Friday, February 29, 2008

Fez music 'Live performance' video


Though Fez is not 'technically announced' for XBLA - it's certainly looking like it. Gamevideos have a new video of the music for the game being played live by Jason '6955' DeGroot.

He's previously done soem on the Nintendo Museum videos on several 1up Show specials. You can download the MP3s of those works here.

Source: Gamevideos

Rocketmen is you game this week! Plus, new videos!

Rocketmen - Axis of Evil from A.C.R.O.N.Y.M. Games is the game of the week for the XBLA - and the PSN!

Join Nick Sion, Alec Mink and the Alliance of Free Planets in their white-knuckled, frenzied struggle to free the Solar System from the tyrannical grip of the Legion of Terra! Rocketmen®: Axis of Evil provides non-stop multiplayer action with role-playing game elements, including customizable characters and an engaging story, all wrapped in the game's distinctive cel-shaded art style. Play with up to four players in co-op mode and blast anything that moves.
- Customize your character: Create, customize, and level up your own individual Rocketmen characters with new items, abilities, and looks.

- Multiplayer action: Join with friends to save the galaxy in four-player cooperative play locally or online.

- Your choice: Choose from three races: Human, Mercurian, or Venusian, and from three classes: Warrior, Engineer, or Outcast.

- Explosive action: Simple, addictive, and highly explosive gameplay blasts onto your TV in high-definition with plenty of levels, hordes of enemies, and lots of fun.

Gamespot's On the Spot also had a video preview of the game this week:



Source: Xbox 360 Fanboy

Gametrailers - New Puzzle Quest: Galactix Interview



Just a short interview with Senior Producer Tim Ramage about Galactix - not much we haven't heard in the past week, but this quote is reassuring:

"Puzzle Quest: Glactix will be out in the fall this year on Nintendo DS, Xbox Live Arcade and PC!"

So Puzzle Quest: Galactix should be hitting near the end of the year - plus on all systems at once. The initial Puzzle Quest announcement mentioned that XBLA would be coming later on. Good news!

Marathon Durandal to get Multiplayer / Cooperative expansion pack!

During the latest Retronauts podcast - which you can download here - included a Post Mort-em on Marathon: Durandal for the Xbox Live Arcade with Bruce Morrison of Freeverse. Some interesting tidbits come out of it, read on! Please note these aren't quotes, and have been cleaned up for reading purposes:

On why they released Marathon Durandal and not Infinity or the original:

The official reason is "we could only get one shot at this, and let's go with the good one" and Marathon 2 was released on Windows, so we thought that might be some leverage with Microsoft, though it did come out on the Microsoft Pippin.

Other reasons include Dual Shot guns and Marathon Infinity - Nobody knows what's going on in Infinity at all. If they claim they do they're lying! Marathon 1 is also really tiny - extremely tiny. The levels are small and cramped and dark.

Unofficial reason was that our tech demo was the level "Thunderdome" - we just happened to have the map on our hard drive, I guess.

On Marathon Infinity on XBLA:

I don't know if there is room on XBLA for Infinity - maybe if they end up releasing Final Doom and Doom 2. It's already filling it's niche - if people want it or not. I'd be totally down to do it, but I don't know if Microsoft want it or not. There hasn't been an M rated title on the platform since our game either. I'm surprised there even is an M rating on Marathon.

Originally in the first design documents we intended to allow Infinity to be downloadable as DLC for Durandal, but scrapped it because - at the time - XBLA DLC couldn't add any new achievements. They can now, but it really needs it's own game.

They also unofficially announced that Marathon Durandal will be be getting brand new Downloadable Content in the future!

Speaking of the Multiplayer - deathmatch style - We do have a content pack in the works for Marathon which will be taking some stuff from Infinity and bringing it over - more like things like Duality, Beyond Thunderdome, some of the Yarra(sp?) Levels. That's actually one of my meetings for GDC!

Looks like Infinity or the original are in the works at the moment, so look out for the Multiplayer / Coop expansion of Marathon soon! Who knows what else the expansion might also include?

Source: 1up.com's Retronauts podcast

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Street Fighter II HD Blog update - Rebalancing Cammy

Part 6 of Capcom's ongoing series of blogs on Street Fighter II HD is up - this time about rebalancing Cammy for the new game!

Here’s some trivia about the Spinning Backfist. The very first change I made in the entire game was allowing Cammy’s Spinning Backfist to go through fireballs. All three versions can now do this and she even has lower body invulnerability during this, but her head is completely vulnerable the whole time, so you can smack her with high moves if you know she is going to Spinning Backfist. Her regular full body vulnerability returns, of course, by the time she can actually hit you.

Check out the whole blog post below.

Source: Capcom USA Blog - "Behind-the-Scenes: Rebalancing Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (part 6, Cammy)"

Trailer of Happy Tree Friends: False Alarm!

Gamevideos have the scoop of the first video of new new XBLA game!


Source: Gamevideos.com

Review wrap-up: Triggerheart doesn't trigger hearts


Triggerheart is getting middling reviews - IGN in particular isn't very fond of it, citing the short game time and cheap look of the game. Check them all out below:

Xbox 360 @ IGN review by Erik Brudvig - 5.7/10

1UP.COM review by Anthony Gallegos - B (Oooh, new pretty 1up network rating system!)

Team Xbox review by David Chapman - 7.8/10

Edit: Gamespot review by Kevin VanOrd - 6.0/10

Source: IGN.com, 1up.com, Team Xbox

Podcast wrap up - N+ gets some love, and Marathon Post Mortem

After last weeks giant Podcast wrapup, GDC is still in discussion, as well as people catching up on the XBLA releases of the week.

Player One Podcast got addicted to N+ this week, and they discuss some of the Indie Developments from GDC.

Player One Podcast Ep.70: Not of this Earth
You hear a lot of talk these days about games with open worlds, co-op gameplay, where exploration is key. Those three very buzz-worthy concepts of today also came into play in our fourth Game Club game, ToeJam & Earl for the Sega Genesis. One of the era's few co-op games, its emphasis was not on combat unlike so many of the other games it shared the shelf with. It was about avoiding enemies, managing your items, and (if you had a buddy to play with) teamwork. In the second segment we talk all about TJ&E and our experiences with it.

But of course we also discuss the games we played this week, which include N+, Dragon Quest Swords, Professor Layton and the Curious Village, The Club, Rock Band, Dynasty Warriors 6 and Lost Odyssey.
Download here or join the RSS Feed.

The Arrow Point Down podcast - starring Ryan Davis and Jeff Gertsmann of former Gamespot fame - discuss GDC and Bionic Commando.

Arrow Pointing Down Podcast 02-24-2008
Your new favorite podcast that is sometimes, tangentially about video games is back! This week beverage enthusiast Jeff Gerstmann, freelance gigolo Alex Navarro, and I bask in the afterglow of GDC, guzzle horrible energy drinks, contemplate legal action against McDonald’s, declare Cobra a 2008 Oscar winner, and so very much more! Join us, won’t you? Afterwards, be sure to check out Will Wright’s talk at GDC 2008.
Download here or join the RSS Feed.

In a special Retronauts podcast this week, they have a post mortem discussion about Marathon Durandal with the Freeverse Developers!

Retronauts Episode 37

The longest and most disjointed episode yet sees Freeverse's Bruce Morrison drop by during GDC to chat about the science of porting Marathon: Durandal to Xbox Live Arcade. Then the usual crew very nearly manages to say something insightful about Nintendo's classic stable of characters vis-a-vis Smash Bros. You'll love it! You'll hate it! You'll say cranky things on the message boards about it!
Download here or join the RSS Feed.

New Bionic Commando Trailer, plus get your own level in the game!



The Bionic Commando Team and Capcom are letting Bionic Commando fans to get their own created level to be in the newly announced Challenge Room!

Capcom have given out the image above, along with descriptions for each block type for fans to tinker with. Using Photoshop or even MS Paint, fans can work their magic to create some crazy level! The winner will get their level in the game, as well as their name in the credits!

Admittedly not the biggest of incentives (Even a T-Shirt would be nice!) but certainly will appeal to those big fans of the original game. All the details can be seen at Capcom's blog, so get going! Competition ends March 12th!

In the meantime, watch this new official trailer for the Challenge Rooms!



Source: Bionic Commando Blog: "Get Your Level in Bionic Commando Rearmed!"

IGN: First look at Happy Tree Friends: False Alarm!

IGN have got the scoop on the long announced SEGA XBLA game - Happy Tree Friends: False Alarm!

Based on the psycotic web cartoon of the same name, HTF: False Alarm will have players play as Lumpy the Moose in a different kind of take of the Lemmings formula.

As Lumpy, you must use your powers of Fire, Nitro, Action and Freeze to coherse your Happy Tree Friends to complete the level - either by force (Setting fire to nearby props to move them faster) or manipulating the world - the example given is to make a giant whale bleed in order to fill an empty hole for the Friends to swim across.

The levels in Tree Friends are colorful and of the type you'd see in the saturated, happy land of family friendly animated films. But there is so much blood. In fact, there are about a half-dozen custom deaths in Tree Friends. Oh yes, there will be blood. You only need a lone Tree Friend to reach the exit and beat a level. That may often be the case as the five Friends seem attracted to anything that might prove lethal.

Another addition is that False Alarm will also include a brand new and exclusive episode of Happy Tree Friends, unlocked by finishing all the levels! You can read the rest of the preview, as well as the first few shots of the game, by going to the source below. The game is apparently set for an April release date, so look for it soon!

Source: IGN Happy Tree Friends Preview: "Cute critters are ready to be sliced in half for your amusement."

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

XBLAH BLAH BLAH: N+



What is XBLAH BLAH BLAH?

One thing missing from this blog is my own thoughts on XBLA games. I hadn't really been thinking about it - I post links to other reviews anyway, what else could I possibly add to that?

Instead, I'll do something different - a feedback or a critical analysis of sorts. A list of what I thought were really great, and some either bad or even just nitpicky - to help the developers on the little things. Instead of an arbitrary score I'll post my final thoughts on the overall product.

What's good about N+?

- N+ is really packed with a lot of features - 400 levels across the different play styles is a LOT of stuff, and the Leaderboards for each set of levels works very well.

- N+ as been described as "Digital Crack" - just want to play that little longer. Setting the levels in 'chapters' works really well, and being able to play those chapters in sets of 5 makes it a lot easier for casual players to play more without being completely frustrated by some of the hardest levels.

- Cooperative levels are great. Much like the levels in Switchball which had similar split paths requiring players to work together to reach the goal, except this is Local AND online!

How could N+ have improved?

- I don't like Survival mode - it currently throws all the players into a horribly difficult room and has players get thrown around almost instantly. It's fun in that sort of "What the hell is going on" kind of way, but doesn't really keep the player interested.

Suggestion: A mode which could have been cool would be similar to Nintendo's Pac-Man Vs. Have 3 players control Rockets around the level with 1 Ninja flying around trying to get as much gold as possible before dying.

- I realize N+ lives in it's bleak world of yellows and grays, but it would have been nice to see some sort of different graphical styles - different colours to work with on objects and the like. I would have made a Green Hill Zone looking level.

- The Ninja's Headband seems to get caught on a lot of objects, and stretches out across the screen. It's small so you can barely see it, but really should have been an easily solved problem.

Final Thoughts

N+ is a fantastic game and will really get you hooked, and despite the 'simplistic graphics' has more than enough entertainment value to keep you going for at the very least 5 hours, and that's if you're stupidly good. Trying to get all the gold and get higher in the Leaderboards is key to enjoying the game - keep at it, it's a ton of fun.

OFLC Rumor Update: XBLA to get Gin Rummy, Sea Life Safari?


OFLC watch appeared to be uneventful this month - but it looks like we may have overlooked some very possible upcoming games for Xbox Live Arcade service!

Two games have popped up on the classification website - Sea Life Safari and Gin Rummy. Though they do sound a little like simple PC games - it's the Authors of these classifications which raises our eyebrows - Sierra On-line.

Looking up previous classifications which have been published by Sierra On-line, we find that all of them are Sierra XBLA titles - Carcassone, Boogie Bunnies, and upcoming Assault Heroes 2, Aces of the Galaxy and Lost Cities!

Sea Life Safari is currently available for the PC through the WildTangent game network, and is in essence a Pokemon Snap styled game underwater, where you take pictures of fish and other wildlife. There is a PC demo you can download here, or watch this video:


Playing the demos shows two things - 1. It has some sort of Achievement system already in place for the PC users, and 2. It's made by Wanako games, creators of Assault Heroes and 3D Ultra Mini Golf on XBLA! Sounds like all we need is an official confirmation.

Gin Rummy is a popular card game played usually with two players - but can be played with 4 cooperatively! You can read up more on the rules at this Wikipedia page. If this is an XBLA game, Sierra might be betting on the popularity of other games like Uno and Texas Hold 'em and add to the card playing pile!

Both are situated at "Rumor" though considering the evidence, we can assume these are Unannounced. Let's hope we here more soon!

Source: Gin Rummy OFLC Rating, Sea Life Safari OFLC rating

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Triggerheart Exelica is up!



Developer: WARASHI Inc.
Publisher: WARASHI Inc.
Genre: Shooter
Price: 800 Microsoft Points

Click here to check out pictures of the game!


Click here for the official Xbox.com webpage!

Click here for the official NeoGAF forum topic!


Source: Major Nelson

GDC '08 - New Castle Crashers footage!



Gametrailers have got some new footage of Castle Crashers, showing off the first few minutes of gameplay, the map system, as well as the upgrade system for each character.

Source: Gametrailers.com

GDC '08 - New video of Braid!

Despite being at GDC it doesn't seem like Braid was mentioned anywhere outside of Microsoft PR - well Gamespot did have a quick look at the game, and it's looking pretty sexy!



Braid is from the mind of Jonathan Blow - sporting a Super Mario Bros. like platforming with a whimsical graphic style. One of the major features of the game is that the player can turn back time - similar to The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time but with no apparent limitations to the amount one can use. Initially shown at the IGF back in '06, Braid has been a long time coming.

A new feature shown off in the new demo was the "Speed Run" mode - or Time Attack. Players will be able to play for time, and fans can try and beat the top scores on the Leaderboard!

Supposedly it's slated for Spring in the US, so we should see it pop up in the coming months.

Source: Gamespot Go Go Break Steady Preview,

GDC '08 - New information about Fable 2 XBLA games!



At Peter Molyneux Session at GDC, he announced that several new XBLA titles will be created for use in and out of Fable 2 - now some new information has been revealed, courtesy of this Gamespot Video Preview.

The Fable 2 Pub Games will come in 3 different kinds of gambling experiences. One is a mix of Crappes meets Roulette - which was shown at the GDC session and is currently titled "Keystone". Two more are in the works - a slot machine styled game, and a "press your luck" game. Whether or not these are bundled together or separately isn't actually known.

The games are currently being made by Carbonated games - makers of UNO, Hexic, and Hexic 2 and will share the amount of money made in then with Fable 2 - so you can get a heads start on your funds in the game.

Source: Gamespot Go Go Break Steady Preview, Peter Molyneux's GDC Session video.

GDC '08 - New video of Go! Go! Break Steady!

Gamespot were roving around the grounds during GDC '08 and were able to get the first footage of Go! Go! Break Steady!

Break Steady is a mix of a button-tapping games like a Dance Dance Revolution of a Boom Boom Rocket, while also being a Puzzle game similar to Zuma. Each 'set' is in two parts - the player must first perform a set of button actions as soon as they go into the 'action zone' in the middle of the screen.


Once this is completed, the player must then insert new coloured 'Beatnik' blocks into the surrounding beatnik circle. Getting 3 beatniks in a row will remove them from the Puzzle Ring and push the rest together - which can combo blocks together and therefore, get you more points.

Doing better in the first part gives you more beatniks to work with for the second - so you can work faster and get rid of those blocks quicker. The game is over once the timer runs out or the level fills with blocks.


The game features a Single Player mode where you can play as one of six characters attempting to beat another characters 'beat', as well as an endless mode and a puzzle mode.

The game also has 2 player Multiplayer for Local and online play, where you can multiply beatniks to throw more blocks onto the other side, or work together Cooperatively!

The game is being made by a new developer called Little Boy Games, which have also just updated their website with new information on the game - including cast and more about the gameplay.


Source: Gamespot Go Go Break Steady Preview,

Monday, February 25, 2008

Review wrap-up: People get around to reviewing N+!

The major websites have gotten around to reviewing the latest XBLA game - and it's all good!

- Gamespot review by Don Francis - 7.5/10
- 1UP.com review by Nick Suttner - 8.5/10
- Xbox360 @ IGN.com review by Ryan Geddes - 8.5/10

Source: 1up.com, ign.com, gamespot.com

Triggerheart Exelica is your game of the week!

A unique spin on a classic shooter, players can capture enemies with anchors and fling them away with “Triggerheart Exelica.” The vertical scrolling shooter deploys on Xbox LIVE Arcade this Wednesday, February 27 at 9:00 a.m. GMT (1:00 a.m. PST).

“Triggerheart Exelica” on Xbox LIVE Arcade is an upgraded version of the original Japanese arcade game and allows players to take down or trap and toss enemies by controlling humanoid weapons systems known as Triggerhearts. Players will enjoy the smallest and newest model of Triggerhearts, which feature the perfect blend of artificial intelligence and an imposing arsenal.

They are the ultimate weapon against the mysterious enemy ships of the Ver’mith! “Triggerheart Exelica” also features five stages of enhanced graphics, BGM sound tracks, three difficulty levels and a “Variable Boss Attack System,” which adjusts the difficulty level to match player’s skills.


“Triggerheart Exelica” will be available worldwide for 800 Microsoft Points.

Click here for brand new images of the game!


Click here for the Official Xbox.com webpage!

Gamerscoreblog have also added a new video of the game - the first of the XBLA version! Watch it below:


Source: Gamerscore blog

Rubicon officially announce Shotest Shogi and.. Basement Pool?

Rubicon Development have updated their website with the first official word on Shotest Shogi as well as a completely unannounced title - Basement Pool.


"Basement Pool” is a brand new pool game development, custom designed for the demands of the Xbox 360 Live Arcade audience. Sporting a swathe of advanced features, both graphical and gameplay-wise, ”Basement Pool” ticks all the boxes for a next generation console game while adding a few new ones of its own.
- Totally Realistic ball physics courtesy of the Raz0r Physics system.
- Spectacular high resolution, high detail next gen graphics.
- Different game types - currently five unique variations of pool, with more to be added later.
- Different tables - Basement pool has fifteen unique pool tables, including standard US and UK tables and some very odd ones indeed!
- Online Multiplayer action via XBox Live.

To view more images of Basement Pool, click here.


You may know Chess, but do you know Shogi? This challenging and exciting strategy game is arguably the most popular board game in Japan. Now it arrives on Xbox LIVE Arcade with world-class AI, 16 challenging computer opponents, online multiplayer, gorgeous 3D boards and a beautifully rendered Japanese setting.

Shogi veterans can jump right in and play, while newcomers will learn the basics and finer points through animated tutorials and puzzles. Once you experience Shotest Shogi, you’ll understand why the Japanese are so fascinated with Shogi!


To view more images of Shotest Shogi, click here.

Source: Rubicon Development Website

Sunday, February 24, 2008

GDC '08 - Fez unofficially confirmed to come to XBLA?

At the Independant Games Festival there was one game on the tip of everyone's lips - Fez. Developers by The Kokoromi Collective / POLYTRON out of Quebec, this 2D-in-3D platformer ended up winning the Award for Excellence in Visual Art.

Being an Indie developed game, it's now a matter of what it'll end up appearing on - PSN, XBLA, or just PC only? Well Phil Fish - one of the developers - had this to say on the NeoGAF forums:

This version is being made on XNA. Draw your own conclusions.

Dun dun duuuun.

Source: Phil Fish @ NeoGAF forums

GDC '08 - Gamespot previews Puzzle Quest: Galactrix

Infinite Interactive are hard at work at their semi-sequel to the hit Puzzle game - Puzzle Quest. During GDC - CEO Steve Fawkner had his own session, discussing the troubles they had trying to find a publisher for the original - that it was deemed "too risky" - you can read about that here.

Infinite Interactive demoed their upcoming title to Gamespot after the session. Galactrix has had a slight name change since the original announcement - it now has Puzzle Quest slapped on the front of the title. And who wouldn't? GFW Magazine just gave the original game a 10/10!

The Gamespot preview discusses the differences between the original and the sequel - Galactrix sounds like it's expanding on the orginal in very different ways. The game has also changed style somewhat - as seen on the official page the game was originally looking much like Puzzle Quest or even Tetris. With the new shots from Gamespot you can see it's gone with a new Hex-style board as you battle other ships:


D3 was only focusing on the core puzzle gameplay in Galactrix during our demo, so that's all we got to see firsthand. But in talking with company reps, we discovered there will be more going on between battles here than there was in Puzzle Quest. That game took place only on a single world map, but in Galactrix, your quest will span planets, star systems--and perhaps even the entire galaxy.

A number of other gameplay systems will underpin your mission. There's a diplomacy system that will track your standing with various factions throughout your interstellar travels, governing the interactions you're able to have with them.

A commodity system will tally your income and dictate what resources you're able to amass to assist your offensive effort. And, there will be ship building, allowing you to collect blueprints you can use to construct new and varied ships for your fleet then customize their weaponry for different kinds of enemy encounters.

You can read the preview here, as well as a video interview with Steve Fawkner here. While initially set as a PC game and then later a XBLA title, this screenshot suggests that they might be attempting to do all of them at once:


"Achievements" eh?

Source: Gamespot - Galactrix first look!

Rumor: Microsoft cutting royalty fees for XBLA games?

This week was all about the democratising of Indie game development through the PC, PSN and XBLA. But according to Brian Crecente over at Kotaku, Microsoft may be getting a little greedy on the current XBLA royalty fees - claiming they may have as much as halved the previous amount given to developers.

For the last few years Microsoft had given XBLA developers a very generous royalty share of 70% - now sources are saying that may have gone down to somewhere near 35%.

Microsoft has responded to the allegations, which you can view here on Kotaku, however they neither confirm or deny the rumor.

If the rumors are true - it seems like an almost hostile move by Microsoft which could possibly push waves through the Indie community back to the PC, PSN or Wii. One of the main reasons XBLA is so popular is that it's actually one of the few ways to make some decent cash out there in the Indie scene - a scene where most games are made out there for no profits whatsoever, and a scene where games are - in general - never actually made to completion.

If such a sudden change has occurred, it may begin to turn people off using the XNA library. A game like The Dishwasher is already fairly far along in development - but what can a developer like this do now that they're already deep into the XNA structure? You can't go back - you're committed to the platform. You're stuck.

If this is true it could also mean that some games could go UP in price - a game like Bionic Commando Rearmed was made with a fairly large budget for an XBLA game - under the assumption that they would get most of those costs back with the generous royalties - now it might be too much of an effort to do this kind of project again.

Of course, this is all speculative, it might just purely be rumors, or not as severe as suggested - but even still it could be a blow to the XBLA initiative. At the same time, we don't know what sort of royalties are being pushed by Sony or Nintendo on their respective consoles either.

Kotaku will hopefully be following up on this as more information comes up.

Source: Kotaku - "Rumor Microsoft Cuts Indie Royalties in Half", Kotaku - "gdc08 Microsoft Responds to Royalties Cut Rumor"

Friday, February 22, 2008

What needs to be on the XBLA? #3 - Tyrian


Welcome back to "When needs to be on XBLA?"! Today we shall talk about one of the best DOS games ever! It was released way back in 1995 by Eclipse Entertainment and Epic Megagames, and that game is Tyrian!

Tyrian is a Vertically scrolling shooter - or Shmup - made specifically for the PC. Shmups tended to be released only in the arcades - and still do - so in order to be suited to that market, the games tended to be short and extremely difficult - Ikaruga for example.

Being a game made for a home platform, Tyrian moves past these "limitations" of the genre and create a full blown game with a whole load of levels, difficulty levels and a lot of play time. And yet can still cater to a hardcore audience through a huge range of difficulty levels.

A game like Tyrian makes Shmups more accessible - gone are the old rules of "You got hit, you're dead, enter more money!" - Tyrian gives your ship a health bar, and shielding to help you continue on your journey. Lives are still a factor, but it takes a whole lot more to die than your usual Shmup - you don't have to completely memorize a level. It's not the only game to ever do this, but it's one of the best.


Upgrades are a huge part of Tyrian - you can upgrade your ship and weaponry by killing enemies - which drop coins. The amount of ways you can upgrade your ship is staggering - there are 11 ships in all, as well as 18 front gun types (Straight ahead), 12 Rear Gun types (Shoot to the side), 11 Shield types, 6 Generators (speed of regaining life), and 30 Sidekick weapons, which you can have two at a time. This, plus 60 levels over 5 chapters with multiple routes.. this game is pretty damn big. Mix and match and you've got hundreds of combinations. But the game never came to consoles!

The game plays in two different modes - Single Player and Arcade. In Single Player, you choose your path through the game, upgrade your ship, and read the story through data cubes you collect within the game, and choose your path in certain sections of the game - completely by your choice. Arcade mode goes back to a more classic style - collecting power ups during levels while still maintaining health and shield bars of Tyrian.

Tyrian also supported Multiplayer! Two people locally or online (In 1995!) could play through Arcade mode together.


Though the graphics are in a low resolution, the game is rich with colour. Everything is clear to the player - you can see ships and the large amount of special effects, bullets, and everything in a small resolution. It was one of the best looking 2D games of the time.

The soundtrack is a treat - it is very memorable, just looking at these youtube videos brings back so many memories of the games music. The CD re-release back in 1999, Tyrian 2000, had new mixes of the music, but I prefer the synthy chip tunes myself. Just have a listen in the videos embedded in this article.

Even with the few Shmups coming up, there is always room for more - especially of this quality. It certainly hasn't stopped the Wii Virtual Console - which has quickly become filled with the wackiest Shooters every released - the Turbografx was full of them!


It would certainly appeal to people on Xbox Live Arcade - people are already hyped by Ikaruga - but I feel it may only get picked up by the "hardcore". Tyrian is skewed a bit more to a little more casual audience - similar in ways to XBLA's own Omega Five - a side scrolling shmup - had an excellent difficulty curve, and knew it was a downloadable game. A demo of Tyrian with the first 3 levels could convince a lot of people to buy it.

The thing with Tyrian is - it's currently available online! For free! The actual game was released by its owner Jason Emery (who originally programmed the game and did the level design) after many years of attempting to bring the game back in some form or another - Game Boy Colour and Game Boy Advance versions were in development at some point or another, but were never able to find themselves a publisher, so those games ended up on the chopping block.


But I feel he may have spoken too soon - the XBLA and DLC services is are the perfect place for such a game to make a comeback. Being free before certainly hasn't stopped Marathon, N+ and many Namco arcade games from appearing on the network. The ability to play Coop online without hassle would also be great. It's a game that was completely missed by most of the console generation, which needs to be corrected!

There is a project currently available called OpenTyrian in which is an open source attempt to revive Tyrian and port it to several systems - currently different developers have made it available to play on Mac OSX, Gamecube, even the PSP! There is certainly some big fans out there - but a focus on the Xbox 360 platform would be fantastic. The current web page for OpenTyrian can be viewed here.

I have attempted to contact Jason Emery, the original programmer and current holder of the rights for Tyrian about the possibility of bringing it to the Xbox platform. However I have not been able to get a response at the time of this article. If he does get the time to respond, I will write a secondary article.


To be just a bit speculative for a second - Emery currently works for Amaze Entertainment, which is a part of the Foundation 9 conglomerate, which Digital Eclipse and Backbone Entertainment is a part of - both huge XBLA contributors with a lot of big projects on hand. Digital Eclipse has been all about Emulation and have dealt with Arcade and SEGA games. While their ports haven't exactly been spectacular, with the right tools and the right director, Tyrian could get the sort of boost something like Bionic Commando or Commando 3 is getting - add Achievements and other features (like Coop) directly into the game, rather than around it.

So in review: Tyrian would absolutely appeal to to the market that the XBLA strives to appeal to - and will also give a poor guy who's been trying to revive his damn game for nearly 10 years the life it so sorely deserves! Make it so!


You can go and download Tyrian for free, right now! Check out this webpage:
http://www.freewebs.com/worldtreegames/ and download it now. And check out the Open Tyrian project. To find out more on Tyrian and Tyrian 2000 go to the Unofficial Tyrian website.

Podcast wrapup - Bionic Commando, the XNA network, and everything in between


Podcasts aplenty throughout the week - a lot of it very interesting stuff.

1. Xbox 360 Fanboy has the entire "Blogger's Breakfast" up for download. Bloggers Breakfast has become a tradition for Microsoft - inviting people like Kotaku and Joystiq to ask their own questions outside of the big guns like 1up and IGN.

Fancast Xtra: Microsoft GDC08 blogger breakfast
It's been a long week, Fanboys. It's currently after midnight Pacific Time and we've still got plenty of GDC08 coverage to pump out (mostly for mother Joystiq, so make sure you keep a lookout over there), but we wanted to make sure everyone in the X3F community got a chance to listen to the Microsoft blogger breakfast, which is becoming something of a tradition at GDC.
Download here or join the RSS Feed.

2. Xbox 360 Fanboy has ANOTHER podcast with an interview with the people behind Pirates Vs. Ninjas Dodgeball.

Xbox 360 Fancast 056 -- Hey-oh!
Well kids, GDC is upon us once again. As such, we spent much of the day on a plane today (it was still Monday Pacific time when we started writing this) and the rest of the day taking in what we could of the conference.

Oh, and we should probably mention that we have an interview with Chris Stockman of Blazing Lizard, creators of Pirates Vs. Ninjas Dodgeball. Not only that, but if you listen carefully, you'll get a very revealing hint concerning the fifth and final team in the game. Listen, learn, and experience the true joy of enlightenment.


Download here or join the RSS feed

3. 1UP Yours @ GDC discuss games like Dishwasher: Dead Samurai, and other XNA games, and Bionic Commando Rearmed as well as some Indie stuff that has been shown around, as well as Denis Dyack and his one console future.

1UP Yours: "A One Console Future"
Denis Dyack joins the crew, along with old friend Mark MacDonald. Wherein we discuss Mark's favorite topics of GDC, how the press covers games, and of course, the one-console future.
Download here or join the RSS feed

4. Angry-Gamer.net has a few of the chaps all the way in GDC and discuss some of the Indie stuff they've seen. The sound levels are a bit off but I'd a decent listen either way!

Angry Gamer Podcast GDC 08
LIVE from Games Developers Conference 2008, comes a hip and happening Angry Gamer Podcast! Questions such as "Does Peter Molyneux make a good woman?", "Why the hell wasn't the Ralph Baer thing packed full of people?" and "Where can I get a drink around here?" are all answered!
Download here or join the RSS feed

5. IGN Game Scoop! discusses the newly released N+, as well as a ton of stuff from GDC

Game Scoop! Episode 69
It's been a long week, but we made it through GDC. It's about 7pm here in the IGN office and we just finished recording this week's Scoop! It's packed with news from the Conference, but honestly I'm too tired to recap it all here. Instead, enjoy this impressive fan art from altoidyoda after the break.

Download here or join the RSS feed

6. 1UP Yours @ GDC. Well it only just went up, haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, but it should mention some stuff somewhere!

1UP Yours: "Beat the Press"
The final show of a busy GDC week brings our friends N'Gai Croal, Stephen Totilo, and John Davison to the studio for what they thought of the entire conference, including Prototype, death and consequences in games, Nintendo's pay-for-play online plans, and a final Stephen Totilo's "Deep Thoughts."
Download here or join the RSS feed

GDC '08 - The 1UP Show brings you more Dishwasher, Bionic Comando, and Indie games!


The 1UP Show is all about GDC, and XBLA / PC indie games is on the tip of everyones tongue. Bionic Commando is also shown, and a look at some currently PC only games such a Fez and OokiBlocks which would be great to see on the XBLA someday!

There's an indie explosion at this year's Game Developers Conference and everyone here at 1UP is raving about our shared experiences with all the great titles in competition at the Independent Games Festival. The 1UP Show delves into the phenomenon during our mid-GDC get-together. Don't worry, we manage to slip in a few 800 lb. gorillas just to flesh things out.

Audiosurf, Dishwasher, Fez, JellyCar, LostWinds, and Ookibloks all make brief appearances for the indie scene in our discussion while the big playas represent with Bionic Commando: Rearmed, Gears of War 2, Ninja Gaiden 2, Recoil: Retrograd, and Street Fighter IV.


Download the episode here, or watch it in the embedded video above!

GDC '08 - XBLA Awards winners announced!


Last month Microsoft had Xbox Live Arcade players vote for their favourite games. Today they've announced those winners.

We crowned the winners of the Xbox LIVE Arcade Awards at GDC. In January, more than 26,000 people voted for their favorite Xbox LIVE Arcade games, chosen by a panel of select industry journalists. The winners for the first six categories were determined by popular vote, with the final four categories decided by sales and gameplay data, Metacritic score or staff vote.

Xbox LIVE Arcade Awards – 2007 Winners

- Best Overall Arcade Game: “Bomberman Live” (Hudson Entertainment)
- Best Classic Game: “Castlevania: Symphony of the Night” (Konami Digital Entertainment)
- Best Original Game: “Pac-Man: Championship Edition” (NAMCO BANDAI Games)
- Best Family-Friendly Game: “Pac-Man: Championship Edition” (NAMCO BANDAI Games)
- Best Competitive Multiplayer Game: “Bomberman Live” (Hudson Entertainment)
- Best Cooperative Multiplayer Game: “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” (Ubisoft Entertainment)
- Best-Selling Game: “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” (Ubisoft Entertainment)
- Most-Played Game: “Worms” (Team17 Software Limited)
- Highest-Rated Game: “Castlevania: Symphony of the Night” (Konami Digital Entertainment)
- Xbox LIVE Arcade Staff Choice: “Pac-Man: Championship Edition” (NAMCO BANDAI Games)

Source: Gamerscore Blog

Review wrap-up - Reviewers too busy to play N+...

Everyone is at GDC, so nobody is playing poor N+. Well it's not exactly poor - according to the Leaderboards it's up around 11,000 copies right now!

We have a single review from Team Xbox!

- Team Xbox, reviewed by David Chapman - 8.5/10

1UP.com have also added a late review for Commanders: Attack of the Genos:

- 1UP.COM, reviewed by Dan Hsu - 7.0/10

Source: 1up.com, Team Xbox

Thursday, February 21, 2008

GDC '08 - Day 2 Impressions / Video Roundup



In addition to the large amount of videos that went up yesterday, a lot of previews have also popped from all sorts of sites - check them out below!

Bionic Commando Rearmed

IGN - Hands-on: "Grab some light poles and save the world."
1UP - Previews: "The 8-bit classic swings back in prime downloadable form."

Penny Arcade Adventures

IGN - Preview: "On the rain-slick precipice of a release date."

Go! Go! Break Steady

IGN - Hands-On: "In yo' face! Zuma meets Breakin' 2."
1UP - Previews: "Rhythm-action goes breakin' at GDC."

Castle Crashers

IGN - Hands-on: "We take a ride on a farting deer."

Protimity HD

Gamespot - Hands-On: "We check out a demo of this simple but addictive XNA-developed board game."

JellyCar

Gamespot - Hands-On: "We check out a demo version of this bouncy, XNA-based puzzler that's bounding its way onto Xbox Live Arcade later this year."
Gametrailers Video - Gameplay HD: "Use this auto's expanding ability to maneuver strategically through the puzzling course!"

Rocketball

Gamespot - Hands-On: "Vince Vaughn is nowhere to be found in this casual XNA-developed dodgeball game."

Culture

Gamespot - Hands-On: "We play it with flowers as we check out a demo of this unusual XNA-developed puzzle game."
Gamevideos Video - 'Weed Trimming' gameplay HD

Little Gamers

Gamespot - Hands-On: "Gamers take on gamers in this tongue-in-cheek action game headed to Xbox Live Arcade."

The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai

Gamespot - Hands-On: "We check out a playable demo of this gory XNA-created side-scroller."
Gametrailers Video: XNA James Silva - A Life HD: "Meet the creator of the upcoming action-packed XNA title, The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai."

Source: Gametrailers, Gamevideos, Gamespot, IGN, 1UP.com

GDC '08 - Lionhead Studios adds to the XBLA / Retail crossover experience.

In yesterdays Microsoft GDC Press Conference, Peter Molyneux took to the stage to discuss the upcoming game Fable 2. One of his big announcements is a new XBLA game that will tie in with the main game!

Just before the release of Fable 2 (Which is still unknown), Lion Head Studios will release an XBLA game - which will allow you to earn money. Then, in the first major crossover ability on XBLA - you can use the money earnt in the XBLA game can be used in the full retail game!

Similar ideas have been announced - Bionic Commando Rearmed will unlock a special skin to use in the retail game - but the ability to earn money before the games release will have the player be able to have a bit of cash before playing the retail copy!

Fable 2 will use Gambling to create money - so it might be good to assume this will be Fable 2: Parlor games.

Source: Kotaku: "Fable 2 To Feature Co-Op, XBLA Minigames"

GDC '08 - A quick note about the current XNA game test...

The Gamerscore blog was able to get some context on how the XNA tester framework is going to work:

The ability to download and play these preview games is for a limited time. You can only download the game launcher until February 24th, and all the games will stop working on March 9th. After that, you will have to wait until the holiday release of Xbox LIVE Community Games before you can play again.

So the games will only work for a couple of weeks - looks like we'll have to wait until the final release comes out during the Summer in the US. Hopefully they'll officially release the damn thing in Australia too, so I won't have to work around getting a US account and everything!

Go play them - Dishwasher is looking pretty damn exceptional.

Source: Gamerscore Blog

GDC '08 - Giant GDC Day 1 video wrapup!


The XBLA is on the tip of everyones tongues after the first true day of GDC - and all the video sites are on top of it - XNA and XBLA alike.

Montage Footage

Gametrailers: Montage Footage
Gametrailers: How To Get your XNA downloader
Gametrailers: XNA Overview

Bionic Commando Rearmed

Gametrailers: Area 1 Boss Fight Gameplay HD
Gametrailers: Explosive Weapons Gameplay HD
Gametrailers: Base Infiltration Gameplay HD
Gametrailers: Side Mission Challenge Gameplay HD
Gametrailers: Lucky Catch Gameplay HD
Gametrailers: Area 4 Gameplay HD
Gametrailers: Area 4 Gameplay HD Part 2
Gamevideos: 'Boss Battle'
Gamevideos: 'Area 5'
Gamespot: Gameplay Movie 1
Gamespot: Gameplay Movie 2
Gamespot: Gameplay Movie 3
Gamespot: Gameplay Movie 4
Gamespot: Gameplay Movie 5
IGN: 6 Brand new videos (mentioned below)

JellyCar

Gamersyde: Gameplay Video 1
Gamersyde: Gameplay Video 2
Gamersyde: Gameplay Video 3
Gamespot: Gameplay Movie 1
Gamespot: Gameplay Movie 2
Gamevideos: 'Target' gameplay
IGN: 2 Gameplay videos

Proximity HD

Gametrailers: Gameplay HD
IGN: Gameplay Video

Dishwasher: Dead Samurai

Gamersyde: Gameplay Video 1
Gamersyde: Gameplay Video 2
Gamersyde: Gameplay Video 3
Gametrailers: Gameplay HD
Gamespot: Gameplay Movie 1
Gamespot: Gameplay Movie 2
IGN: 2 Gameplay videos

Culture

Gamersyde: Gameplay Video 1
Gamersyde: Gameplay Video 2
Gamersyde: Gameplay Video 3
Gametrailers: Gameplay HD
IGN: 2 Gameplay videos

Little Gamers

Gamersyde: Gameplay Video 1
Gamersyde: Gameplay Video 2
Gamersyde: Gameplay Video 3
Gametrailers: Gameplay HD

Rocketball

Gamersyde: Gameplay Video 1
Gamersyde: Gameplay Video 2
Gamersyde: Gameplay Video 3
Gametrailers: Gameplay HD

Whew!

Source: IGN, Gamespot, Gametrailers, Gamersyde, Gamevideos

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

XBLAH BLAH BLAH: Commanders: Attack of the Genos



What is XBLAH BLAH BLAH?

One thing missing from this blog is my own thoughts on XBLA games. I hadn't really been thinking about it - I post links to other reviews anyway, what else could I possibly add to that?

Instead, I'll do something different - a feedback or a critical analysis of sorts. A list of what I thought were really great, and some either bad or even just nitpicky - to help the developers on the little things. Instead of an arbitrary score I'll post my final thoughts on the overall product. Let's see how this goes!

Side note: This is based off playing 10 of the 15 missions of C:AOTG, and have not attempted any Multiplayer.

What's good about Commanders: AOTG?

- It's a competent take on the Advance Wars formula.

- The fact that you can change the speed of your units is a welcome addition. I highly suggest speeding them up straight away.

- The ability to use your scouts in a different manner, allowing you to move two steps in one direction to remove some Fog of War and then go two back for protection adds some more strategy to the game.

- The different abilities of the COs are a lot of fun and each add more to the strategy of the game. Being "Invincible" for a round certainly helped many times, adding additional men around definitely helps in levels with very few men at the beginning, and adding a second movement in a turn certainly helps capture some of the harder areas.

How could Commanders: AOTG have improved?

- Adding something like the ability to "Critical Hit" or "Just miss" an enemy goes against the idea of a tactical strategy game like Advance Wars - Your entire strategy can be thrown out the window because of a missed shot which makes Achievements like "Get 5 stars on every level" that much harder and time consuming, and it's just a frustration in general.

- The music is awful.. really awful. I've turned it off. Sure, we're in the 1930's but you also have Robots! Maybe music tastes changed a little with that little addition.

- The actual distance for shooting enemies seems to be way off sometimes. At least once I've had the game tell me that I can at shoot either sides of an enemy, but not the enemy itself. It's kind of picky. The game will also sometimes appear to say you can attack an enemy but in reality you can't. For example, At one point the game told me I could take 3/4 health off a Airplane using a Walker, but the Walker refused to attack it. It walked all the way up to it, but couldn't attack.

- Little things that seem out of place - like how I've seen some units appear as 'movable' but have not been able to move at all (This isn't Rigs who still have units inside). Sometimes a Unit can only move one forward or backwards, but not to the sides? We're being a bit picky with the movement sets now..

- Some maps seem poorly thought out - level 5 of the campaign for instance. A lot of your time is taken up by not doing anything at all - expect you're trying to move a single troop over from the very beginning of the level all the way to your current position, or you're just taking another turn to make sure you have enough money to create another Artillery or Heavy Tank, because those regular tanks are useless by this point.

- There really needs to be a whole lot more Oil / Money making stations around. In the first two thirds of the game, Infantry are quite useless because they have nothing to capture, and many rounds are wasted waiting for funds. Build Stations also heal your character, but you need to keep those clear to make new Infantry!

- Despite there being a lot of small, mountainous area, you can't have your infantry climb up them for better fog of war view or better attacks against the enemy. There are limited amount of times where you can but happens rarely.

- Picking up some tokens will actually make them explode and hurt the player. What the hell kind of incentive is that?

Final Thoughts

Frankly, the main problem with Commanders is that it doesn't take enough from the Advance Wars formula, what it does do differently (with Crits and less chance for ground type tactics) somewhat feels cheap and unnecessary. If you haven't ever played Advance Wars before, give the demo a shot - you might like it! If you have, go buy a DS and Dark Conflict / Days of Ruin right now. Just do it.