With the latest ESRB update comes a change to the upcoming Capcom XBLA game - Commando 3. Instead, it has been renamed: Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3

The original Commando in Japan was actually called Wolf of the Battlefield - so bringing this into the official English translation makes some sense. The more obvious answer would be that just being a game with "Commando" in the title is already very confusing!

"Commandos" is an Eidos RTS series, and the Xbox Live Arcade already has Commanders: Attack of the Genos and Bionic Commando coming out - and they can't call it MERCS 2 as Lucasarts intend to release "Mercenaries 2: World in Flames" this year. It'll get lost with all those games already on Xbox.

Poor Commando! A shame Wolf of the Battlefield doesn't roll off the tongue like Commando does. Plus it might be in trouble if Wolfenstien makes an XBLA appearance.

Source: ESRB Website

- Eurogamer.net review by Dan Whitehead: 3.0/10
- Team Xbox review by David Chapman: 4.0/10
- Xbox360 @ IGN.com review by Ryan Geddes: 5.7/10
- 1UP.COM review by Anthony Gallegos - B

Also, Ex-Gamespotter Jeff Gerstmann's new website - Giant Bomb - have released a review of Poker Smash!

- Giant Bomb review by Jeff Gerstmann: 4/5 stars.

Despite never being announced, Bliss Island is coming out this week, as well as Brain Challenge from Gameloft - the guys who did the POP remake, and also released the game for the Nintendo DS. So this week - a PC port and DS port! Portastic!

Experience the first mind exercise game available on Xbox LIVE Arcade with Gameloft’s “Brain Challenge” and harness the power of the wind to conquer levels in Codemasters’ “Bliss Island,” an updated version of the popular Windows Vista puzzler. Both titles will be available on Xbox LIVE Arcade this Wednesday, March 12 at 9:00 a.m. GMT (1:00 a.m. PDT).

Don’t let a good mind go to waste! Increase brain activity with “Brain Challenge,” an entertaining brain training program that helps players develop stress-management skills through a wide variety of games. A personal coach helps players develop their abilities in five areas of cognitive function, including logic, math, memory, visual thinking and concentration, in a fun and easy way.

Brain Challenge

“Brain Challenge” has something for everyone including Daily Test Mode, where players undergo a series of brain exercises and Stress Mode, which tests player’s abilities to stay calm under stress. For those looking for a relaxing experience, Creative Mode allows players to relax and explore their imagination and Child Test lets players play & share their exercises with younger people.

For competitive players, the game features multiplayer support for up to four players offline and online, as well as detailed stats and graphs where they can track their overall performance and progression.

Developed and published by Gameloft, “Brain Challenge” will be available worldwide for 800 Microsoft Points and is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB.

Explore “Bliss Island” as Hoshi the Zwooph, a mystical blue creature that emits precise puffs of air to create clouds. Help Hoshi become the Bliss Island champion by winning over 25 unique challenges across nine intense levels. Better yet, challenge friends online for more competitive gameplay or focus on topping the Leaderboard charts! Codemasters’ “Bliss Island” will be available worldwide (with the exception of Japan and Korea) for 400 Microsoft Points and is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB.

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1 N+
2 Rocketmen:Axis of Evil (debut)
3 Triggerheart Exelica (-1)
4 UNO
5 Worms (-2)
6 TMNT 1989 Arcade (-1)
7 Bomberman LIVE (-1)
8 Chessmaster Live
9 Rez HD (-2)
10 Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (-1)

The above arcade list is based on full versions purchased. N+ is holding very well - still in top spot. Everything else is essentially down a peg because of Rocketmen.

First we've got Pirates Vs. Ninjas Dodgeball coming out way through Gamecock, then assumedly the XNA demo of Rocketball probably means the game will come to the XBLA. Now there is another unannounced game on the horizon: Double D Dodgeball.

Nothing's known about the game other than it features Dodgeball and assumedly filled with Double-Ds. Got me interested right there. It's also being made by "Yuke's Company of America", or at least distributed by them. Yukes in Japan have made previous WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw games, as well as Go! Sports Ski on the Playstation Network. It'll be interesting to see what comes out of this.

The long known about yet unannounced game Assault Heroes 2 has finally shown up in a new preview over at IGN.

Blowing out the game means new and more powerful weapons, interactive and destructible environments, hijackable vehicles, improved level design and a 30% longer experience. Stages have now been added that stray away from the vertical design, creating a path that snakes in all directions. The team has also made the stages more three dimensional in appearance. One area we saw had the heroes riding on a bridge high above water, adding a sense of grandiose perspective. That water, by the way, looks very cool and is quite impressive for an XBLA game.

Developer: Gameloft
Publisher: Gameloft
Genre: Puzzle and Word
Price: 800 Microsoft Points
Availability: Available worldwide

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!


Developer: PomPom
Publisher: Codemasters Online
Genre: Puzzle and Word
Price: 400 Microsoft Points
Availability: Available worldwide (with the exception of Japan and Korea)

Click here to check out pictures of the game!

Click here for the official Xbox.com webpage!

Source: Major Nelson

It's been known for a while - through the OFLC and USK - that Mr. Driller Online will be making its way to the Xbox Live Arcade. This week's Famitsu issue has the very first details for the game!


Two images have been released - both showing new online multiplayer modes for the game. The first image shows a 4 player VS. Mode against other players - much like the previous games but now online - as well as a 2v2 Cooperative VS match.

We should hopefully seem more soon - apparently this game is due for "Spring" this year.

Source: Famitsu, Jonnyram on NeoGAF

Capcom are on a revival kick for the Xbox Live Arcade - Bionic Commando, Commando 3, and now a brand new addition - 1942: Joint Strike!

Your arsenal begins fairly weak. You'll have your choice of plane and starting weapon, but it won't be enough to handle some of the enemies that come at you as you progress through a level. As you defeat enemies, new weapon options and upgrades scroll down the screen.


Grab the weapon you prefer and put it to use. Each of the variations is effective, from the traditional three-pronged spread shot to the powerful laser. Hold the shoot button and you can charge attacks, though unless you are blasting some of the larger enemies, powering-up attacks tends to be an ineffective strategy.

Ultimately it's your skill at avoiding shots and tapping the shoot button that will determine if you'll make it to the boss at the end of the stage.

Bliss Island appears to be getting panned across the board (as it did in PSP reviews), while Brain Challenge is getting some up and down reviews depending on who you ask.

Also, a late review of Rocketmen too!

Rocketmen: Axis of Evil

Gamespot review by Don Francis - 6.0/10

Brain Challenge

Xbox360 @ IGN.com review by Ryan Geddes - 7.2/10

TeamXbox review by David Chapman - 4/10

Eurogamer.net review by Dan Whitehead - 6/10

Bliss Island

Xbox360 @ IGN.com review by Erik Brudvig - 3.5/10

TeamXbox review by David Chapman - 3/10

Eurogamer.net review by Dan Whitehead - 5/10

Adimittedly I missed the original announcement (hey, I'm doing this in my own time!!) but 1up.com have a new preview of the upcoming Pirate RTS game Plunder, coming to XBLA, PSN and PC from Certain Affinity - who's members previously worked with Bungie and are currently on the 360 port of Left 4 Dead.

[Max Hoberman's] description in simple terms does the game justice. You control a big red X and move it around the map to plot your path, deciding when to attack enemies and towns, when to attack areas on the map to earn resources, and when to chase after power-ups. The first team to capture a set number of towns wins.

You can track down three resources -- gold, lumber, and rum -- and earn town (defense) or ship (cannon/defense/speed) upgrades by combining them. For power-ups, you can find and use a Whirlpool to drown enemies, a bomb to cause area damage, etc. "It's all about moving your guy around, being in the right position at the right time," says software engineer Peter Carter. "That's really kind of the core of any good strategy game -- being in the right position at the right time...we just took out all the complexity."

Gamespot has had a quick chat with Dishwasher: Dead Samurai developer James Silva as he discusses his game, and how Microsoft's XNA works:

GS: What were some of the challenges working on the game with XNA?

JS: One of the biggest challenges I had was optimizing performance--namely controlling Garbage Collection. XNA uses managed C#, which has some inherent pitfalls on the Xbox360. However, once you get the hang of how to avoid silly mistakes, it's all gravy.

GS: What were the benefits of using XNA?

JS: In a nutshell, XNA takes all of the ugly stuff out of game development. Things like device initialization, managing the render loop, gamepad management, and the audio engine are all set up for you, so you can get to the fun stuff pretty quickly.

There are a number of reasons we decided to change the art and here’s the run down of how we came to that decision: As a necessary part of development, we had to outsource a lot of the work to an outside company that based their work off of Udon’s key frames. This company has an excellent reputation and ability as an outside art contractor and we were very impressed with their overall resources and their infrastructure. Without going into the nitty-gritty of it, the art they were producing just wasn’t up to par or schedule of what we needed. To be honest, a lot of their art was looking pretty good, but just not “good enough.” It just wouldn’t satisfy the quality bar that both Capcom and Street Fighter fans demand.

So, we turned to Udon to help solve this problem. First, they identified that all of us (Capcom and Udon) were aiming way too high with our render style. In the original style, we were going using at least 6-8 tones to go from the darkest to the lightest values of a particular color. This, as some fans actually pointed out, is extremely hard to do. We decided to stick it out and go with that route and unfortunately, it didn’t work out too well.

• 8-man Tournament Mode. This has been especially challenging with the new netcode
• Both Remixed and Classic music
• Hit Box Display. (Woohoo!)

Curse all this news, it's very hard to keep up!

Gamespot have got new impressions of Commando 3 from Capcom's Digital Day:

The game started with our squad being dropped off on a string of small islands that quickly revealed themselves as being under enemy control. It wasn't long before we found ourselves under fire from all directions. The game's simple controls made fighting back a breeze. The right analog stick was used to fire our guns, while pulling the right trigger would toss a grenade. The longer you hold the trigger, the further your grenade will go.

This made it much easier to take out soldiers hiding behind sandbags as well as to destroy vehicles. When the going got really tough, one of us would hit the left trigger to unleash an m-crash--an attack that, after a quick animated scene with the soldier who activated it, cleared all the enemies right off the screen.

N+ co-creator Mare Sheppard has announced that their game will be receiving new downloadable level packs over the coming months. IGN have got the scoop:

Metanet plans to release three downloadable expansion packs, each containing about 200 levels, in the months ahead. The first pack will likely contain some easier levels and some co-op multiplayer levels and could hit Xbox Live Marketplace as early as three weeks from now. The second and third packs would follow soon after.

After the Famitsu announcement a day or so ago, the first direct feed screens and first details have emerged from Watch-impress.

Included in the details are the different modes available:

Single Player
- Standard Driller: The regular single player mode.
- Quest Driller: Every 100 metres drilled will add a new "Quest" for the player to finish, which must be completed by the next 100m drop.
Multiplayer modes
- Solo Battle: 4 players compete for the highest score.
- Tag Battle: A 2 Vs. 2 mode where players play cooperatively against another team. This mode is brand new to Mr. Driller games.

The first trailer has also made it online