It has certainly been a while since the Australian classification website gave us anything truly interesting, but now it appears that Next Level Games, the people behind bringing the board game Ticket To Ride to Xbox Live Arcade, are now bringing a new card game to WiiWare - Jungle Speed.

But what exactly is Jungle Speed? Essentially, it's an expanded version of the classic Snap card game with some additional rules. Instead of "snapping" on top of cards you have a totem in the middle of the game. Furthermore only those who have the same card may "snap" the totem, leaving the other player to have to take the rest of the cards.

To add to the difficulty, certain cards are almost identical, which can trick a hapless player into grabbing the Totem by mistake. The game ends once you have no cards left.

You can check out more about the original board game here and here. While Xbox Live Arcade has flourished with card games, it is quite surprising that WiiWare has not.

Next Level Games did pretty well with Ticket To Ride. The Jungle Speed rating also mentions Chris Cleroux, who was the Game Director and Lead QA Tester for Ticket To Ride.

The OFLC has also added several other ratings recently, but all have been previously confirmed. Crash Commando, Flock, Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket Powered Battle Cars, Savage Moon and Lumines Supernova for PSN, Yo-Ho Kablammo for XBLA, and Enduro Racer, M.U.S.H.A and a personal favorite - MERCS for the Virtual Console.

Source: Australian Film & Literature Classification - Jungle Speed

Finally, Alien Crush Returns has made it to North America. NA also gets Home Sweet Home, which was released in Europe a few weeks ago.

ALIEN CRUSH RETURNS

Wii Points: 800 Wii Points
Game Type: Action Pinball
Control Type: Wii Remote, Nunchuk
Players: 1-4
Publisher: Hudson Entertainment

"Alien Crush Returns is the ultimate incarnation of the popular TurboGrafx pinball classic, Alien Crush. Boasting innovative game play and control features, this is one Wii experience that you don't want to miss! With all the ball-blazing simplicity and flipper-action thrills of standard pinball, Alien Crush Returns has all the visual and digital elements that you've come to expect in a video game, including grotesque, eye-stunning playfields as well as unique Action Ball gimmicks that redefine the fun and excitement of pinball. You can even nudge the machine with your Wii Remote controller. What's more, you can connect via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection to enjoy a variety of features, such as four-player head-to-head action, high-score competitions, and Extra Stage downloads."

Home Sweet Home

Wii Points: 1,000 Wii Points
Game Type: Interior Design, Puzzle
Control Type: Wii Remote
Players: 1
Publisher: Big Blue Bubble Inc.

"Picture this scene... You move into your new home, and every room is perfect. Every room, except one. Here is the blank canvas for your vision, but you lack the know-how. Who do you call? The Home Sweet Home team! Home Sweet Home will give you the chance to unleash your hidden talents as an interior designer. You choose the furniture, patterns and colors to create a masterpiece that will blow your client away. With simple controls, a fun graphical style and an easy-to-use interface, Home Sweet Home allows you to nurture your creative side. Remember, a house is not a home until it is a Home Sweet Home."

On this weeks 1UP Yours, Gamasutra's Christian Nutt joins the gang and discusses the XNA winners of the Dream-Build-Play competition. It seems that they were very keen on 3rd place winner Weapon Of Choice.

10/31/2008 | 1UP Yours - Podcast

"Christian Nutt joins David, Shane, and Garnett for Halloween treats that include Four Minute Warning in this week's second segment. We also check out Microsoft's Community games, get a first full report on Resistance 2, and catch up on the news."

Download the podcast here or join the RSS feed.

Also this week, IGN's Three Red Lights Podcast has a short interview with Boyd Multerer, manager of Microsoft's Community Games business, about how everything is being set into motion, how even bigger companies can choose to make Community Games, and that the pricing sets are still 200, 400 and 800 - despite there being two 50 MS Point titles up there right now.

Three Red Lights Podcast - Episode 46

"As IGN's premier Xbox 360 podcast, Three Red Lights brings you the latest videogame-related news and views from around the world. Either that, or we talk about nothing until Garageband crashes. We can never remember which.

For this episode, due to an ongoing congressional investigation, the Three Red Lights are: Erik Brudvig, Ryan Geddes, Hilary Goldstein and special guest David Clayman. In an extra special episode of Three Red Lights, we discuss the recently released mega-RPG Fallout 3 and answer your burning questions. Also, honored guest Boyd Multerer, manager of Microsoft's Community Games (XNA) business, stops by to buy up the rights to our Bedazzler game. It's about time. Everyone's favorite electioneer Cobra Commander also makes a guest appearance."

Download the podcast here or join the RSS feed.

[Microsoft's XNA Community Games has dominated the web for the past week. Launching on November 19th (But not in Australia, where I live, which is kind of important) we're going to start seeing a lot of new ideas and games make their way into the spotlight. Sister site GameSetWatch sa down with XNA developer Novaleaf to understand the process of becoming oart of the community.]

With Microsoft's Xbox Live Community Games project set to launch on November 19th, and a plethora of amateur and indie titles likely to be available on day 1, it's going to be interesting to see what titles pop up on the service, which is an attempt by Microsoft to truly democratize console game development.

Though you only need a $99 yearly subscription to the XNA service to test and upload your own games on the Xbox 360, there will naturally be higher-end indies using the service, since you can charge up to 800 points ($10) for your Xbox Live Community Game download. One of the most intriguing of those is Bangkok-based Novaleaf Software, which has completed Biology Battle! as a launch title.

We sat down with Jason Swearingen, the CEO of Novaleaf, which has created the XNA shooter (also available in demo form on PC) over the course of 11 months. The game, which cost just under $100,000 to develop, was originally planned as an Xbox Live Arcade title, before shifting to XNA Community Games, and the Novaleaf Game Studios division is part of a 20-person IT outsourcing and contracting company founded by Swearingen in Bangkok.

In this chat, the company founder answered questions on how the shooting game, in which you "take control of a medical nanobot during its mission inside of a target cell", came about, the local game development scene in Thailand, and his hopes for an upcoming planned ninjas vs. pirates magnum opus.

WayForward have a history of making both great and interesting titles. Last year they developed Contra 4, a throwback update of the classic arcade franchise, and Duck Amuck, a fascinating 'game' built around classic Daffy Duck cartoons, both for DS.

Their next project is an odd one - Lit for WiiWare, a dark isometric puzzle game. In this latest IGN interview, WayForward discusses what kind of puzzles you'll be facing, the mechanics of the game, and how it stands out in front of other WiiWare titles.

IGN: Lit is a game about light and dark. Explain the mechanics.

Adam: In each classroom there's an entrance door, where Jake begins, and an exit door that he must reach. Darkness spans between the two doors, and Jake is pulled under if he walks into the darkness. So to get across the room the player must bridge the darkness by turning on lights. We drew a lot of inspiration from games like "Adventures of Lolo" and Sokoban, but instead of pushing blocks around in this game, Jake turns on lamps, breaks windows, and so on. There are about seven light sources in the game. Once Jake reaches the exit door, he moves onto the next classroom. If he steps into the darkness and is pulled under, no biggie - the player just restarts that level again. The game saves automatically, so it's a very casual progression.

Click the link below to read the full article.

Source: IGN - WiiWare Interview: Lit

GameSpot EIC Ricardo Torres went to the XNA Community Games event last week, and sat down, with 3 different developers, as well as Boyd Multerer, the General Manager for XNA at Microsoft.

Click through to check out the video interviews with Scott Campbell about Word Soup, Nathan Fouts on Weapon Of Choice, and Sebastian Badylak on Colosseum.

"Take the wheel as fully-loaded auto combat revs into high gear with Vigilante 8: Arcade. It's a down and dirty war on wheels where everyone's riding shotgun. This brand new remake of the classic Vigilante 8 game lets you choose from among eight tricked-out retro-fine 70s vehicles with some serious firepower. Multiple special weapons let you wreak havoc on five newly-designed and destructible arenas. Complete the single player Quest story mode or test your car-crushing skills in local and Xbox LIVE multiplayer versus or co-op modes. Rebuilt from the ground up, V8: Arcade is modern vehicular warfare at its finest!"

Click here for the official Xbox.com splash page.

Click here for the official NeoGAF forum topic.

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions purchased)
1 Portal: Still Alive
2 Penny Arcade Episode Two
3 Castle Crashers
4 Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader
5 Fable II Pub Games
6 Duke Nukem 3D
7 Age of Booty
8 UNO
9 MEGA MAN 9
10 Braid

It's been a while since we've seen a Top 10 from Major Nelson. There have been plenty of great games that have come in the past month - let's see how they're going.

Portal: Still Alive is going strong, making its (assumed) second week on the top of the charts. Penny Arcade Episode 2 starts a little weaker at second place. Castle Crashers is still selling very strongly.

5th Grader starts off at 4th place. Duke Nukem 3D is selling pretty well and Age of Booty is hanging in there. Braid and Mega Man 9 are a little lower than I would expect, but they've had a great run.

Why is Fable II Pub Games still selling? I don't understand it.

Source: Major Nelson

Vigilante 8: Arcade

Developer: ISOPOD LABS LLC
Publisher: Activision, Inc.
Genre: Console Classics
Price: 800 Microsoft Points
Availability: Not available in India

Click here for the official Xbox.com splash page.

Click here for the official NeoGAF forum topic.

[Every week, GamerBytes' editor Ryan Langley will be summing up the top console digital download 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.]

Not a whole lot of news last week for the WiiWare and PlayStation Network services. No, it was all about the XNA Community Games. With the announcement of the Dream-Build-Play winners coupled with a press party, its been on the tip of everyone's lips. Have a look at the winners of the XNA competition, check out other games to look forward to, and read out interview with a Thailand developer looking to make their way through the XNA Community Games.

Xbox Live Arcade

Vigilante 8 Arcade Is Your XBLA Game This Week
The classic car combat game Vigilante 8 has made its return onto Xbox Live Arcade.

Interview: Novaleaf's Swearingen Talks Injecting Biology Battle Onto XNA Community Games
We chat to XNA developer Novaleaf about XNA development, creating games in Thailand and their inspirations for their new Biology Battle title.

Games To Look Forward To On XNA Community
Three titles that we should all be looking forward to from XNA community games.

XNA Dream-Build-Play Winners Announced
CarneyVale, Battle Tennis, Weapon of Choice and HurricaneX have all won a piece of the Dream-Build-Play pie. Check out some videos of these fascinating titles.

Avatars Making Their Way Into Bomberman, Uno, Keflings And More
With the New Xbox Experience making its way to our Xbox 360s on November 19th, several Xbox Live Arcade titles will get patched with the inclusion of Avatars in them, including some fairly old titles.

PlayStation Network

NA PSN Store Update: PixelJunk Monsters Update, Siren: Blood Curse Price drop
Not a huge update this week, but for those who want to go back and play some PixelJunk Monsters, the Trophies patch is now up.

Creat Studios To Bring Three Titles To PSN
Searching game rating websites discovers set of new PlayStation Network titles.

WiiWare

Tiki Towers - Mysterious RealNetworks WiiWare title
RealNetworks announced Boingz a month or so ago. Now a new WiiWare title from them has popped up on the Australian game rating website.

Next Level Games Bringing Jungle Speed To WiiWare
Yet another game pops up on the Australian classification website - Jungle Speed, a re-envisioning of the classic Snap! card game, but with a twist.

NA WiiWare Update: Home Sweet Home, Alien Crush Returns
Classic pinball title Alien Crush has made its glorious return with the new sequel from Hudson Entertainment.

Once an Xbox Live Arcade title comes out, it has been incredibly rare for it to get canned later down the line. It has happened though, as shown by Capcom's Talisman, based on the board game of the same name.

Website GiantRealm was able to contact Adam Boyes, Director of Production at Capcom Entertainment, and what they got was a very blunt and fascinating look into the world behind the direction that games can take, when something gets announced too soon or just was not suited to the platform.

Here is a snippet of their interview:

GM: So what was the initial or early issue that came along that made Talisman difficult to develop?

AB: Let me be very clear that everyone wanted this game to be a success - Capcom, Games Workshop, and the development team. It's still a sore spot for me that it got canceled, as I'm sure it is for thousands of fans around the world, but hopefully I can shed some light on video game development and the challenges that we faced. In the end it was a matter of finding out too late that we weren't on track to deliver what the fans wanted us to, and hopefully this will help everyone understand our thought process.

There were two goals that we were trying to accomplish when we set up to take Talisman to the video game world - recreate the Talisman board game experience, and create a compelling social experience. The fond memories I had growing up with the game were me, my brother, and my two cousins hunkered around the table as my Monk kicked the crap out of my brother's Elf as I laughed at him. We always had to set aside a good five hours for the game, but it almost always ended in the same scenario of one player being on the Crown of Command while the rest of us rush to try and get there. We almost always died during that same rush...

Check out the full interview below.

Source: GiantRealm - Talisman: What Went Wrong?

It looks like we're right again. Tik Games have revealed two of their latest titles, this time coming to the PlayStation Network - Magic Ball and Cuboid.

As we figured, Magic Ball is a PSN rendition of the casual PC title of the same name. Effectively a new take on classic Arkanoid gameplay with a children's aesthetic.

From the IGN preview:

"Although the graphics of Magic Ball are obviously on the simpler side, the amount of destruction going on is still visually pleasing and it looks like the Havok engine is being put to good use. Things break apart and ricochet around nicely and it not only spices up the aesthetics of it all but makes the gameplay more exciting. While it might fail to impress had it been a full disc-based release, the fact that Magic Ball is a quick downloadable affair makes the whole package way more appetizing. I had quite a bit of fun trying my hand at some of the single-player levels, but playing with a friend (which can be done both on and offline) was even more exciting."

IGN also added the first video for Cuboid - a crazy puzzle game that looks like it could cause a whole lot of frustration. You will really need an open mind with this title.

Source: IGN - Magic Ball Preview, Cuboid Videos

Zen Studios have got a great thing going with Pinball FX. Released back in April 2007, they've continued to support the game through new downloadable pinball tables on an almost quarterly basis. Their last one was in celebration of their new Rocky & Bullwinkle XBLA game, but this month they are teaming up with Capcom to release the Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix pinball table.

The features of the table include:

- Enter the World Warrior Championship fighting as Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, and Guile and battle against Sagat, Evil Ryu, Vega, and Balrog. Advance to the final round of the championship against M. Bison!
- Discover special combo shots, animated punches, kicks and special moves as you fight against opponents using ramps and a variety of orbit shots.
- Multiple in-game challenges featuring objects, art and memorable items from Street Fighter II.
- Table soundtrack taken from Street Fighter II.
- Original Street Fighter II sound effects and voices.

Congratulations to Zen Studios for being able to continually update Pinball FX with new content. They've taken a route that really only PSN games like PAIN have taken and it seems to be working for them quite well. I'd like to see more pinball boards based on other games coming out. If Capcom is up for it, a Mega Man or Bionic Commando board would be awesome.

The table will be available next week. The real SFIIHD Remix will also be released sometime in November.

Source: Press Release.

Looks like we won't be getting any Genesis XBLA games anymore, since there's a new Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 retail package compiling the titles.

Developed by Backbone Entertainment, SEGA Mega Drive Ultimate Collection contains over 40 celebrated SEGA classics in one package; making it the largest collection of SEGA first party games ever offered.The games announced include:

"Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle, Alien Storm, Altered Beast, Beyond Oasis, Bonanza Bros., Columns, Comix Zone, Decap Attack starring Chuck D. Head, Dr. Robotnik's MBM, Dynamite Headdy, Ecco the Dolphin, Ecco II: The Tides of Time, E-SWAT, Fatal Labyrinth, Flicky, Gain Ground, Golden Axe I, Golden Axe II, Golden Axe III, Kid Chameleon, Phantasy Star II, Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom, Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium, Ristar, Shining in the Darkness, Shining Force, Shining Force 2, Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master, Sonic 3D Blast, Sonic and Knuckles, Sonic Spinball, Sonic The Hedgehog, Sonic The Hedgehog 2, Sonic The Hedgehog 3, Streets of Rage, Streets of Rage 2, Streets of Rage 3, Super Thunder Blade, Vectorman, Vectorman 2"

The website also mentions that there will be unlockable Arcade and Master System classics as well. Since it also says it will include "four titles from the Phantasy Star series" we can assume the original game will also be included. How achievements will work is also up in the air - with over 40 games, it might end up just being "beat this game".

So, it's a shame we'll probably never see an XBLA release of Sonic 3 & Knuckles like I've suggested. Hopefully they do include the lock-on version in this.

Source: Press Release

1UP.com and EGM Magazine have revealed the next EGM cover story - Watchmen: The End Is Nigh, an an episodic downloadable game for the Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and PC, based off of the hit graphic novel and upcoming movie.

"Not only is Watchmen: The End Is Nigh a prequel (fleshing out many of the brief flashbacks hinted at in the graphic novel), it's episodic, and it's downloadable. EGM has the full reveal, including over 20 screenshots and interviews with 300 and Watchmen director Zack Snyder, original Watchmen illustrator Dave Gibbons, and veteran comics author/End Is Nigh scripter, (and Alan Moore's original mentor on the Watchmen series) Len Wein.

In fact, EGM went all the way out to Copenhagen, Denmark to visit with the development team, Deadline Games (which features an international cast of talent, including one designer who worked on Shenmue, Super Monkey Ball, and F-Zero GX). We also spoke with the game's producer, Soren Lund. The issue not only features everything you need to know about the game, but also insights and secrets to the upcoming movie, straight from the mouth of Zack Snyder himself.

While your first instinct regarding a movie/comic-based licensed game might be a poor one, EGM's James Mielke (a serious Watchmen fan) came away genuinely impressed with the authenticity, treatment, and care Deadline Games is devoting to the prequel. They know they have a huge fanbase to convince, and it shows in their work."

Sounds fantastic. The 1UP Show and 1UP.com should be covering a lot of this soon, past the initial announce. We'll keep you posted when they do.

This week's 1UP FM podcast interviews Kathleen Sanders, Community Manager for XNA, about just that. They discuss the current selection of XNA titles coming out on Xbox Live Community Games, the differences between it and the Xbox Live Arcade, and how they will coexist in this new Xbox experience.

11/03/2008 | 1UP FM - Podcast

"1UP Show alum Kathleen Sanders joins us to talk about XNA, David Ellis gives us the dirt on both Resistance 2 and Gears of War 2 (plus some Quantum of Solace discussion) in Shelf Life, and Jennifer Tsao makes her final 1UP podcast appearance as a 1UP editor in Eject Disk. All that plus Mailbag, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Backlog vol. 2, and more!"

Some interesting notes from the podcast: once again confirmed is the fact that, despite there being a few 50 MS Points available in the Beta program, the games are still being sold specifically at 200, 400 and 800 price points ($2.50-$10). Also notable - there will be no designated day for XNA releases, since there is simply a 48 hour waiting time post-submission, and then the game can be released on the XNA Community Games portal.

Download the podcast here or join the RSS feed.

In this new round-up we'll be posting weekly, we are highlighting some of the notable jobs posted on Gamasutra and its sister sites' industry-leading game jobs section, including positions from Sony Santa Monica, Big Huge Games, Volition, and many more.

Each job posted will appear on the main Gamasutra job board, and appear in the site's daily and weekly newsletters, reaching our readers directly.

It will also be cross-posted for free across its network of submarket sites, which includes content sites focused on online worlds, cellphone/iPhone games, 'serious games', independent games and more.

Some of the notable jobs posted in each market area this week include:

The people at Llamasoft have been quite busy lately. They're just about to finish up the PC version of Space Giraffe, complete with new levels, and they've been working on Space Invaders Extreme XBLA with some additional Neon-based backgrounds, and of course Gridrunner+++, an expansion of the original Gridrunner and its semi-sequel coming to Xbox Live Arcade. Or is it?

Giles, the man in charge of porting Space Giraffe for PC has been discussing the current situation with Llamasoft projects on their forum, and had this to say about Gridrunner+++:

"About GridRunner+++ well... GR+++ so far IS already completed and [is] working for the 360... but when / if is going to come out for the 360, that's a thing in this moment we really don't know and does not depend on us."

It sounds like Gridrunner is currently in publication limbo, awaiting confirmation for XBLA. It does sound like its still a long way off, or even that Microsoft aren't particularly interested in doing much with it. It should be noted that the game has not appeared on any rating system yet.

Hopefully we'll here some more confirmation soon. While we wait, let's go back and play some Space Giraffe. Check out the video above too, just mind the Donkey.

Source: YakYak Forums

A great week for European Wii owners this week - two retro remakes have made their way in with Space Invaders Extreme and Alien Crush Returns - both for pretty decent pricing. Brain Challenge also makes its way from Xbox Live Arcade to WiiWare. Just how different it is is currently unknown.

Brain Challenge

Category: Puzzle, Edutainment
Players: 1-4
Publisher: Gameloft
Developer: Gameloft
Price: 1000 Wii Points

"Boost your brain and relieve stress through 25 Visual, Memory, Logic, Math, and Focus mini-games. Choose your favorite coach and get a detailed evaluation of your performance in personal training sessions. Compare yourself with friends and family by letting your own customized Mii challenge their brains in 3 delirious multiplayer modes. Show them who is the boss! Thanks to the special Kid Test and Senior Test modes, you can gather people of all generations around the game."

Click here for the official Nintendo UK website.

Alien Crush Returns

Category: Action
Players: 1-4
Publisher: HUDSON SOFT
Developer: HUDSON SOFT
Price: 800 Wii Points

"Alien Crush Returns is the ultimate incarnation of the popular TurboGrafx pinball classic, Alien Crush. Boasting innovative game and control features, this is one Wii experience that you don't want to miss! With all the ball-blazing simplicity and flipper action thrills of standard pinball, Alien Crush Returns has all the visual and digital elements that you've come to expect in a videogame including grotesque, eye-stunning playfields as well as unique Action Ball gimmicks that redefine the fun and excitement of pinball.

"You can even nudge the machine with your Wii Remote. What's more, you can connect via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection to enjoy a variety of features such as four-player head-to-head action, high score competitions and Extra Stage downloads."

Click here for the official Nintendo UK website.

Space Invaders: Get Even

Category: Action
Players: 1
Publisher: Developer: TAITO
Wii Points: 500

"The Space Invaders are back, and this time they're out to get even!

"Take control of a UFO and make those Earthlings pay by unleashing your fleet of heroic invaders against their puny tanks, fighter jets and artillery.

"Use your invaders' five attack types and the might of the mother ship to rack up high scores, then upload them via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and see where you stand in the worldwide rankings!"

Click here for the Nintendo UK website.

Two Xbox Live Arcade and one PlayStation Network title have recently had their release dates revealed for November.

First up, A Kingdom of Keflings, the most recent title form NinjaBee, will be making its way online in two weeks time, on November 19th for XBLA. This is the exact same day as the NXE dashboard update, and will be the first title that allows you to play as them in game. Makes me wonder when Uno Rush will be getting released.

Secondly, Emergency Hospital will be released on November 26th. Previously titled Sarah's Emergency Room, the game is similar in style to Diner Dash - run around, time managing everything and continuing through the game. Strangely this title has yet to be rated in Europe, so it may currently be a NA only release for the time being.

Lastly, Age of Booty has finally got a release date for PSN. It will be out next week on the 13th, hopefully worldwide. I've loved the XBLA version, so I highly recommend any other gamers who only have a PlayStation 3 to give it a shot.