Just yesterday we had a rumor about the Simpsons Arcade game possibly releasing next week. Well good news to fans, Konami has officially announced it will be coming to Xbox Live Arcade on February 3, and for the low price of 800MSP. Friday is an odd day to release an XBLA game, as Wednesday is usually the scheduled day. However, that is a full three days before the game is available on PSN, the only announced release date as of yesterday.
The XBLA version of Simpsons Arcade will feature, according to Game Informer, ”four-player online cooperative play, new modes, and additional bonus content featuring a never-before-seen Japanese version of the game, view classic flyers and posters, and a characters guide.”
Source: Game Informer
Quarrel was developed by Denki and published by UTV Ignition Entertainment. It was released on January 25, 2012 for 400 MSP. A copy of the game was provided for review purposes.
The wildly popular word game Quarrel is finally available on the Xbox 360. We won’t get into specifics as to why it took so long for the game to finally arrive on the 360. But as both a game that test your knowledge of the English dictionary and patience, Quarrel provides a unique twist on word games with its strategic gameplay. With its cheap 400 MSP price tag, it’s also a steal for fans of word games.
NFL Blitz was developed by EA Tiburon and published by EA Sports. It was released on January 4, 2011 for 1200 MSP. A copy was provided for review purposes.
One of the most beloved video game franchises of all-time is back. Although EA now has the right to the license, it means it’s being developed by a studio that knows how to make football games. EA Tiburon has tried to make a full-featured product, packed with several online game modes. This does not mean the newest NFL Blitz in the series is perfect. While it’s not riddled with bugs or glitches, it seems like a much more laid back NFL Blitz experience. Which is unlike the crazy atmosphere that usually surrounded past games in the franchise.
Last week we told you about the co-op features that will be in the new iteration of NFL Blitz. Well this week, it’s all about “Elite Leagues”. The third and “deepest” online mode. Very reminiscent of the Ultimate Team mode in Madden NFL, Elite Leagues looks to add a little more arcade flare. You’ll be able to use the “Blitz Bucks” you’ve earned from online games to buy card packs that will contain new players and power ups for your team. Both players and power up have contracts that will deplete after every game. Using your Blitz Bucks, you’ll be able to renew that players or power ups contract. Pro Players and Ultimate players feature infinite contracts, and can be received by trading in a full team of cards. It looks as though Elite Leagues takes what’s great in the Ultimate Team mode in Madden NFL, and what’s great in NFL Blitz, and makes a fun, addicting mode for gamers. More information about the mode can be seen below.
A few months ago the new iteration of NFL Blitz was revealed, but little was known about the reboot. Over the last few weeks we’ve received more and more details about the game via the “Blitz two-minute drills” videos. This week, NFL Blitz Designer, Yuri Bialoskursky, took to the NFL Blitz blog to let us know about the co-op modes featured in the game. With two modes, “Blitz Teams” and “Online co-op”, both detailed in the video above, the newest version of NFL Blitz wants you to play the game with friends, and that’s perfectly fine with us.
Earlier this month there were rumors about the next Scene It? game releasing as a digital download via Xbox Live Arcade. Well, we now have official confirmation, and that rumor turned out to be true. Mark November 30 on your calender, folks. That will be the day you finally get to play the newest Scene It? game. Mega Movies, being developed by Sarbarkan games, will be the first bit of DLC for the game, with more question packs being available at a later date. Scene it? Movie Night: Mega Movies will be available for 800 MSP and will feature questions from hit movies such as The Terminator, Transformers, Meet the Fockers, and more. Some information that was divulged in the trailer, can be found below.
Quick Pitch- Lighting round mode, where you try to name the movie at the top of the screen as quickly as possible. Correct answers give you points, but incorrect answers will cost you points.
DLC – As revealed in the trailer, Scene It? Movie Night will have post-launch downloadable content — meaning “you’ll always have a new experience”. Mega Movies will be the first piece of DLC, and will be based on the “most memorable films of all-time”. And coming soon is Sci-Fi movies, but no date has been announced for that.
“Are you familiar with the Scene It? board games? The upcoming Mega Movie title spans the biggest blockbusters in cinema history from The Godfather to modern must-sees like The Social Network (and as you’ll see in the trailer, stuff for people like us, like Transformers!) through 14 different kinds of competitive puzzles. A great game for party play to find out who is truly a movie maven, and who fell asleep in the theatre.”
Scene It? Move Night will be available on Xbox Live Arcade starting November 30th for 800MSP.
The downloadable content It Came from Outer Space for A World of Keflings was developed by NinjaBee Games and published by Microsoft Studios. It was released on October 26, 2011 for 320 MSP. A copy was provided for review purposes.
A World of Keflings released last December as part of the Games for the Holidays promotion, and was an instant success, building off the original A Kingdom for Keflings. The extraterrestrial DLC, It Came from Outer Space is now available to download. Featuring new characters, blueprints, building materials, and dozens of sci-fi references, the DLC looks to further plant the Keflings’ games as some of the best out there on Xbox Live Arcade.
Here’s what we liked:
New story/characters - Aliens have crashed their ship….stop me if you’ve heard this one before. It may sound like a plain alien movie, but that’s the story of the DLC. Some very weird looking people have crashed their ship, and it’s your job to help them fix it and get them back to their planet. New characters also appear in this new DLC. The characters have always been loved in the Keflings universe, and in the new DLC that continues. With names such as Captain Warfbart, Dr. Snippetoff, and Senator Hadookin, it’s hard not to just laugh and appreciate them. All the characters mentioned play a big part in the DLC, their spaceship crashed and you just happen to be there to help them. They assist you, giving you the newest blueprints, so you can help fix their spaceship. The characters throw around some crazy sci-fi references that almost everyone will get a kick out of. The new story fits right into the outrageous world NinjaBee has made with the Keflings, and even though this one might be the craziest, it’s also the best.
Mark your calenders for September 20, folks. That’s when Burnout CRASH! will be released to the world via Xbox Live Arcade. The price was also announced, and the game will run you 800 Microsoft Points. The fan favorite crash mode, where you crash into cars and trigger explosions, is the focus of Burnout CRASH!, and is sure to have fans of the classic Burnout games very happy. Also included is a Kinect-only mode in which two teams use gesture controls to try and get as many points as possible. With top-down, pinball-esque gameplay, Burnout CRASH! is a unique game that is sure to make people smile.
“Burnout CRASH! is a crazy mix of pinball and game shows,” said Richard Franke, Creative Director for the game. “We’ve evolved the core gameplay which everyone loved about Crash Mode, and expanded the whole experience using music, style and Autolog to create what we feel is the most mindless fun you can have on any gaming platform.”
The wacky television show featured in over 40 countries, which was already announced for Xbox 360 & Kinect, now has an official release date. Hole in the Wall will be available beginning August 24 for 800 Microsoft Points, the same day that Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Online will be released. The game will feature multiple avatar awards, including spandex suits and T-shirts. It will also allow up to four players to partake in the action, as well as a survival mode. You can check out some screenshots for the game below, and start practicing, because Hole in the Wall is only a week away. Be sure to check back next week as we’ll have a full review of the game.
Fans have been clamoring for it and Supergiant Games has delivered. The Bastion (our review) soundtrack is now officially available for purchase. Featuring 22 fully remastered songs, the soundtrack is great for fans. The music is what helped make Bastion such a great game to play through, it added to the overall ambiance of the game, and is one of the best soundtracks of 2011. Also included is a brand-new track titled, The Pantheon (Ain’t Gonna Catch You), featuring the narrator like you’ve never heard him before. Spoiler Warning: The music in Bastion is key to the experience. We advise playing through the game before listening to the soundtrack.
The soundtrack will cost you $10 if you want to purchase it digitally, or $15 if you want a compact disc. It should be noted that the compact disc version of the soundtrack does come signed by the composer Darren Korb and features original artwork by Jen Zee. Their site, found here, also notes that there are currently only 1,000 compact discs versions available, so be sure to get your copy now, and they will begin shipping around September 2.
“About Our Soundtrack: The music in Bastion was essential from the early stages of development, back when we had a feel for the kind of tone we wanted but could only begin to get at it with words. Darren ran with those ideas, creating a style of music he calls acoustic frontier trip-hop — an expression of the particular blend of familiar and exotic that we wanted for Bastion’s world. Darren’s music nailed our high-contrast tone perfectly and fueled much of our content creation.”
You can download the soundtrack by going here. You can also learn more about the soundtrack and how you can get your copy at PAX Prime in September by going here.
