Review wrap-up: Wits & Wagers, Assault Heroes 2

A little behind but here are a list of recent reviews for Assault Heroes 2 and Wits & Wagers for the XBLA!

Wits & Wagers

- Xbox360 @ IGN Review by Ryan Geddes - 6.4 / 10

- Gamespot Review by Justin Calvert - 4.5 / 10

- Team Xbox Review by Dale Nardozzi - 7.0 / 10

- Eurogamer.net Review by Dan Whitehead - 4.0 / 10

Wits & Wagers has gotten some fairly poor reviews, usually noting that the game's main draw - that you don't need to know the true answer and have to guess at the answers - isn't all that fun. You also need to get the closest answer below the true one, and not simply the closest, which can be kind of a pain.

The graphical style of the game can be a little off putting too.

Assault Heroes 2

- Xbox360 @ IGN Review by Nate Ahearn - 8.5 / 10

- Gamespot Review by Tom Mc Shea - 7.5 / 10

- Team Xbox Review by David Chapman - 7.0 / 10

Assault Heroes 2 has gotten a lot of good reviews - They're enjoying the bigger campaigns and weapons - more of the same more or less - and more fun in cooperative (which a lot of the achievements end up pushing you towards)

Incidentally - website MEGATONik has a new competition for Assault Heroes 2! You can win Caps based on the game - simply go to this topic on their site and reply with something you enjoyed about AH2 - and you might be randomly selected for a prize!

Major Nelson Podcast - Assault Heroes 2 and Wits & Wagers Interviews!

This weeks episode of the Major Nelson podcast has an interview with two Xbox Live Arcade Developers - Michael Fahrny, a Producer from Sierra Online (previously with Battlestar Galactica) about Assault Heroes 2, and Mark Terrano of Hidden Path Entertainment about Wits & Wagers.

This week’s show:
Co-host : e
Xbox News
Interview: Michael Fahrny, Assault Heroes 2 (23:43–30:36)
Interview: Mark Terrano, Wits and Wagers (30:38–47:44)
Name the game
and more...

Download the podcast here or join the RSS feed.

The Assault Heroes 2 interview is unfortunately very short, but the Wits & Wagers one is good, talking about how XBLA is currently doing and how Mark believes it should work.

Source: Major Nelson

Wits & Wagers planned for other regions

Wanted to get a hold of Wits & Wagers on XBLA, but don't live in North America or the United Kingdom? Fear not! Developer Hidden Path Entertainment are looking into bringing the game to other regions, according to Xboxic:

Yes, there are plans for additional region/language support. [...]

We want to apologize to all of the interested folks that we couldn’t afford to support initially at our launch with more question packs than the initial three for the US, Canada and the UK and we ask for their patience. As the game is enjoyed primarily in these three English regions, we’ll better be able to reinvest in this franchise and develop new questions for other regions and other languages. I’m sorry we couldn’t afford to do it all on day one, but we will work very hard to expand our support and provide more content to everyone.

Source: Xboxic - Wits and Wagers will be coming to EU in the future

Wits & Wagers is out! (In NA & UK)

Developer: Hidden Path Entertainment
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Genre: Family Games
Price: 800 Microsoft Points
Availability: Only available in the US, Canada and the UK

Click here for images of Wits & Wagers

Click here for the official Xbox.com webpage

Click here for the NeoGAF.com forum topic

Wits & Wagers is your game of the week, but only for you in the NA and UK!

The Wits & Wagers trivia game, developed by Hidden Path Entertainment, is coming to Xbox Live Arcade this week! Bad news though, it's only being released in The US, The UK and Canada! Boo!

Just like the award-winning board game, players don’t have to be trivia experts to excel at Wits & Wagers, which balances social and betting skills with trivia knowledge. Choose your wacky dancing character and then dive into the game. You can win by making educated guesses, playing the odds or just knowing the interests of other players, whether they are local or online.

Break out the Big Button pad controllers and invite friends over for an entertaining couch vs. couch multiplayer experience on Xbox LIVE, supporting 1-4 players offline and 2-6 players in online multiplayer mode. With 700 trivia questions, great character costumes and dance moves, catchy music, achievements, leaderboards, support for the Xbox LIVE Vision Camera, the Xbox Big Button Pad and more, Wits & Wagers is the fun party game you can play with your family and friends starting this Wednesday!

The game will be released this Wednesday, May 7, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. GMT (1:00 a.m. PDT).

Now I can understand why this is only being released in the US, UK and Canada - It's probably only in English (Though doesn't Canada have a rule of requiring French as well?), and that other English speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand miss out! Bah! It's not rated on the PEGI or OFLC either, so don't expect it.

Click here for images of Wits & Wagers

Click here for the official Xbox.com webpage

Source: PR Release.

Wits & Wagers minisite up on Xbox.com

The upcoming party game Wits & Wagers has had its minisite added to the Xbox.com webpage. Usually when this happens, it means there is a good chance it'll pop up very soon.

Source: Wits & Wagers Xbox.com webpage, Shard on NeoGAF

New Media: Shotest Shogi, Wits & Wagers, TiQal and Bullwinkle!

Along with the news about the 400 Point DOOM and Assault Heroes (which are up right now! Go check them out!) They also released new images of 4 upcoming games - some which had not actually been announced yet (TiQal) and others that have had very minimal limelight (Wits & Wagers, Shotest Shogi). There are a huge amount of images - 20-80 images each! So check them out.

“Rocky and Bullwinkle” (Zen Studios Ltd.). And now, here’s something you’ll really like! Based on the highly popular cartoon series of the same name, “Rocky and Bullwinkle” on Xbox LIVE Arcade is a fast and fun party experience packed with over 100 micro-games and decked out in an authentic retro art style. All your favorite characters are coming straight out of Frostbite Falls and into your living room: Rocky, Bullwinkle, Boris, Natasha, Dudley Do-Right and many more. Plus, players with an Xbox LIVE Vision camera can control 25 of these games using fun gestures. Gee whiz, Rock!

Check out the new images of Rocky & Bullwinkle here!

“Shotest Shogi” (AI Factory Ltd. and Rubicon Development Ltd.). Experience a new kind of shogi, Japan’s top board game, which encourages complex tactical play and strategic sacrifices. Set in an elegant Japanese room, this beautifully rendered game features 16 challenging artificial intelligence opponents as well as an online multiplayer mode*. For beginners, “Shotest Shogi” on Xbox LIVE Arcade also offers an advanced tutorial that guides and tests players as they progress through the game.

Check out the new images of Shotest Shogi here!

“TiQal” (Slapdash Games). An addictive new puzzler, “TiQal” takes players on an epic journey to save an ancient Mayan village. Players demolish enemy block walls by matching squares of the same color and building them up to unleash massive combo points and mind-blowing power-ups. Partner with a friend over local or LIVE* co-op play to rescue the village, while enjoying sumptuous graphics, pulse-pounding sound effects and an awe-inspiring musical score.

Check out the new images of TiQal here!

“Wits & Wagers” (Hidden Path Entertainment LLC). Party and trivia fun! Even if trivia isn’t your thing, the first trivia and party game to hit Xbox LIVE Arcade is one in which players can win by making educated guesses, playing the odds or just knowing the interests of other players, whether they are local or online. Break out the Big Button Pad controllers or play couch vs. couch on Xbox LIVE for a trivia party extravaganza.

Check out the new images of Wits & Wagers here!