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TMNT ArcadeUbisoft has confirmed that the classic Konami arcade game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will be coming to the Xbox Live Arcade in the near future. One of the best parts about the original arcade game was four-player support, and this will make its way over to the Xbox Live version, supporting co-op play locally or over Xbox Live. The game will sell for a mere 400 Points ($5) and should appear by the end of the month, to tie in with the upcoming movie release.

Read More | IGN

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Every Extend Extra Extreme

Q Entertainment today announced that Every Extend Extra Extreme would soon be coming to Microsoft’s Xbox Live Arcade service. The new version promises to take advantage of the HD resolutions available on the Xbox 360, and will supposedly support custom soundtracks from CD, according to Computer and Video Games. Mizuguchi did not say whether they would be splitting the game up into a million pieces while charging for each piece, but hopefully with the new Live Arcade size limits and the amount of feedback that Lumines Live got, the company and Microsoft will try and restrict the microtransactions for this release.

Read More | Computer And Videogames

Worms LogoIt looks like after Worms finally passed certification last week Microsoft put it on the fast track for release, as the title will be coming to Xbox Live Arcade next Wednesday for 800 Marketplace Points ($10). A Worms game online, on a big screen HDTV, supported by Xbox Live would seem to be a great match; hopefully the extra time in certification will mean that online play will be polished upon release.

The full press release continues below.

Click to continue reading Worms Finally Finds Its Way Onto Xbox Live Arcade


Xbox 360 The Bugtraq mailing list recently published the details of an unsigned code execution security hole on the Xbox 360. The timeline of the security hole would seem to make this vulnerability the same one demonstrated at last year’s 23C3 Hacker Congress, as seen in this excerpt:

Timeline:
Oct 31, 2006 - release of 4532 kernel, which is the first version
containing the bug
Nov 16, 2006 - proof of concept completed; unsigned code running in
hypervisor context
Nov 30, 2006 - release of 4548 kernel, bug still not fixed
Dec 15, 2006 - first attempt to contact vendor to report bug
Dec 30, 2006 - public demonstration
Jan 03, 2007 - vendor contact established, full details disclosed
Jan 09, 2007 - vendor releases patch
Feb 28, 2007 - full public release

The public demonstration date is key; that would be the same date of the anonymous Xbox 360 hacker video release. Further, the overview of the vulnerability claims:

We have discovered a vulnerability in the Xbox 360 hypervisor that allows
privilege escalation into hypervisor mode. Together with a method to
inject data into non-privileged memory areas, this vulnerability allows
an attacker with physical access to an Xbox 360 to run arbitrary code
such as alternative operating systems with full privileges and full
hardware access.

According to the release, Microsoft has patched the vulnerability as of January 9th, but then Sony thought they had patched the Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories security hole as well. The existence of such a vulnerability indicates that the security of the Xbox 360 isn’t as bulletproof as Microsoft intended, and it would seem a mere matter of time before another exploitable hole is found to enable homebrew development on the system.

Read More | SecurityFocus via Xbox Scene


Worms HD

It looks like the Xbox Live Arcade version of Worms should be hitting the Marketplace soon; Team 17 recently confirmed that the game had finally passed Microsoft certification to Eurogamer. While a firm release date was not set, the Team 17 representative claimed the game should be showing up on Xbox Live in the next few weeks.

Read More | Eurogamer

Alien Hominid HD

Last week Microsoft poked Xbox Live Arcade gamers in the eye with a delay of Worms, but this week looks a little better with the upcoming release of Alien Hominid HD this Wednesday for 800 Marketplace Points ($10). The side-scrolling Flash game has already hit a number of console platforms, including the Gamecube, Playstation 2, original Xbox, and Gameboy Advance. Now, the graphics get an HD makeover to 720P and the mini-games go online along with the related Achievements and Gamerscore for XBLA titles. While Alien Hominid HD will be great for those that haven’t experienced the title on other platforms, one still can’t help wonder how long it will be for Worms to show up on the Marketplace.

The full press release continues below.

 

Click to continue reading Alien Hominid HD To Hit Xbox Live Arcade

Read More | Gamerscoreblog

Xbox 360 Guitar Hero IIWe all know that microtransactions, small payments for incremental additions to games, are the way of the future. But you don’t have to brag about how much of our money you’re going to take! In a recent interview with IGN, Ted Lange, Associate Producer on Guitar Hero II, bragged that the game for the 360 will have “more online content than anyone has ever seen”.

While I’m excited about getting tons of new songs for the game, I often wonder how many of these songs could simply be squeezed onto the original disc if they tried. My guess is that the advent of microtransactions has made some programmers sloppy - there’s probably a fair amount of blank or wasted space on the GHII disc, but why bother putting more on the disc when you can just charge for it later!

Read More | IGN.com

A couple of recent Xbox Live Arcade leaks have increased attention on Microsoft’s PartnerNet, the development network for debug Xbox Live content for developers and press. First, Eurogamer leaked the existence of Ikaruga on Xbox Live Arcade, and then Computers & Video Games had an article about the release of Rare’s Jetpak on PartnerNet that was quickly pulled. Now, CheapyD at CheapAssGamer.com has a brief tour of the PartnerNet on video, courtesy of an anonymous informer. The video shows entries for a few titles like Centipede and Millipede and a couple of other new games and gives an idea of what developers on the network can see.

Read More | Cheap Ass Gamer

IkarugaEurogamer did some poking around on Partnernet, the Xbox 360 internal debug network for Xbox Live Arcade and found some clues that indicate that Treasure’s shooter, Ikaruga may be coming to Xbox Live Arcade in the future. Their investigation on the network turned up a couple of files; when those files were downloaded, Ikaruga shows up. Unfortunately, the game itself doesn’t run, but Eurogamer was able to get a glimpse at a list of achievements for the game. Ikaruga has had somewhat of a difficult past, first as a 2002 release for the Dreamcast after console production had ceased, and then in releases for the Gamecube in Japan and the US. Hopefully the game will see an international release on Xbox Live Arcade, expanding the shooter’s audience.


Wireless HeadsetThis week Bungie offered up some details on dealing with bad trash-talkers when playing Halo 3 multiplayer: an in-game a-hole mute feature. Bungie’s feature is implemented cleanly in the UI: hit a button, highlight the player, mute for the rest of the session. Major Nelson, though, explains that this functionality is also available in the Xbox 360 dashboard, and he explains how gamers can mute (or avoid) bad actors on Xbox Live for any game. The process is a little more complicated, requiring a few more clicks, but it worth learning so that it becomes easier to avoid bad trash talkers in the future.

Read More | Major Nelson

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