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Prince of Persia Classic hits XBLA this Wednesday
While Ubisoft may have spilled the beans in regards to Prince of Persia Classic's releasing this Wednesday, Microsoft has caught up and officially confirmed that announcement, as well as price point. The updated title, with its snazzy new mazes, traps and graphical enhancements, is going to run you 800 Microsoft Points. We suppose that could have been expected, but it still may turn a few off from the title. We'll have to wait and see if the demo pulls us in, nostalgic memories notwithstanding. What's your take on the game and price?
Bomberman Live achievements are, um, live
Our friends at Xbox360Achievements.org have uncovered the achievements for Bomberman Live, which is set to debut on Xbox Live Arcade some time this summer. While the game contains plenty of achievements of the "win X number of games" variety, it also has a few that are a little ... eclectic. We're not sure which one we like better, "The Good, The Bad, and The Bombed" or "Girl Power!" The first requires you to outfit your character with all the cowboy accessories and frag an opponent that is wearing the same. The latter asks players to don the girl outfit and win a "girl only" match on Xbox Live. Of all the games that could promote girl-on-girl action, Bomberman was the last one on our minds.Hit the "read" link for the full list of achievements.[Thanks, Jonah Falcon]
Sonic 2 speeding to XBLA says ESRB
We sort of missed this yesterday, and it's time to make it right. In addition to the ESRB revelation that Lara Croft's latest adventure, Tomb Raider: Anniversary, is heading to the Xbox 360 (possibly as DLC), Joystiq also uncovered an ESRB entry for Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Add this title to the ever growing list of Genesis classics rated by the ESRB -- Sonic the Hedgehog, Streets of Rage 2, Ecco the Dolphin, and now Sonic 2 -- and the existence of the SEGA Vintage Collection is becoming harder and harder to deny. Our only question: how many more titles does the ESRB need to reveal before SEGA makes an official announcement?
More SFII HD Remix sprite goodness: Akuma
The new Capcom Digital blog -- which exclusively covers Capcom's downloadable titles -- is open for business, and they've added yet another HD sprite from Super Street Fighter II HD Remix for Xbox Live Arcade. This time we get a look at Akuma (last week we got a peek at Ken). As an added bonus, they've included his original sprite for reference. The blog contains a brief article about the genesis of SSFIITHDR, which notes that the game's name is intentionally long and intended as a joke for long time Street Fighter fans. You can read the article by clicking the "read" link. See more images of HD Akuma after the break.
New Small Arms DLC now available on Live Marketplace
Remember when some of us thought Small Arms was destined to be "Smash Bros. with guns?" Oh, we can all alternate between the "L" and "O" keys about that now, but to be fair, it did have guns. And after downloading today's new Xbox Live content, it'll have two additional (and surely wacky) characters and two more combat arenas. The add-on will set you back 250 MS Points, which converts to a very awkward $3 and 12 and a half cents. Those still playing Gastronaut Studios' frantic XBLA fighter will also receive a free update that sets right some of the game's weapon balancing, framerate hiccups and other issues that really shouldn't have taken six months to repair. And sadly enough, we're still getting better treatment here than we are with Assault Heroes and Sierra's shockingly overdue multiplayer patch.
Ubisoft: Prince of Persia on XBLA next week
Speaking to Eurogamer, a representative from Ubisoft has confirmed that Prince of Persia will be arriving on Xbox Live Arcade next Wednesday, June 13. Developed by Gameloft, the game is a remake of the original Prince of Persia featuring completely revamped graphics. In addition to the graphical upgrade, the game will feature new traps, enemies, and puzzles that expand on the traditional gameplay. The original Prince of Persia tasked players with clearing the game in one hour. We have to wonder if the new Xbox Live Arcade port will have the same restriction. At any rate, what we've seen so far looks promising. Assuming Prince of Persia comes out at a decent price, are you planning on picking it up?
This Wednesday: Prince of Persia remake pops onto XBLA
Ubisoft has told Eurogamer that June 13th's Xbox Live Arcade release will indeed be the revered and now revitalized royalty of platformers, Prince of Persia Classic. First glimpsed in April, the game looks to be a beautiful remake of the first landmark adventure, taking place well before all those "time is an ocean in a storm" shenanigans. As such, you should expect to swig potions, swing swords and plummet down extraordinarily deep chasms on a frequent basis as you attempt to rescue the Princess of Persia... or Posture, by the looks of it. No announcement regarding the price has been made, but 800 MS points ($10) would be a fair guess. Funnily enough, the game's value is inversely proportional to your platforming prowess. Perhaps it's best you don't finish the adventure within the traditional one hour time limit. We'll update this post once we learn the final details.
Win Pac-Man, Live subscriptions and Vision cams
To celebrate the continued success of the Xbox Live Arcade (and because they received free goodies from Microsoft), Eurogamer is having a fun little giveaway. European residents can enter the giveaway by answering a rather easy Pac-Man related question over on their site to win prizes galore. What prizes you ask. Well, good question. They're giving away five 12-Month XBL Vision Gold Packs, five XBLA retro tshirts, and fifteen codes to download the new Pac-Man Championship Edition game off the Arcade. So, head on over to their site and enter the giveaway before June 13th. Remember, you must be a European resident, North Americans need not apply.[Thanks, eLiNeS]
X3F hands-on: Pac-Man Championship Edition
If we told you that Pac-Man Championship Edition is the most significant thing to happen to Pac-Man in years, you'd probably call us crazy. Well, call us crazy, because Pac-Man CE rocks. Quite simply, Pac-Man CE has made Pac-Man relevant again. Yeah, maybe it's not the huge announcement we were all hoping for, but once you put some time into it, you'll find out that Pac-Man Championship Edition has some legs.%Gallery-3685%
N+ level creation competition is on
Following the recent announcement of the indie platformer N making its way to DS, PSP, and Xbox Live Arcade, Metanet has launched a level creation event aimed at spurring creativity in the already-active community. SUBLiME (Submit Unique and Brilliant Levels in to Metanet Event) launched Monday and lasts through June 18th. Level designers can download special versions of N's editor (Ned) to create platform-specific stages. Winners "may" receive N+ gear and their levels "may" be included on the upcoming releases.
New Small Arms DLC now available
Announced last week by Gastronaut Studios, the new downloadable content for Small Arms is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace. The new content includes 2 new levels and 2 new characters. We tooled around with the new characters and levels today. The new levels are an especially welcome addition to the game, as the old ones have become somewhat tired over time. You can check out videos of the new levels and characters after the break. Also added to the game are 2 new achievements, which can obtained with very little work at all. Should you desire the new content, it will set you back a reasonable 250 MS Points.An free update to the game has also been released, which includes game performance tweaks and bug fixes. The update also includes some much needed weapon balancing. In particular, we've noticed that the electricity gun's secondary fire has a much slower rate of fire. If you ever found yourself frustrated by the game's weapons, you might want to give it another go with the new update in place.How about it fanboys, do you plan on picking up the new DLC?
Pac-Man CE Wokka's onto XBLA
As announced yesterday, today's Xbox Live Arcade release is Pac-Man: Championship Edition. For 800 Microsoft Points, you can get a revisited look at the Pac-Man experience, with reworked gameplay and mazes, complimented by psychedelic graphics scheme. But in the end, some would say that it's still just Pac-Man, and you can get the original, and his female counterpart for the same price as CE. So will you be giving this a shot, or are you going to shoo him away? Oh, and we need to decide on a consistent spelling of his sound effect, as "Wokka", "Wakka" , and "Waka" can all be cited within the bowels of Fanboy Towers.
Pac-Man Championship Edition hands-on
Don't hate it 'till you play it, Jon. And Anam. And Ben. And RUSKULL. And felixlighter. And TouchmyWiimote. And chenry. And the countless rest of you that were disappointed by Microsoft's not-so-big announcement of Pac-Man Championship Edition for Xbox 360.At the Pac-Man tournament in New York City, we were able to dedicate ample time (hours, maybe) to the final Xbox 360 version of Pac-Man. Championship Edition is, in fact, a true sequel to the original Pac-Man released 26 years ago. Certainly, that seems unimaginable to some -- but there are significant additions to the classic arcade gameplay that make this far more than a pretty HD remake.The new widescreen perspective is taken advantage fully in this Xbox 360 exclusive. While the game is still about avoiding ghosts and eating pellets, the wider field of play has created a new dynamic to the title. The maze is now separated into two distinct halves: left and right. Instead of simple mazes that end at the collection of all the pellets, players will find that the mazes feature an endless supply of dots, and a constantly shape-shifting map. When successfully consuming a sufficient amount of pellets on one side of the field, one of Pac-Man's iconic fruits will appear for collection. Eating the fruit will send a rippling shockwave toward the other half of the field, replenishing the dots, and oftentimes, changing the design of the maze entirely.%Gallery-3684%
New Small Arms content releases tomorrow
Gastronaut Studios has announced that the new downloadable content for Small Arms will be released tomorrow on Xbox Live Marketplace. As we've detailed before, the new content contains 2 new levels and 2 new characters (though no new weapons, regrettably). The two new characters are Ivar, a saber-toothed tiger, and Gullarp, the elephant. The new maps are Arctic Ice Floe and Pillaged Village, the respective stomping grounds of Ivar and Gullarp. The new content also packs 2 new achievements for finishing Mission Mode with a new character and for hosting an Xbox Live match on a new map. The new content pack will be available for 250 MS Points.Alongside the new content, Gastronaut Studios will also release a free update that will address certain issues within the game. Chief among these issues are weapon balance and bug fixes. Check out some shots of the new characters in our gallery below.%Gallery-3686%
Wokka wokka: First Pac-Man CE images, video
While Pac-Man Championship Edition may not be the big announcement we were hoping for, but it's still pretty spiffy in its own right. We've uncovered the first images of the game, and even a video of the game in motion. Put simply, this isn't your daddy's Pac-Man. It's damned close, but certainly different. The most obvious change is the new psychedelic graphics. The most important change, however, is that the game comes with several new modes and mazes. In our favorite mode, you have to eat fruit in order to make more dots appear on screen. Check out the Pac-Man CE gallery below. Hit the "read" link to see the official game page, where you can check out more screens and a video. So, will you purchase Pac-Man CE when it hits Xbox Live Arcade tomorrow?%Gallery-3685%
Pac-Man gets an upgrade, hits XBLA tomorrow
Yesterday's rumored big announcement has come to a fruition in the form of an update to an iconic franchise. NAMCO and Microsoft just announced that the Pac-Man Championship Edition will be headed to the XBLA and will feature the first new mazes in over 26 years. The new Championship Edition is exclusive to the XBLA and will stick with the standard 80's 2D presentation, but will include added features and gameplay. The game will feature six new timed game modes, a new soundtrack, a new HD presentation, and brand new dynamically changing mazes. NAMCO's Pac-Man Championship Edition will be available this Wednesday on the Arcade for 800 Microsoft points. Full press release after the break.We know this news is extremely exciting for Pac-Man fans around the world as this is the first time the original Pac-Man game has been updated with new content. But for the rest of us who were expecting a BIG Xbox announcement, we can't help but feel a little saddened as our imaginations and expectations may have gotten the best of us.
Peter Moore hates Pac-Man
With all the Pac-Man World Championship fun going on right now, the Gamerscore Blog crew unearthed a never before seen video (embedded above) of an encounter between Pac-Man and the legendary Peter Moore. And after giving the video a watch, is it just us or do you feel just a little bit sorry for Pac-Man? Mr. Moore has quite the dirty British mouth and his vulgarities are maybe just a little unwarranted. Unless Pac-Man did something unspeakably wrong to make Peter angry, something like eating the last cherry from the company fridge.
Video: New Small Arms maps and characters in action
We recently revealed to you that Gastronaut studios has a couple of maps and new characters coming over Xbox Live Marketplace downloadable content for Small Arms. Well, Godfree over at Gamertagradio has a video showcasing Ivar and Gullarp in the new arenas. Since the new characters are barbarian in nature, the new areas follow suit. Unfortunately, we only have the name of one map, Iceberg, as the other is shown through a mission instead. So how do these look, or would you rather have them come with new weapons?
Mad Tracks has a case of the bugs
Some Mad Tracks purchasers are reporting that they can't progress through new levels or unlock new mini games. The bug, discovered over on the Xbox.com forums, occurs when the trial game is first downloaded and then upgraded with a purchase. For some reason the game still thinks it's the trial version even though the 800 Microsoft points have been plopped down. Though, the good news is that a fix is nearly in place as Mad Tracks developer Slyben hopped on Xboxic's forums to tell everyone that a patch has been made and it's sitting in Microsoft's hands. So, it should only be a few days until the patch releases. But we can't help but feel for our fellow Mad Tracks enthusiasts who, upon downloading the trial and then purchasing the game, can't get their full Mad Tracks experience. Patience ...
New Small Arms characters revealed
Gamertag Radio breaks the news that new content is on the way for the Xbox Live Arcade.title Small Arms from Gastronaut Studios. X3F readers may recall that we have something of a soft spot for the game, so new content is great news. In addition to the new content, an update will also be released that should address several bugs in the game (and some weapon balancing, we hope). The new content pack will include 2 new characters and 2 new maps. We don't know about the maps yet, but the new characters have been revealed. Above you can see Ivar the tiger. Check out Gullarp the elephant after the break.
