Vigilante 8 Arcade is nearing completion, so says the official website. Though with a slight delay, as they explain below:

We were gunning for April and the game is is pretty much finished — we’re currently tuning, working out bugs, and making sure the game runs well online and complies with a zillion little Microsoft requirements.

Though it’s an extremely painstaking and frustrating process at times, it ultimately ensures that the game runs well and takes advantage of all the cool Xbox 360 functionality, like friend invites, rich presence, and so on. With V8 being a full-on multiplayer title, this process gets even more involved, due to all the online-related functionality. (But the game sure rocks online!)

We’ve just finished our pre-certification version for Microsoft, so we’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel! Should be no more than 2-4 weeks now. Then, it’s up to Activision & Microsoft to find us a release slot. Our best guess is early June, but we’ll keep you all updated.

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!

CVG: What was the hardest decision you had to make on the project?

Viklund: That was to determine what was really bad in the original and how these things should be amended.

Well, the truth is it wasn't really that hard to determine - because I always had a very clear idea of what I thought was good and bad about the original game - but it was hard to take the ultimate decision to cut or replace these elements because I didn't know how the Bionic Commando fans out there would react.

It was kind of nerve-wrecking to release that announcement trailer back in January and wait for people's responses. I'm glad that the decisions I made seem to have been well received.

For the ninth installment in our Game Club series we set our electromechanical limbs on one of the NES era's greatest action games: Capcom's Bionic Commando. Join us in the second (well, third really) segment where we talk all about it. Also: GTA IV, Mario Kart, and a very special audio unboxing. It's powerful enough to make your head explode!

Team Xbox have gotten in contact with Namco Bandai and have confirmed that their latest XBLA release Mr. Driller Online will be getting a free title update by the end of the month.

For those not in the know, Mr. Driller Online does not live up to its namesake - the online portion of the game is very, very broken. In fact, it's unplayable! The rest of the game is fine though - but it's good that Namco are going back and fixing this up, even if it may be too late. At least you might get those online achievements now!

Source: Team Xbox - "Mr Driller Online to Get Title Update This Month"

A little late, but not many reviews have popped up for the game - it's a little difficult to get into I suppose.

Two great reviews have popped up from Gamespot and Team Xbox. Both reviewers loved the game - the art style and design, they seemed quite into it. The main problem cited as some sloppy AI by the CPU Player.

IGN gave a lower review of the game, mostly citing the lack of options and variation in game play - you can only play it one way, and they weren't too happy with the graphical design at all - and got bored of it rather quickly.

So the game gotten a bit of love-it-hate-it from reviewers. Best to check out the demo and see what you think.

Gamespot review by Brett Todd - 8.0 / 10

Team Xbox review by David Chapman - 8.5 / 10

Xbox360 @ IGN review by Ryan Geddes - 5.5 / 10

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

The second part of 360Sync's preview of the upcoming Downloadbale Content for Marathon: Durandal has been released, with a new Multiplayer map revealed!

This week they have a look at the map called Thick and Chunky. Originally from the sequel, Marathon Infinity, this map is for King of the Hill style multiplayer - with a twist! The actual "hill" to catch is a giant pool of lava, so you actually have to die if you want to rack up time!

Source: 360Sync - Marathon DLC Preview Part 2

Team Xbox have gotten even more footage of Assualt Heroes 2 - this time showing the players match up with some of the games giant bosses, "including the Mecha Quadriped, the Mecha Gorilla and the Mecha Scorpion."

To watch or download the video, click here.

Source: Team Xbox

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

Achievement lists for 3 upcoming Xbox Live Arcade titles have leaked onto the French website succesfull.fr - those being Sealife Safari, Elements of Destruction, and Aces of the Galaxy

For Sea Life Safari Achievements, click here.

For Elements of Destruction Achievements, click here.

For Aces of the Galaxy Achievements, click here.

Source: Succesfull.fr

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.

Southpeak have released 6 brand new shots of their upcoming XBLA puzzler, Roogoo. Along with this, Joystiq have got some new hands on impressions of it! Here's a snippet:

Roogoo follows one of the cardinal rules of the puzzle genre: inexplicably, things are falling from the sky. Blocks of various shapes will descend from above, and players must rotate platforms to allow these shapes to continue their journey downward. We're certain you've played with preschool toys that are similar to this: star goes in star, triangle goes in triangle, box goes in box, etc. The shoulder buttons rotate the platforms, and the A button lets you accelerate the falling piece.

Despite Ticket to Ride not being officially announced, it looks like they've just skipped it over and gone to the previews! Team Xbox has a new preview of Ticket to Ride!

Ticket to Ride is one of those games that's pretty simple to get the hang of, but requires a lot of strategy to excel at. While the game is certainly fun on its own merits, the competitive nature of the game lends an extra level of excitement. Working against others to build the best and most expansive railway while trying to head others off at the pass, all while trying to connect your Destination goals is a thrill.

And while the game's AI proves a good challenge for any skill level, the real fun comes in taking on live opponents in full five player multiplayer games over Xbox LIVE. Games are quick to set up and jump into, and seem to play without ever getting derailed by lag issues. As an added bonus, Playful Entertainment and Days of Wonder have plans to release additional maps and expansions to the game via the Xbox LIVE Marketplace.

Commando 3 takes the gameplay formula from the previous Commando games and translates in such a way as to make the most of home consoles. Players move around the screen with the left thumbstick and fire by using the right thumbstick, reminiscent of games like Galaxy Wars or (for you older gamers out there) Smash TV. Using either the right trigger or the right bumper, the player can aim and toss grenades, perfect for taking out enemy vehicles, bunkers, or soldiers ducking behind barricades.

Players also have at their disposal a limited number of special "M-Crash" attacks. These powerful moves unleash the player's full destructive potential, instantly clearing the screen of enemy troops and causing massive damage to nearby structures and vehicles.

The latest update on the Vigilante 8 Arcade website has shown off another character - Molo, and the Vigilante 8 icon, the Bus!

A repeat juvenile offender, Molo hails from Brooklyn, New York. While doing community service, he hijacked a prison transport and headed west to meet his role model - the infamous Sid Burn. Molo is certain he can impress Sid enough to let him join the Coyote gang…