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Eets: Chowdown and Pinball FX to XBLA this Wednesday
Hachi machi! Another double dose of XBLA hotness this week! Following up last weeks delirium inducing release of both MiniGolf Adventures and Gyruss, Microsoft will be bringing Eets: Chowdown and Pinball FX this Wednesday for 800 Microsoft Points each.Klei Entertainment, who is also behind N+ for XBLA, is responsible for Eets: Chowdown which combines the spirit of Lemmings with the chemically unbalanced nature of Princess Peach. Pinball FX, on the other hand, has us slightly less thrilled with three fictional boards to choose from, online play and optional support for the Vision Camera to control the flippers. Yay on the online play and nay on the arm flailing flippers, thanks.Whether you're excited for these two or not, you have to admit -- two titles a week is a huge improvement over barely hitting two titles a month.
This Wednesday: XBLA brings Gyruss, Minigolf Adventures, end of world
You'll need to hang on to something for this. When Wednesday arrives, it will bring with it an unstoppable, apocalyptic event that will inevitably tear the very fabric of existence apart and toss a stick of dynamite into the resulting hole. On April 18 at 9AM GMT (2AM PDT), Xbox Live Arcade will receive two new titles. Simultaneously, at the same time, and concurrently! The beast of Armageddon, hideously comprised of both rancid flesh and newborn baby skin, will roll onto the digital shore and spew forth Konami's old-school shooter, Gyruss, and Sierra Online's take on very small Golf, 3-D Ultra MiniGolf Adventures. Coupling the old with the new(er) seems like an excellent strategy to adopt for future release days. Why, it's only matched in sheer brilliance by the concept of releasing more than one game per week. At the rate things move in the gaming world, it's surprising how long it took us to get to the end of it. %Gallery-2596%If you want to shoot things in space (who are coming to kill you, by the way) this week, expect to pay 400 MS points ($5). %Gallery-2599%If swinging clubs is more your thing, be prepared to set aside 800 MS points ($10). And if you want to do both, well, you can!
Boom Boom Rocket fires onto XBLA this Wednesday
Serious Cat is in severe danger of losing his home this month, but do you care? No, of course not. You're about as giddy as a 13 year old girl at a Cheetah Girls concert, what with all your Xbox Live Arcade releases as of late. Is that how you get your kicks? He's got a family you know. A whole litter of em'. But don't let that prevent you from enjoying this EA Pogo rhythm title.Boom Boom Rocket will be available this Wednesday (see: tomorrow) and will cost 800 Microsoft Points. We here at Joystiq love pushing buttons really fast to music when a game instructs us to do so, but we're a bit cautious with this one. Dance Dance Revolution for your fingers and fireworks? Sure, sounds great. We only hope that by "ten original tracks" they mean there are ten tracks on top of the classical music turned eurotrash we've already heard. Otherwise, a certain cat who's known to be serious may just earn a check this week.%Gallery-1637%
This Wednesday: Luxor 2 hits Xbox Live Arcade
If the plummeting blocks don't get you, the spinning balls almost certainly will. Forsaking the former and embracing shiny spherical substitutes, Luxor 2 has you saving Egypt by destroying the magical balls that threaten the pyramids at the end of their paths... it says here. Clearly, the epic plot isn't the part that's meant to occupy your mind -- that would be the job of the 88 levels, four modes of play, multiple modes of difficulty and masses of ill-mannered marbles that constitute this casual Xbox Live Arcade release. For 800 points ($10), the amount of content available is unlikely to leave you feeling E-gypped. Luxor 2, which can be enjoyed by young gamers and old Gizas alike, is set to arrive at 9AM GMT (2AM PST) on Wednesday, 4 April. The ankh-ticipation is killing us.[Note: Joystiq apologizes for the appalling quality of puns in this post. The blogger responsible has been locked in a cage with a vicious, flesh-eating Toucan.]
This Wednesday: Jetpac's back, launches XBLA attack
And for you in the back, that means no Gyruss as previously expected. The next title to hit Xbox Live Arcade will be equal parts retro, Rare and revitalized, as Jetpac Refuelled presents a modern version of the Viva Piñata developer's 1983 (and "classic" to some) ZX Spectrum shooter. Sporting obscenely colorful graphics, 128 levels, multiplayer capabilities, the original arcade version and a continued exclusion of the letter "k," Jetpac Refuelled arrives at 9AM GMT (2AM PDT) on March 28. The price of gas on Xbox Live Arcade isn't too steep either -- fueling this purchase will cost you 400 MS points ($5). Previously: Edge: Rare working on original XBLA game Rare's Jetpac rumored for Xbox Live Arcade Xbox 360 PartnetNet video hints at Jetpac, Juiced 2007 %Gallery-1937%
This Wednesday: Castlevania mania straight from Romania
It's, erm, insania. The gist of it being that the whip-wielding vampire-vanquishing adventure into androgyny, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, is going to vanquish vampires and wield whips on Xbox Live Arcade this Wednesday (when else?). An 800 MS Point ($10) expenditure will net you both the original version of the game and another that boasts improved HD visuals and sound.But enough talk, have at this gallery of Symphony of the Night images! Fans of Alucard (psst, it's Dracula backwards!) can venture further into the post for a special reminder of their time spent within the dark lord's domain.%Gallery-2156%
TMNT on XBLA this Wednesday
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will leap onto Xbox Live Arcade this Wednesday, March 14 at 0900 GMT, arriving one week earlier than predicted. For 400 points ($5) you can cop an unadulterated version of the classic seven-level beat-'em-up, complete with 4-player co-op via Xbox Live. For once we're not gonna gripe about another arcade oldie shuffling onto XBLA. Mutant turtles with ninja powers or a soda fountain jockey? There's just no comparison.Two questions: Have you ever tried ice cream on your pizza? And which turtle is your go-to guy?Update: Achievements posted.
Root Beer Tapper brings non-alcoholic fun to XBLA
Not to be confused with the highly controversial and equally disturbing hunting sim, Rude Bear Trapper, this Wednesday's Xbox Live Arcade release is none other than the classic study in bartending technique, Root Beer Tapper. Being the non-alcoholic version of 1983's Tapper, the game sees players tending to a bunch of surprisingly demanding bar patrons. Failure to deliver the beers, excuse us, root beers, to your dehydrated cowboy and football player patrons often results in a gross violation of personal space. Just imagine how rowdy the hard alcoholics must get!Appended to the Xbox 360 version of the game are the usual enhanced graphics, gamerscore points, online versus and co-op modes and, of course, a 400 point price ($5). Catch your mugs, tend your bars and tap your root beers this Wednesday at 1AM PST.
Dig Dug inflates XBLA, pops it
After some mystery regarding its release date on Xbox.com, Namco's classic arcade title Dig Dug is finally on Xbox Live Arcade, joining other Namco arcade classic titles like Pac-Man and Galaga. After Doom's surprise release two week's ago and last week's Vision cam freebie, Totem Ball, Dig Dug is a return to everyone's least favorite XBLA additions. 400 Microsoft Points ($5 USD) nets you a game you've played dozens of times.So what have they done to entice cynical, reticent gamers? Well, they've added 720p HD support, some XBL Achievements, and the obligatory online Leaderboards, but don't expect any online multiplayer (we're sure they could have come up with something). The only two titles left sitting on the "Coming Soon" list are Contra and Lumines Live!, both with unlisted dates. Who's gonna be next?[image credit: i am 8-bit]
XBLA Wednesday, it's Dig Dug!
Many of you probably noticed that Scramble marked the last official title on the lineup for Live Arcade Wednesdays. We all wondered what, if anything, would come out this Wednesday, September 20th. No, it's not Small Arms. It's still pretty good, though. That's right, it's Dig Dug, Namco's classic, um, digging simulator. At this point, it's all but official, as Microsoft has added an official page for the game to Xbox.com with a release date of September 20th. Expect something official before then.[Via K1lla's Xbox Domain]
25-year-old XBLA game delayed by a week
In a moment that's sure to elicit a grin or an unstoppable urge to fling your retinas into the back of your head, a game that was released in 1981 has somehow managed to be delayed for a week in the year 2006. Konami's side-scrolling shooter, Scramble, was all set for release this Wednesday when Microsoft's elite and possibly overworked team of testers concluded that the game simply wasn't ready to hit Xbox Live Arcade. The official word reveals that "during the final testing and certification of the title, we discovered some minor issues that should be addressed. Therefore, we are going to take an extra week and fix these items to ensure a high quality game experience for all when the title does launch on its new date of Wednesday, September 13." This isn't the first time the weekly XBLA release schedule has had to make due without a new game -- this week's replacement is a Project Gotham Racing 3 UNO deck priced at 100 points ($1.25 in non-funny money). As exciting as theme decks and picture packs may be, the consistency of game releases has been somewhat shaky so far. Let's hope future XBLA Wednesdays don't have more games taking XBLA sick days. Har.[Thanks Matt!]
Pac-Man is out, boyeeee!
Pac-Man, Namco's seminal arcade hit, is now available on Marketplace. The full game can be purchased for the Midnight Madness price of 400 points. It's...um...well, it's Pac-Man. What more is there to say? Go get it.
