Oh E3, how I love your ability to leak everything beforehand! It appears that more information has been leaked about 'Duke Nukem 3D' for the Xbox Live Arcade!

According to HEXUS Gaming the game will feature 39 levels, which is what the Atomic Edition had, so it looks like we'll be getting all 4 chapters of the game.

The most interesting addition is the inclusion of a 'Painless Death System'. Players are now able to rewind the game from where they just died! So instead of reloading your last save over and over, you can just rewind and dodge that last attack! Sort of like how the upcoming Braid will also be dealing with time.

Source: HEXUS gaming - Classic shooter gets new features for XBLA

Brand new update for 'Castle Crashers' on the Behemoth's developer blogs - Beefy Mode! Simply eat the correct amount of peanut butter & jelly sandwiches and you turn into a muscle bound freak of nature!

Source: Beefy Mode

From the creators of 'flOw' for the PlayStation Network comes 'Flower'! a game where you float through love, brimming grass. We now know that it's pronouced 'Flower' and not 'Flow-er' like some thought.

Check out the trailer on GameTrailers.TV this week during the second chapter.

Source: GameTrailers.TV - Chapter 2

Crunch Time Games, the developers behind the upcoming 'Shred Nebula' for Xbox Live Arcade, have updated us on the release of their game - it will not be released this week.

According to them, something happened with the schedule which now makes this game unconfirmed. They will be releasing an official release date soon.

In other news, Xbox 360 Fanboy are claiming that 'Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2' may be announced Monday. That's a fairly obvious assumption (montage footage!), but they also claim it may be getting released on Wednesday too! It has been rated on the USK, PEGI and OFLC, but has not made its mark on the ESRB or CERO websites just yet.

Something I also noticed is that the Xbox.com splash page for 'Go! Go! Break Steady' has recently been updated, and they've been given their own forum on Xbox.com - looks like that may just be the release NEXT week!

Source: Xbox 360 Fanboy - Geometry Wars 2 Primed For Release

New weekday, new update on the Australian classification website! New ratings for 'Castle Crashers' and 'Fable II Pub Games', but also a rating for something previously unheard of - 'Tinker'!

It appears that Fuel Industries are behind this game. Fuel is a company that has prides itself on finding new ways to reach consumers through web based games - previously working on 'Hubba Bubba Racer', 'American Dad Vs. Family Guy Kung Fu II Turbo' and a lot of other smaller games. They have previously been a part of some E3 panels in previous years about casual games as well.

No idea what 'Tinker' could possibly be - but good luck to them for expanding to reach new kinds of gamers.

Source: OFLC - Castle Crashers, Fable II Pub Games, Tinker

The previously announced 'Major League Eating' game is now up on the Wii Shop Channel in North America for 1,000 Wii Points! Alongside it are classics 'Ninja Commando' on the Neo Geo for 900 Wii Points, and 'Donkey Kong 3' for the NES for 500 Wii Points.

Continue reading for the full press release.

Destructoid were able to get a sit down (figuratively) with Twisted Pixel - the developers behind 'The Maw' for Xbox Live Arcade!

Based on what I've seen of The Maw in screenshots and the trailer you passed along to me last week, it has a unique style. It's very different than some of the other stuff on XBLA and on the 360. I might even liken it to a first-party Nintendo title, stylistically. What inspired the game's look and feel?

Thanks, that was definitely something we decided on early on. A lot of us in the company -- especially our art director Dave Leung -- is a huge fan of first party Nintendo titles.

We love characters that have a great sense of style, and we really spent a lot of time making sure that our animation was top notch. One of the vision points for The Maw was personality, and I am really proud of what we accomplished with that, especially for a downloadable title where I can see animation as one of the first things developers think they need to cut.

Read the whole interview below.

Source: Destructoid interview: Chatting with The Maw developer Twisted Pixel

I was right! During the Microsoft press conference, they announced a whole bunch of new games!

'Geometry Wars 2' is a new, wave based game which includes 4 player multiplayer! Coming next month!

'Galaga Legions' is a new game from the creators of Pac Man CE! Liked Space Invaders Extreme? This looks very much like it! Coming next month!

They announced that the original 'Banjo for XBLA'! Coming this year!

They announced 'Portal: Still Alive' will be coming to the Xbox Live Arcade! Bigger download sizes? Hell yeah!

'South Park'! Nothing else known! After Acclaim screwed up their South Park games I heard they were never going to do another one! So that's good news!

Along with the new avatar system, the Xbox Live Arcade will now include '100 to 1' - a place to use your avatars and play in real games with real prizes, along with Xbox Trivia

And an entirely new interface! People may be able to FIND new XBLA titles now!

And UNO Rush! A new UNO game which allows players to jump right in with new friends!

[The only problem was the super awesome game I know about wasn't mentioned!! Bah! Not even a montage?!]

Some other games also shown - appeared to all be XNA titles. Either way, I grabbed the footage! Watch it above!

Title: “UNO RUSH™”

Publisher: Microsoft

Developer: Microsoft

Format: Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360™ video game system

ESRB Rating: TBD

Availability: 2008

Product Overview: UNO RUSH™ is a challenging and exciting party card game for up to four players. Developed by the same Microsoft team that brought the original, best-selling UNO® to Xbox LIVE® Arcade, UNO RUSH™ boasts exciting gameplay and social features – multiple variants, house-rule options, local and Xbox LIVE multiplay, camera support, avatar support, full XSAM (LIVE Party Chat) support and more – plus fast-placed gameplay to keep the party going! Sort your cards whenever you have a second to think, because they’re played automatically on your turn. Think fast, keep an eye on your opponents’ cards, predict the flow of play, and above all, don’t forget to call UNO!

Features: “UNO RUSH” features include the following:
• Full Avatar support
• Full XSAM (LIVE Party Chat) support
• Couch play for the whole family – Up to 4 players per console
• Full guest support for multiple users per console over Xbox LIVE
• Xbox LIVE Vision support
• Big Button Pad support
• Co-op Play for teams of two
• Achievements

Check out the new pictures here!

• “1 vs. 100” (Endemol). From the makers of “Deal or No Deal,” Endemol, the world’s largest independent production company, brings the popular television game show “1 vs. 100” to Xbox LIVE Primetime. The exclusive game pits one Xbox LIVE member against 100 others from around the world with a live host and great prizes. The goal of “the One” is to eliminate all the opposition by correctly answering questions, hoping that the opponents will answer incorrectly and be eliminated from the game. And stay tuned for “1 vs. LIVE,” where one lucky winner will have a chance to compete against the entire Xbox LIVE community.

• “UNO RUSH™” (Microsoft). “UNO RUSH” is a challenging and exciting party card game for up to four players. Developed by the same team that brought the original, best-selling “UNO®” to Xbox LIVE Arcade, “UNO RUSH” boasts a wide range of gameplay and social features — multiple variants, house-rule options, local and Xbox LIVE multiplay, camera support, avatar support, and more — plus fast-paced gameplay to keep the party going. “UNO RUSH” is coming exclusively to Xbox LIVE Arcade in 2008.

• “Galaga Legions” (NAMCO BANDAI Games). The arcade shooter “Galaga” has captivated players all over the world, and now the legend lives on with “Galaga Legions.” Featuring table-turning game dynamics, updated graphics and vast waves of ferocious enemies, “Galaga Legions” was created by the same team that developed the best-selling “PAC-MAN Championship Edition” for Xbox LIVE Arcade. “Galaga Legions” will debut exclusively on Xbox LIVE Arcade in 2008.

• “Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2” (Bizarre Creations Ltd./Activision). The latest version of the frenetic retro shooter, “Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2” debuts exclusively on Xbox LIVE Arcade in 2008. Newcomers and pros alike will be blown away by the screen-melting intensity and insane new features, including six action-packed gameplay modes, new enemies, scoring strategies and a diverse list of exciting Achievements. “Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2” also supports multiplayer mayhem for up to four players, with versus or co-op modes, and features razor-sharp 1080p graphics and new, pulse-pounding music.

• “Portal™: Still Alive” (Valve/Microsoft). “Portal: Still Alive” features the full award-winning “Portal” single-player game from Valve plus a new challenge mode. Designed to change the way players approach, manipulate and surmise the possibilities in any given environment, “Portal” has earned more than 70 industry honors for its innovative gameplay, with more than 30 Game of the Year Awards. Solve physical puzzles and challenges by opening portals to maneuvering objects, and yourself, through space. The game is debuting on Xbox LIVE Arcade in 2008.

• “South Park” (South Park Digital Studios/Doublesix/Microsoft). Based on the Emmy- and Peabody-award winning show, a “South Park” game (title TBA) is coming excl

Experience an unbelievable adrenaline rush from playing the latest version of the frenetic retro shooter Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2! Newcomers and pros alike will be blown away by the screen-melting intensity and insane new features, including six action-packed gameplay modes, new enemies, new scoring strategies and a diverse list of exciting achievements! If that’s not crazy enough for you, try multiplayer mayhem for up to four players! Use power-ups in versus mode to boost your stats or handicap your opponent. Or team up with others in co-op mode. Play it all in razor-sharp 1080p to new pulse-pounding music!

• 6 Different Action-Packed Modes: Deadline. Evolved. King. Pacifism. Waves. Sequence. Unlock all 6 of these innovative and challenging modes

• Multiplayer Mayhem: Step up the intensity with four-player multiplayer! Versus, team and co-op modes offer different types of challenges and strategies. Pick your ship and pwn the grid!

• Achievements: 12 entertaining and inventive ways to boost your gamer score.

• Geoms: Collect Geoms to increase your multiplier – but you better be fast because they won’t last forever!

• Additional Enemies: Shoot down all the usual suspects, then say, “Hello” to new enemies that have found additional ways to hunt you down.

Retail Price: 800 Microsoft Points

Release Date: August 6th

Check out all the images here!

Insert press release here, they haven't released it yet!

See all the new screenshots here!

We're a little scattered today, please bear with me!

Insert PR here, when it gets here!

In the meantime, check out these screenshots!!

Appears to be one of the XNA games.

Check out the screenshots here!

This previously announced Xbox Live Arcade title made entirely out of XNA got a bit of playtime during the conference. They have released these new images!

Check out the screenshots here!

This XNA title also got a bit of exposure during the conference.

Well that's it for now. I need some sleep! It's 7AM! Still no sighting of that game I mentioned...

Check out the screenshots here!

Whoops! Forgot the last one!

Check out the screenshots here!

'Galaga Legions', the latest game from the team that brought you 'Pac-Man Championship Edition', has finally been announced. To celebrate, the Xbox.com splash page has popped up!

While the actual text information is pretty slim on the site - we can garner a ton of new information from the tens of screenshots that the page has!

- 'Galaga Legions' is a single player experience. While the trailer and images show a ton of ships on screen, it is purely single player. More on that below.

- The game will contain two modes - Adventure and Championship. The game allows the player to shoot through 5 different areas with new Galaga formations. Championship we can assume is a time based version, while Adventure may be more like Space Invaders Extreme.

- Gain levels with your ship! While in each area, after a certain amount of time your 'level' will increase, bringing new Galaga formations. Every 3 levels will add a new life to your player, and you lose a life when you get hit.

- Place Satellites! Using the right analog stick you can place a satellite which will move along with you. You can also dock with a satellite with the left bumper.

- Gain allies! There are specific ships which may fly through the level. Hitting these enemies will cause a black hole, sucking in nearby ships. Some of these nearby ships will then become your allies that will shoot along with you, sitting near your satellites.

How placing and docking satellites may be used to either move them around to a new position, or possibly to shoot horizontally to your ship, as seen in the video.

- There is a ridiculous amount of stuff going on screen, but you knew that already.

- It looks like there may be a classic graphics mode! Going by a single shot, you may be able to simply shoot retro styles bees and butterflies like the original games!

Check out over 28 new images of 'Galaga Legions' here!

Source: Xbox.com | Galaga Legions

There was a little bit of confusion as to what 'Portal: Still Alive' was when it was announced during the Microsoft press conference. Now they have finally revealed just what it is.

According to the new Xbox.com splash page - the game is the original Portal single player game, complete with GlaDos fight and all, and the song of course.

Along with the regular experience, the game will also contain a new 'challenge mode' for the veteran Portal players who are looking for that extra challenge. The original PC title also included some challenge levels, but only included six. It appears that they'll be expanding on this quite a bit.

The best information for me is that this means that the download limit will be expanding once again. Portal would have to be something roughly around a gigabyte realistically due to the Source engine. It will be interesting to see just how this game will be dealt with, and not to mention the price, which I would assume might be around the 1600 Point mark.

[Psst, Valve! Do Half Life 1 next!]

Source: Portal Xbox.com Splash Page

Joystiq are reporting that the announced 'Xbox Live Primetime' which allows you to play games such as '1 Vs. 100' and all sorts of other trivia games for real prizes, will only be available in 4 regions.

'Xbox Live Primetime' will be available in North America, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. Fair enough, really, but they're missing out on Australia!

Joystiq ponders whether it is based off of just how far Endermol's game shows can reach, or if this is how far they intend to go for now, expanding later on.

While only the original 'Banjo-Kazooie' game was announced for Xbox Live Arcade very quickly during the Microsoft E3 2008 conference, it appears that 'Banjo-Tooie' will also be available!

According to the latest episode of the 1UP FM podcast, both classic Nintendo 64 games will be coming to the XBLA. While they weren't able to look at these games directly, they did learn that the famed Stop 'N' Swop technique will be finally utilized!

Stop 'N' Swop was originally something mentioned in the end of Banjo Kazooie, where if you bought the Tooie sequel you'll somehow be able to swap your carts or lock on your cartridges and unlock new areas usually unavailable in the game. Unfortunately, this was never realized and couldn't be done with the cartridges.

But now we have digital downloads, and we'll be able to Stop 'N' Swop with ease! This webpage on Xbox.com also mentions "The original Banjo-Kazooie also debuts with Stop 'N' Swop on Xbox LIVE Arcade later this year."

07/14/2008 | 1UP FM - Podcast Previews ahoy! We talk Gears of War 2, Banjo Nuts and Bolts, and SOCOM Confrontation with David Ellis, Jason Bertrand, and Thierry Nguyen, Anime Expo with Andrew Fitch, hit the Top 5 with Scott Sharkey and our new community manager Tina Sanchez, and wrap up with the epic final installment of our Shadow of the Colossus Backlog.

Download here (55.8MB) Length: 2:00:02

Hudson have now officially announced that 'My Aquarium' - previously known in Japan as 'Blue Oasis', is coming to WiiWare in North America!

My Aquarium is an all-new, original IP for digital download on WiiWare. In this pleasant and relaxing software experience, much like a real aquarium, you can customize your fish tank with different backgrounds, gravel styles, decorations, plant life, and of course, fish. A release date for My Aquarium will be announced soon.

“While many games and downloads these days focus on wild, fast-paced gameplay, My Aquarium offers a totally different, calming experience,” said Sabine Duvall, Vice President of Product Development at Hudson Entertainment. “Watching the amazing things that can happen in the underwater world is something the entire family can enjoy.”

Continue reading for the full press release.

1UP.com's Jeremy Parish got to sit down with 'Mega Man 9' producer Hironobu Takeshita about the upcoming Mega Man title coming to WiiWare, Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network. Lots of great questions asked of him - such as why they want to go down this road, why you cannot charge shot anymore, and what is up with that Splash Woman?

1UP: We haven't actually had a chance to play Mega Man 9 yet, so if you don't mind please tell us a little bit about the play style and what you were shooting for in going back to the NES style.

HT: Well, the classic Mega Man series has a lot of fans, and they're always asking "Can we have another?" We remember the old games...you may think of them of them as simplistic, but they're challenging. When you beat it, you felt like you were rewarded for getting that far into the game. All of us at Capcom, including Mr. [series creator Keiji] Infaune, we've always had a special place in our hearts for these games and we've always wanted to continue the series in some form. When Virtual Console came along we felt the time was right. We decided that if we want to do this thing right, we should do it in the classic style. That meant going back to the NES period and bringing back those 8-bit graphics, sound, everything. That was the challenge we set for ourselves -- to see how much we could emulate our own style from way back when.

Read the entire interview here.

In other news, the Japanese website for the game has also popped up. Interesting thing is... it still says Wii only. It doesn't mention Xbox Live Arcade or the PlayStation Network at all.

Check the homepage here.

Sister site Gamasutra got to have a quick chat with NinjaBee, one of the biggest independent contributors to the Xbox Live Arcade with 'Cloning Clyde', 'Outpost Kaloki X' and 'Band Of Bugs'.

In the interview they discuss their upcoming titles 'Doritos Unlock Xbox project' and 'Kingdom Of Keflings', the how 'Band Of Bugs' ended up being a sleeper title, the Xbox submission process, and their difficulty getting their PC games out there.

Source: Gamasutra - Q&A: NinjaBee's Taylor Talks Xbox Live Arcade Processes

The original 2D classic Mega Man returns in Mega Man 9 for Nintendo WiiWareTM, Xbox LIVE® Arcade, and PLAYSTATION® Network. This latest Mega Man title brings the series back to its old school roots with retro action platforming gameplay and classic 8-bit NES-style graphics and sound. Relive the Mega Man experience with classically inspired bosses, each with their own unique weapons and weaknesses.

The story of Mega Man begins in the year 200X, as the advanced science of the era has created industrial robots that co-exist with humans. However, an evil genius, Dr. Wily, plots for world domination and creates his own robot army to take over mankind. Luckily for humanity, Dr. Light outfits one of his domestic robots "Rock" to fight Dr. Wily's creations. Mega Man is born.

Set after the events of Mega Man 8, multiple riots have sprung up all over the world. Whilst many people suspect that this is another plot from Dr. Wily, Dr. Light is stunned to recognize that some of the robots rioting on the TV screen are his own creations. Even more stunning, Dr. Wily appears on television to proclaim that Dr. Light is the evil mastermind behind these latest catastrophic incidents and it's up to Mega Man to clear his creator's name!

• Fun and addictive Mega Man graphics and gameplay focused around defeating bosses and acquiring a diverse arsenal of weapons

* Over a dozen challenging levels to tackle
* Over 50 new enemy and bosses to battle
* Character designs directed by Keiji Inafune, the original character designer of Mega Man.
* Online leaderboard ranking system, track your score and time with other Mega Man players

Click here for new screenshots and artwork!

SAN MATEO, Calif. — Jul 15, 2008 — Capcom® Entertainment, a leading worldwide developer and publisher of video games, today announced Flock! (working title) for PLAYSTATION®Network, Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and Windows® PC. Developed by Proper Games™, whose talented team members are known for their previous work on Lemmings, Crackdown, and Battlefield 2: Modern Combat, Flock! is currently scheduled for a downloadable release this Holiday season.

In Flock!, players take control of a UFO that has been given the challenge of herding farm animals to its mothership through a variety of puzzle-filled interactive levels, including corn fields, pastures and other “plushie”-like environments. In order to succeed, players will have to manage the quirkiness of the animal’s distinct behaviors, as well as solve a series of environmental puzzles using Flock’s! physics-based gameplay. The animals that populate these islands – sheep, chickens, pigs, cows and more – respond to the UFO in all kinds of eccentric ways based on their nature. By finding or creating a passable route across a level, players can herd the animals safely toward their ship. Solving the puzzles within the suggested time limit yields exciting rewards, but players can also take their time in order to find more hidden bonuses. With a unique theme, clever humor and easy pick-up-and-play controls, Flock! promises to be an instant hit with gamers of all ages!

Flock! uses a sophisticated physics engine that drives the challenging puzzle elements of the game. Whether using the Tractor Beam to move obstacles out of the way or the Depressor Beam to stamp out crop circles to guide your herds, being an extraterrestrial has never been this fun! Friends will also be able to join in on the animal herding adventures through co-op play. And when all the levels have been completed, the journey is just getting started as users will be able to make their own customized puzzle-filled levels using the level editor. Flock! comes packed with so much content, the potential fun is out of this world!

Set in the swashbuckling era, Plunder is a casual real-time multiplayer strategy game that puts players at the helm of their own pirate ship with the goal of sending your enemies to the briny deep, and looting and capturing towns for your pirate faction.

In Plunder, players team up with other online players or AI-controlled pirate ships to raid, pillage, sink, and destroy their way to dominance on the high seas. Spoils of war and booty are used to upgrade and customize pirate ships to make them even more deadly as players take on 25 unique challenges and seven of the most devious Pirate Alliances on the high seas. Gain notoriety and fame by climbing the online leader boards. Create and share custom maps using the intuitive map creation system.
Key features

• Single player and multiplayer real-time action strategy from Certain Affinity, lead by Max Hoberman, designer of Halo 2 and 3's multiplayer game.

• Raid villages, sink merchants, seize towns, steal gold, upgrade your pirate ship and use your guns and your wits to send your foes to the briny deep

• Master twenty-five unique multiplayer maps or create your own and share them with your friends

• Up to four players on one console, up to eight players over LAN or the Internet

• Tons of customizable options that allow you to tune the game to meet your taste

A full video of the 'Rube Goldberg Machine' level for 'Flock' for XBLA and PSN as seen in the trailer, as well as the trailer itself!

Source: Capcom PR