Xbox Live Arcade 6/6: Pac-Man Is Back, Now With Neons
Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Casual, Retro, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,
Today’s XBLA release was first revealed yesterday as Pac-Man Championship Edition. Before you roll your eyes thinking that this is another port, you’d be well advised to give it a look – despite being 800 points ($10), this is a pretty rock solid release. I spent some time with it earlier today and had a blast; expect a review in the next few days.
New modes and redesigned mazes are the big attraction here (although those neon visuals sure are pretty). The new modes are as follows:
The Championship Mode. This is the main game mode designed by NAMCO BANDAI Games and Iwatani specifically for the championship round of the Xbox 360 Pac-Man World Championship. This mode – as well as all others within the “Pac-Man Championship Edition” – features redesigned mazes with wide maze walls and a widescreen configuration to better enable high-speed game play. Timed limit of five minutes.
Challenge Mode 1 (Patience and Reward Course). This mode is an evolution of the Championship Mode. Patience mazes strategically offer fewer Power Pellets and Reward mazes provide a large number of Power Pellets – providing unique challenges and rewards for the player. Timed limit of 10 minutes.
Challenge Mode 2 (The Darkness Course). In this mode, only the area directly around Pac-Man and the Ghosts is visible and the maze walls are completely hidden. Timed limit of 10 minutes.
Extra Mode 1 (The Freeway Course). An extremely high-speed mode for advanced players, this mode features warp-speed Pac-Man and Ghosts and plenty of tunnels. Timed limit of five minutes.
Extra Mode 2 (The Manhattan Course). A mode inspired by the streets of Manhattan — the home for the first-ever Xbox 360 Pac-Man World Championship. Timed limit of five minutes.
Gallery: Xbox Live Arcade 6/6: Pac-Man Is Back, Now With Neons
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Finally, A New Geometry Wars Is Coming
Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Action, Nintendo DS, Strategy, Wii, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade,
Geometry Wars, for those who haven’t had an opportunity to play it, is a very simple game to describe: it’s like Asteroids on crack. With neon lights. And a lot more enemies. It’s super addictive, and has been the prized jewel of the Xbox Live Arcade since its release - many even considered it the best title available on the Xbox 360, retail or otherwise. Fans have been begging for a sequel, and they’re getting it, sorta – Geometry Wars: Galaxies is in development and is headed exclusively to the Wii and DS.
For everyone who owns a platform other than an Xbox 360 (those guys and girl had their heads explode after reading that exclusive bit), the two titles were confirmed in the latest issue of Nintendo Power. The game is taking the classic “in a new direction” – expect an extensive campaign and multiplayer. They will each take advantage of the respective system’s features.
The original Retro Evolved game will be included as well, making this one incredible package. Both games are being developed by Battalion Wars developer Kuju, and should see release sometime this fall.
Gallery: Finally, A New Geometry Wars Is Coming
Virtual Console 5/14 Releases: Pac-Man Is A Ninja, Apparently
Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Nintendo, Retro, Virtual Console, Wii,
Today saw the release of three moderately priced Virtual Console games – Pac-Man, Ninja Gaiden, and Ninja Spirit. I guess the logic was that Pac-Man is like a ninja; evading ghosts without being seen, only to strike when the opportunity (or those corner dots) present themselves. For $5, Pac-Man might be in over his head… which is coincidently his entire body. Pick up the XBLA version (which supports leaderboards and achievements) if you’re really interested in some nostalgia.
The official Nintendo descriptions for each game can be seen after the break.
Click to continue reading Virtual Console 5/14 Releases: Pac-Man Is A Ninja, Apparently
Gallery: Virtual Console 5/14 Releases: Pac-Man Is A Ninja, Apparently
GoldenEye On Arcade Or Virtual Console? “It’s Possible,” Says Rare
Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: First Person Shooters, Nintendo, Rumors, Virtual Console, Wii, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,
GoldenEye 007 is one of those titles that most gamers have fond recollections of. Released in 1997, it was the first console FPS that really got it - that is, up until that point, everyone looked at FPSs as something that only worked on PCs. But with a solid combination of single player and multiplayer mayhem, it captured the hearts of N64 owners to the tune of eight million copies sold. It seems only natural that a classic of this caliber would eventually makes its way onto the Virtual Console.
But there’s one problem – when developer Rare was sold to Microsoft, the rights to the title became, as Rare put it, “… caught up in a convoluted web of rights the likes of which would make the Weaver from Perdido Street Station jealous. That doesn’t mean it won’t happen, just that a lot of people with a lot of different perspectives are involved.”
Click to continue reading GoldenEye On Arcade Or Virtual Console? “It’s Possible,” Says Rare
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| Scribes via Cubed3
Gallery: GoldenEye On Arcade Or Virtual Console? “It’s Possible,” Says Rare
Xbox 360 Spring Dashboard Update Hits Wednesday
Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Accessories, Internet, Release Dates, Wireless, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,
The long-awaited Spring Update is finally set for launch tomorrow (Wednesday), with the headline feature being all-new Xbox Live integration with MSN/Windows Live Messenger. This is the third such major dashboard update in the life of the Xbox 360, and contains a long list of new features – but it’s ultimately the weakest of those three releases.
Being able to instant message while gaming, watching movies or doing whatever else on the 360 is certainly a nifty feature, but isn’t going to be worth taking advantage of for the average user – at least not until the mini-QWERTY keyboard is released. USB keyboard support is being added, but unless you’re sitting fairly close (or wireless keyboards are supported), you’ll be stuck typing with the virtual keyboard. And from having sent hundreds over messages over Live, let me say that using that is nothing short of an exercise in patience.
In addition to the IMing capabilities included in the update, the following features have been added:
- On-screen pop-ups that immediately display the name and gamerscore value of a just accomplished Achievement, allowing gamers to see their progress without leaving or pausing the game.
- An even safer way to communicate through Xbox LIVE with enhanced family settings that enable different default settings for video chat and voice chat.
- A new, standalone Xbox LIVE Marketplace blade houses all Xbox LIVE Marketplace content in one easy to navigate space.
- Xbox LIVE Arcade enhancements that showcase what games friends are playing directly from the friends list. Boasting about high scores, comparing progress and checking out leaderboards are all easier now as well.
- Faster access to free, trial version of Xbox LIVE Arcade games through an improved Auto Downloads feature.
- The ability to fast-forward, pause and rewind video as it is being downloaded on Xbox LIVE Marketplace.
- Owners can now set their consoles to turn off after downloading content from Xbox LIVE Marketplace to help save energy, and download speeds have been increased.
The Marketplace blade will certainly be useful, but what Microsoft is really trying to do is simply make it as easy as possible for you to hand over those Microsoft Points. But the new Achievement notification will be sure to go over well, especially with me, as I’m the type of person who always checks out what achievement I just unlocked - even if I’m in a multiplayer game.
For more details on the free download and a full list of features, check out this page on Xbox.com.
Gallery: Xbox 360 Spring Dashboard Update Hits Wednesday
Double Dragon On Arcade This Week, Six More Games Coming
Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Action, Casual, Fighting, Release Dates, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,
As was rumored this past week, Double Dragon will be released on the Xbox Live Arcade this Wednesday. It’ll be available at 2 a.m. PDT for a fee of 400 Microsoft Points, or $5 in non-virtual money.
It’ll ship with the standard Arcade fare of 12 achievements and 200 achievement points, graphical enhancements, and leaderboards. But the major benefit of picking up Double Dragon will be the two-player co-op, playable locally or over Xbox Live. For $5, you really can’t go wrong with this arcade classic.
Microsoft has also announced six other upcoming Arcade titles – only one of which is a port. Finally, another use for the Vision camera will be available with Spyglass Board Games, a collection of classic board games such as chess and checers. Video chat will be available in game, much in the same fashion that it is in Uno.
The full list of titles can be seen after the break.
Click to continue reading Double Dragon On Arcade This Week, Six More Games Coming
Gallery: Double Dragon On Arcade This Week, Six More Games Coming
Gyruss, 3D Ultra MiniGolf Adventures Hit Live Marketplace This Week
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,
It looks like two games have managed to pass Microsoft’s certification testing this week, leading to a rare week when more than one downloadable game title hits the Live Marketplace service. One title is an arcade port of the classic circular shooter, Gyruss. For 400 Microsoft Points ($5), gamers can experience the retro shooter and its Tocatta and Fugue in D Minor soundtrack; Microsoft promises both an original and enhanced mode, with 3D rendered graphics. The usual assortment of achievements is included, along with multiplayer support via Xbox Live. The second title to hit will be 3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures, ostensibly a sequel to the original PC title, 3D Ultra Minigolf. For 800 Points ($10), gamers will get 36 holes on three different theme courses, online Xbox Live play and a course editor, along with related Achievements and Gamerscore. It isn’t clear from the press release whether custom courses will be shareable online – this would be a nice feature, but it doesn’t seem likely that this would happen.
Read More | Gamerscoreblog
Gallery: Gyruss, 3D Ultra MiniGolf Adventures Hit Live Marketplace This Week
TMNT Confirmed For Xbox Live Arcade
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Action, Retro, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,
Ubisoft 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
Gallery: TMNT Confirmed For Xbox Live Arcade
Every Extend Extra Extreme Coming To Live Arcade
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Action, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,
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
Gallery: Every Extend Extra Extreme Coming To Live Arcade
Worms Finally Finds Its Way Onto Xbox Live Arcade
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Action, Internet, Strategy, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,
It 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
Gallery: Worms Finally Finds Its Way Onto Xbox Live Arcade
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