Last week it got announced, this week we've got the first trailer for the game. SARPBC is a sport-slash-car game. In this video you can see them playing the equivalent of car soccer. No exactly this but looks like a bunch of fun.

Tiny announcement - Strawdog Studios, who brought us Geon late last year for Xbox Live Arcade, have announced their next title Bounce, also for XBLA.

Outside of the image above, nothing else is known. It will be coming out in 2009.

Source: Strawdog Studios - Bounce

This week on the 1UP Show, the crew have a look over two recent releases for WiiWare and PlayStation Network. They round table Strong Bad's Cool Game For Attractive People on Wii, and Ratchet & Clank: Quest For Booty. Check it out.

Joystiq got some hands on time with Portal: Still Alive at the Canadian X08 event. Guess what? It IS Portal through and through.

Those who were unfortunate enough to never play the original Portal are in luck as Portal: Still Alive is essentially the exact same experience but with a few added bonuses. "With Portal: Still Alive, you're getting the original game that comes in The Orange Box," an Xbox representative told us. Experienced players need not worry, however, as Portal: Still Alive will sport, "a host of new levels and new achievements."

Check out their full preview below.

Source: Joystiq: X08: Hands-on Portal: Still Alive (XBLA)

1UP.com review by Andrew Hayward - B+

GamePro Arcade review by Ian Guss - Fun factor: 4.0 / 5

IGN.com review by Hilary Goldstein - 7.3 / 10

OXM review by David Craddock - 7.0 / 10

GameSpot review by Austin Light - 6.0 / 10

Eurogamer review by Dan Whitehead - 6.0 / 10

Team Xbox review by Tom Price - 5.9 / 10

Go! Go! Break Steady got a lot of above-average reviews. Even so, I believe it's one of the better games on the Xbox Live Arcade, and one of the better puzzlers. I enjoyed the Beat music and characters while it didn't seem to gel with most reviewers.

My only complaint about the game would be that in the final parts of the game the buttons to press during the dance segments get far too ridiculous. It should have stayed straight with the ABXY buttons. It starts throwing in the bumpers, D-Pad, and triggers which must be pressed in conjunction with a face button which makes the game far too complicated. Even the requirements of pressing, say, X+Y at the same time is frustrating for me.

Outside of that, I did enjoy it quite a bit. I also still believe that Little Boy Games did an excellent job with their initial trailer too. Definitely give it a go if you're up for a puzzler.

D3 have announced the official date for RocketBowl for Xbox Live Arcade - It's coming out September 10th.

A refreshing twist on a classic sport, RocketBowl™ offers a 50’s style retro-futuristic vibe, out-of-this-world courses and rocket-powered bowling balls; Rocket Bowl rolls a perfect game of fun on the Xbox LIVE® Arcade. Players will compete in tournaments, challenge their friends in multiplayer, test their bowling skills and more!

So now we know the three titles coming out the weeks after "The Summer Of Arcade" - Pirates Vs. Ninjas Dodgeball, Shred Nebula and now Rocketbowl. Duke Nukem 3D should be coming as well, and finally Mega Man 9 from Capcom. September seems almost as full as August - it's going to be hard to find time for all these titles.

Source: Team XBox - Rocketbowl Dated

Back in August 2007 Microsoft held a competition called Dream-Build-Play - an XNA based competition which would get you a publishing deal through Microsoft. There were 4 winners, but the only one we've seen anything about is The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai

Two of the other titles have now shown up on rating websites - Yo-Ho Kablammo! has shown up on the German USK rating system, and Blazing Birds has popped up on the ESRB.

The final game, Gravitron Ultra, has not been seem in quite a while. In fact, it seems they've lost their website domain to some URL robot which now has it link to a Q&A about the Toyota Camry.

Bizarre trance dance robot simulator Helix has been released today for WiiWare. It's the first title released by Ghostfire Games, check the video out above to see what it's all about.

Helix is one of the most innovative music-rhythm games ever designed for the Wii console. Use the Wii Remote? controller to do dozens of exciting moves, including punches, circles, back fists, hooks and more. Be mesmerized by the eye-popping background visuals, which pulse to the beat of the music.

Enjoy incredible replay value with 26 songs to play and three difficulty levels. Try to unlock all of the songs. This game is great for getting exercise plus having fun. No buttons are required, so it's easy for anyone to pick up but difficult for even the best players to master.

You can buy it now for 1,000 Wii Points.

Along with this release are two Virtual Console titles - Ys Book I & II, originally for the Turbografx CD can now be bought for 800 Wii Points, and Samurai Shodown II can now be bought for 900 Wii Points.

CrunchTime games have released two big announcements today. First up, they're planning a big tournament - $50,000 worth of tournament to be exact for Shred Nebula in 2009.

On a webcast of G4TV, James Goddard revealed the company was in the midst of planning a major Shred Nebula tournament with the goal of raising $50,000 in cash prizes for top players. Goddard is no stranger to running competitive tournaments, at just 23 years old in 1991 he organized, promoted and personally ran Capcom USA's first Official California Street Fighter II Tournament where the top player took home a Street Fighter II machine. Much like that effort, Goddard plans to involve the future Shred Nebula community in creating the most competitive and fair rule set to hold tournaments on Shred Nebula and plans to personally divert some of the sales revenue to raise the $50,000 target goal while looking for the right sponsors to help with securing the venue and vast number of Xbox 360's needed to hold this event.

Good on them - I hope the game ends up selling to expectations so they can host such a tournament!

Secondly, CrunchTime games will be releasing ALL of their design documents for the game on the same day of release - September 3rd. This includes design pitches to Microsoft for Shred Nebula, all the stuff required to start your game on Xbox Live Arcade.

This will be a huge help for the small independent developers who are trying to get on downloadable services, and even pro developers who might have a little trouble writing up some design documents.

Along with the brand new preview in the above video, G4TV have another video here for you to watch as well.

After two years of waiting, Castle Crashers is finally making its way to the Xbox Live Arcade this week. Grab it on Wednesday for 1,200 Microsoft Points.

Hack, slash, and smash your way to victory in this red-hot arcade adventure from the award-winning development studio, The Behemoth! Featuring hand-drawn characters, Castle Crashers® delivers unique hi-res illustrated visuals like nothing you've ever seen before.

Play with up to three friends locally or over Xbox LIVE® and discover the mind-boggling magic and mystery in the amazing world we have created just for you. Save your princess, defend your kingdom, and crash some castles! Play with more than 20 unlockable characters, 40 weapons to customize your hero, and an arsenal of combos and magical attacks to choose from.

* Intuitive combo and magic system: Unlock new combos and magical attacks as your character progresses through the game. You have an almost limitless amount of combos to perform alone, or with a group of friends.
* Arena mode: This mode allows players to battle each other head-on with four unique modes to choose from!
* Experience system: As you fight your way through the various levels of Castle Crashers, your character gains more experience points that will in return give you the option to adjust your four main stats -- Strength, Magic, Defense, and Agility.
* Weapons weapons weapons! Each player has the ability to unlock more than 40 weapons.
* Animal orbs: These little companions add enhancements to your attributes. Each pet has different abilities to benefit you, with various ways of unlocking each one. Defeat a boss and steal his companion, dig them up, or buy them at a store.
* Treasure hunt: Unlockable items, weapons, pet companions, and characters are buried throughout the various levels of Castle Crashers.
* Stores: Spread across the various worlds of Castle Crashers, every store has specific items to sell. Collect gold from killing enemies, finding treasures, or opening chests, then take your collected gold to these stores for some weapons, items, character unlocks, and more!

Click here for screenshots of Castle Crashers

Click here for the official Xbox.com splash page

Click here for the official NeoGAF forum topic

It's not a WiiWare week this week for Europe, but they do get something special. For the first time ever they're legally able to play Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars.

The game never came out in Europe because of how late in the console cycle they were at at the time, and translating the game into several languages just wasn't on the cards back then. Now they can buy the "import" version of the game for 900 Wii Points, along with Super Mario Bros. 2 (JP) for 600 Points, which has been officially added to the download lineup now.

Source: VC-Reviews - Hanbai Festival 3 Kicks Off

[Every week, Gamasutra sister weblog GamerBytes' editor Ryan Langley will be summing up the top news tidbits from the past 7 days, including brand new game announcements and scoops through the world of Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and WiiWare.]

While there has been plenty of news this week for the Xbox Live Arcade, including the release of Castle Crashers this Wednesday, there has been significant new information on PlayStation Network games from the Leipzig Game Convention too.

Sony released a stack of new trailers available for download on the PlayStation store - reminding us of notable titles like Wipeout HD, Fat Princess and Flower - but has also announced Savage Moon, a new Desktop Tower Defense style game which I'm sure will tickle the fancy of many PS3 owners waiting for more PixelJunk Monsters-like content.

GTI Club+ was also announced for the PlayStation Network - I hear Gamasutra publisher Simon Carless is a huge fan of the original arcade cabinet version. It looks like it's in good hands over at Outrun 2 converter and Foundation9 studio Sumo Digital.

Finally, don't forget that Ratchet & Clank: Quest For Booty was released last week, and Helix has just been released for WiiWare as well. Here's the rundown of the top console digital download news for the week:

Xbox Live Arcade

Castle Crashers is your XBLA game of the week!
It's been two years of waiting, but the long awaited 4-player cooperative beat-em-up Castle Crashers is set to debut this Wednesday. Grab it for 1,200 Microsoft Points.

Shred Nebula Creators To Release Design And Pitch Documents For Indie Devs
CrunchTime games are thinking big for an Xbox Live Arcade title - they plan to hold a tournament in 2009 with prizes totaling $50,000! They also plan to release their pitch and design documents to the world to help Independent Developers get a handle on how to get their games on Xbox Live Arcade.

War World Still Coming To Xbox Live Arcade
War World has been in limbo for an awfully long time - meant to come out August of last year, it is still sitting around waiting for a release. Now some new evidence seems to show that the game is still on track for release... someday.

New Darwinia+ Trailer - King Of The Hill Multiplayer MadnessA new trailer for Multiwinia was released this week to give us a good look at what Darwinia+ might end up like on the Xbox Live Arcade. Looks like a ton of fun.

Preorder Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, Get Banjo Kazooie XBLA For Free
Fable II Pub Games must have done very well - Microsoft have announced that preordering Nuts & Bolts will net you a free copy of Banjo Kazooie on Xbox Live Arcade. The game is already $39.99 in the US, it sounds like quite the bargain.

PlayStation Network

PSN Store Update - Ratchet & Clank: Quest For Booty For All
The standalone downloadable game of Ratchet & Clank: Quest For Booty has now been released across all territories. You can also grab a demo of The Last Guy if you're in North America.

GTI Club+ Coming To PlayStation Network
Little known classic arcade title GTI Club is getting a good ol spit 'n' shine thanks to Sumo Digital, who will release this title with a full graphical overhaul on the PlayStation Network.

Montage Footage Shows Off Savage Moon, Fat Princess and More
Sony made several announcements regarding PlayStation Network titles during the Leipzig Game Convention. This video sums it up very nicely, including the first footage of the newly announced Savage Moon Tower Defense game.

WiiWare

NA WiiWare Store Update - Helix Released, Ys Book I & II On Virtual Console
Bizarre trance dance robot simulator Helix has been released today for WiiWare. It's the first title released by Ghostfire Games, and an odd one to boot. Ys Book I & II and Samurai Shodown 2 are your Virtual Console titles this week.

De Blob Creators Make Side Scrolling RTS For WiiWare
Creators of the original PC prototype of Wii game De Blob are making a brand new RTS game for WiiWare. It's looking a lot like Defend Your Castle meets Patapon with the style of Castle Crashers, and all three of those have some big fans.

We've seen Domination mode, we've seen King Of The Hill, and now the next chapter of "Multiwinia Mondays" is Capture The Statue - an awesome looking mixture of Capture The Flag modes, but most importantly - Pikmin!

Telltale games have released a brand new trailer for Strong Bad's Cool Game For Attractive People Episode 2 - Strongbadia The Free. Looking pretty good. Reminds me that I still have to pick up the first one.

Source: Strongbadia The Free, GoNintendo.

Chris Kohler over at Wired's Game|Life has downloaded this weeks Japanese WiiWare releases of Alien Crush Returns and Space Invaders: Get Even. Both are coming out for the rest of the world sometime this year - and both are looking very promising. WiiWare really needs some more decent releases, it's nice to see Hudson and Taito pulling out all the stops on the platform.

Crush does have a purely score-based "Arcade" mode, in which you select from one of three tables that are designed to resemble the gross inner workings of an alien. But Hudson adds more play value with a "Story" mode that takes you from table to table, asking you to accomplish smaller goals: Eliminate all the aliens, defeat a giant boss monster.

It feels pretty good: The camera is dynamic, moving between a few different pre-determined positions depending on what part of the board the ball is on. The ball physics feel alright, although at times when I think I'm really going to smack the ball, I just end up nudging it, and vice versa.

Check out their Alien Crush Returns preview here.

Space Invaders Get Even is only 500 Wii Points ($5), which sounds like a huge bargain until you realize that that only buys you two levels and a boss battle.

If you like Taito's 30th-anniversary re-imagining of its historic arcade game, and you very well may, you'll have to pony up another five bucks per level. There are four available, meaning that the entirety of this WiiWare game will actually run you $20. The crazy thing is that it might actually be worth it -- I had a blast this evening playing through the first batch of Get Even levels.

Check out the Space Invaders: Get Even preview here.

Finally, after all the leaks popping up, we're finally able to see Duke Nukem 3D for Xbox Live Arcade. Team Xbox have a brand new interview with George Broussard of 3D Realms to talk about the game, and have a ton of new screenshots and two movies of the first few levels.

Unlike many “classic” games brought to XBLA, you did a lot to freshen up Duke 3D and take advantage of the Xbox 360’s capabilities. How did the hardware and some re-coding time enable you to buff up your hero’s world?

George Broussard: We definitely put a lot of work into the game. It would have been simple to just port it and ship it, but people kept suggesting cool ideas and we just had to do them. Some of it was hardware, as in being Xbox Live, you open the game up to really solid matchmaking, voice chat and multiplayer.

There are other things that we just did, because it was cool or the right thing to do. Small things like letting you remap every button on the 360 controller to larger features like the User Clip feature. There are small features like the concept art gallery or in-game achievement list that we didn’t have to do at all, but we thought they were features we’d like to see in games.

In the end I feel like we added everything possible within reason to update the game and keep it within a reasonable timeframe (a first for us!).

Read the entire interview here, and check the movies out here

Shacknews also got their hands on it, and have also included two videos, showing off the brand new "clips" features as well "rewind", and finally, going through all the options showing that you can resize the game screen and configure every button in the game.

Things get really interesting when you return to the main menu. Not only can you view your saved replays, but you can also jump back in and play from any point on the timeline. You can upload these clips to share with friends, or simply use them as evidence to compete with other online players: an entire section of the leaderboards is devoted to Time Trials, and the top spots will be accompanied by video proof. This is a dream scenario for speedrun fans.

Check out their preview with videos here.

Gamasutra's Alistair Wallis sat down with Chris Stockman over at Blazing Lizards and had a chat about their Xbox Live Arcade title Pirates Vs. Ninjas Dodgeball.

In the article we find out more about Mr. Stockman - where he started off in the industry, how PvND came about, working with Gamecock and a whole lot more.

I would like to respond to one of the answers given though:

Has the process of getting the game onto XBLA been a difficult one?

No, not really. We had to go through the MS gatekeepers when we first signed with Gamecock, and that took longer than I expected, and then certification at the end - but that's normal.

However, releasing on the platform has been kinda frustrating. We were fully certified and ready to launch on July 3rd but all their slots were full until September 3rd. I really wish they didn't have this hard rule of 2 titles per week - which ofttimes they don't follow either.

Throughout July Microsoft released two games a week, one of them being Double D Dodgeball, a direct competitor to the 'genre'. It would have really been too close together for both to survive.

And considering the releases in September, whether or not PvND end up being a great game, it would have been buried under those releases. It sucks waiting for your game to release, but unfortunately that's how it has to be, I guess. Hopefully a new kind of release schedule might be dreamt up with the new Xbox experience.

Source: Gamasutra - Road to the Austin IGF: Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball

Rememebr when we stated Sierra Online was still alive? Here is some official proof - Red Baron Arcade has been announced for the PlayStation Network, and will be released on September 18th.

Originally half announced for the Xbox Live Arcade, it seems that the updated ESRB rating has shown that this game will now be a PSN and PC only title now. The trailer above does not mention XBLA at all.

The game will have 20 different planes to choose from, 8-player online dogfights in deathmatch, team and capture the flag modes.

Source: PS3 Fanboy - Red Baron Arcade brings air combat to PSN in September

An inside source over at Bemanistyle.com has gotten a hold of some off-screen screenshots of Konami's still unannounced button-pressing music game Beat'n Groovy for Xbox Live Arcade - and they ain't too happy.

We know through OFLC and USK rating websites that the game is being made by Voltex - the people behind the critically panned Coffeetime Crosswords and Frogger 2 for Xbox Live Arcade that were also released the same week they were announced.

From the screenshots we can see that the game involves pressing buttons on the Xbox 360 controller in tune with the music in either 5 button modes or 7 button modes. Sounds like it could get horribly confusing to me.

The screenshots also show off the style being used for the presentation. It's still using the very simple drawings that Pop'n Music has, but looks more Americanized. On the news topic on Bemani Style they're quite disgusted with it - but agree that the music selection appears to be fairly decent.

Check out all the screens and comments on the link below.

Source: Bemanistyle.com - Beat'n Groovy more like Beat'n Hideous

WiiWare World have added a new interview with World Of Goo creators 2D Boy, discussing how their development has been for WiiWare, the differences between the WiiWare release in America and the Retail release in Europe, features such as Cooperative gameplay, online leaderboards and more.

WW: As indie developers what has it been like to work with Nintendo on getting this game ready for release?

Ron: So far so good. They're have dealt with us very honestly and fairly and are perfectly fine with us doing our thing and being totally hands off. They've helped us a lot with publicity, and the terms of their distribution agreement for WiiWare are very fair.

Source: WiiWare World - 2D Boy Interview on World Of Goo

Castle Crashers ®

Developer: The Behemoth
Publisher: The Behemoth
Genre: Beat 'em up
Price: 1200 Microsoft Points
Availability: Everywhere

Click here for screenshots of Castle Crashers

Click here for the official Xbox.com splash page

Click here for the official NeoGAF forum topic

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1 Fable II Pub Games (+1)
2 Galaga Legions (NEW)
3 Braid (--)
4 BC:Rearmed (-3)
5 Geometry Wars Evolved² (-1)
6 UNO (-1)
7 1942: Joint Strike (-1)
8 DOOM (-1)
9 N+ (-1)
10 Marble Blast Ultra (V)

A sudden fall this week for Bionic Commando Rearmed, it seems. More so I think it means that Everything is selling incredibly strong for the first time in a long time. Galaga doesn't reach the top spot though - Fable II Pub Games still continues to have its free coupons collected, so it makes it to the top of the list. Looks like Fable II is going to sell a ton of copies when it's released.

Hudson have officially announced that the "Bomberman Wii" WiiWare game in Japan is coming to the rest of the world - as Bomberman Blast.

Fans of the popular series will be able to compete either solo or as part of a team against the best Bomberman players worldwide, as Bomberman Blast delivers 8-player multiplayer battles online. By using their Miis, gamers will have the opportunity to definitively prove who has the best Mii by sending them into a Bomberman Blast arena, then blowing away the competition! Now who has the best Mii?

Hooray! Though mentioning that you can only play 4 players offline seems a bit weird - You could always use Gamecube controllers in conjunction. Could you still use Wii Remote buttons seperately with the additional Classic Controller? Either way it looks great, and the use of Miis certainly helps.

It looks damn nice too, real sharp. There has been many a WiiWare release that ends up looking a little muddy. Some of that Mario Galaxy sharpness to it.

Check out some more screenshots here.

Q? Entertainment have announced their next Xbox Live Arcade title - a new version of their DS puzzler Meteos, titled Meteos Wars.

The game will feature 22 planets of block dropping fun, as well as a bit of a new asthetic, and some more concentration on the multiplayer modes.

As with everything Q? Entertainment, James "Milkman" Mielke over at 1UP has gotten all buddy-buddy with Mizuguchi and grabbed himself an exclusive preview of the game.

"New to Meteos Wars is the Meteos "Planet Impact" attack, a supermove that can devastate your opponent once your special gauge is filled. In addition to the single-player mode, there's also time attack, versus mode, mission mode, and 100-Meteo Attack mode, with leaderboard rankings for each. Visually, the game features the usual colorful, fast-moving block shapes in the foreground, which appear even more "Lumines-y" than before. But in the background, the represented planets rotate and spin in beautiful, high-res 3D. If you want to get good at this game, regardless of your past experience with Meteos on DS, you've gotta pay attention to each planet's composition."

Looks good - though I certainly would have expected Gunpey before Meteos. I'd actually like to see what NEW stuff Q? have to offer, in or out of the puzzle genre.

Source: 1UP.com - Meteos Wars (Xbox 360) Hands On Preview

Funny chap Yahtzee has reviewed Braid this week, and as usual tells it exactly how he sees it. Beware: language warning.

Team Xbox have given Load Inc's upcoming XBLA racer TOW: Things On Wheels a whirl - and have added a ton in new screenshots of the game as well - nice to see them, finally.

n each game type, as you race around you’ll run over power ups which give you special attacks or boosts that you can use against your opponents or to give yourself an advantage. If you run over a different power up while you have another one equipped, it will be immediately replaced. But you can also run over the same powerup many times in a row and build up their stamina. The power ups include turbo boost which makes you go fast; Ice, which encases the wheels of nearby opponents in ice, messing with their traction; Shield, which can protect you from others attacks as well as push away opponents and smaller obstacles; and Lighting which zaps the energy of nearby racers and makes you more powerful in the process.

Using the power ups is crucial to getting other cars out of your way, especially when their A.I. is ramped up a bit and they’re more aggressive. But they’re also a lot of fun. Also fun are the switches placed about the world which trigger events. These can be things like starting a rock slide or turning on a vacuum cleaner that sucks cars back.

It doesn't look too bad - certainly better than Mad Tracks. I do hope they change that HUD before release, the writing looks really jarring and cheap.

Read the entire preview below.

Source: Team Xbox - Things on Wheels Hands-on Preview (Xbox 360)