Maboshi's Arcade™

Wii Points: 800 Points
Game Type: Action, Puzzle
Control Type: Wii Remote
Players: 1-3
Publisher: Nintendo

"Featuring three distinct modes and simultaneous play across three game windows, the constantly changing environment of Maboshi's Arcade creates an atmosphere unlike any other. Each of the modes is based on one of three familiar shapes (circle, stick and square) and offers the same goal: score a million points. Use the intuitive controls to bash enemies in Circle mode, weave your way through Stick mode or burn a path around obstacles in Square mode-all while dealing with power-up items and keeping watch on which effects the other game windows may have on your own. Also featuring Mii™ characters, action replays that you can send to your Wii™ Friends via WiiConnect24™, and the ability to download a version to a Nintendo DS™, you may never want to leave this arcade."

CueSports - Pool Revolution

Wii Points: 500 Points (EU: 800 Points)
Game Type: Sports
Control Type: Wii Remote
Players: 1-4
Publisher: Hudson Entertainment

"Grab your Wii Remote™ controller and take a shot at this virtual billiard game. Enjoy match-ups, playing classic favorites such as 9 Ball, 8 Ball, Rotation and Snooker, as well as walk-through trick shots in Puzzle mode. Connect to Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection (Nintendo WFC) to go head-to-head with your friends, or even hustle opponents across the world in Nintendo WFC match-ups. This game offers two types of controls, allowing you to virtually strike the cue ball with your Wii Remote controller or use the buttons to adjust the strength of your shot and then strike. Hone your skills in Practice mode, learning all the cool techniques you need to be a true hustler. Use the edit feature to create your own challenge and nail the trick shot you've always dreamed of sinking. Pull off an amazing shot and show everyone who's the biggest shark in the pool."

Are you a twitter fiend? Do you need to know everything right as its happening? Well then you're in luck - GamerBytes is now on Twitter!

Using the GamerBytes twitter I'll be able to expand the range of news I can bring you. Sometimes I'll see some news pop up that's not got enough substance for a full post on this website, or simply don't have the time to post about. New ratings popping up for example, or even links to the latest XNA Community Game that's been added to the service.

I might also post to the latest reviews on other websites so you can find out if the latest game is worth a look. Add the Gamerbytes twitter at this link:

http://twitter.com/gamerbytes

If you've got any news tips or are are working on a game yourself, befriend the twitter and send me a message.

Well not it appears that despite the Interpol: The Trail Of Dr. Chaos previously saying it was to be released this week, it's not gone TBD. Instead another game has popped up - Merv Griffin's Crosswords, with a date. Just in case they change it again, I've taken a snapshot:

Neither Microsoft or Major Nelson have announced this weeks release, so it's all up in the air. Quite ridiculous really.

"From the Emmy®-winning creator of Wheel of Fortune® and Jeopardy®, and hosted by Ty Treadway, Merv Griffin's Crosswords™ combines over a thousand unique and challenging crossword puzzles with fast-paced game show action in an incredibly entertaining game for the whole family. Step up to the podium and become a word wizard!"

Puzzles galore: Become a contestant and play over 1,000 new crosswords including puzzles from the game show.
Themes: Play your favorite themed puzzles—movies, music, TV shows, and more.
Game modes: Step up to the podium and play as a contestant on the game show, or in any of four different game modes including Timed Mode and Daily Puzzle.
Difficulty settings: Become a word wizard and play Monday, Thursday, and Sunday puzzles in three difficulty settings.

Merv Griffin's Crosswords will cost 800 MSP.

Click here for the official Xbox.com splash page.

Boolat games have announced Topatoi, a new puzzle platformer for the PlayStation Network.

"Raph, the brave explorer, and his companions encounter an emergency landing in the most mysterious corner of the planet. Now Raph has to look for the spare parts to fix his skyship. And save his girlfriend as well!

"Fortunately our hero has a special ATG-device. ATG stands for All-Terrain Gyroscope. It is basically a machine which works just like a spinning top toy. Which is just perfect for the weird part of the world our characters are trapped in.

"Controlling ATG needs some practice. The top should be spinned correctly, since the "spin amount" and thus the overall speed affects device's movement and behavior. Also ATG can obtain special abilities which will help you on your journey. "

Sounds interesting. I'm glad to see that this, along with Trine on PSN and The Maw on XBLA, seems to show a bit of a resurrection of the 3D platformer in downloadable form. Definitely needs to happen more often.

Boolat are describing the game as a return to the "old school traditions of the games like The Lost Vikings or Bubba 'N Stix". Bubba 'N Stix, now there's a game I haven't heard anyone mention in years. So strange that they brought it up here.

Anyhow, check out the video above, or check out their website. The game is set to hit in 2009.

Merv Griffin’s Crosswords™

This appears to be your game of this week, XBLA fans. It appears that the PSN monkey found his way into Microsoft's building and held the people at Microsoft from doing their job.

Sure, Merv Griffin may have died late last year, but that's not stopping him!

Developer: Pipeworks a Division of Foundation 9 Entertainment
Publisher: THQ
Genre: Game Shows
Price: 800 MSP

Click here for the marketplace page for Merv Griffin's Crosswords

Click here for the official Xbox.com splash page.

According to Portuguese weblog Rumble Pack and Destructoid, Square Enix are planning to bring their addictive Japanese puzzle game Yosumin to the Xbox Live Arcade, in the form of Yosumin Live

Yosumin originally started as a browser based puzzle game at Square Enix's @nifty website. While it may look like Bejeweled, instead of moving two two icons at a time to make a line of three or more, you must find a square or rectangular shape within the board which has the same icon at all four corners - the bigger the better.

Technically, this is not Square Enix's first foray onto Xbox Live Arcade - they have previously announced Arkanoid Live in conjunction with their wholly owned Taito division, which is working with Backbone Entertainment to bring Space Invaders Extreme to XBLA as well.

Rumble Pack initially broke the story with some 'shakycam'-style screenshots of the game, while Destructoid's insiders handed them some direct feed screen captures. Check them all out at their respective links.

It appears that another PC game developer has decided to jump onto the Xbox Live Arcade train, and going by their previous endeavors, it may be one to look out for.

In a recent interview on GameSetWatch with Tilted Mill President Chris Beatrice, the question of downloadable console titles came up, and Mr. Beatrice explained that they "do have some Xbox Live Arcade plans in the works".

Tilted Mill is the developer of SimCity Societies for EA, as well as many quality independent town building and resource management sim games such as Hinterland and Mosby's Confederacy, for the PC. The staff is largely made up of developers from Impressions Games, who made the popular Caesar series in the late nineties.

Whether their project is similar to their previous projects, but made for a more casual audience (much like NinjaBee's A Kingdom for Keflings), or whether they are using this opportunity to stretch out into other genres is currently unknown. Either way, good luck to them.

Source: GameSetWatch - GameSetInterview: The Sweep Of Tilted Mill's Blade

In this round-up, we highlight some of the notable jobs posted in sister site Gamasutra's industry-leading game jobs section, including positions from Planet Moon Studios, Microsoft Game Studios, and Blizzard Entertainment.

Each position posted by employers 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 games, 'serious games', independent games and more.

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

Fun! Fun! Minigolf

Wii Points: 900
Game Type: Sports
Control Type: Wii Remote
Players: 1-4
Publisher: Shinen Multimedia

"Play minigolf with your friends in beautiful environments. Choose a character and turn your Wii Remote™ controller into a golf club. With its easy-to-use controls, all you need to do is aim, swing and see who's the best putter. Play 27 holes spread across America, Asia and Europe. Enjoy exotic locations all over the world. Go for gold in single-player mode, or invite your friends. Fun! Fun! Minigolf supports up to four players. You can use one to four Wii Remote controllers. Fun! Fun! Minigolf is the ultimate party game for everyone."

Strong Bad Episode 5: 8-Bit Is Enough

Wii Points: 1,000
Game Type: Adventure
Players: 1
Publisher: Telltale Games

"Trogdor, the beefy-armed dragon of legend, has shaken free from his video game and is running through the countryside, "burninating" everything in sight. With a dragon on the loose and 8-bit classics leaking into the real world, it's all fun and games until the proud land of Strong Badia falls to Trogdor's fiery wrath. Now Strong Bad must take back the night by sending this scorching menace back into his arcade cabinet once and for all. Just one problem: Does anybody know how to kill a dragon?"