Xbox 360 Fanboy

If you turn on your Xbox 360 today -- and we have a sneaking suspicion that you will -- you will find two brand new games to download for Xbox Live Arcade. On one hand we have Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe. On the other we have Every Extend Extra Extreme (mercifully abbreviated E4). Speedbal brings a taste of the oft overlooked "sport of the future" genre. Previously, this ground was held solely by Smash TV, though that's really not fair as Smash TV is really part of a much smaller "game show of the future" niche. E4 brings absolutely nothing to the "sport of the future" genre, opting insteasd for lots of pretty lights and trippy music. All in all we have two unique offerings. Go get 'em and tell us what you think.

Joystiq managed to get some hands-on time with Every Extend Extra Extreme from Tetsuya Mizuguchi's Q? Entertainment. Described as something of an inverse take on the shooter genre (your goal is to blow up your own ship), Joystiq notes that E4 is a marked improvement over the original PSP iteration. First and foremost, the musical nature of the game (typical of Q? Entertainment titles) is now actually integrated with the gameplay. In other words, the actions you take in the game will affect the music. The game also incorporates a new shield system that encourages faster-paced gameplay. There is a new Endless mode which, appropriately enough, goes on forever so long as players continue to acquire Extend power-ups. Boss encounters have been removed from the game, which Joystiq finds puzzling, but overall the impression is definitely a good one. Head over to Joystiq for their full impressions.

Proving that the Tokyo Game Show is about more than just announcing Ninja Gaiden 2, several new (and notably Japanese) games have been announced for Xbox Live Arcade. First and foremost among these are Lumines creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi's Rez and Treasure's Ikaruga. While Ikaruga's appearance on XBLA shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who's been paying attention, Rez comes as a pretty big surprise. If you're not familiar with Rez, you're probably better off watching the video embedded after the break than having us attempt to explain it.

Microsoft also touted several other games for XBLA including EXIT (previously announced), Every Extend Extra Extreme (ditto), Omega Five (impressions), and Triggerheart Exelica (a shooter apparently). Things are looking up for XBLA, no?

According to the 'stiq, the next title from Tetsuya Mizuguchi expected to hit XBLA is Every Extend Extra Extreme. E4 is going to be an updated version of the PSP's E3. The freebie PC version of Every Extend was originally developed by Omega. From the sounds of the press release, it looks like you'll be able to play with your own music, along with playing a versus mode online. Unfortunately, the schedule for the release is later this year, so don't expect it to be showing up as a surprise download during GDC. Have you played Every Extend before, on either the PC or PSP?

[Thanks, Jonah Falcon]