In the latest XBLA in Brief, we check out Assault Heroes 2, the sequel to one of Xbox Live Arcade's best action titles. The sequel takes the foundations of the first game and adds new weapons and vehicles into the mix. The on-foot gameplay has been dramatically improved as well. Check out the video and find out whether or not Assault Heroes 2 belongs in your XBLA library.
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After all the Spring Showcase excitement yesterday, it's hard to come to terms with the fact that it's just another plain ol' Wednesday now. How could you possibly stifle the Wednesday doldrums? Oh that's right, it's Xbox Live Arcade Wednesday! That means there's a brand new Xbox Live Arcade game available. To top it all off, it's actually a sequel to one of XBLA's best shooters. Yup, it's Assault Heroes 2. It's like Assault Heroes, except with more weapons, new vehicles, and, of course, more massive destruction. Go grab the trial version and see whether or not massive destruction is your thing (we're betting it is).
Let's just hope they fixed the faulty co-op this time around.
Just because we know you haven't already had enough MicrosoftSpring Showcaseannouncements, we thought we'd pass along word that Penny Arcade's (deep breath) Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode 1 has now been confirmed to release onto the XBLA next Wednesday, May 21st. Phew! The semi-bad news is that this little Penny Arcade gem will cost a whopping 1600 Microsoft points, which is guaranteed to cause a lot of people's reaction to be something along the lines of "ouch!" or "no-way!" Though, we expect true Penny Arcade fans to unanimously agree that the $20 is worth every penny (pun intended) to experience a Gabe and Tycho featured episodic RPG. Check the new screens below.
In an interview with our crew over at Joystiq, TellTale's marketing spokesperson Emily Morganti told them that the currently PC and Wii exclusive Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People (SBCGFAP) and its episodic content could release to the XBLA "maybe down the line." Morganti went on to say that they'd "like to be on all of these [XBLA and PSN] at some point" and that "they're all great platforms for episodic content", but that "WiiWare just happens to be the one we're venturing onto first." So, she's saying there's a chance. And now we leave you with the too cool for words SBCGFAP trailer, because it's just too cool for words. Enjoy.
Back in March, we learned that the train based board game Ticket to Ride was chugging its way to the XBLA thanks to an entry on German's video game ratings board website. Now, thanks to the Gamerscore Blog, we get a few more details, albeit very little. Details including confirmation that Ticket to Ride will be releasing to the XBLA sometime this Summer, will allow for five player versus over Xbox Live, four player versus locally and will have Vision camera support. We're also told that Ticket to Ride provides "hours of family-friendly fun", but we think that's too subjective of a feature to mention.
Is should come as no surprise that this Wednesday, May 14th, Sierra's Assault Heroes 2 will make its release to the Xbox Live Arcade to the joy of arcade gamers worldwide. This 800 Microsoft point sequel builds upon the original Assault Heroes formula by making battles more intense, adding new weaponry, making vehicles hijackable and, of course, co-op gaming. Get excited, because lots of "boom!", "kablaam!" and "sizzle!" is headed to the XBLA this week.
Southpeak has released some new screens from their upcoming lineup of 360 titles All told, there are new screens for X-Blades, Roogoo,Things on Wheels. A quick refresher: X-Blades is an action game starring a typically sexy heroine with big weapons. Roogoo is a colorful, intriguing puzzle game. Things on Wheels is a racer featuring RC cars racing through household environments. X-Blades is a retail release, while both Roogoo and Things on Wheels are Xbox Live Arcade titles. Check out the galleries after the break for all the new media.
After the XBLA drought last week, we're now getting hit by a relative flood of new things. First are a few new achievement lists, which include some games that have fallen off the radar a bit. Remember Aces of the Galaxy? We barely did either. The 3D space shooter was originally set to release last fall, and it looks as though Microsoft is finally readying it for release. How about Elements of Destruction? Remember that one? It gives you control over the forces of nature and allows you to use them to wreak havoc. Now Sealife Safari should be familiar enough to resonate, as we did a preview of the on-rails photography game recently. The full lists can be found after the break.
With less than a week to go before Assault Heroes 2 arrives on Xbox Live Arcade (it's scheduled to drop on May 14), Sierra is ramping up the publicity, releasing a new two part trailer featuring some of the game's massive bosses. There seems to be an obsession with throwing mechanized versions of various fauna at players this time around, as the bosses featured in the video are the Mecha Gorilla, Mech Scorpion, Mecha Killer Orca (really?), Mecha Snake, Mecha Quadruped, and Mecha Demolition (guess they ran out of animals with that last one). Suffice it to say that the bosses are appropriately huge and they seem to be capable of dealing death quite adequately. We approve. Find the second trailer after the break.
It has been far too long since we've talked Castle Crashers (eight days to be exact), so we figured we'd jump over to the Castle Crashers dev blog to see what's new. Upon arriving, we found out that our The Behemoth friends have attempted a first pour cast of the promised Castle Crashersbronze trophies. So far, they have a few kinks to work out, but nobody ever said bronze casting was an easy process. The other piece of newsy news is the reveal of the Seahorse animal orb! Not only will this little guy make you move quicker in water, but it'll also melt your enemy's hearts with its stone-faced smile.
Okay, we're good. That should be enough Castle Crashers news for at least twelve hours.
Read - First Bronze Trophy Pour Read - It's a Seahorse!
Looks like 360Sync decided to turn the drip feed of Marathon: Durandal DLC info into a full torrent. There is now video of seven more maps in addition to the two that were revealed already. According to 360Sync, they also have video footage of one more, making ten maps so far. Here are all the maps currently revealed:
Duality
Thick and Chunky
Melatonin
Mime Target
Fortress Lh'owon
Arena
Mars Needs Women
Vulcan
Beyond Thunderdome
Not only that, but Bruce Morisson, project lead for Marathon at Freeverse, has left a comment stating there are "several" more to be included with the upcoming DLC. That's a lot of maps. Check out video of all of the maps revealed so far embedded above. Once the first video is over, the next will automatically load (alternately, you can skip to the next video using the navigation buttons).
After a one week break -- no new XBLA games last week -- XBLA in Brief is back. This week we take a look at the new trivia game Wits and Wagers. Aimed squarely at casual gamers, Wits and Wagers emphasizes simple gameplay over the more hardcore elements of games like, say, Ikaruga. No sharp reflexes needed here. Just select your answer, place your bets, and see who wins. Not bad, though it's definitely not for everyone. Check out the video and see what you think.
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A new Xbox Live Arcaderelease is upon us, brothers and sisters. This vile temptation goes by the name of Wits and Wagers and it tempts our youth to succumb to the terrible sin of gambling. True, the abomination may be disguised as a simple trivia game, but close inspection reveals that the only way to win is to bet on the winning answer. Truly it is an evil game, and one that you should spurn as you would spurn a rabid dog.
But seriously, folks, Wits and Wagers is a trivia game and it's available now for 800 Microsoft points. Oh, and Scene-It owners take note: it features support for the Big Button controller. It also make rather ... interesting use of the Vision camera. Go grab the trial version and see what you think.
Released the day after April Fools, Mr Driller Online was criticized immediately for its lack of polish. The non-HD, up-scaled sprites and the online lag were by far the biggest complaints, and while the former is a lost cause, the latter should hopefully be fixed before month's end. Talking with IGN, Namco promised that the patch would fix the online technical glitches, but whether or not the game can be saved in both mind and market share, remains to be seen.
It's kind of strange when you think about it. Here we have Marathon, a very old game getting DLC thanks to the magic of Xbox Live Arcade. 360Sync got a look at the new DLC (complete with new achievements) including some super spiffy videos. The first video, embedded above, shows off the map Duality (originally from the Marathon series and remade as Gemini in Halo 2). Fun fact: Duality was named for a game being created by Double Aught, a company comprised of former Bungie employees. Duality the game, sadly, was never released. The second video (embedded after the break) showcases "Thick and Chunky." The primary feature of the level is the large lava pit in the center, which also happens to be where the hill is located in King of the Hill mode. Ouch.
We're not sure how many more maps could wind up in the upcoming DLC. Keep your eyes on X3F for the latest on what to expect and details on when the DLC will be available.
Released the day after April Fools, Mr Driller Online was criticized immediately for its lack of polish. The non-HD, up-scaled sprites and the online lag were by far the biggest complaints, and while the former is a lost cause, the latter should hopefully be fixed before month's end. Talking with IGN, Namco promised that the patch would fix the online technical glitches, but whether or not the game can be saved in both mind and market share, remains to be seen.
