Official Xbox Live Arcade Thread

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Some new games rated by ESRB, likely all XBLA. Wonder what the golf game is?

EDIT: Oops, beaten on this by none other than Shard on the last page :s
 
So I've finally got my 10 arcade games from last year's deal - MS sure took their time, but I sure can't complain much. And since I already own Assault Heroes, E4 and Marble Blast, I was wondering if someone had a Space Giraffe and/or Pac-Man CE code floating around. I've been enjoying both demos, but not enough to warrant a definite purchase. Both have me way interested, but I'll gladly trade all three codes even for only one of the two. If someone around here want to trade codes, send me a PM.
 
Alright I've got two codes for Geometry Wars Evolved.

PM me and I'll give it to the first two people (remember: you must be from the US or else the code won't work)

Don't worry if you don't get one, I'll be buying more codes ranging from Uno, Worms, Geowars, Texas Hold'em and Ultimate MK, periodically.

EDIT: Codes gone already.
 
So what's on the way for XBLA? I've got 880 points and I got the Legendary Map Pack thanks to Domino and I'm wondering if I should hold onto my points, or buy something already available on XBLA. So what's on it's way for XBLA?
 
Vigilante 8 Arcade Artist Interview: Jared Nickerson

http://v8arcade.com/blog/artist-interview-jared-nickerson

Known for his hip and edgy character illustration and collages, Jared K. Nickerson’s work is a fan-favorite on DeviantArt.com and all over the internet. So, naturally, we were super jazzed when he agreed to collaborate with us on V8 last year, resulting in our slick user interface.

Jared a.k.a. *J3Concepts is not only responsible for the stylish renditions of our cars and characters, but will be also contributing a very rad theme pack to release with the game!

Now, for a few words from the Illustrator king himself…

Hi Jared. First, mind telling our readers a bit about yourself?

JARED: I was born and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I’m currently residing between Vancouver and Seattle — long story ;) I’ve been doing freelance design for a few years now but only started doing it full time earlier this year. Love it!

Have you done any video game work before, or is V8 your first game project?

JARED: V8 is in fact my first venture into video games. Hopefully not my last either, I enjoyed the process and I’ve learned a lot from it for sure. I’m now beginning work on some cool blades for a V8 theme pack!

What part of the V8 assignment did you enjoy the most?

JARED: It was all fun, but I’d say the characters. I was asked to rework the original V8 characters in my style, where they look fresh but at the same time familiar to the fans of the original games. So, I really enjoyed seeing them transform and progress into what they are now. I’m not especially good at making characters but ever since the V8 project, I’ve grown a lot in that area and developed some new techniques.

Do you game? Have any favorite titles?

JARED: The PC has always been my favorite platform, but I’ll be checking out V8 on the 360 for sure! My favorite games would have to be the Dynasty Warrior series, Soul Calibur series, and Timesplitters 2.

What else are you involved in currently?

JARED: I’m always involved in things, some small, some big. Right now I’m just getting a t-shirt printed with LaFraise.com and I just won a design contest for Matix Clothing over at Popdeck.com. I recently finished up some work for DJ Moussa Clarke and I’m currently working on having a series of vinyl toys made for a number of original characters I made.
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http://www.xbox360achievements.org/game/warlords/achievements/

Warlord Achievements

Knight 5
Reach wave 3 Evolved game - Normal difficulty

Baron 10
Reach level 2 Classic game - Normal difficulty

Viscount 10
Score 10000 team points 2-Player Classic game - Normal difficulty

Earl 10
Win a round 4-Player Classic game - Normal difficulty

Maniac 15
Reach level 2 Classic game - Throttle Monkey mode

Marquess 15
Reach wave 5 Local 2-Player Evolved Game - Normal difficulty

Duke 10
Have 4 balls of your colour in play Evolved game - Normal difficulty

Prince 20
Win a wave without exposing your king Evolved game - Xbox LIVE ranked match

Elector 20
Defeat all 3 opponents Evolved game - Ranked Multiplayer match

Archduke 25
Score 50000 points Classic game - Normal difficulty

King 30
Score 500000 points Evolved game - Normal difficulty

Emperor 30
Win a wave without losing any of your wall Evolved game - Normal difficulty
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Anyone got any questions they'd like to ask Certain Affinity (Plunder) or a Backbone Entertainment (1942: Joint Strike, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3), as it is likely I might have a chance to throw a few questions to someone at each company in a few days time.
 
http://www.360sync.com/2008/04/19/marathon-dlc-in-depth-preview-part-1

We have a treat for all you Xbox Live Arcade fans. We previously announced that Marathon was going to be getting some extra DLC to the marketplace. Well, in a special new feature we are bringing, we are going to be taking an exclusive preview into the new content.

So today we will be showing the map Duality, which will be part of the new DLC. Duality shares its name with the Halo 2 version…

Some extra information from Freeverse - "Duality has changed slightly from Marathon Infinity to the Xbox version. A wall was added to prevent a line of sight issue. Duality was the name of the game Double Aught, a game company made up of Bungie employees. It was never finished."
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JARED: V8 is in fact my first venture into video games. Hopefully not my last either, I enjoyed the process and I’ve learned a lot from it for sure. I’m now beginning work on some cool blades for a V8 theme pack!
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Hmm...could he be designing new blades, and not just slapping on different wallpapers for each blade? The latter is more likely, but I can dream, can't I?
 
Archie said:
Oh man. I just broke my high score in Pacman C.E. 334,220. I know it's not the best score but I'm really proud of myself! :p I love this game so much.
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Dude, me too. I FINALLY broke 300k yesterday after previous highs of 294k and 297k. Now I'm at 314k which puts me in the top 1,300 on the leaderboards. I'll echo the love for CE. I've played it nearly every day for six months.

I can't help but feel that I've come to a bit of a plateau, and that to get that extra bit I really need a much more responsive control input -- a real d-pad.
 
Keyser Soze said:
Anyone got any questions they'd like to ask Certain Affinity (Plunder) or a Backbone Entertainment (1942: Joint Strike, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3), as it is likely I might have a chance to throw a few questions to someone at each company in a few days time.
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Regarding Commando 3:

- It's been 18 years since MERCS - the graphical style of Commando 3 is vastly different to that of the original games - which both had a very 80's style about them. What process did you go to to get the final design?

- "Super Joe" was the hero of the original Commando game - are there any references to him and the Bionic Commando franchise in this game?

- What was the idea behind adding the SFIIHD Beta to the Commando 3 game? Was there a worry that the game would not sell as well without it?

- Will the original Arcade titles (or at least, the Megadrive MERCS) possibly be unlockable in the game?

- Do Capcom intend to add any Downloadable Content to Commando 3 or 1942 in terms of new weaponry or levels down the line, or an original mode ala MERCS on the Megadrive?
 
Rlan said:
Regarding Commando 3:

- It's been 18 years since MERCS - the graphical style of Commando 3 is vastly different to that of the original games - which both had a very 80's style about them. What process did you go to to get the final design?

- "Super Joe" was the hero of the original Commando game - are there any references to him and the Bionic Commando franchise in this game?

- What was the idea behind adding the SFIIHD Beta to the Commando 3 game? Was there a worry that the game would not sell as well without it?

- Will the original Arcade titles (or at least, the Megadrive MERCS) possibly be unlockable in the game?

- Do Capcom intend to add any Downloadable Content to Commando 3 or 1942 in terms of new weaponry or levels down the line, or an original mode ala MERCS on the Megadrive?
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How about...

Will the online be lag free and FULLY tested before everyone is screaming for a refund the day after release?
 
Keyser Soze said:
Anyone got any questions they'd like to ask Certain Affinity (Plunder) or a Backbone Entertainment (1942: Joint Strike, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3), as it is likely I might have a chance to throw a few questions to someone at each company in a few days time.
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How about when the hell will I be playing HD Remix? I'm excited for it but man, the wait is unbearable.
 
Monday, April 21, 2008 9:00 AM by Gamerscore News
The Award Winning Card Game “Lost Cities” Journeys To Xbox LIVE Arcade This Wednesday!

The award winning card game “Lost Cities” comes to life on Xbox LIVE Arcade this Wednesday, April 23, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. GMT (1:00 a.m. PDT).

True to the original adventurous card game, “Lost Cities” transports players to exotic destinations where riveting adventures await. Before players embark on their trips they must choose how much to invest in the expedition in hopes of increasing their investment. Players then play their cards with the goal of amassing the most points and making prosperous expeditions through the various lost cities: the Himalayas, the Brazilian rain forest, the ever-shifting desert sands, ancient volcanoes and the mystifying depths of the oceans. Don't journey alone, invite up to three friends to join in the journeys over Xbox LIVE!

Developed by Sierra Online, "Lost Cities" will be available worldwide (with the exception of Japan and Korea) for 800 Microsoft Points and is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB. For more details on "Lost Cities" please visit:

* http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/livearcadexbox360
 
Christ, at this rate Sierra won't even release Assault Heroes 2 in Japan and Korea (Assault Heroes came out without any issue though). Bastards.
 
Keyser Soze said:
Anyone got any questions they'd like to ask Certain Affinity (Plunder) or a Backbone Entertainment (1942: Joint Strike, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3), as it is likely I might have a chance to throw a few questions to someone at each company in a few days time.
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Ask them if they're going to add better colors in 1942: Joint Strike. The original looked so colorful, while the 'remake' doesn't.
 
Awesome. I've been wanting to try Audiosurf for ages but I couldn't be bothered installing Steam on my laptop just for one game, and all my music is on a mac. Problem solved. I wonder how it'll handle leaderboards.
 
Has anyone bought Lost Cities yet? I had a quick go of the demo this morning, and it seemed okay, but I couldn't see why it's a two-player game. It looks like it's about as strategic as UNO. I'd rather just play dice.

Am I missing something?
 
ttp://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=18348

Q&A: Capcom's Kujawa On Revisiting Classics, Bullet Hell

Q&A: Capcom's Kujawa On Revisiting Classics, Bullet Hell Being the lead designer on Midway Chicago's recent Blitz: The League gave Kraig Kujawa some perspective on rebooting a fondly-remembered property.

That experience has carried over to his current role as Capcom's design director for the United States and the UK, where he is overseeing a number of projects that should be familiar to nostalgic gamers.

Kujawa sat down with Gamasutra to discuss Capcom's current third-party development structure, the challenges in revisiting franchises such as Commando and 1942 via PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade, and how the company is trying to straddle the line between accessible shooter and brutal bullet hell.

Keeping Communication Strong at the (Third) Party

Kraig Kujawa: I’m the director of design for the U.S. and UK Capcom CEI. Technically I’m watching over the design and direction of all of our titles. I am heavily involved with [Wolf Of The Battlefield: Commando 3 and 1942: Joint Strike XBLA/PSN updates] right now, working with developer Backbone to just get the direction.

What we have here is an interesting development model. What we have is an internal team who came from development. We have a direction of production (that’s Adam Boyes), a director of design (that’s me), we’re getting a director of art, and what we do is we work with design teams to drive the directions of the Capcom U.S. and UK projects.

Every development team has a lot of strengths, and they have weaknesses, so what we try to do is we try to supplement any weaknesses they might have, and then let them concentrate more on their strengths. That’s kind of our development model.

I’m pretty involved with Commando and 1942 right now. I’m also involved with Dark Void that was announced back in October, and, to a lesser extent, on [piratical strategy title] Plunder, because you’ve got Certain Affinity, with ex-Bungie guys, so they’re going to make a kick-ass product. You almost just stand and watch them work their magic. That’s my involvement on our projects right now.

I actually heard from Christian Svensson about the developer summit you had just before GDC, where you had all the developers in here and played some of the games. It sounds like you’re trying to approach this differently than other publishers with external studios – what is the different mindset, would you say?

KK: Yes, actually that happened in this very room. We feel like, we came from first-party development, everybody in our team has been in development, so we know what it’s like. We also know the advantages of being able to talk to one another in different teams in order to share tech and solve certain problems, so what we wanted to do is different from most third-party development.

We wanted to treat our developers as partners. We want to do multiple games with them. We want them to talk to one another. We want them to show each other what they’re working on. Conceptually, if one developer’s having problems with this, they can talk to other developers and work out problems.

You can imagine what kind of breadth of developers – we have Backbone, we have ex-Bungie guys, we have another really, really good team that we can’t talk about, and we have some guys in Sweden, some guys in Scotland. Really talented development partners, where they can actually talk to one another and try to overcome challenges.

Most of the time in third-party development? Nobody in third-parties talks to one another. They’re out on their own island, and if they have problems they’re kind of just stuck there and they have to work through it. Here at Capcom what we want to do is act as the cohesive glue to keep these guys talking to one another and almost create a third-party family. So far we have a lot of examples where that’s worked really well.

Do you have any examples that you can mention?

KK: We have A.C.R.O.N.Y.M. that developed Rocketman: Axis of Evil for us, they have a lot of PS3 tech, and they also have a lot of experience with the PS3 headset support.

Certain Affinity, of course, have a lot of 360 experience, so when we put together the Plunder deal, what we ended up doing was have A.C.R.O.N.Y.M put together the PS3 SKU, and also do the PS3 headset support, so they’re sort of working together to do these multi-SKUs, and I really don’t think that’s done very often.
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Meh, when are good games coming out instead of all this crap ? Im sitting on 1600points, and im having a urge to spend them :D
 
IGN Hands-On Preview of Bionic Commando Rearmed's multi-player modes

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/869/869096p1.html

April 24, 2008 - Bionic Commando is getting a fresh coat of 2.5D paint for its rebirth as Bionic Commando Rearmed. But a new look is just the beginning for the PSN and Xbox Live Arcade download exclusive. Capcom has already shared details on the game's cooperative story mode where two players work together to get through the game. The latest revelation is that you'll get to turn the bionic arm on your friends in a competitive battle mode as well!

To get the full scoop, we bulleted down to Capcom's Osaka headquarters over the weekend. It's here, in a secure 14 story building filled with Mets of various sizes, that producer Ben Judd is coordinating work on the new Bionic Commando franchise across three continents. We ended up getting some hands-on time with the combat mode as well as a glimpse at some of the later areas of the single player mode.

The new combat mode can be thought of as four-player combat from a 2D perspective. The camera stays fixed, zoomed out to show the stage from afar as players blast away at opponents, pick up power-ups, and use their bionic arm to swing between platforms and avoid falling into pits. You can select to make this a battle royal, or you can form teams, even having three team up against one.

We weren't able to get an exact stage count, but the stages that we sampled were varied, with different platform layouts, different types of pit hazards, and different positioning on barrels. As for characters, although the demo we played had four selectable characters, the final version will start you off with only main character Nathan Spencer. You'll have to unlock other characters by playing through the story mode.

Just as it does for the single player mode, that unique bionic arm makes things really interesting in the combat mode. In an intense, close-range combat environment, having to grapple around can be a bit tricky at first, but for those who need some support, the game lets you set handicaps which change the amount of damage required for death.

Outside of your standard gun shot and grenade, you can also make a defensive weapon of sorts out of your bionic arm, blocking incoming attacks with a well-timed extension You also have access to power-ups which glide in from the sky on balloons. Examples include shields, lasers and a rocket launcher with controllable rockets.

The game lets you chose between picking up power-ups the easy way or the bionic way. That is, you can go into the menu and set it so that your character automatically picks up an item when you run into it, or picks it up only when you grab it with your Bionic arm. In our limited play time, we found ourselves preferring the the auto route, although with the ability to switch weapons via the shoulder button, it seems that more experienced players may want to go the manual way.

Having the grappling hook would be reason enough for combat veterans to try out this new mode, but there's one more cool twist to the mode. In addition to Death Match and Last Man Standing play styles, the game includes a "Don't Touch the Floor" option. Here, the weapons don't actually do any damage. Instead, they push opponents away, the goal being to push them over ledges and into bottomless pits or pits filled with spikes or quick sand. This usually means death (usually, as you can sometimes grapple out at the last minute for a lucky save).

Regardless of the way you play it, competitive multiplayer in Bionic Commando has one important thing going for it: even when you die, you're having fun. Depending on your settings, you can make it so that death results in an instant respawning somewhere else on the battle field, so even if you totally suck, you can keep on playing.
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Bonus: fresh new Bionic Commando Rearmed Screens

http://media.ps3.ign.com/media/142/14228707/imgs_1.html
 
Bionic Commando Q & A

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/869/869109p1.html

Q: Any chance of Home support?

Judd: Sony is always talking about that to all the publishers and developers, but they're not 100% set in stone yet. I think, internally, they want to get everyone on board, but until it's 100% set in stone, it's tough to say, "do it." It's like saying everyone should recycle, but the recycling process is not complete.



Q: How about afterward, will you just port over the achievements from the 360?

Judd: Yes. [In the PS3 version], we have things, similar to Achievements, that unlock. We call them medals. You can get the same things that you can on the 360. They're just not online or counted as part of a score. So when they start attaching things to a trophy, or an item in home, we'll just take the save data, reverse program it, and everyone will have the right stuff.

Q: Is that something that's planned, or are you saying that it's something that's just possible?

Judd: It's not possible yet, but as soon as Sony gives us the tools, we'll be able to do it.

The best thing about working with GRIN is that they're extremely advanced technologically, and they're able to do a lot of stuff with programming. They have some very, very smart programmers. So that's why we're able to do stuff like this. Rearmed is linked in with the next generation packaged title. That's something I've never seen before. There are special codes that you can input to open up stages. Remember the old days where you'd put in Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right? There's something like that in the game as well. We're going to probably be tying in a promotional movie for the next gen version that you can only see if you buy this. So there's going to be a lot of stuff that's new for digital distributed content.



Q: On the decision to sell Rearmed for $10.

Judd: This is something that we broke on our community site.

Ultimately, as the game was coming together, and we were showing more of the modes, and it looked like such a beautiful game, internally, I was being told that it should be fifteen dollars, not ten. I always felt the reason we made this game was so that people who never played the original could get a chance to play it. There are a lot of games on Xbox Live and PSN that are ten dollars. So the second that you put it at fifteen, people who don't know the title, who aren't familiar with it, people who like 3D games and don't know 2D games, are going to be less likely to pick it up. Even if it looks beautiful, some of that stuff just doesn't convey through screenshots or videos or what not.

So, I decided to open it up as a question in the polls on our website, and most of the people chose ten dollars. I understand that. People will want to buy something cheaper than something more expensive if they have the opportunity. But I tried to word it to say, "Guys, 2D is dying. There are some 2D games out there. Not nerely what there used to be though. And now that we have Xbox Live Arcade and PSN, this is an option to bring 2D games back. But until now, we've only seen meta emulated garbage, which takes the same game, slightly updates the graphics, and leaves it as is. They don't reprogram it, they don't add new modes, they don't polish the story or anything like that. So, this is our chance to offer people a better product and bring 2D back, but it was very expensive to make this title, so unless it makes profit, we're not going to be able to do antying like this, and we're going to have to go the same meta emulated route like everyone else because that's the only way to make money when you're only selling it for ten dollars."
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alisdair said:
Has anyone bought Lost Cities yet? I had a quick go of the demo this morning, and it seemed okay, but I couldn't see why it's a two-player game. It looks like it's about as strategic as UNO. I'd rather just play dice.

Am I missing something?
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Lost Cities could have spend some more time in the oven with respect to presentation and GUI, but other than that, it's a really fun, easy to learn card game that can be played in ~10 min sessions. It's a lot more strategic than Uno, you basically gamble with laying down investment cards (multipliers) and then rack up points by placing color cards in ascending order. Initially, you're in the negative points per each color investment, but if you play your cards right (see what I did there) you can turn a positive point value.

I had a few 2v2 games last night where communication with your teammate was vital since you can't see each other's cards. Trouble is that the competition can hear what you say as well. Then I got paired with a dude with no mic :(

Bottom line: It's fun. Buy it.
 
Stantron said:
Lost Cities could have spend some more time in the oven with respect to presentation and GUI, but other than that, it's a really fun, easy to learn card game that can be played in ~10 min sessions. It's a lot more strategic than Uno, you basically gamble with laying down investment cards (multipliers) and then rack up points by placing color cards in ascending order. Initially, you're in the negative points per each color investment, but if you play your cards right (see what I did there) you can turn a positive point value.

I had a few 2v2 games last night where communication with your teammate was vital since you can't see each other's cards. Trouble is that the competition can hear what you say as well. Then I got paired with a dude with no mic :(

Bottom line: It's fun. Buy it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's a great card game. I played about an hour and a half last night in single player to learn the ropes. It really should have been priced at $5 to attract more attention, however.
 
Bionic Commando Rearmed 'Multiplayer' trailer - http://www.gamevideos.com/video/id/18564

Bionic Commando Rearmed 'Team Deathmatch' - http://www.gamevideos.com/video/id/18565

Bionic Commando Rearmed 'Grenade' gameplay - http://www.gamevideos.com/video/id/18572

Bionic Commando Rearmed 'Machine Gun' gameplay - http://www.gamevideos.com/video/id/18571

Bionic Commando Rearmed 'Rocket Battle' gameplay - http://www.gamevideos.com/video/id/18567

Bionic Commando Rearmed 'Free-for-all' gameplay - http://www.gamevideos.com/video/id/18566
 
FlyinJ said:
Yeah, it's a great card game. I played about an hour and a half last night in single player to learn the ropes. It really should have been priced at $5 to attract more attention, however.
Click to expand...

Exactly, i just played the demo, and it was pretty decent, but 800ms points ? No thanks.
 
Bionic Commando: Rearmed looks REALLY promising.

They kept it 2D. Main campaign seems to be in 3 different gameplay styles (the primary platformer gameplay, Commando-style gameplay, and some kind of hacking minigame). Added coop. Added a challenge mode. Added versus multiplayer. Actually added proper changes between difficulty levels besides the typical "Enemies deal more damage."

Unless a major part of the game ends up broken, this will be a mustbuy.

I would love to see similar indepth remakes for other games. Metal Slug... Flashback... so much potential for awesomeness.
 
http://www.xblah.net/2008/04/vigilate-8-arcade-update-meteor-crater.html

V8Arcade.com has updated with a new levels shown - Meteor Crater!

Meteor Crater is a level in the Vigilate 8 sequel Second Offense, however they've tweaked things up a bit, bringing in bits and pieces from not just that level, but from Ghost Town and Canyonlands from the original game.

We’ve got canyons, dust devils, tunnel teleports, meteor showers… No giant space ant this time, but there’s still something way cool inside that giant rock!

Along with the new images is an interview with Jared Nickerson, creator of the character and car portraits.
Click to expand...

Meteor Crater Level images

http://v8arcade.com/media/screenshots-meteor-crater

Artist Interview

http://v8arcade.com/blog/artist-interview-jared-nickerson
 
Round 2 of codes:

I've got one code for UNO and one for Geowars Evolved. Remember, you need to be from the US to receive a code (code's only valid in the US). First person who PMs me for one code (same with other) will get it.

EDIT: Geowars gone, UNO left.

EDIT2: Uno gone.
 
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