Official Xbox Live Arcade Thread

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afternoon delight said:
Battle Pack DLC for Worms Armageddon is the best five dollars I've ever spent in the arcade. I'm serious. :D
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Did the battle pack add in the original Worms: Armageddon ninja rope physics?
 
Did the battle pack add in the original Worms: Armageddon ninja rope physics?
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No and I doubt they ever will. I'm pretty sure the developers will never reach the atmospheric awesome level of the original Armageddon's content so I've given up hope.

What does it contain? Love the game.
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Six new weapons, three of them look like game changers (stat effecting, long lasting) and the others are aimed at land manipulation (tunnels and getting at people in tunnels).

There's thirty new deathmatches to try, much like a new campaign.

There's eight or so levels of Body Count, which is a timed/random kill-as-many-as-possible with your one worm versus spawning hordes. REALLY fun and challenging as you have limited supplies with constant drops and points-per-kill. THESE challenges reward "Titles" which can be earned and applied to your team's name.

The "customize" option for teams and game styles is now it's own set in the main menu, and looks cleaned up. Few speech banks, a lot of accessories (FUCKING PREDATOR HATS! HALO HATS! DEATH SKULL HATS! :lol :D )

New Forts, New "Super Forts" which are pretty gigantic, and eight (I think) new landscape types (mainly classics like Jungle and Concrete, etc.)

That's about it off the top of my head. LOTS of variety to go through. Three new achievements. Most of the menu's have been streamlined. There's also something called "Particle Set" which I believe means you can have a few options for the GUI in-game.

Like I said. That's all for five bucks. :D
 
Nice. Will buy :D

BTW, has anyone heard about The Dishwasher 2? Someone brought it up a little while ago as being announced...but I haven't heard anything :(
 
SDCC 10: Hydrophobia Update
http://xboxlive.ign.com/articles/110/1107745p1.html

We were immediately impressed with Hydrophobia when we first saw it at PAX East earlier this year. A third-person action adventure with similarities to Tomb Raider, Metroid, and Resident Evil, Hydrophobia is a big downloadable adventure. Add in the fact that it takes place in a crumbling underwater city and boasts some very impressive water physics and you've got yourself a game that looks well worth $10 to $15.

Hydrophobia stars Kate, an engineer on a massive underwater vessel called the Queen of the World. When the Queen is overtaken by terrorists, Kate must become a reluctant heroine, save her coworkers, and figure out who is behind this plot. The developers took a lot of inspiration from Sigourney Weaver's Ripley character in Alien. Kate isn't a badass action hero -- she's an engineer struggling to cope with an incredible disaster. Oh, and she is afraid of water, which is where the game gets its title. By Hydrophobia's end, Kate will have overcome her fear (and then some).

The game opens with a recurring nightmare Kate experiences about being trapped underwater. She awakens in her cabin just as the party of the century is about to go off on the Queen of the World. When her communications system suffers interference she heads off to investigate, and the terrorists strike while she's in the elevator. Her first goal (and yours) is to escape the elevator shaft.

In Hydrophobia the world has become overpopulated, and the terrorists are part of an organization called the Malthusians who believe that population needs to be reduced. Exterminated, if you will. "Save the world...kill yourself," is their mantra. Kate learns that the Malthusians may have infiltrated the Queen of the World some time ago and have been living among its citizens, planning the attack.

Gameplay is a mix of exploration and inventive combat. The Queen of the World is falling apart and water is filling many areas, so figuring out how to get to your next destination is often a trial. Kate will have to do a lot of climbing, shimmying, and swimming to get around. The water effects are very impressive. Open a door to a flooded room and the liquid will spill out into your area. The physics engine also governs smoke and electricity so that they behave the way they should and dynamically react to the environment.

That dynamic activity makes for many tantalizing combat opportunities. Kate doesn't have a traditional weapon. Early on she finds a gun loaded with stun rounds. She can use it to put an enemy down for a few moments, but she really needs to use the environment in order to survive. The stun rounds can cause oil drums to explode, for instance, killing an enemy or rupturing a wall and causing a flood. They can knock enemies off a ledge. They can burst a fuse box over water and electrify an enemy standing in it.

Shots with the stun gun can be charged. Tap a barrel with a light shot and you can send it rolling closer to an enemy, where it can then be detonated. A full charge can knock an enemy out from behind cover. This weapon is just the beginning, as Kate will eventually find upgrades like gel rounds that stick to a target to be detonated later.

Chaining environmental kills together increases your score and improves your rank on the leaderboards.

The game's dialogue also reacts dynamically to the player. While shimmying across a pipe we looked down at a fire blazing below us. "What the hell's going on down there?" Kate wondered. But if we hadn't looked, she wouldn't have remarked.

Finally, we got to see the Challenge Room which is unlocked when you complete the campaign. This is a sort of "horde mode" where you have to defeat a certain number of enemies within a time limit. Here, Kate has gained the ability to control water and can use it to pick up and launch enemies and objects. Sound like fun? Well, apparently you'll get to do a lot more of that in the sequel, which is already in development.

Hydrophobia is looking great. A full action adventure game with impressive physics and creative kill opportunities for $10-$15? Yes, please.
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Dead Space Ignition Hands-On
http://www.gamespot.com/events/ea2010/story.html?sid=6270439&pid=998531&mode=previews

A's Dead Space franchise has been the poster child of cross-media expansion over the past few years. Since the original game debuted in 2008, we've seen comic books, a novel, and even an animated film based on the sci-fi horror property. Now that move from video games toward other forms of media has come full circle. EA recently announced Dead Space Ignition, an interactive comic book coming later this year to Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network.

Penned by the author behind the comic book series, Ignition's story is a prequel to Dead Space 2 that tells about the necromorph outbreak on The Sprawl. The animation mostly comprises 2D imagery rendered in a very sketchbook, hand-drawn style. You'll occasionally see the characters move, though it seems to be limited and done mostly to suggest a change of emotion on someone's face. If you think of the visuals as a cross between a gritty graphic novel and a mid-'90s adventure game, you've got a good idea of how the comic visuals unfold. And rather than speech bubbles, the game (comic?) features full voice acting.

The story itself unfolds along a branching path of your choosing, with four unique endings. No matter which path you choose, you'll be playing as a tech whiz named Franco Delisle who excels at hacking computer terminals. To add some character emersion and more traditional video game elements, Ignition features a number of hacking minigames that you'll need to complete at the end of each story sequence. There's the puzzle game Hardware Crack, a tower defense-like game called System Override, and a racer called Tracer Route.

While we didn’t get to navigate our way through any of the narrative stuff, we did get to play a little bit of Tracer Route. The most immediate comparison we can think of is Light Trax for WiiWare. It's a top-down racer where you play as a bright line moving through a cyberpunk-style track where blocks of binary code make up the obstacles. There are occasional speed boosts to hit, and you can drop traps to slow down your opponent if it's immediately behind you. The game is a pretty simple affair: Just avoid the stuff that slows you down and look for the stuff that speeds you up. We were able to win on our first attempt, but we're told that the level of challenge escalates considerably toward the end of the game. In fact, the type of minigame you'll encounter most depends on which narrative path you choose.

Finally, it's worth noting that people who buy Ignition will be able to unlock an exclusive suit for Isaac Clarke in Dead Space 2. You can expect to see it hit digital distribution channels this fall.
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Spare Parts Hands-On
http://www.gamespot.com/events/ea2010/story.html?sid=6270443&pid=997601&mode=previews

t looks like developers are paying more attention to cooperative play these days. At the EA Studio Showcase in Redwood Shores, we took a look at Spare Parts, an action adventure that stars two robots who have been dumped on a strange planet ruled by the nefarious Lord Krung. The game supports both offline and online co-op and looks to be a fun button-masher with puzzle elements sprinkled in.

Who's Making It: This robotic adventure is developed by EA Bright Light.

What It Looks Like: The game has a simple premise, but you'll be traveling through a colorful and lush environment full of evil Krofax. It kind of reminds us of the Ratchet & Clank games, but that also could be due to all the screws and bolts flying around.

What You Do: You play as the robotic duo Mar-T and Chip who must collect spare parts littered throughout the planet in order to repair their space ship and get home. On your adventure you'll pick up action parts that allow you to gain new abilities, which in turn can be upgraded using the coins you collect. The game is focused around cooperative play, so you can play with a friend online or offline. Some areas can be accessed only with a partner, but you can play through the game solo if you wish.

When playing with a friend, there are special abilities that benefit both of you if you work together. For example, if you both double-jump at the same time, Mar-T and Chip will give each other a high-five, and you'll receive a health boost.

You'll also use your special abilities to interact with the environment and solve a variety of puzzles to progress through the game. The entire game should take anywhere from six to seven hours to complete if you blaze on through, but there are 100 action parts in the game if you want to track them all down.

How It Plays: Spare Parts is a button masher where you hit the X button to attack and the A button to jump. It's pretty straightforward, but as you gain more abilities, you'll be able to do more with the action parts that you've collected.

What They Say: Can our heroes rescue their other stranded robotic friends and unearth all of the spare parts they need to make their escape?

What We Say: We sure hope so. We always welcome cooperative gameplay, so it's nice to see another game come to the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network that supports online and offline co-op. Look for Spare Parts when it's released this winter.
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http://www.gamerbytes.com/2010/07/sequel_to_pinball_fx_coming_to.php

Zen Studios have been pinball maniacs over the past few years -- with two Pinball titles across both the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade, they've continued to add new tables years after their releases.

Now according to the German USK rating board, Pinball FX is getting a sequel on the Xbox Live Arcade -- aptly titled Pinball FX 2.

Zen Studio's Zen Pinball on PlayStation Network saw numerous improvements to their Pinball engine -- something they were likely unable to fix with a title update to the original Pinball FX. Hopefully this new version will add new enhancements, and hopefully a better avenue to create more Pinball tables in downloadable content further on.

No official word as of yet, but expect some real news in the coming months.
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Neuromancer said:
Nice but I don't think I played the 1st one enough to warrant buying the sequel.
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Well, also Pinball FX has had amazing DLC support, not really sure a second one was warranted.
 
afternoon delight said:
Battle Pack DLC for Worms Armageddon is the best five dollars I've ever spent in the arcade. I'm serious. :D
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Thanks for reminding me about this. I dl it when it dropped and completely forgot about it. Gave it a run last night and it's a helluva package for the price.
 
Crystal Dynamics®, a part of Square Enix Europe, is pleased to announce that Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light(TM) Premium Theme and Avatar items are now available on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.

In Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, Lara Croft joins forces with Totec, The Guardian of Light, in order to fight off an ancient evil threatening to engulf the world in never-ending darkness. Players will journey through the game in a franchise first isometric cooperative adventure that aims to deliver intense action and bite-sized puzzles.

You don't have to wait until Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is released to get started! Head over to the Xbox LIVE Avatar Marketplace from July 29th, 2010 for your first chance to get Lara Croft gear for your Xbox LIVE Avatar in one of the many themed outfits and accessories from the game. Whether it's Lara's iconic shorts or Totec's battledress, you can experience part of the brand new adventure early by equipping your Avatar with plenty of colorful and intricate new outfits and accessories! Items range from 40 Microsoft Points to 240 Microsoft Points.

A Premium Theme is also available now on Xbox LIVE. Deck your console out with The Lava Tomb as Xolotl and his minions take over your system in this haunting theme for your Xbox. The Lava Tomb is available for download now on Xbox LIVE for 240 Microsoft Points.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light will launch on August 18th, 2010 as part of Xbox LIVE Arcade's Summer of Arcade, delivering this season's biggest and best downloadable games. Available for 1200 Microsoft Points, the game is rated T for Teen by the ESRB.

For more information, please visit www.laracroftandtheguardianoflight.com or follow us on Twitter and Facebook - @Crystaldynamics - Facebook.com/LaraCroft
 
I never liked the original Rush'n Attack, but this looks a bit Shadow Complex-y....

Ponn01 said:
Quick question. I am interested in Lara Croft but not a fan of online or co-op. Is it mandatory co-op?
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I don't have any information on the game, but I really really doubt there would be mandatory co-op.
 
I'm finally playing Shadow Complex for the first time (just finished with 100%) and I loved BC:Rearmed, so both of the above games are looking really sweet. It's like all of these games exist in a world where the last 15 years never happened and you have today's graphics on top of 16 bit gameplay. They can keep 'em coming IMO.:D
 
acidspunk said:
That's it? :/
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Probably safe to assume they will keep discounting expansions rather than games during Summer of Arcade. Those are the games they want you to buy, not discounted older ones. Might be a cool deal or two right after SoR is over for the people who got some points back.
 
RadarScope1 said:
Probably safe to assume they will keep discounting expansions rather than games during Summer of Arcade. Those are the games they want you to buy, not discounted older ones. Might be a cool deal or two right after SoR is over for the people who got some points back.
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Yeah, next week is Forza stuff

Week of August 2: : Forza 3 Cars And Track Packs

AutoWeek Car Show Pack, 240 Microsoft Points

Hot Holidays Car Pack, 240 Microsoft Points

Jalopnik Car Pack, 240 Microsoft Points

Nürburgring GP Track Pack, 240 Microsoft Points

The Road & Track Car Pack, 240 Microsoft Points
 
Preview: The Behemoth's Battleblock Theater (Comic-Con build)

Like the previous version we played, gameplay revolved around little blockheads battling it out in a deathmatch ... put on for the entertainment of large cats.

There are supposedly eight different arena modes, and Behemoth co-founder (and Newgrounds founder) Tom Fulp told me that there will be a full single-player campaign with online co-op included. I played the "Soul Stealer" mode that we saw at PAX East, as well as a "King of the Hill"-style mode where players tried to stand on a central platform for as long as possible without being killed. Another mode had me grabbing gold bars spawning around a stage before trying to return them to a flying safe for points.
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behemothbattleblockcats.jpg


Is that a Nazi cat?
 
Zeno Clash Dev: PC Gamers "More Open" to Strange Games
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/102442-Zeno-Clash-Dev-PC-Gamers-More-Open-to-Strange-Games

Bizarre first-person brawler Zeno Clash didn't sell as well on Xbox Live as it did on the PC, and the developer thinks it's because PC gamers have a higher tolerance for weirdness.

Last year's indie fantasy-world brawler Zeno Clash was very strange, but it wasn't half bad. It was an astoundingly original game, and its developer ACE Team hoped to port it to consoles - which it did, with the help of Atlus.

Unfortunately, the game just didn't sell as well on XBLA, ACE Team co-founder Carlos Bordeu told Eurogamer. "I don't know whether it was because most people had already played Zeno Clash on PC, or that the console game launched a year later, but we definitely had much stronger sales on PC than on Xbox 360," he said. "It hasn't sold nearly as well."

Barring the reason mentioned, Bordeu had another theory: The game was so strange that it put would-be buyers off. "Zeno Clash was definitely weirder than most games, and it would be absurd to think that didn't put-off some people," he said. "PC players are maybe more open to trying weird games - games that aren't so mass market."

"But I don't know that I'd put it as harshly as PC gamers are smart and console gamers are stupid," he amended in a possible attempt to foil a potential flame war.

Of course, even within the PC gamer spectrum there were differences - Bordeu pointed out that the game had sold especially well in Russia. I don't think that he's implying that all Russians are weird, but you never know.
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Metalocalypse: The Dethgame Cancelled
http://www.gamerbytes.com/2010/07/metalocalypse_the_dethgame_can.php

Back in 2009 at the beginning of Konami's trench run into digital distribution Metalocalypse: The Dethgame was revealed -- a brawler based on the popular Adult Swim title developed by Frozen Codebase.

Nearly a year later we hadn't heard a thing about it -- but the sleuths over at Siliconera, after no appearance of the game at E3 or Comic-Con, decided to check up on it. Apparently, it's been canned -- Adult Swim pulled back the license and now it's axed.

It's been a very bad run for Frozen Codebase, almost every single one of their digital titles -- Screw Jumper, Zombie Wranglers and Kick-Ass The Game, Sandy Beach has been so poorly reviewed that they haven't been able to get better than a rating of 50 on Metacritic. The only one that has was Elements of Destruction -- and that was a port of a DS game by another developer.

Chances are this game wasn't going to be good either.
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For as cool and as polished as Xeno Clash is, I think it was sorely under promoted. A title like that should be part of the SoR or Block Party, regardless of exclusivity. It's an independent title and it could have used much more promotion from MS. Certanly moreso than Castlevania: Abortion of Sprites. XC is on my to-buy list but I just have a huge backlog of both disc and digital games.
 
Report: Toy Soldiers The Highest Selling XBLA Game of 2010
Gaming research firm FADE estimates Toy Soldiers as the year's top-selling XBLA release so far.

Research firm Forecasting & Analyzing Digital Entertainment (FADE) has issued a report (via Gamesindustry.biz) estimating total sales of Xbox Live Arcade games for the year so far. According to FADE's analysis, XBLA releases have already raked in approximately $46 million in 2010, and Toy Soldiers currently ranks as this year's top-selling game for the service.

Microsoft normally keeps this type of data pretty close to the chest, so it's not exactly clear where FADE's figures come from -- though it's possible they base some of these estimates on total leaderboard numbers. Either way, FADE predicts a big year ahead for XBLA.

"The second quarter of the year has traditionally been [XBLA's] weakest," explained FADE director of research and analysis Benjamin Schlichter, continuing, "They made great strides to improve the performance during the period, as revenue increased 24% compared to the year prior during a period when much of the rest of the industry is down."

FADE's report forecasts total XBLA sales for 2010 at between $130 and $140 million. The full list of best-selling XBLA games follows:

* Toy Soldiers (Signal Studios) -- $4.6 million
* Trials HD (RedLynx) -- $4.4 million
* Castle Crashers (The Behemoth) -- $2.9 million
* Battlefield 1943 (EA DICE) -- $2.5 million
* Perfect Dark (4J Studios) -- $2.4 million
* Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (Capcom) -- $1.8 million
* Family Game Night (EA Bright Light) -- $1.7 million
* Shadow Complex (Chair Entertainment) -- $1.2 million
* Magic: The Gathering (Stainless Games) -- $900,000
* Call of Duty Classic (Infinity Ward) -- $800,000
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http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3180640
 
SapientWolf said:
No, you can fly solo if you want.
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Cool, thanks. I was going to hold off on some games but I got a couple 1600 point cards and with the points leftover on my account I have enough to get exactly 3 1200 point games. I already have Limbo and i'm saving 1 spot for Scott Pilgrim but can get 2 more games. I was thinking Deathspank and Lara Croft or saving enough for Comic Jumper.
 
FADE's report forecasts total XBLA sales for 2010 at between $130 and $140 million. The full list of best-selling XBLA games follows:

* Toy Soldiers (Signal Studios) -- $4.6 million
* Trials HD (RedLynx) -- $4.4 million
* Castle Crashers (The Behemoth) -- $2.9 million
* Battlefield 1943 (EA DICE) -- $2.5 million
* Perfect Dark (4J Studios) -- $2.4 million
* Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (Capcom) -- $1.8 million
* Family Game Night (EA Bright Light) -- $1.7 million
* Shadow Complex (Chair Entertainment) -- $1.2 million
* Magic: The Gathering (Stainless Games) -- $900,000
* Call of Duty Classic (Infinity Ward) -- $800,000

=====

Well deserved for Toy Soldiers.

It's great to see the top of the sales list dominated by high quality games... someone send that chart to the Zeno Clash developers.
 
RadarScope1 said:
For as cool and as polished as Xeno Clash is, I think it was sorely under promoted. A title like that should be part of the SoR or Block Party, regardless of exclusivity. It's an independent title and it could have used much more promotion from MS. Certanly moreso than Castlevania: Abortion of Sprites. XC is on my to-buy list but I just have a huge backlog of both disc and digital games.
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Wasn't it Atlus published? They're not exactly known for promoting games to like anyone except people who subscribe to their newsletter.
 
Is CarneyVale: Showtime being released as an XBLA game?

Achievements (http://www.xbox360achievements.org/game/carneyvale-showtime/achievements/)

Ace Performer 20
Complete 5 objectives at one go in Levels 16, 17 & 18.

Superstar 20
Collect the Secret Star with special conditions in Levels 7, 8 & 9.

Elite Mission 20
Collect all specified collectables without losing a life in Levels 10, 11, 12.

Monkey Business 20
Complete Levels 13, 14 & 15 with minimal Monkeycopter use.

Flawless Run 20
Collect all Life-Ups without losing a life in Levels 4, 5 & 6.

Stage Hand 5
Design and save 1 level in the Map Editor.

Star Dreamer 10
Collect the Secret Star in 10 different levels.

Perfect Runner 20
Earn Perfect Run from 10 different levels.

Over The Top 5
Enter the Ring of Fire from the top.

Time Saver 20
Save 300 seconds worth of time.

Life Saver 20
Collect all Life-Ups in Adventure Mode.

Up The Tempo 20
Complete 5 objectives within 1 minute each in Levels 1, 2 & 3.
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Team Meat inverview:

Jason - "Being that Super Meat Boy and meat boy's goal was to be a difficult kind of game, I was wondering what your thoughts of the newly added Easy mode to Mega Man were."

Tommy - "That is fucking retarded..."

Edmund - "Thats is probably why the sales sucked."

Tommy - "At that point why don't you just go watch a youtube video of somebody playing through it because theres no point in playing the game anymore. Marketing people are fucking idiots, "oh, Mega Man... that game has been hard forever, but you know what players really want? Is not that."

James - "So that's totally making you guys put a super easy mode in Super Meat Boy?"

Tommy - "Yeah, the easy mode is just don't buy the game."

Edunmd - "You can still pay us though"

Tommy - "We should just have an easy mode that just goes back to arcade"

Edmund - "We should, I wonder if we could get away with that?"
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http://www.fistfullofpotions.com/2010/07/tuesday-interview-with-team-meat.html
 
I really don't like how FADE acts as if they have accurate reporting.

edit: nice that 1UP article included clash of heroes. yaytime! I too, however, feel very unhappy about the lack of Dust, which is so beautiful it made my eyes bleed gold.
 
Shard said:
"But I don't know that I'd put it as harshly as PC gamers are smart and console gamers are stupid," he amended in a possible attempt to foil a potential flame war.
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What an arsehole, kind of wish I didn't buy their game twice now. Awesome game though, hope they make a more fleshed-out sequel at some point
 
HadesGigas said:
Team Meat inverview:

Tommy - "Yeah, the easy mode is just don't buy the game."

Edunmd - "You can still pay us though"

Tommy - "We should just have an easy mode that just goes back to arcade"

Edmund - "We should, I wonder if we could get away with that?"
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That would be hilarious, I hope they do it.
 
RadarScope1 said:
For as cool and as polished as Xeno Clash is, I think it was sorely under promoted. A title like that should be part of the SoR or Block Party, regardless of exclusivity. It's an independent title and it could have used much more promotion from MS. Certanly moreso than Castlevania: Abortion of Sprites. XC is on my to-buy list but I just have a huge backlog of both disc and digital games.
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Blame Atlus, and blame them for the Trine fiasco while you're at it.
 
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