The Official XBLA Update Thread

[Isildur´s Heir]

There doesn´t need to be one in charge.
Anything you find relevant, post it, just like i´m doing.

[TheCorpulent1]

Stickied and changed the title so it'll make sense as more than just a preview thread.

[Isildur´s Heir]

Originally Posted by TheCorpulent1

Stickied and changed the title so it'll make sense as more than just a preview thread.

[Tron Bonne]

Originally Posted by Isildur´s Heir

There doesn´t need to be one in charge.
Anything you find relevant, post it, just like i´m doing.

Well, that's not exactly what I mean. Like, for PSN, they usually have updates on Thursday. Occasionally some content breaks that is released earlier or later, but usually Thursday is when things get added. Like, for example, Kal posts the list of what was added every Thursday for the PSN store.

Does MS have a specific day they update the content on XBL & XBLA? Or do they just add things whenever?

[TheCorpulent1]

I never know when they add stuff to Live. I'm constantly surprised when I browse the Marketplace. Granted, I rarely ever turn on my Xbox and browse it more than once or twice a month, so that may be why.

[Isildur´s Heir]

XBLA games are released every wednesday.
Deal of Week, every Monday
As for all the rest, i don´t believe there is one day, there are things added almost every day.

[TheCorpulent1]

And lo, the mystery was revealed.

[Isildur´s Heir]

Undertow developer Chair Entertainment has been hard at work on video games based on Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game series, the first of which is likely to be the recently trademarked Shadow Complex.

Sources claiming to have already played that game told us about their experience with the title, a side-scrolling shooter likened to classics Super Metroid and Mega Man X, a mash up of genres that's a 2.5D platformer. Card has said in the past that the game will focus on the Battle Room simulations that test tactical aptitude and be high on replayability.

Shadow Complex is also said to feature a unique twist on the Metroid-formula. It will feature familiar weapon and ability upgrades, including a jet pack for double jumps, a climbing kit for wall slides and a Bionic Commando style hookshot, but it's also a little deeper than the games it's been compared to.

According to what we were told by folks who had played the game, Shadow Complex takes advantage of the third dimension by offering interactive backgrounds. Players are said to be able to shoot into those backgrounds with the aide of a laser sight—controlled with the right thumbstick—to fend off enemies in a fashion described to Kotaku as a blend of Contra's side-scrolling and hallway style levels.

That mechanic was touted as an interesting addition to stock 2D shooter gameplay, but also lamented for its occasional awkwardness.

Shadow Complex sounds like it will follow the Metroid formula in offering new weapons, new areas to unlock and a progression that takes the main player from lowly combatant to super soldier.

We were told to expect more storytelling than your average 2D side-scroller, with cut scenes explaining why Battle Room combatants enter the titular complex on a rescue mission. Expect a sci-fi twist that Ender's Game fans may already be familiar with to justify why you're there and what you're doing.

What we were told certainly jives with tidbits that Chair Entertainment and Orson Scott Card have dropped since the announcement that the two parties would be working together. We wouldn't be surprised to see Shadow Complex announced at E3 as an Xbox Live Arcade downloadable game, but we're still calling this all rumor for now.

[TheCorpulent1]

Don't know anything about Ender's Game. A new 2.5D platformer sounds fun, though.

[Isildur´s Heir]

Fight Night round 4 demo is up on XBL.
I already downloaded it, just haven´t played it yet.


edit: just found out that the demo is on XBL since the 28th

[Isildur´s Heir]

Activision just announced that Wolfenstien 3D is coming to the Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network next week.
And, by the look of it, and perhaps taking a cue from the Fable II Pub Games, playing through Wolfenstein 3D on Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 will earn you accolades and gold to pay for weapons upgrades in Wolfenstein, the next chapter in the series due out August 4.

And one week later, on the 10th, all but one of the lineup for Sega Vintage Volume 2 will be coming out on XBLA.
That includes Sonic 3, Shinobi, GunStar Heroes, Altered Beast, Comix Zone and Phantasy Star II.
Sonic & Knuckles will be out later in 2009.

[Isildur´s Heir]

Madballs in Babo: Invasion - Playbrains

On a jungle moon orbiting a distant planet, the Babo fight petty internal conflicts, unaware that their long forgotten cousins, the Scorched, have returned after thousands of years to exact a terrible revenge. As the Babo and the Scorched engage in a civil war for territory, glory, and survival, two mysterious outsiders crash land on the planet with their own motivations...
The game is a top-down shooter with randomly generated maps, 4-player co-op and 16-player multiplayer.
Coming to both Steam and Xbox Live Arcade this summer

[Isildur´s Heir]

This year Summer of Arcade is the best ever:

- 'Splosion Man
- Shadow Complex
- TMNT: Turtles in Time Re-shelled
- Marvel Vs. Capcom 2
- Monkey Island Special Edition
- Trials HD

I´m going to get every single one of those, only Trials HD will wait for approval

[TheCorpulent1]

Haha, I remember the Madballs.

[Isildur´s Heir]

TRINE to go to the XBLA.
If you don´t know what Trine, it´s a game announce to go to the PSN and it looks amazing.
Developed by Fronzenbyte, and to be published by Atlus on XBLA (Nobilis will publish it for the PSN)

"Trine is a fantasy action game where the player can create and use physics-based objects to beat hazardous puzzles and threatening enemies. Set in a world of great castles and strange machinery, three heroes are bound to a mysterious device called the Trine in a quest to save the kingdom from evil…
"The gameplay is based on fully interactive physics - each character's different ability helps the player battle an army of un-dead and defeat hazardous contraptions. The player can at any time freely choose whoever is best suited for the upcoming challenge or puzzle: The Wizard is able to summon objects to help solve puzzles and create new ways to overcome obstacles, the Thief uses her agility and dead-on accuracy to swiftly surprise the monsters, and the Warrior unleashes mayhem and physical destruction wherever he goes."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgFxIopLANU

[TheCorpulent1]

Looks cool. I thought it was just a side-scrolling fantasy hack-and-slash, but the physics make it interesting.

[Isildur´s Heir]

Zeno Clash will probably go to the 360.
At least the co-founder of ACE Team, the developers of ZC, is saying that they are currently talking to a publisher for a potential XBLA release.
And he also is saying that, if it happens, it will have extra content, not seen on the PC version.

BTW, Zeno Clash would work like a charm on project Natal....
Maybe Zeno Clash 2, as there is already talking about it.



On other news, Kudo, the create-a-game game, is coming out this month...later this month

[TheCorpulent1]

I got it for PC but never finished it. It seems like it might control a bit better with the 360 gamepad, to be honest.

Just one more day until Gunstar Heroes hits XBLA!

[Isildur´s Heir]

Originally Posted by TheCorpulent1

I got it for PC but never finished it. It seems like it might control a bit better with the 360 gamepad, to be honest.

I only played the demo, but didn´t liked the controls that much, with Space for dashing and all.

Just one more day until Gunstar Heroes hits XBLA!

*no words needed*

[TheCorpulent1]

I switched dash to Shift, I think.

[Isildur´s Heir]

Next week, on XBLA...

Rocket Riot and

Sam & Max Save the World (or season 1, if you prefer)
It will be priced at 1600 MS points ($20 in real money)

[Tron Bonne]

I never did pick up Sam & Max: Season 1 for the Wii and I always intended to. I'm not sure, though, I may download that instead.

[TheCorpulent1]

I got Sam & Max on Steam. They had a sale and I got all the episodes of both seasons for about $30.

[Isildur´s Heir]

Good news, the XBLA this week just went from 2 to 3 games.
So, besides Rocket Riot and Sam & Max we will also have Magic the Gathering.

That makes 9 games in just two weeks.
Nice move Microsoft, keep it up

[Isildur´s Heir]

Microsoft just announced

Serious Sam remake for XBLA