Team Xbox have added a new preview of THQ's upcoming Elements of Destruction game for the XBLA, including a new video!
In THQ’s upcoming XBLA title Elements of Destruction, you play the role of the brilliant scientist turned mad scientist, and you need to unleash fury in the form of lightning strikes, earthquakes and tornadoes. At first, there’s not much resistance to Herbert’s offensive efforts, but in time the company starts to defend itself better and try to chip away at Herbert’s critical energy supply that enables him to forge his attacks.
You can check out the entire preview and the video here.
In other EOD news, the game has been rated across the board - It's just been rated by the USK, ESRB and OFLC.
Become a gold-thirsty ninja battling homicidal robots with “N+” as it lands on Xbox LIVE Arcade this Wednesday, February 20 at 9:00 a.m. GMT (1:00 a.m. PST).
In the enhanced version of the original game “N,” players take on the persona of a ninja who must use deft acrobatic actions to battle robots in the futuristic world of “N+.” Play as a lone ninja or destroy the robots with a friend in Cooperative, Survival or Race modes using local or Internet co-op via Xbox LIVE. “N+” boasts 2-D Ragdoll physics with incredibly styled next-generation graphics for an intense visual experience. With unlimited lives, over 300 levels to master and a built-in level editor for when you crave more, the gold-searching and robot-smashing adventures are seemingly endless!
“N+” will be available worldwide for 800 Microsoft Points.
Metanet also posted a blog about the upcoming release. They're clearly very excited (It is their first piece of software for sale!) which included some interesting facts about the policies of the XBLA and upcoming DLC:
There are also a couple sets of really cool gamerpics and themes in the LIVE Marketplace — we would have liked to put them up for free, but this is apparently against policy. It *is* a bit frustrating: it seems silly to us that gamers have to pay for something entirely superficial and not even part of the game! In any case, we’ll try to have preview pics up on Wednesday, so at least you can see what you’ll be getting. There will also be one or two level packs coming in the future, though we don’t really know the timing for that yet.. but we figure 450 levels should keep everyone busy for a while.
Wizards of the Coast, creators of the Magic: the Gathering game has announced its plans to bring the game to the Xbox Live Arcade through Stainless Games.
Magic: The Gathering combines the dynamics of a card game with trading and collecting. Magic currently has a thriving online edition (Magic Online) made up of more than 350,000 active accounts, whether or not the Stainless version is any similar is unknown at this point - the original Press Release specifically states that they are working on games based on the franchise, not specifically Magic Online Live.
Another interesting note is that Stainless are working on the XBLA and PC game, while Mind Control Software is working on a Mac and PC game. Are they all working on the same project and working together on the PC game, or are they separate?
The game allows gamers to collect and trade virtual cards, build the perfect deck, get help from mentors, find opponents at all skill levels, and compete for prizes every day without ever leaving the comforts of home.
The Official UK Xbox Magazine web page has finally confirmed that the upcoming game Blood Bowl by Cyanide Studios will be released at an Xbox Live Arcade title.
Originally announced for Xbox 360 back in November, the actual nature of the title was not initially specified until now.
Blood Bowl is based off the Games Workshop board game of the same title, where players can play a turn-based, bloody Orcs version of NFL Football - and is quite popular. Cyanide Studios made a similar game called Chaos League back in 2004 for the Xbox, so they have the knowledge to make it and do it well.
Two podcasts have come out this week discussing XBLA games:
The Player One Podcast discusses Discs of Tron this week, discussing the differences to the original and how it.. really hasn't held up very well. It's the first "LIVE" podcast POP have ever done too, well worth the listen for some pre-GDC discussion.
It's a different kind of podcast this week. Greg is absent, CJ and Phil are LIVE from San Francisco. It's the first time we've recorded an episode where any of us were in the same room. We talk about the Game Developers Conference and seeing it from two angles (press and industry), as well as some of the bigger news of the week (NPD numbers, oh boy!).
But we spend most of the show talking about the games we've been playing over the past week. And that includes Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, Professor Layton and the Curious Village, PixelJunk Monsters, Team Fortress 2, Poker Smash, Discs of TRON, LEGO Star Wars TCS, Endless Ocean and Warriors Orochi.
Second up is the official Bionic Commando Podcast, who discuss Bionic Commando Rearmed a little, including what price point it will be released at:
It's two gaming media veterans for the price of one: podcast legend and "Gaming Jesus" Mark MacDonald, and the founder of localization company 8-4 and longtime Japan resident John Riccardi, join us on the show, discussing the games industry in Japan and abroad. We'll also be talking about the Alpha version of Bionic Commando, and debating the price point for Bionic Commando Rearmed.
Edit: The Official Bionic Commando website has also put up an article about Bionic Commando pricing, including a poll which might determine the price in the very end.
GDC has begun and the new previews are starting to flow. To start off, IGN have a new preview with the upcoming "Brain-Age-esque" game by Gameloft - Brain Challenge.
Your gray matter will be run through the paces with 20 mini-games. The GDC demo only showed five of these stress-inducing tests. The Daily Brain Test features a mix of simplistic and somewhat taxing exercises. For each, you will need to use only the left thumbstick (or D-Pad) to highlight the correct items and A to select. Each test gives you 50 seconds to answer as many items as possible. The exam gets progressively harder. Things get a tad more stressful when the counter hits ten seconds, as the controller vibrates violently as incentive to hurry the hell up. It can get quite nerve-racking.
You can check out the different mini-games in the full preview.
Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions) 1. Poker Smash 2. Commanders: Attack (debut) 3. Rez HD (-1) 4. Chessmaster Live (-1) 5. UNO 6. Discs Of Tron (debut) 7. Metal Slug 3 (-3) 8. Bomberman LIVE (-2) 9. Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (-2) 10. Worms (-1)
The above arcade list is based on full versions purchased.
Poker Smash seems to be a big success, two weeks in a row at #1 now. Discs of Tron on the other hand, had one of the lowest debuts (I think) of any XBLA game at #6.
The guys and gals over at Metanet Software are giddy awaiting the release of their games in just a few hours - they've done their own panel at GDC discussing the things they were able to accomplish with the Xbox Live Arcade version. An overview of the session has been written by Gamasutra:
As for how the game is funded, the Canadian duo managed to get Government funding from Telefilm for the game, with the duo explaining that it's a loan that's repaid out of profit. Sheppard then showed a full breakdown of N+'s costs - with $214,000 in total development dollars for the game.
She particularly noted that, even taking the programming in-house, it costs about a minimum of $125,000 to develop an Xbox Live Arcade title, including many of the compulsory or necessary payments for localization, testing, and so on. She did note: "Pay yourself as much as you can" with regard to salaries - in case of title delays.
Along with this article the website 360sync has also had a video interview with the main N developers. Included in this interview is the answer to N+'s secret achievement!
Microsoft's big reveal for those at home? Finally realizing the potential of the XNA games interface! You can now go and download demos of upcoming games that use XNA through your Xbox 360!
To do so you have to download the Community Game Blade, to do so you must go here:
Marketplace blade > New Arrivals > Game Content > XNA Creators Club > XNA Creators Club Game Launcher (7mb)
Download it and a new Blade will appear, allowing you to download demos of these games:
• “JellyCar.” Created by Walaber from the United States, this game is about driving a squishy car through squishy worlds, trying to reach the exit. Click here for more images of Jelly / Jello Car!
• “Little Gamers.” This is a 2-D high definition action side-scroller based on the famous Web comic “Little Gamers” created by Loïc Dansart, a 24-year-old software developer from Belgium.
• “The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai.” An intense 2-D action platform game created by James Silva from the United States, “The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai” has a unique, highly stylized look and fast and fluid action.
• “TriLinea.” This puzzle game created by Edison S. Prata Jr., Renato Pelizzari da Silva and Davi da Silva Prata from Brazil mixes fast-paced action with strategy.
• “RocketBall.” Created by Tyler Wanlass, Patrick Murty and Todd Barrons of the United States, this neighborhood game of dodgeball explodes onto the street with fast-paced multiplayer action. Click here for more images of RocketBall!
• “ProximityHD.” This game, created by Brian Cable from the United States, takes the essence of strategy games — battles for control of territory and armies — and distills it down to a simple, easy-to-understand set of rules for casual players. Click here for more images of Proximity HD!
• “Culture.” Created by independent game development company Hidden Path Entertainment from the United States, “Culture” contains challenging games and puzzles based on beautiful flowers.
: GDC '08 - New XBLA media! Castle Crashers, Braid, Penny Arcade, Schizoid and more!
A whole slew of games are being shown for the Xbox Live Arcade at GDC - and a bunch of images have come out to coincide with them:
• “Braid” (Number None Inc.). Developed by Independent Games Festival Winner and experimental game designer Jonathan Blow, “Braid” is a platform experience that bends all the rules with the manipulation of time. “Braid” will launch this spring.
• “Castle Crashers” (The Behemoth). “Castle Crashers” is the second title currently in development by award-winning independent developer The Behemoth, creator of “Alien Hominid HD.” The role-playing game (RPG) adventure will let up to four players hack, slash and smash their way together through a visually stunning hand-drawn landscape. “Castle Crashes” launches this summer.
• “Defense Grid: The Awakening” (Hidden Path Entertainment LLC). “Defense Grid: The Awakening” is the definitive tower defense game experience designed specifically for Xbox LIVE Arcade and launches this summer.
• “Go! Go! Break Steady” (Little Boy Games). An Xbox LIVE Arcade exclusive, “Go! Go! Break Steady” is the debut title from independent developer Little Boy Games. The combination music and puzzle game combines break dancing with novel gameplay and launches this summer.
• “Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness” (Hothead Games). The first video game collaboration between Penny Arcade creators Mike “Gabe” Krahulik and Jerry “Tycho” Holkins and legendary game designer Ron Gilbert, “Penny Arcade Adventures” is an RPG-adventure game set in a highly stylized 1920s universe filled with bizarre characters, outrageous combat and adult humor. The first episode of the game launches this summer. Check out more images of Penny Arcade Adventures here!
Six brand new videos of Bionic Commando Rearmed have been released over at IGN - and it's looking absolutely gorgeous.
In the videos we can see two brand new additions to the already full package - In Coop the screen will actually split if your partner wanders too far away, Toe Jam & Earl style!
As well as the main mode, Rearmed will also include a brand new Mission Mode! Similar to Metal Gear Solid's Special Missions, it's a wire-frame-esque set of difficult platforming levels requiring the utmost skill in Bionic Arm handling.
: 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.
: 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.
: 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.
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)
: 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.
: 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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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."
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!
