XBLA Activity for week of 5/12, 5/19 & 5/26

XBLA Activity for week of 5/12

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1 Assault Heroes 2
2 UNO
3 Brain Challenge
4 DOOM
5 N+
6 Ikaruga
7 Wits & Wagers
8 Worms
9 Bomberman LIVE
10 Assault Heroes

XBLA Activity for week of 5/19

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1 Penny Arcade Episode 1
2 Assault Heroes 2
3 UNO
4 Brain Challenge
5 DOOM
6 N+
7 Worms
8 Ikaruga
9 Bomberman LIVE
10 Sonic The Hedgehog 2

XBLA Activity for week of 5/26

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1 Penny Arcade Episode 1
2 Buku Sudoku
3 Warlords
4 UNO
5 DOOM
6 Assault Heroes 2
7 N+
8 Brain Challenge
9 Worms
10 Ikaruga

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!

Source: Major Nelson

Penny Arcade Adventures is up!

Developer: Hothead Games
Publisher: Hothead Games
Genre: Role Playing Game
Price: 1600 Microsoft Points
Availability: Worldwide (with the exception of Korea)

Click here for the official Xbox.com webpage

Click here for images of Penny Arcade Episode 1

Click here for the official NeoGAF forum topic

Click here, here, here and here for videos of the game

Source: Major Nelson

Penny Arcade Episode 1 IS your game of the week!

Though announced last week, the official press release for Penny Arcade: Episode 1 has been released!

The first episodic RPG-Adventure game to grace Xbox LIVE Arcade, Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One is the result of a collaboration between Hothead Games and Penny Arcade. The first episode sends players to a deranged 1920s comic-book-meets-pulp-horror universe called New Arcadia. Armed with unconventional weaponry, players join forces with Gabe and Tycho of the Startling Developments Detective Agency to make war on bizarre enemies and solve the mysteries hidden deep in the sinister heart of New Arcadia.

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One offers players the ability to design their own customizable character, a dynamic turn-based combat system and the ability to transfer your customized character’s stats and inventories to future episodes, or start fresh with each episode. Fans of Penny Arcade will appreciate the authenticity of the game, which features distinctive artwork and characters designed by Mike “Gabe” Krahulik and a story and dialogue written by Jerry “Tycho” Holkins.

The game will be released worldwide (with the exception of Korea) for 1600 Microsoft Points this Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. GMT (1:00 a.m. PDT).

Click here for the official Xbox.com webpage!

Click here for more pictures of the game!

On top of this the game has been making the rounds with the press - Firstly, Penny Arcade Adventures had a preview on Gamespot's On the Spot last week, which you can watch below:


As well as that, the Penny Arcade creators was a large part of this weeks Major Nelson podcast!

Show #279: Gabe and Tycho from Penny Arcade

This week’s show:
Co-host : e
Xbox News
This weeks announcements
NPD Numbers
Interview: Gabe and Tycho, Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness (13:47–48:39)
Name the Game
Much more…

Download the podcast here or join the RSS feed!

Penny Arcade Episode 1 coming out next week!

Along with todays announcements of Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts and Viva Pianta: Trouble in Paradise came the update on Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness. While it went gold back last week it was only for PC - but it looks like it's all right and done now too!

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One on Xbox LIVE Arcade provides a first-of-its-kind RPG-Adventure experience based on the popular Web comic. The creative collaboration between Penny Arcade creators Mike 'Gabe' Krahulik and Jerry 'Tycho' Holkins, legendary game designer Ron Gilbert and producers at Hothead Games results in a 100-percent authentic Penny Arcade experience that pushes bizarre characters, outrageous combat and adult humor to the precipice of darkness. Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One will be available on Xbox LIVE Arcade May 21, 2008.

Good to know, it'll also be released for 1600 Microsoft Points - the most expensive XBLA game to date. Plus the sudden announcement seems like it may have pushed another game or two back a bit as well - People are waiting for Braid, Happy Tree Friends, Commando 3 and BC: Rearmed too! Hopefully it'll be the start of another round of fantastic games, starting with Assault Heroes 2 today.

Along with the announcement was a new video, which you can view at the top of this article. Ignore the "B-Roll" quip - it got released anyhow. Wah-Wah.

Source: Gamerscore Blog

Ratings watch - Red Baron, Samurai Shodown and much more!

A quick update on a slew of new ratings that have recently shown up on the USK, OFLC and ESRB ratings boards. They're all games we know about in some form, but some of them are games we haven't heard about for some time.

OFLC: Penny Arcade: Episode 1
USK: Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords: Revenge of the Plague Lord
ESRB: Samurai Shodown II, Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords: Revenge of the Plague Lord, Red Baron Arcade

The most interesting of the lot is Red Baron Arcade. It was last shown off at Sierra Week back in August 2007 and not much of a peep since. It actually did get released a few months ago, for the PC but with little fanfare. Good to know that it's still in production for the Xbox Live Arcade, and it appears to be planned for the PS3 as well, which would make it Sierra's first PS3 title.

The mention of Samurai Shodown II is also welcome, as it was announced along with Metal Slug and Fatal Fury Special, but little has been mentioned since.

Source: USK, OFLC, ESRB

Penny Arcade Adventures goes Gold, new trailers released

Hothead games have just announced that the PC, Linux and Mac versions ofPenny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One has now gone gold. Now, onto completing the XBLA version!

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One is an RPG-adventure game set in the comic-book-meets-pulp-horror-meets-H.P. Lovecraft deranged 1920s universe of New Arcadia, delivered to gamers via accessible episodic releases. Players join Gabe and Tycho, the crime-solving team of the Startling Developments Detective Agency, to combat savage enemies and solve mysteries hidden deep in the sinister heart of New Arcadia. The game is the result of close collaboration between Hothead Games and Penny Arcade, featuring distinct artwork and characters designed exclusively by Mike “Gabe” Krahulik, story and dialogue by Jerry “Tycho” Holkins, and both brought to life by the Hothead team.

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One is priced at $19.95 for the Windows, Mac, and Linux versions and at 1600 Microsoft points via Xbox LIVE® Arcade, with a rating of “M” for Mature by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board for all platforms.

A date has yet to be announced, but it should be soon. Whether the XBLA version gets release on the same date is unknown, but their website claims they are "finalizing release plans with the folks over at Microsoft for the Xbox version". The schedule for the episodic releases is also unknown. Good luck to them for the first 1600 Point game on the service.

To celebrate, 2 new videos have been released. You can view them on the youtube feeds in this post, or download the HD versions here:

- Gametrailers - Penny Arcade Game: Fight Gameplay
- Gametrailers - Penny Arcade Game: Gabe Split Up Gameplay Clip

Source: Penny Arcade Game Goes Gold, Rogue Kitchen Appliances Rejoice

Ratings update - More games get more details

All major rating websites have been updated with a slew of new ratings of upcoming games, lets have a look!
First, the OFLC for Australia Classification. Double D Dodgeball - which popped up on the USK a week or so back - still no official word or announcement of the game though.

The second game - Block Breaker Deluxe - is pure speculation. It's a game made by GameLoft for Mobile Phones, iPods as well as PC, and is essentially a clone of Breakout or Arkanoid. However, it hasn't been rated before this, and I don't believe iPod or Mobile games have required ratings before either. At the same time, their previous game - Brain Challenge - at least mentioned Microsoft, while this one does not. Keep a look out though!


The USK has two new inclusions - Penny Arcade Episode 1 (I doubt "On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness" worked well in German) has been rated - the other is also up in the air - Golf: Tee it up! A game being published by Activision, I'm adding it here since I can't find ANY information about the game at all anywhere - which usually means something. We'll have to wait and see if it pops up anywhere else.



Lastly, the ESRB - They've now added Gin Rummy - previously mentioned here, and Lode Runner.

Source: USK, OFLC, ESRB