via GameStooge]
New Vehicles and Tracks for Novadrome
For the low, low price of 250 MS Points you can get your hands on eight new vehicles and six new arenas for the Xbox Live Arcade title Novadrome. Not only can you take this online in the multiplayer mode, but they are featured in a new Career mode as well. So, while the game didn't receive the best of reviews, it still had some merit, if only to remind us of Re-Volt, the Dreamcast title and Xbox Live Beta game of choice. Will you be picking this up, given that you actually have Novadrome?
Gyruss coming to XBLA next week?
While we knew of Gyruss' existence in the Xbox Live Arcade line-up, and that it would arrive sometime in the future. We didn't know when "soon" meant back in October, but according to Konami's XBLA page, it comes out just shy of half a year. Just underneath Castlevania: SOTN, Gyruss can be found to have a March 2007 release. That pretty much narrows it down to March 28th. We can't tell if Konami knows something we don't, or if it still is in Microsoft's hands with certification, but we hope to hear more on this soon. The game's details also reveal the online co-op and versus modes that will be available when the title does actually release. Whether that's next week or not, we'll just have to wait and see. You down for some co-op shoot 'em up, or would you rather have something else for the final Wednesday of March?[Via GameStooge]
X360A holding TMNT Arcade contest
Xbox 360 Achievement's DAKing240 is holding a contest for this week's Xbox Live Arcade release, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The objective is simple, get all 12 Achievements for the game. The criteria is equally easy, first, you must be a member of their forums. Next, your gamertag should have all the Achievements, including the secret one, and then email DaKing240 [AT] x360a [DOT] org with your tag. He's only giving out the unannounced prize to first place, so get on it. Also, don't be put off by the fact that we don't know what you're getting if you win, as they have a pretty good track record of giving out cool prizes, namely retail titles.
Video: Hexic HD glitch 477 days later
Sure, Hexic HD has been available for a long time, but maybe this will help those that still don't have the Grand Pearl Pooh-Bah Achievement. Anyway, since the video is under 15 seconds long, we'll let you watch it first, then go on about what it means for you Hexic addicts ... Done? Good. So, apparently you can do "double moves" with a starflower piece and have it only count as one turn, as the bomb suggested. We're not sure if you can combo it into more than one extra rotation, but it should help you in the right situations. The technique involves pulling the appropriate trigger twice with the proper timing. We're not sure if this maneuver can be performed on standard or black pearl pieces, or if it can be used to "skip over" moves that would result in a potentially disastrous combo chain, but definitely worth practicing to find out. Still, that begs the question makes us wonder, are any of you still playing Hexic HD enough to care? Also, the same site features what's called a "starburst combo" as well as clips from a 24 billion point Marathon game, which placed 2nd on the leaderboard. [Via Digg]
TMNT coming to Arcade early [update 1]
Cowabunga. This week's Xbox Live Arcade title is going to be Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a week ahead of schedule. For the low, low price of 400 MS points you can get your old school beat 'em up fix with one of the most wanted retro titles for XBLA, complete with online co-op, leaderboards and the like. Obviously, you readers agree that this is a no-brainer purchase and we hope to play through a couple levels with you online. What do you think about getting Turtles in Time sometime in the future?[Via GameStooge]Update: James alerted us of this as well on Friday with a link to this thread.
Every Extend Extra Extreme Arcade bound
According to the 'stiq, the next title from Tetsuya Mizuguchi expected to hit XBLA is Every Extend Extra Extreme. E4 is going to be an updated version of the PSP's E3. The freebie PC version of Every Extend was originally developed by Omega. From the sounds of the press release, it looks like you'll be able to play with your own music, along with playing a versus mode online. Unfortunately, the schedule for the release is later this year, so don't expect it to be showing up as a surprise download during GDC. Have you played Every Extend before, on either the PC or PSP?[Thanks, Jonah Falcon]
Live hits 6 million users 4 months early
GamerscoreBlog put up a fact sheet about Xbox Live to date, announcing they've hit 6,000,000 Xbox Live users four months ahead of schedule. Along with that, they have some spiffy trivia bullet points that might suit your fancy. First, Xbox Live members have unlocked around 300 million Achievements, netting a staggering total of 7.5 billion Gamerscore. Also, 5 billion MS points have been purchased for use over Xbox Live Marketplace. The top three played games worldwide on the 360 are Halo 2, Gears of War, and Hexic HD, and the top downloaded XBLA games Street Fighter II, Bankshot Billiards 2 and Marble Blast Ultra. So there's some cool news you can use. Or at least keep in mind next time you get an Achievement or use Marketplace.
TMNT officially coming to Arcade
Before, we showed you a couple rather suspect looking screenshots for an Xbox Live Arcade version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. At first, we were a little skeptical about its certitude, then a video came out and we slowly began to let our guard down. After all it would be rather depressing to cling onto a rumor you want to be true to only find it was a hoax. Well, thankfully we can finally give you the official word, straight from Ubisoft, TMNT is slated for Arcade, will cost 400 MS points, and will support 4 player co-op (both online and off) on all the original seven levels. Is this a no-brainer purchase or what?[Via GameStooge]
BBR Logo & Price announced
The lads over at Bizarre Creation showed off their logo for the upcoming Xbox Live Arcade title, Boom Boom Rocket. They also told us that EA announced the pricing for the game, which is 800 MS Points. They go on to confirm that there are 10 songs, 3 difficulties, 4 game modes and multiplayer. They say that they're happy with the price point, given all that we're getting for the price. What do you think? Should we be paying the same as we did for Geometry Wars, or is there enough added to this experience to warrant double that price?
Alien Hominid attacks XBLA
After a serious drought in Xbox Live Arcade, Alien Hominid HD crash landed on to Marketplace this morning. This Newsgrounds favorite has made the jump to the new gen and you can grab this completely hand drawn arcade shooter for an expected 800 MS points. Along with the mission mode complete with local co-op, there is also the seven minigames that support up to four players over Xbox Live, complete with 50 all new PDA Levels. Are you picking this up, or is that a given?
Microsoft buys Chrono series, news retracted [update 1]
Our RSS feed is a long reaching fish net across the sea of the interweb. It catches more or less everything regarding Xbox 360. This includes news stories that get immediately pulled from their site of origin. Xboxic had a story that hit our feed along with others, that reported on Microsoft buying the Chrono series, with Chrono Cross and Chrono Trigger prime candidates for XBLA. Even the thought of a new gen Chrono title was bounced around. Then, in a puff of smoke, it disappeared. News items preceding and following are intact, though. Obviously something fishy is going on, and usually Microsoft doesn't care when one posts the wrong information. What they do care about is when the right information is posted at the wrong time. Feel free to speculate and tell us how you'd feel about seeing the Chrono series on you 360.Update: Regular reader dpcough points out that the story was a fake and that was the reason it was taken down. Mystery solved, and thankfully no memory wipes are required of our fanboys.
Boom Boom Rocket Details and Screens
Bizarre Creations latest studio update gives a synopsis of their upcoming Arcade title, Boom Boom Rocket. It is a rhythm game wherein you hit the indicating button/direction when the symbol hits the line at the top of the screen, thus setting off the firework. The better your timing accuracy, the more points its worth. That's the foundation for any proper rhythm game, and BBR is no different. The thing that Stu stressed was the speed of the game itself, with players be able to hit rapid strings of explosions in no time. Similar to Guitar Hero's multiplier system, Boom Boom Rocket has a bar that fills from 1x to 4x multiplier, and even has "Bonus Runs" where you get 8x multiplier when you activate Star Power pull either trigger when the bar is full and sparkly (pictured above). Due to the limited time of the Bonus Run, strategically activating it will be pivotal to getting the highest score possible.The soundtrack will be comprised of recognizable remixed classical tracks, and really fits the mood and style of the game. Stu says he'll be supplying a track list and go into the graphical style in a future update. We can't wait to see the game in motion, but in the meantime leave you with a couple screens of 1st/4th of July goodness. Enjoy them after the break.
Major Nelson on G4: microtransactions "are about choice"
Last night on G4's Attack of the Show, host Kevin Pereira held a debate between Major Nelson and 1UP's Andrew Pfister on the much-discussed topic of microtransactions. During the segment, entitled The Loop, Major Nelson pressed that it is "about choice," while Pfister spoke for the gaming community when he said that "it doesn't appear that anybody is in control of the situation." With the recent Godfather and Lumines debacles, we're inclined to agree.Unfortunately, the segment's lead-in was awkward and the debate was way too short for either side to make an argument, but what we heard was engaging. Please, G4, give The Loop its own half-hour time slot; we'd watch it. Continue reading for the video.
David Jaffe compares Xbox Live to Ashlee Simpson
David Jaffe is a fiery voice who's not afraid to speak his mind. Speaking to Newsweek's N'Gai Croal, Jaffe took some jabs at Microsoft's Xbox Live service and its penchant for retro material.While discussing Jaffe's upcoming PS3 download title Criminal Crackdown, he and Croal entered an extended metaphor comparing game format to music. It is at this point where Jaffe, under the guise that God of War is Opera in this analogy, remarked that Xbox Live is more like the pop stylings of Ashlee Simpson, or of an oldies station (hence Pac Man and XBLA's other retro titles). Criminal Crackdown, on the other hand, is closer to the Beatles. We're assuming post-Revolver era, as "I wanna hold your hand" really isn't much better than the bubblegum pop of today.While we love to see Jaffe take part in inane allegories that are usually reserved for Iwata and Kojima, we can't help but want to extend this metaphor further, throwing in some Mizuguchi and Guitar Hero -- we'll save it for the comments. As all of Jaffe's titles have been published by Sony, we're not surprised he's supportive of his financial backer and antagonized by their competitor. But invoking Ashlee Simpson? That's just cruel.Jaffe also used his interview time to discuss his feelings on God of War sequels, noting that if "it was up to me , he would have fallen off the mountain in the first game and actually died."See Also:Jaffe abandons PSP, releasing quick-turnaround PS3 title
