Official Xbox Live Arcade Thread

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Joy.stiq E3 Hands-on: Castle Crashers

Thanks to the dedicated blogging of the folks at Behemoth, we pretty much knew everything there was to know about Castle Crashers coming into E3 -- it's the followup to Alien Hominid, a game that started out on Newgrounds, and ended up on the XBLA. It's got tons of playable characters, lots of "animal orbs" you can recruit to fight with you, and a great art style and a sly sense of humor. In fact, the only thing we didn't know about it was probably the most important thing: how it actually played.

After playing it with Microsoft Director of Digitally Distributed Content Scott Austin here at E3, we can safely say it's going to be one of the biggest XBLA titles of this year (it's due out before September 21st). Castle Crashers is crazy good button mashing fun, and we can't wait to lay down our hard-earned Microsoft Points for it.

The game is basically a beat-em-up in the spirit of Streets of Rage, or any number of licensed games of yesteryear. You always move right (a flashing pointer shows you the way to go when it's open), mash buttons to crush enemies when they fall across your path, and then the whole thing is punctuated with the occasional wacky encounters and boss battles.

But Castle Crashers is so much more -- as you take out enemies, you earn experience points, and the more points you get, the more moves and abilities open up. And combat gets complicated, too -- you start with just a hack and slash, and then open up a power hack, and then a spinning attack, and then a sprint attack, and oh yeah, there's a mana bar for each character, and spells to cast (for each of many strange character types in the game) that can also be unlocked, and so on. And that's all just within level 3. Oh, and did we mention the totally cute pets that give you various abilities and statuses? The complexity in the game is mindboggling, and the action is frenetic, but it never forgets that at its heart, it's still just a fun beat-em-up. It's like playing the frontend of the TMNT arcade game with the backend of Final Fantasy Tactics.

And both the art and humor in the game is divine as well -- during the stage we played, there was a huge battle going on behind the foreground, and in the areas we walked through there were soldiers playing dead, enemy creatures doing unspeakable things to soldiers that really were dead, and NPC soldiers trying to do CPR on dead soldiers (that's how you can bring fallen players back to life as well). And at the end of the stage, we were threatened by a big, angry viking boss, only to have another, much larger, viking boss knock a door open flat to crush the first one -- turns out we were fighting the bigger guy.

Behemoth has refined their cartoony style since Alien Hominid -- that game suffered from its Flash roots, but Castle Crashers doesn't suffer from that problem -- it's gorgeous in HD, and every character, background, and boss that we saw oozed with style and color.

And when we did finally beat the boss (it turned out to be a viking battering ram, and we had to hack away at the little enemies populating the inside until they could take no more), we saved a beautiful princess, and discovered that she only wanted one suitor. So after vanquishing all the enemies around us, we then turned on each other to finish off the stage.

Castle Crashers is great fun, looks terrific, and just might end up being the best original XBLA game ever. We'll know for sure when we actually get a chance to play through it -- the pre-October release can't come soon enough.
Click to expand...
 
I just want to see a little bit more ffort put into these original XBLA releases. i want more depth and I'm willing to pay more for that. Puzzle Quest had it right (even if it is technically a port-a-whore-us-rex).
 
For the Stick of Joy

During our guided demo of Microsoft's upcoming stable of XBLA games, Microsoft's Scott Austin informed us that all the games on display would be available in the next four to six weeks on Xbox Live Arcade. All of 'em. If you've been reading the impressions on *******, you'll know that this a reason to be excited. For the record, the XBLA games being shown by Microsoft are:

* Bionic Commando Rearmed
* Castle Crashers
* Galaga Legions
* Braid
* Geometry Wars 2

We expected Microsoft to show off some cool XBLA games at E3, but we weren't expecting four to six weeks of win.
Click to expand...
 
Shard said:
For the Stick of Joy
Click to expand...
Shard, does this seem to go with what you heard? You seemed to allude to knowing the release date of Castle Crashers a couple pages back?

Do we know what next week is, because if we get one of these games next week, I'd be super excited!
 
finally got to play double d dodgeball. actually a pretty decent game,. At $10 tho, it's a joke. This is a sure sign we'll prob never see a 400 point game again.

A damn shame, cause i prob wouldve bought it for $5. But there's not enough there to justify a $10 purchase.
 
snack said:
Shard, does this seem to go with what you heard? You seemed to allude to knowing the release date of Castle Crashers a couple pages back?

Do we know what next week is, because if we get one of these games next week, I'd be super excited!
Click to expand...


I don't know the exact release date of Castle Crashers, but this is pretty consistent with what I have been hearing, Castle Crashers, Braid, Galaga Legions, and Geo Wars 2 are the Microsoft big 4 for the onset of a new XBLA Golden Age. The variation comes from the fifth title. To wit here is a news article from a could of days ago.

http://www.xblarcade.com/node/2012

XBLA Summer: "Our Best Content Lineup Ever"
Wed, 2008-07-16 03:21 — LunarDuality

calendarquestionJonesing to play Lode Runner, Castle Crashers, Galaga Legions, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2, or Braid? Have I got some great news for you. The wait will soon be over.

One of Microsoft's many XBLA evangelists was live on E3 Live on Gamespot (thanks to being on the road with glitchy internet, I missed his name) talking up the "best content lineup" on XBLA ever and told the world that all these games would be out "by the end of the summer." And more specifically he said, "in the next two months."

If all goes as planned I'll likely be at least 4000 MSP poorer in two months time (though no price points have been announced).

After the break I'll hit on a couple of points that were covered about each of those games.

Lode Runner

* Same basic gameplay and the speed of the game seems very faithful to the original which I played like crazy on my Apple ][+.
* Smooth pseudo-3D look (a la Cloning Clyde).
* Now, when you finish a level you open up a pathway that transitions you directly to the next level with no load time or delay. This could lead to some seriously long uninterrupted gameplay sessions at my house.
* The game will feature all new levels.

Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2

* 4-player coop and competitive gameplay confirmed. Both Live and Local are confirmed. Whether you can mix the two wasn't discussed.
* 6 modes for multiplayer including "Deadline" (not demoed) and "King" which forces you and your buddies to hop into protective circles that disappear within a few seconds forcing you to move to a new protected spot. There are no bombs in the "King" mode but there are various powerups.
* There is also a "Pacifist" mode that will challenge you to go through gates without shooting enemies. Passing the gates will destroy the oncoming enemies.

Braid

* 5 worlds and approximately 4-5 levels per world.
* Time manipulation is different in each world and level. Thus, many puzzles are about discovering the "trick" to each level before being able to solve the individual puzzles.
* Unlimited rewind to the beginning of each level. Just hold "X".

Castle Crashers

* 4-player coop Local and Live.
* You can use CPR on your dying buddies in the game to revive them which allows unskilled players to hang with their skilled friends throughout the game. Anger directed at the "weakest link" no longer necessary.
* Overall, looks to be everything that you love about The Behemoth games and expected from the previews so far.

Galaga Legions

* Comes from the same team that reimagined Pac-Man for Pac-Man Championship Edition.
* New gameplay mechanics include enemy path preview and "satellite guns".
* Before enemies appear on the screen you will see the path that they will travel. They can appear from any direction and move it very complicated paths reminiscent of bullet-hell shmups.
* At any point you can deploy your two "satellite guns" to support your efforts against the massive alien hoards by using the right stick.
* Single-player only.
* The ship can be set to auto-fire allowing you to use the left stick to move and shoot (only up) and the right stick to deploy your "satellite guns". Manual firing mode is an option.

Overall, the games all look highly polished and ready for primetime. Commence the countdown.
Click to expand...

The big variable seems to be member number five, here we have Lode Runner, Stick of Joy is now reporting Bionic Commando rearmed, and hell these is another big title not mentioned by anybody waiting in the wings, Vigilante 8 Arcade. The point here is Castle Crashers, Braid, Galaga Legions and Geo Wars 2 are all slated to come out within 4 to 6 weeks.
 
Shard said:
I don't know the exact release date of Castle Crashers, but this is pretty consistent with what I have been hearing, Castle Crashers, Braid, Galaga Legions, and Geo Wars 2 are the Microsoft big 4 for the onset of a new XBLA Golden Age. The variation comes from the fifth title. To wit here is a news article from a could of days ago.

http://www.xblarcade.com/node/2012



The big variable seems to be member number five, here we have Lode Runner, Stick of Joy is now reporting Bionic Commando rearmed, and hell these is another big title not mentioned by anybody waiting in the wings, Vigilante 8 Arcade. The point here is Castle Crashers, Braid, Galaga Legions and Geo Wars 2 are all slated to come out within 4 to 6 weeks.
Click to expand...
Could one of these potentially hit as early as next week, or is next week's game(s) all ready known?
 
And Go Go, and Banjo Kazooie, and Age Of Booty, and Pirates Vs. Ninjas Dodgeball, and assumedly Mega Man 9 (It's September for Japan WiiWare), and Rocket Riot, and Shred Nebula, and Super Street Fighter II HD, and FUCK!
 
snack said:
Could one of these potentially hit as early as next week, or is next week's game(s) all ready known?
Click to expand...

1942 is coming out next week, but that doesn't rule out a second game. I expect Braid or Castle Crashers to drop alongside or the week after to kick everything off, unless they're using Geometry Wars 2 to serve that purpose.
 
Eric WK said:
1942 is coming out next week, but that doesn't rule out a second game. I expect Braid or Castle Crashers to drop alongside or the week after to kick everything off, unless they're using Geometry Wars 2 to serve that purpose.
Click to expand...

Geo Wars 2 is currently slated for August 6, also Galaga Legions is slated for August.
 
Any news as to the release date of Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball? It was supposed to come out in July, I thought. (Though, it was also supposed to come out in January, February, March, and April as well...)
 
Shard said:
Geo Wars 2 is currently slated for August 6, also Galaga Legions is slated for August.
Click to expand...

That's what I meant. Kicking it off August 6th instead of the 23rd or 30th.

I guess I wasn't particularly clear, however.
 
New Achivement Lists

Braid

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/game/braid/achievements/

Traversed World 2
10
Travel all the way across World 2.

Traversed World 3
10
Travel all the way across World 3.

Traversed World 4
10
Travel all the way across World 4.

Traversed World 5
10
Travel all the way across World 5.

Traversed World 6
10
Travel all the way across World 6.

Solved World 2
15
Fit together all the world 2 puzzle pieces and align the puzzle in its frame.

Solved World 3
15
Fit together all the world 3 puzzle pieces and align the puzzle in its frame.

Solved World 4
15
Fit together all the world 4 puzzle pieces and align the puzzle in its frame.

Solved World 5
15
Fit together all the world 5 puzzle pieces and align the puzzle in its frame.

Solved World 6
15
Fit together all the world 6 puzzle pieces and align the puzzle in its frame.

Closure
60
Complete the game.

Speed Run
15
Complete a full speed run of the entire game, beating the challenge time.
Click to expand...

Shred Nebula

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/game/shred-nebula/achievements/

Galactic Pilot
5
Beat Levels 1 and 2 in Arcade Adventure Mode.

Crystal Power
10
Collect 500 Crystals in Arcade Adventure Mode.

Secret Explorer
15
Beat 3 secret levels in Arcade Adventure Mode.

Marauder Destroyer
15
In Split Screen Score Attack Mode, cooperatively destroy 100 Marauders total.

Data Preservationist
20
In Arcade Adventure Mode, collect 7 or more Data-Cores dropped by special enemies.

Raider
15
In Arcade Adventure Mode, destroy all Factories found in the Toxic Sector.

Cosmic Scourge
25
Awarded for your 1,000th frag in ranked Death Match!

Sonic Speed
20
Beat Arcade Adventure, starting from Training, in 1 hour and 20 minutes or less.

Galaxy Crusher
25
Crush Arcade Adventure mode with 100% Crystals bonus on all levels including all Secret levels!

Score the Core
25
Collect all crystals in Single Player Score Attack to reach the secret ending level!

Destroyer of All
15
In Arcade Adventure Mode, get the 100% Destructible clear bonus on 4 levels.

Maximum Overdrive
10
Achieve Maximum Overdrive in Arcade Adventure or Single Player Score Attack modes.
Click to expand...

Samurai Showdown 2

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/game/samurai-showdown-2/achievements/

1 Round Perfect
5
Complete a perfect round in single player arcade mode.

The Samurai
15
Complete the single player arcade mode.

The Perfect Samurai
30
Complete the single player arcade mode without losing a round.

Man in Black
10
Kuroko appeared in game as enemy (CPU).

Point Hunter
10
Achieve over 200,000 points in single player arcade mode.

Straight 5
20
Achieve 5 straight victories in online ranked matches.

Straight 10
35
Achieve 10 straight victories in online ranked matches.

Victory 10
10
Achieve 10 victories in online ranked matches.

Victory 50
20
Achieve 50 victories in online ranked matches.

Victory 100
35
Achieve 100 victories in online ranked matches.

Big Apple
5
Ukyo Tachibana throw big apple.

Am I Cute
5
In any characters, input command 'Super Deformation Moves' to become doll-like version.
Click to expand...
 
Even with the impending awesomeness, and stuff like RBI baseball.

Samurai Showdown 2 is still my most wanted game :) Hope it comes out soon.
 
Shard said:
Actually, they said no online play, local co-op only, last I heard anyway.
Click to expand...
I thought I heard that but this was linked a few posts up:
http://www.xblarcade.com/node/2012

Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2
4-player coop and competitive gameplay confirmed. Both Live and Local are confirmed. Whether you can mix the two wasn't discussed.
6 modes for multiplayer including "Deadline" (not demoed) and "King" which forces you and your buddies to hop into protective circles that disappear within a few seconds forcing you to move to a new protected spot. There are no bombs in the "King" mode but there are various powerups.
There is also a "Pacifist" mode that will challenge you to go through gates without shooting enemies. Passing the gates will destroy the oncoming enemies.
Click to expand...
 
Considering all the seemingly awesome looking XBLA stuff on the horizon I can't help but wonder why MS had such a shitty montage set up for XBLA at the conference. GeoWars 2, Galaga Legions, and Portal Live were all worthwhile great announcements, but I definitely would have replaced their other choices with the following games:

Vigilante 8 Arcade
Castle Crashers
Braid
The Dishwasher

That's just the exclusive stuff.
 
Shard said:
You think that is bad, 1942: Joint Strike is coming out next week (Thread coming this Friday)
and Capcom really, really seems to be disinterested in the game.
Click to expand...

What gives you that impression, Shard?
 
JPBrowncoat said:
I thought I heard that but this was linked a few posts up:
http://www.xblarcade.com/node/2012
Click to expand...
Bizarre said they wouldn't be doing online multiplayer for latency reasons:
The multiplayer isn't online simply because of the latency. In GWRE2 there are literally hundreds of things moving at the same time (thus being squished down the internet pipe). Take your typical FPS, which might have 20 objects at most flying around your character at a time (I'm guessing)... contrast that with the hundreds of GWRE enemies alone (in addition to other players, bullets, Geoms, powerups, etc.). Then consider that it's much more vital for a game like GWRE to be pixel-accurate for it's gameplay to work... unfortunately online this just doesn't add up. :(
Click to expand...

http://www.bizarrecreations.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=16650&start=0
 
CapKraig said:
What gives you that impression, Shard?
Click to expand...


Lack of promotion, at this here E3, it has sorta been shoved into the background, fuck even Age of Booty and Flock were higher on the list.
 
Shard said:
Lack of promotion, at this here E3, it has sorta been shoved into the background, fuck even Age of Booty and Flock were higher on the list.
Click to expand...
I've heard a few things about 1942... none of them were good. I'll wait and see but I really hope that they go back to two games per week.
 
Right, given the recent deluge of Splash Page activity on Xbox.com, it has become trickier to figure out what exactly is coming out on any given week at the moment, so I have had to resort to an extra layer of cross referencing (Xbox.com XBLA Forum slots) and my best guess for a second game for next week would have to be Go, Go, Break Steady, not enterily sure, but it recently got a fully featured Xbox.com splash page and it got a forum slot this week, none of the new entries save 1942: Joint Strike and Geo Wars 2 meet that criteria and we know the release dates on those.
 
Mind-blowing :

The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom

video

2656716576_5188b78342.jpg



I let someone else create a thread for this game, I think it deserves it. I have to go.
 
Yea, I made a thread about it the other day, not actually an XBLA game right now, just a quirky indie game looking for a home.
 
Having now played both Crosswords and Dodgeball I am pretty happy that MS decided to dump them on the week that I got Who RB DLC, because one is grossly overpriced (DDD) and one is just shockingly inept (Crosswords). I really can't figure out how someone could make the crosswords game with that control scheme. Yeah, I understand KB restrictions, but still, let me use radial motion for letters.
 
Just want to chime in about the Crossword game.

Utterly awful. The control scheme is terrible and the clues are extremely boring. How they could mess up a crossword game so badly, I've no idea.
 
FFChris said:
Just want to chime in about the Crossword game.

Utterly awful. The control scheme is terrible and the clues are extremely boring. How they could mess up a crossword game so badly, I've no idea.
Click to expand...
It's almost like they're daring MS to delist them.
 
Shard said:
Well, 1200 Points, but less all the same. anyway now for some PR:

NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc., announced today that Namco Museum™: Virtual Arcade (*working title) will be available this fall for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. More than 30 classic Namco hits and new retro revivals come together for the ultimate arcade collection.

“Namco Museum: Virtual Arcade offers more than 25 years of classic Namco arcade hits in one convenient package,” said Todd Thorson, Director of Marketing and Public Relations at NAMCO BANDAI Games America. “Gamers of all generations will enjoy the addicting quality of these timeless arcade games and exciting new updates.”

Namco Museum: Virtual Arcade features hit games from NAMCO BANDAI Games’ Xbox LIVE® Arcade for Xbox 360 library including Ms. Pac-Man®, Galaga®, Dig Dug®, Pac-Man® Championship Edition™ and Mr. Driller® Online. Each Xbox LIVE enabled game features unique online leaderboards and artwork mimicking their original arcade cabinets. Post your high score online to see where you rank against the rest of the world. In addition to the Xbox LIVE Arcade titles, Namco Museum: Virtual Arcade features over 20 additional favorites. Play through newly arranged versions of Dig Dug, Pac-Man and Galaga never before seen on a home console, as well as arcade perfect renditions of Motos®, Pole Position®, Rolling Thunder®, and Galaga® ‘88, just to name a few.

More information about Pac-Man Championship Edition and Mr. Driller Online:

* Pac-Man Championship Edition brings the first new set of mazes to the Pac-Man universe in over 26 years with funky retro neon graphics and innovative rules. Created exclusively for the Xbox 360 by Pac-Man’s original creator, Toru Iwatani, Pac-Man Championship Edition was met with critical acclaim when it was released in the summer of 2007 for Xbox LIVE Arcade for Xbox 360.
* Mr. Driller Online takes the fun and fast paced gameplay of Mr. Driller and brings it online! Compete against friends in exciting multiplayer matches as you drill deep down into a vast well combining same colored blocks for big combos. The player with the highest score after three minutes wins the round.

Also included in Namco Museum: Virtual Arcade:

* Pac-Man – Released in 1980

Guide PAC-MAN though the original arcade classic. Avoid ghosts as you chomp away at pellets to clear each stage. Find the power pellets to turn the tables on the ensuing ghosts and take a bite out of them.

* Galaga – Released in 1981

Pilot an advanced space fighter and destroy an alien invasion. Shoot through their formations as they descend upon your ship.

* Galaxian® – Released in 1979

Defeat wave after wave of dragonfly-like enemies through this precursor to Galaga.

* Dig Dug - Released in 1982

Dig out tunnels and dislodge heavy rocks to defeat nefarious enemies. If all else fails, use your pump to inflate and blow up tricky monsters. The round is over when all the enemies have been destroyed.

* Xevious® - Released in 1982

This classic arcade shoot ‘em up enlists players to target air and ground units as they fight their way enemy territory.

* Pole Position – Released in 1982

Take first place in the premiere arcade racing classic.

* And much more!

For more information about Namco Museum: Virtual Arcade, please visit: http://www.namcobandaigames.com/
Click to expand...
I was hoping against hope that Namco would do something like this, and they delivered in spades. Even though I have some of those games already (Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Pac-Man CE, Dig Dug, Galaga), this is on my list of things to look out for. Will the arranged versions be the Namco Classic Collection ones? I hope so.
 
No6 said:
Yeah, I understand KB restrictions, but still, let me use radial motion for letters.
Click to expand...

Or at least put them in most commonly used order, jeez. Terrible, terrible game. Needs to be retroactively delisted.
 
besada said:
Or at least put them in most commonly used order, jeez. Terrible, terrible game. Needs to be retroactively delisted.
Click to expand...
In some ways, though, it (and... things like Yaris) may help to provide developers with insight as to how not to make games. Or at least be a morale booster: now they can say "hey, at least my game isn't as bad as Yaris or Coffeetime Crosswords".

Hell, I'd be willing to believe that it's actually a Dark Knight viral game, and sometime tonight you'll boot it up and Joker will pop out. It's the only excuse I can think of for something so astonishingly badly designed.
 
S1kkZ said:
more info please
Click to expand...
They're listing a series of interesting tidbits about Rearmed. Only, they're listing one a week. So, judging by the tone of it, it seems as if we won't see Rearmed until August or early Sept. I think the "four to six weeks" statement confirms that. Though Ben Judd said we'll hear something soon.
 
I have been reading conflicting reports about Bionic Commando Rearmed personally, basically, nobody is quite sure when this game will drop. I personally not for a couple of weeks, if only because there is 1942: Joint Strike is releasing next week and it is not in Capcom's interest to cannibalize the potential sales of 1942.
 
Shard said:
Lack of promotion, at this here E3, it has sorta been shoved into the background, fuck even Age of Booty and Flock were higher on the list.
Click to expand...

Gotcha. It mostly came down to a space issue.

We had 1942 at the Captivate press event on a couple screens about a month ago and it's about to launch so most editors would spend their time on the stuff further out. There's new videos and promotions lined up, so keep tuned..
 
Kafel said:
Mind-blowing :

The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom

video

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3037/2656716576_5188b78342.jpg[/IMG

I let someone else create a thread for this game, I think it deserves it. I have to go.[/QUOTE]
Aw man, you got my hopes up thinking that this was already confirmed for XBLA. Still good to see it getting some publicity from a big site like IGN.

The author of that article is right; if this game isn't picked up for digital distribution, somebody is dropping the ball in a big way.
Click to expand...
 
New Achievement List: Castle Crashers

http://www.achieve360points.com/game/castlecrashers/

1. Kay Eye Ess Ess
Collect all 4 princesses' kisses in a multiplayer game.
15 points
Multiplayer / Co-Op achievement (2+ players)

2. Traditional
Complete the game using any character.
20 points
Single Player achievement

3. The Traitor
Defeat any boss by playing one of his own minions.
20 points
Single Player achievement

4. Deer Trainer
Navigate the Abandoned Mill without hitting any obstacles.
20 points
Single Player achievement

5. Conscientious Objector
Complete the Home Castle through Barbarian Boss areas without attacking any foes.
20 points
Single Player achievement

6. Maximum Firepower
Using a catapult, fling a knight with maximum power.
10 points
Single Player achievement

7. Animal Handler
Collect all the animals.
20 points
Single Player achievement

8. Arena Master
Win 40 Arena Ranked Matches.
15 points
Multiplayer / Co-Op achievement (2+ players)

9. Glork
Win 20 All You Can Quaff Ranked Matches.
15 points
Multiplayer / Co-Op achievement (2+ players)

10. Melee Is Best
Defeat any boss without using any magic.
15 points
Single Player achievement

11. Treasure Hunter
Find and dig up ten buried items.
20 points
Single Player achievement

12. Medic!
In a 4 player game, resuscitate each of your fallen comrades at least once.
10 points
Multiplayer / Co-Op achievement (2+ players)
Click to expand...
 
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