Yes, it's true - XBLAH is moving on - but to greener pastures!
Thanks to the fellows over at Think Services, XBLAH is expanding into GamerBytes.com - a brand new site dedicated to not only the Xbox Live Arcade, but also games for the Playstation Network and Wii Ware!
Don't worry, I won't be posting about the Xbox Live Arcade any less, hopefully I'll be posting more! This opportunity will let me get more exposure to allow more interviews and previews to occur.
Sierra released a whole bunch of videos for Aces of the Galaxy, which you can check out here, here and here. Showing off the worlds including "flying towards the sun" world, and "caverns of crystals and ice" world.
In the second part of Developers Response to the recent changes to the Xbox Live Arcade policies, I spoke with Ilari Kuittinen - CEO of Housemarque, creators of the upcoming title Golf: Tee it up as well as Super Stardush HD on the Playstation Network.
I asked for Ilari's opinion on the changes to the policies, if he was for or against them, and what does he believe would improve the current Xbox Live Marketplace.
Ilari Kuittinen - CEO of Housemarque: "It is hard to really fully comment on the issue of removing games from the XBLA service as we don't know how many games are really fulfilling the criteria. Are there really many games that are under the threat of being delisted from the service?
"If you think of a game that is selling about 200 copies per week at $10 each, it can still create income of up to $6,000 USD per month. It may seem low, but for a small, independent developer, this is a very welcomed additional income to keep the company floating. As the digital distribution is really allowing to keep an inventory without a significant cost to the service provider, I really think that these games should be still available unless the sales have been close to zero many months.
"Rather than removing the games, the marketplace interface should be improved to include innovations from other web stores. There are many ways to improve the service. There should be an equivalent of a bargain bin in the marketplace, recommendations of other similar products available on XBLA, tell people that what other people buying a particular game have also bought or a possibility to do customer's reviews & ratings.
"Amazon.com has literally hundreds of thousands of different items available and they are happy to add more items to their lists every day rather than delisting items from their database."
Thanks again to Ilari for taking the time and effort to respond to my query.
The very first released video of Plunder has finally popped up thanks to Game trailers!
Though it may not exactly appear to be 'exciting', there seems to be quite a bit of strategy involved, making sure other players aren't stealing your captured towns, and the Hex system seems to work very well.
Straight out of EGM, 1up have posted an interesting interview with Long Vo - Sprite Designer and Lead Artist of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix - about the difficulties of bringing new graphics to such a classic game. Here is a quick excerpt:
EGM: Which character presented the biggest challenge when it came time to redraw their sprites? Were you worried about pissing off all of the Chun-Li fans? They're notoriously hard to please....
LV: Surprisingly enough, Chun-Li turns out not to be as difficult as some of the other characters. Once we had decided to base the look off of [Capcom artist] Edayan's Super Street Fighter 2: Turbo Revival designs, Chun-Li's design pretty much stayed really true to the original sprites. The more difficult characters to tackle were the ones who underwent proportional changes like Sagat, T. Hawk, Zangief, and Dhalsim.
Sonic the Hedgehog was a big star back in the early 90's. Not so much now, but he was a huge inspiration for a a lot of other console platformers
But he also inspired a PC game - going by the name Jazz Jackrabbit. The game was created by Epic Megagames, being produced by a young Mark Rein, and young Cliff Bleszinski was also a designer for the game. It was also programmed by Arjan Brussee, who currently is a Director over at Guerrilla Games and head of the Killzone franchise. Jazz brought a lot of talented people to the table, who are still going strong in this industry.
Jazz Jackrabbit was the PC equivalent of Sonic. Jazz, a green rabbit from the planet Carrotus and looks like he's stolen the 'digs off Rambo, must rescue Princess Eva Earlong from the clutches of Devan Shell and his army of Turtles. A bizarre space version of Tortoise and the Hare, if you will.
Despite the many inspirations of Sonic, Jazz is still an absolute fantastic game and stands on its own, unlike other games like Radical Rex or Awesome Possum. It took full advantage of MS DOS for the time, besting previous year releases like Duke Nukem II and Raptor: Call of Shadows.
In the game Jazz would run around a level, jumping on Springs, collect all kinds of pickups, and getting to the end. How it differed from other platformers is that Jazz has guns - Jazz couldn't simply jump on any enemy (remarked on in the comic book included with the full game), shooting was his only option. He's got 5 weapons, ranging from your usual Blaster to Flame Thrower, but you've got to collect more ammunition to use them.
Jazz was made with nine full episodes - each containing 3 different levels with two acts each and one boss per episode. The game originally used the classic Shareware model used at the time - where episode 1 was free and players could then buy 1-3, 4-6 or the whole lot. The Jazz CD release later on included an additional 3 episodes. Each level uses a different theme, such as classic Forest levels, a Factory filled with lightning monsters, underground caverns, levels filled with... fans. All kinds of wacky ideas.
Each level had a Special Stage - gotten to by collecting a Red Gem in the second act. These stages are simple 3D stages where you have to run Jazz around collecting a specific amount of Gems, which will gain you an extra life. No "Get All Chaos Emeralds" but I feel bested Sonic CD's similar "destroy the UFO" Special Stages.
The music in Jazz was phenomenal - one of the best uses of Sound Blaster ever. It's filled with some lovely synth tones that filled the Epic library - from One Must Fall to Epic Pinball to Tyrian - and gave each level that distinctive sound. Jaz would yell out the occasional "Yum!" or
That's an old quote though - it certainly is possible, but like everything it would require money. There are projects such as Open Jazz which uses the Jazz files in order to work on other platforms - much like JDuke, WinQuake, ScummVM and DosBOX - wrappers that play the game. The've had quite a lot of progress, to the point where it's been ported to other systems like the PSP, Dreamcast, Linux, practically anything useful. It's possible, but effort is required.
Duke Nukem 3D is being ported to the Xbox Live Arcade, and DOOM has been ported to every other console ever - Jazz is certainly a possibility, with all episodes. Heck, the CD version runs at roughly 50 megabytes total.
Jazz Jackrabbit 2 could also be a possibility, and a lot of people love that game, but I'm not nearly as big a fan compared to some other people. That was a Windows specific game, and had a whole lot of options like Multiplayer which might be more suited to XBLA - but I think the first game would be a whole lot better.
What could be even better? A full blown remake, Bionic Commando Rearmed style. It'd look absolutely gorgeous considering the source material, and the music could be dreamy.
So who could do such a port? Well it so happens that Epic recently bought Chair Entertainment - creators of Undertow and the upcoming Empire: Alpha Complex for the Live Arcade. Both games are 2D using 3D and I think they'd completely up to task for a Jazz remake. If not they certainly have the experience of Microsofts platforms to do a straight up port with tweaks. I'd love either to be honest!
It appears that Penny Arcade Episode 1 is still selling incredibly well - beating both releases from last week. Looks like that high price point hasn't made much of a dent!
According to the Capcom USA Blog, Super Street Figher II Turbo HD Remix features a new play mode - Hitbox mode!
In this mode, the character hitboxes, which determine what is and is not a hit in the game, as well as where you can hit, can be displayed whilst playing the game, so you can see just how you can connect correctly against a player, or how you can cancel them out!
Shortfuse Games - a small game company out of Skövde, Sweden - have announced their first title - Colosseum - is coming to the Xbox Live Arcade.
Colosseum is a large scale arena fighting game being made with XNA. In the game, you play as a fighter in ancient times, where you can fight up to 15 other players online in a giant Colosseum!
The official website has some screen shots and artwork for the game. The game has a cool, cel-shaded look and looks like it might be some fun! Hopefully it won't go the way of Undertow, which also suggested large battles but not enough people bought it.
Their website also has a competition for you to create a new sword for the game - simple draw a single handed sword and send it in! Check their website out here!
NinjaBee - the chaps behind Outpost Kaloki X, Eets, Cloning Clyde, and Band of Bugs, have announced their newest game - A Kingdom for Keflings!
No images have released, just this video and a bizarre press release to go along with it. However, oddly enough, the game was just rated by the German USK rating board along with Castle Crashers!
Developer: SpiderMonk Entertainment Publisher: SouthPeak Games Genre: Puzzle and Word Price: 800 Microsoft Points Availability: Everywhere except for Japan
For the second part of responses, I was able to talk with Lloyd Melnick, Chief Customer Officer and Co-Founder of Merscom, who recently released Buku Sudoku onto the service. With their single release on the Xbox Live Arcade now under their belt, Mr. Melnick has a much different take on the changes to that of Metanet.
Lloyd Melnick, CCO and Co-founder of Merscom
"I support this policy. I think it is important to maintain a consistent level of quality and if a game is not hitting these targets (which are not that rigorous) they aren't giving the gamer a good experience.
"We put almost three years into Buku and it is frustrating that there is so much noise that player's may not realize our game really is good.
"I always believe in quality over quantity and I think the Microsoft policy is a good move in this direction. I understand how some developers feel they might end up wasting their effort, but I think if they make a REAL effort these hurdles should be a piece of cake."
Tune in Friday for more thoughts from Xbox Live Arcade developers, and how we can help the XBLA to reach its full potential.
Thanks to Lloyd Melnick for taking the time to respond to my query.
This weeks ESRB update brings us updated Braid ratings, updated Darwinia + ratings, and... what's this? Samurai Shodown?
There are now TWO Samurai Shodown games rated by the ESRB for Xbox 360 consoles - the first and the second. Previously only the first game was announced and shown. Could they be bringing both to the Xbox Live Arcade now? Perhaps SNK are intending to do a double-pack scenario with both titles and then selling that for 800 Points?
SNK's previous titles of Fatal Fury Special and Metal Slug 3 make it a little harder to determine what they'll go for. FFS was 400 Microsoft Points, while MS3 was 800. We'll know when we'll know, I suppose.
That's right! Despite the game still not announced (and yet, we know about it, and the achievements have been leaked), the Frogger 2 Xbox.com webpage has suddenly popped up, with information of the game and the first screenshots!
Hop along with Frogger 2 as you travel through more than fifteen challenging levels filled with new enemies and obstacles. Each of the five exotic environments provides a new set of challenges, but beware of the bosses that try to thwart your progress. Compete with up to four friends in two different online multiplayer modes, and hop your way to victory.
- Gameplay: Dodge new enemies, obstacles, and engage in thrilling boss battles.
- Hours of fun: Take on more than fifteen levels of action across five exotic environments.
- Multiplayer modes: Challenge your friends as you compete in two new online multiplayer modes. Try Race Mode to see who can finish an enhanced version of the original Frogger level first. Or hang on to the jewel in Jewel Duel, and prevent your friends from taking the jewel.
Not the most invigorating list of features (We provide... gameplay! And hours!) it doesn't look too bad. Perhaps like a decent Flash game. A bizare feature is that it doesn't take up the whole screen with large borders!
With this bit it looks like the game might end up being released in the next few weeks without ever being announced. That's... not good.
Today begins the Captivate '08 Press spectacular! Well, actually it occurred last week, but the embargo has been lifted, and the new screens and videos are now out there! So here's a list of everything (currently) out and about for Capcom's known upcoming titles:
Housemarque have been making quite a name for themselves over the past year - this group out of Finland, previously known for some classic games for the Amiga Computer, had come back in a big way on the PlayStation Network with the release of Super Stardust HD - a dual-stick shooter with fantastic visuals and the PSN answer to Geometry Wars - some would say it surpasses it.
So who would have thought their next title would be an XBLA exclusive golf game?
Golf: Tee It Up is the latest sports game to make its way to the Xbox Live Arcade - a genre which is particularly hasn't been seeing a lot of action. Golf: TIU plans to change that, and is also pushing some of the best graphics seen for the service.
The game features 36 holes over 2 courses - the bright Caribbean Beachside and the overcast Parklands. Both courses are lush with fauna, trees and everything you expect on a golf course. The game has a very simple style to it - almost cel-shaded in design. This is unlike the PlayStation 3's Hot Shots series, which uses cartoony characters in a more realistic setting. This makes the course much easier to see from a distance and still pleasing to the eye.
Unlike games like Hot Shots Golf on the PlayStation 3, the user creates their own character for Tee It Up. The player chooses their and from there you can choose from a variety of hairstyles, clothing and accessories. Despite the face staying the same - they barely look alike, creating your own personal character.
Tee It Up uses the classic 3-click golf interface, matching up the amount of power and accuracy you want - getting this right can push you just that little bit further to the fairway, or completely destroy your chances of par.
A new feature which makes Tee It Up differ to its competitors is the "focus feature" - or more accurately, an "after touch" mode similar to that of Burnout games. Each round you're given a limited amount of movement time for your ball while it's in the air, allowing you to just slightly alter the golf ball's trajectory so you can get that absurd shot you just took to land safely on the fairway, or nudge the ball into the hole. It's not realistic, but it gives the game that little bit of extra excitement.
It's easy to understand and get into. The game features many helpful camera angles of the course to help you avoid sand traps and rough terrain. The power meter also displays the height and kind of terrain that you will face, making it an easier task for the balls' flight.
Tee It Up will also feature 4 player Cooperative or Multiplayer locally and online in a stroke play match or tournament, as well as 2 player match play. With online play you won't have to wait for the other players to finish their turn - each player can play at the same time, and the terms for an online game is really open - 3 players can play on one console while searching for a 4th participant online.
Housemarque have also set up Tee It Up for Downloadable Content after the game is completed. They've already announced that they're in the early steps of an entirely new course being available close after release, based in the Desert, as well as brand new clothing for players to buy and use on their characters.
Golf: Tee It Up is slated for later this year, until then we'll keep you posted with the latest news and screens for the game when they're available.
In the latest episode of Top Secret: The Bionic Commando Podcast, Ben Judd discussed the impending release of Bionic Commando Rearmed.
Whether it's June or ends up being pushed back to July is unknown, it's all up to Microsoft at this point, and their XBLA summer is quite full as it is. He mentioned that it's a little difficult to get the releases set up for all 3 platforms to release at the same time, along with the in game commerce (ie; buy via demo).
A little extra quip that popped up is this nugget:
... we are going to tie-in in some other secrets into it, there are going to be some more tie-ins with magazines in the future...
What could it possible mean? Could be nothing more than a reprinting of the Bionic Commando comic book currently on the site - or perhaps there will be some secret code that unlocks some extra goodies, a code you can only get in a magazine?
All speculation of course, but it's fascinating to see that Capcom are taking great lengths to promote Bionic Commando Rearmed in many forms of media, and for a $10 download does not happen at all. Good on them.
Top Secret File 016: The Top Secret Team
The Top Secret team arrange a hastily-convened podcast, where matters such as sex in games, gaming violence, and the release date of Bionic Commando Rearmed are laid bare. Who needs guests with this level of discussion?!
Over at GameSetWatch Tadhg Kelly, who has previously worked with Lionhead studios and Climax Studios, has written up a fantastic opinion piece on the current changes to the Xbox Live Arcade.
On another note, Aaron Greenberg had a chat with MTV Multiplayer Blog about how the "Negative reaction to XBLA delisting policies was their fault". Some choice quotes:
“The reality is we’re not removing any games from the service, if you will. They’ll always be there for purchase. Think about a book on Amazon. It’s not always going to be featured on the front page of the store.”
“We’re sort of cleaning our shelves as a retailer,” he explained. “Even though we are in this digital age, the pros of cleaning the shelves outweighed the cons of expanding the shelf. ”
These two quotes contradict each other. On one had he says the games will be available for purchase, on the other he uses a retailer analogy of cleaning shelves, but once its not a shelf, its not available for purchase.
New users don't have friend lists, especially those in the casual game space. People right now don't even user the "Tell a friend" feature. Right now it's sounding more and more like they're making bad excuses for an outright terrible idea.
The chaps over at the Behemoth are ramping up their development blog since the announcement that Castle Crashers is essentially done. They've released a whole slew of different animals that you'll be able to use throughout the game, which you can see in the above image.
Their different attributes are as follows:
Frogglet: Will pick up items with its tongue. Giraffey: This fellow will help you level up faster. Bitey Bat: Chomps on enemy heads. Monkeyface: Increases your luck with finding items. Troll: Will slowly regenerate your health. Might be handy with some harder areas.
Along with these cute characters was the showing of the Weapon's Frog!
This bizarre creature is essentially your weapons vault, allowing you to pick and choose your weapons and powerups. No need for tents or backpacks when you've got a Weapon's Frog!
Two two-game weeks in a row! Are Microsoft on a roll? This week brings you the Space Shooter Aces of the Galaxy, and the cute original puzzler Roogoo!
Enjoy the frantic action of Aces of the Galaxy, an old fashioned arcade adrenaline-pumping shoot-em-up that allows players to save the Universe from the wicked Skurgian Empire. Players annihilate enemy ships with an impressive arsenal of upgradeable weapons including high-powered missile launchers, devastating torpedoes and the relentless chain gun.
Battle intense waves of enemy Skurgians against a breathtaking outer space backdrop, and choose to fight alone or join up with a friend at home or via Xbox LIVE.
Aces of the Galaxy will be released Worldwide for 800 Microsoft Points.
Roogoo updates the square peg in round hole premise to a whole new level. Help the Roogoo defeat their enemies, the evil Meemoo, in Roogoo, a new and innovative action based-puzzler with addictive gameplay. Players line up multiple platforms on different levels to allow shaped blocks to pass through and once enough stack up, that particular shape closes off.
A simple premise becomes more complicated as Meemoos begin to obstruct players' paths and butterflies attempt to steal blocks away. Players must swivel, roll and boost their way through 45 puzzle-filled levels alone or with up to four friends in cooperative party mode play.
For those with a more competitive spirit, Roogoo offers a two-player multiplayer mode over Xbox LIVE where players battle to solve the same puzzle and can build up attacks to thwart their competitors' efforts.
Roogoo will be available Worldwide, with the exception of Japan, for 800 Microsoft Points.
After the mysterious title Galaga: Legions showed up on the German Rating Board late last week - it's now shown up on the Australian Classification website!
Over the past couple of weeks light has been shed on some new policies that Microsoft has begun to enforce upon the current Xbox Live Arcade marketplace - that if a game falls within a certain criteria, they will be eligible to be removed from the Live Arcade store.
While I've been quite adamant that this is not the correct direction to go with the live arcade service, I got in contact with as many different developers as possible, and see what they had to say about the new policies. I've been able to get several responses, and over the next week we'll be able to get a bit of insight into the developer mindset!
Mare Sheppard, one half of Metanet software
"Wow, that seems so extreme! It seems very unfair that the offending titles would be pulled entirely, regardless of their sales. Sure, they may be rated/reviewed poorly, but isn't that, realistically, entirely subjective? And, a conversion rate of 6% is still admirable, isn't it?"
Raigan Burns, the other half of Metanet Software
"It really doesn't make any sense that they wouldn't just bump them to a lower-profile category.. deleting them outright is INSANE. Amazon stocks books with single-digit annual sales, and they have to deal with physical inventory! You'd think digital would be even cheaper to manage.."
"We both believe that a rating system would be a better solution to this problem. The system implemented on the Wii is working very well, for example, especially since it requires players to have played the game for a certain amount of time before they get to rate it. It's fair, and such an important feature. Cutting down the catalog is not an effective way to manage complexity; user ratings are."
Tune in during the week for more thoughts from Xbox Live Arcade developers, and how we can help the XBLA to reach its full potential.
Thanks to both Mare and Reigan for taking the time to respond to my query.
Over the weekend Team Xbox got the chance to play a little bit of the original Soul Calibur for the Xbox Live Arcade, giving us a new preview and a whole slew of new screen shots.
The first thing you'll notice is that everything is the same - the textures, the models, the text - all the same. The major addition is the boost of resolution, so now the models look a lot cleaner. No Widescreen mode, instead a - frankly - bland border will go around the screen.
While the resolution boost is great, it would have been nice to see at least some re exported textures. They're looking rather blurry in the screens, and the writing of players names and other text is very ugly - like the sprites in Namco's Mr. Driller Online.
The game will include Arcade Mode, Survival, Extra Survival, Practice Mode, Team Battle, Vs. Battle, and Battle Theater, allowing two CPU players to battle it out.
An interesting omission from the game is the Mission Mode. On the Dreamcast version, Mission Mode would allow players to complete a series of objectives on a map to unlock different artwork. Despite it not being there - the Artwork is! It appears that the Art Gallery is still within the game despite no mission mode, and also gives the player an achievement by looking at everything.
A quick note that may just be a website error, but they specify "Content Downloads" as being available on the Team Xbox page. Maybe some DLC is in the works to add the old Mission Mode?
Check out the more in depth preview over at Team Xbox.
Unfortunately, Bionic Commando Rearmed was delayed a little bit before being released. To ease the pain, Capcom have released the official Bionic Commando Rearmed Soundtrack, available via iTunes or Sumthing Digital!
Both places carry the full album for $9.99US - but if you're outside of America, you'll have to go with Sumthing Digital - as currently only the US can enjoy some BCR beats via iTunes. Sumthing Digital's ID tags seem to be screwed up though - at least, mine were.
I know that once something hits the net it can be pirated very easily but I hope you can see the amount of time and money we have put forth to make this a reality. Just so that you don't see us as the evil corporation that is rolling in money and sticking it to the end-user, let me break down some costs:
We are charging 99 cents per song of which we usually make about 60% or so. That's 60 cents. Additionally there are server management fees, the internal staff hours it took to get the contract up and running, and of course a license fee to create the initial contract. All in all, it probably costs us around 10K just to get the product up and running. We would need to sell 15,000 songs to break even and when it comes to game soundtracks that just isn't a number that you can easily hit.
Yes, it's true - XBLAH is moving on - but to greener pastures!
