Official Xbox Live Arcade Thread

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DeathSpank Update

http://xboxlive.ign.com/articles/108/1087222p1.html

April 30, 2010 - With games like Maniac Mansion and The Secret of Monkey Island on his resume, Ron Gilbert has earned our attention for whatever it is he's working on at any given time. Recently, he just finished working on DeathSpank, his comical action RPG starring the titular, archetypical hero. Gilbert brought the game by the IGN office recently to let us play a bit and we were delighted to find a mix of engaging role-playing mechanics and Monkey Island-style humor.

DeathSpank is on the hunt for a vague treasure he calls The Artifact (although Gilbert assures us exactly what it is will be explained by game's end). After an intro cinematic our hero is dropped outside the hut of one demon witch named Ms. Heybenstance. After cutting down some Shambling Skeletons and Stoopid Chickens (enemy names are displayed above their heads) he arrives at Heybanstance's doorstep to find the witch waiting for him. The Artifact is sealed away by a magic spell, but Heybenstance will consider helping DeathSpank if he rescues her Dragon Hatchlings from a group of Vicious Chickens. In order to prove to her that the deed is done, DeathSpank must gather the chickens' lips and show them to Heybenstance.

The world of DeathSpank is presented in a rolling log style, similar to the most recent versions of Animal Crossing.
Next to a creature's name bar you'll see a number representing its level. This should be a visual cue as to how difficult it will be for you to defeat. Take too much damage and you can swig a potion, which will heal you instantly, or nom on a turkey leg. Turkey legs take time to consume and will heal you gradually, unless you take damage during your meal and are interrupted.

Once the witch is satisfied she will begin working on a spell that will break the magic seal cast on The Artifact, but DeathSpank will have to find her ingredients. And so goes the flow of gameplay in DeathSpank: meet people – take on quests – adventure in the countryside – return to collect your experience points.

Characters you can dialogue with are signified by an exclamation point above their heads. After entering a conversation you'll find several dialogue choices, much like The Secret of Monkey Island. Whichever choice you make will result in spoken dialogue, so there is quite a lot of voice acting in the game. About half of the dialogue was written by Ron Gilbert.

Quests can be managed from your Quest Log and are divided into "Important Things I Need to Do" and "Unimportant Things I Need to Do." Around the countryside you'll find secret fortune cookies that can be cracked open to get a hint if you're stuck on any quest.

You'll find loads of loot items on your travels that can be mapped to your controller's face buttons and D-pad. Each face button will make you attack with its assigned weapon, which means there is no room left for a jump button. The playful, cartoonish feel of DeathSpank made the lack of a jump ability feel a little strange, but hopefully the desire to leap will fade after we've spent more time with the game.

Each time you level up you can choose a Hero Card that will boost your abilities in some way. It might make you run five percent faster, for instance. You can only hold six of these cards, though, so it quickly becomes a game of deciding which cards will be most beneficial to you.

The world is presented in a rolling log style, similar to the most recent versions of Animal Crossing. As DeathSpank runs about the land appears to spin, quickly sending or bringing trees and hills over the horizon. It's a cool effect that helps give the game a whimsical, fairytale feel. The entire world of DeathSpank is open to you and every corner can be accessed without any loading screens.

You are free to roam the countryside without waiting for any pesky loading screens.
DeathSpank is looking great and we can't wait for the finished version. Most of the development is done and it's now going through certification with Microsoft, so we shouldn't have to wait too much longer. It'll be out this summer on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network.
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besiktas1 said:
Probably been said but the way I'd do it is download the demo for every game. Should take a week or two to play through them all. Don't rush it. Enjoy them. Make a short list. Delete others. Play remaining again. Buy ones you are sure you want.

I think I have around 50+ of them. All depends on your tastes; for me off the top of my head the hidden gems; Switchball, Maw, South Park, 3on3 NHL, Gin Rummy, etc. etc. then of coarse there's the obvious great ones; Sonics, Uno, GeoWars etc. etc.

Enjoy the awesomeness :D just remember to save some of those points, there's a LOT of good shit coming too...
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Damn, man. How much free time you got? I'd love to have half that much time.
 
RadarScope1 said:
Damn, man. How much free time you got? I'd love to have half that much time.
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What the trials? Shouldn't take more than 2-3hrs a day for 2 weeks. MORE than enough time. I love that I can now spare time for gaming. Last year? No chance :(
 
besiktas1 said:
What the trials? Shouldn't take more than 2-3hrs a day for 2 weeks. MORE than enough time. I love that I can now spare time for gaming. Last year? No chance :(
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Keep this quote for yourself.

One day you will be shocked that you used to think 2-3 hours was a totally normal daily amount of time to have available for video games.
 
Posted?

Rumor: Castlevania 'Harmony of Despair' is 2D, 6-player XBLA game
A trusted source has told Joystiq that "Harmony of Despair," the title of a recent European trademark, is indeed a Castlevania game. Our source indicates that the game will be a 2D multiplayer Xbox Live Arcade title, featuring six-player co-op and a versus, fighter-style survival mode.

These details follow a recently-pulled post on never know tech, which purported to showcase screenshots of Harmony of Despair. The site described the game as a "Metroidvania" side-scroller, featuring characters from recent Castlevania games. The characters, however, appeared to be rendered as tiny GBA/DS-esque sprites, and the game camera is apparently capable of being zoomed out to reveal entire levels (presumably in place of a map screen; or to show multiple characters in different rooms).

So it looks like we might be getting the long-awaited 2D "high-definition" Castlevania, after all. Although, "just make the GBA sprites really small on the screen" isn't exactly the technique we were hoping for.
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HadesGigas said:
Puzzle Quest 2 now on Facebook:
http://apps.facebook.com/pqmagetrainer/

No plot or customization or anything, but you can get used to the new wrinkles of the battle system before it comes out whenever the hell the XBLA version comes out.
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Supposed to be late June with the DS versions, but no idea if that is international or not.

The game is fairly good, can't see the global highscores on it. I posted about it in a couple of threads on here, I guess PQ isn't hardcore enough for most people :D


On a similar note as an update to my Puzzle Chronicles impressions can I just say the game is a lot deeper than I gave it initial credit for. Once you throw it onto the DeathBringer difficulty the game plays a lot more like an action puzzler instead of a thinking game and you get the money you need to upgrade everything as soon as you want it. NOt quite finished with the story yet (last chapter) and there is a 50 point achievement for completing all the awards which may take a bit of work, but due to the 4 difficulty levels the game/awards are as challenging as you want it to be really.

It's on the front page again this week for the XBL so hopefully a few more people will try the demo out. I think the younger presentation will scare off a few people though, but as the grittier PQ2 is around the corner then there is something for all.
 
sweetvar26 said:
Is Zombie Apocalypse any good? I should try the demo out later today.
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I enjoyed it. A bit repetitive but it looks good and controls well. Give the demo a spin and if you think you can handle the lack of variety then I'd say pick it up.
 
LocoMrPollock said:
Anyone get their 400pts from the Arcade promotion yet? I was thinking about picking up The Dishwasher with it.
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Has anyone gotten this yet? It was supposed to go out at the end of April.
 
Major Nelson has a post on his blog with some release dates and prices: http://majornelson.com/archive/2010/05/04/coming-soon-to-the-xbox-live-marketplace-may-4-2010.aspx

Xbox LIVE Deal of the Week:
May 17: The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, 400 Microsoft Points

Xbox LIVE Games on Demand:
May 11: Tom Clancy's EndWar

Xbox LIVE Arcade:
May 5: Zeno Clash Ultimate Edition, 1200 points
May 5: RayStorm HD, 1200 Microsoft Points
May 12: Rocket Knight, 1200 points
June 2: Snoopy Flying Ace, 800 points

This Wednesday May 5th the next Game Room pack will be available which will includes: Super Breakout, Pitfall!, Megamania, Night Stalker, Rack 'Em Up, Realsports Volleyball and Basketball

Xbox Avatar Marketplace:
These are just a few of the collections scheduled for the Xbox LIVE Avatar Marketplace.
May 6: FF XIII
May 6: Game Room
May 13: Army of Two
May 13: A Kingdom for Keflings

Also, the following Xbox 360 Game Add-Ons are scheduled to be available:
May 7: Lips Miley Cyrus Song Pack, 440 Microsoft Points each
May 11: Forza Motorsport 3: “Exotic Car Pack” 400 Microsoft Points
May 13: Super Street Fighter™ IV: “Super Shoryuken Pack”, 320 Microsoft Points
May 18: Dragon Age: Origins “Darkspawn Chronicles”, 400 Microsoft Points
Spring 2010: Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers “Expansion Pack 2”, 400 Microsoft Points
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Hydro Thunder Hurricane Churns Out New Modes, New Media

http://kotaku.com/5531004/hydro-thunder-hurricane-churns-out-new-modes-new-media

You know what was missing from the original Hydro Thunder? That's right. Exploding barrels. Thankfully, developer Vector Unit has corrected that oversight in Hydro Thunder Hurricane, coming to Xbox Live Arcade.

The new developer taking the Hydro Thunder reins from Midway promises all-new ways to enjoy wet and wild speedboating action with a handful of new gameplay modes. In Ring Master, players must race through a series of rings as fast as humanly possible, with levels of difficulty ranging from novice to pro to expert. It's not only the best speedboat slalom racing you'll experience on Xbox Live Arcade, it's also a great way to discover hidden routes.

Also new is the Gauntlet time trial, which switches things up with a smattering of exploding barrels. Not only a great opportunity to enjoy the thrill of an exploding barrel, but a chance to test your Boost Jump skills.

Check out new screens of the XBLA game, then join me in rabidly anticipating its forthcoming release.
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500x_hth_ringmaster_monsterisland.jpg


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Xbox LIVE Arcade:
May 5: Zeno Clash Ultimate Edition, 1200 points
May 5: RayStorm HD, 1200 Microsoft Points
May 12: Rocket Knight, 1200 points
June 2: Snoopy Flying Ace, 800 points
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Stumpokapow said:
snoopy at last!
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I'm excited to check out all four games, but Snoopy is definitely the most anticipated.
 
GarthVaderUK said:
Glad that box art won, it'll look great on the Dashboard :)

So the game is coming soon then?
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Yes, it is coming soon. Still don't know the exact date, but it won't be far off until we can announce it.

As for Age of Zombies on Xbox, I can say that it's a possibility. Simply exploring options at this point, but don't count it out.
 
HalfbrickPhil said:
Yes, it is coming soon. Still don't know the exact date, but it won't be far off until we can announce it.

As for Age of Zombies on Xbox, I can say that it's a possibility. Simply exploring options at this point, but don't count it out.
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any idea on the price? cmon 800 pts! :lol
 
Excellent! Another Magic the Gathering pack!

I see two weeks worth of XBLA titles missing (May 19th, 26th). For now, I'll just assume MN doesn't know what the titles will be. I can't imagine them going two weeks without an XBLA release.
 
xbhaskarx said:
I'm excited to check out all four games, but Snoopy is definitely the most anticipated.
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It's also only 800 points too! I'm so tired of every game coming out at 1200 points now.
 
Brettison said:
It's also only 800 points too! I'm so tired of every game coming out at 1200 points now.
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I'm tired of games not being worth their cost. If the game is 1200 and it's worth 1200 then I'm perfectly fine with it. In fact, my last XBLA purchase was Toy Soldiers. Right now I'm looking forward to Deathspank, which is another 1200 point game for sure.
 
Woo, the good box art won.

I'm sure Raskulls will be 800 points. That decision is up to Microsoft, right?

I'm actually curious as to what Halfbrick would prefer the price to be, 800 or 1200. It sure seems like unless you release a Castle Crashers or Shadow Complex - level game, it will bomb at 1200. Plenty of good games have already failed at that price.
 
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