Lit

Wii Points: 800 Wii Points
Game Type: Action, Puzzle
Control Type: Wii Remote, Nunchuk
Players: 1
Publisher: WayForward Technologies

"Dark creatures have taken over Jake's high school, and it's up to you to guide him through each classroom in order to be reunited with his girlfriend Rachael. Existing light sources must be used smartly to create bridges of light for Jake to cross. One false step and Jake gets pulled into the darkness. Along the way he'll encounter twisted versions of his school's faculty, which must be battled in order to advance. LIT is a horror/puzzle game that requires the Wii Remote and Nunchuk controllers. It contains 30 levels, five boss battles, replay modes and several unlockables, including multiple endings, Dark Mode timed challenges and an unlockable character."

Click here for the official website for LIT

I'd also like to just make a special mention to this week's Virtual Console title MERCS. I was a huge fan of this game on the Megadrive and highly recommend it.

This is an interesting title because the original game is a property of Capcom, and much like the Megadrive version of Ghouls & Ghosts, was reprogrammed and published by Sega. The press release specifically mentions it as Wolf of the Battlefield: MERCS, not the original title, but the new naming scheme based on WOTB: Commando 3 for Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network. Seems Capcom and Sega are happily working together on this one - something we need more of.

Just an interesting tidbit. It may not have the multiplayer the game originally had, but the original mode more than makes up for it.

Namco-Bandai and Blitz Games, the people behind PowerUp Forever, have revealed their new title, a side scrolling beat-em-up platformer by the name of Invincible Tiger Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao

"Han Tao, General of a Thousand Victories, has pledged his life to protect the legendary Star of Destiny, a mysterious artifact recently stolen by the Evil Overlord. Han Tao will face a cavalcade of enemies, ranging from standard grunts to undead horrors in his quest to recover the sacred Star. Luckily Han Tao is well versed in intense combos, slick counter-moves, the art of deadly weapons, and mystical Zen attacks."

Invincible Tiger offers a variety of modes for both online and local play, including cooperative campaign mode, an upgradable selection of moves, and an endurance mode where you must survive a wide selection of enemies.

The animation's looking very slick at the moment, and the cooperative mode is a nice touch. Hopefully it'll fare better than PowerUp Forever did.

Source: Gaming Nexus - Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao coming straight to XBLA and PSN

Tunasnax has recently updated their blog for their upcoming title Cletus Clay. The development team behind it have posted some early footage of the game, the test footage they sent to Microsoft to get approval to be an Xbox Live Arcade title.

Just from it you can certainly see the potential. It's been completely refined since then, including going into HD, but it looks like a real game right there, and that usually doesn't happen in such an early state.

I love the sound of Cletus just rambling on throughout the video. He sounds so horribly confused, and along with the banjo music keeping the pace it really fits well together. Anthony Flack may finally get his day.

Along with their blog, the game has got its very own twitter feed, keeping you up to date with the latest news on the game, along with goofing about with clay on occasion. I can't wait to see more.

The New York Comic Convention has been a bit of a surprise in terms of digital download goodies - EA has announced a downloadable Battlefield game, Blitz Arcade continue to have a great deal with Namco-Bandai for Invincible Tiger, and Bit.Trip Beats made the surprise showing there. Frankly it's all an odd choice for a Comic Convention but hey, more power to them.

Below is a list of all the new media that sprung up over the weekend. The Battlefield videos, like the one above, really show off the game and the mechanics of this version, and Bit.Trip Beats makes a whole lot more sense now. Give them all a look.

Battlefield 1943: Pacific (XBLA / PSN)

IGN - NYCC 09: Developer Commentary Video
GameTrailers - NYC Comic-Con 09: Developer Walkthrough Video (Cam)
IGN - NYCC 09: Battlefield 1943 Hands-On
Kotaku - Battlefield 1943: Pacific Preview: A Much Needed Upgrade

Bomberman Ultra (PSN)

GameTrailers - NYC Comic-Con 09: Classic Gameplay (Cam)

Bit-Trip Beats (WiiWare)

GameTrailers - NYC Comic-Con 09: Pongtacular Gameplay HD (Cam)
GameSpot - Bit.Trip Beat Gameplay Movie 1
GameSpot - Bit.Trip Beat Gameplay Movie 2
GameSpot - Bit.Trip Beat Gameplay Movie 3
GameSpot - Bit.Trip Beat Gameplay Movie 4

Magic The Gathering (XBLA)

GameTrailers - NYC Comic-Con 09: Wolf Pack Gameplay

Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao (XBLA / PSN)

IGN - Invincible Tiger Preview
Joystiq - NYCC 09: Invincible Tiger hands-on (XBLA)
GameSpot - Gameplay Movie 1
GameSpot - Gameplay Movie 2
GameSpot - Gameplay Movie 3

"EA SPORTS Freestyle welcomes you to the fast-paced world of arcade hockey. From the same team that brought you NHL 09 comes 3 on 3 NHL Arcade, a 3-on-3 experience that throws conventional hockey, and its rules, out the window. Choose from the NHL's top players and bring them into this no-rules hockey game where big hits rule the day."

You can pick it up this Wednesday for 800 MSP.

Click here for the official Xbox.com splash page.

Asmodee Games have revealed that French strategy board game Dungeon Twister will be making its way to the Xbox Live Arcade, courtesy of Hydravision Games.

Dungeon Twister is a multiplayer title where you must escape the Dungeon, or destroy the other players. The Dungeon Twister website explains it better than I ever could:

In Dungeon Twister, each player represents a team of 8 adventurers and magical creatures that have been teleported against their will into a mechanical labyrinth that is packed with traps.

Your team is made up of 8 characters and 6 objects. The board is composed of 8 independent square rooms that are able to turn on their axis’s. So the labyrinth can change at any moment!

Before you do anything else, you must choose 4 characters from the 8 you have in your team. These four will be your starting lineup and will be placed in your starting zone.

The other four characters along with all your objects will be placed face down, one after the other in the labyrinth’s rooms.

Currently the game is planned for a Q3 2009 release. The creators have said that it will remain faithful to the original game and will not be dumbed down for the masses - good on them. Check out the website for the board version of the game for more detail.

XNA Community Games don't get a whole lot of press. It's not surprising, with a wide range of quality on the service, but this grassroots movement has not caught on in the same way as the iPhone application store, which uses a similar scheme.

But there is a new grassroots movement through YouTube, started by a fellow called Nick. His show XNA Roundup, currently up to the fourth episode, checks out some of the top games released for the week.

Compared to an awful lot of YouTube shows, this one seems to actually be pretty good. He's not acting all wacky and desperate for attention (though the "thedude" postfix I could do without), he seems like he actually cares about the community, as well as a good eye for video editing.

This week's episode is all aboutMiner Dig Deep, one of the latest games on XNA Community Games. You can check out all of the episodes at his Youtube website, or you can download them as a video podcast via iTunes music store.

Hey, it's a week where we actually know what the game release will be before it's out. Rejoice!

"The developer that brought you the award-winning PLAYSTATION Network title flOw is back with another concept that challenges traditional gaming conventions. Flower expands the team's tradition of delivering simple gameplay, accessible controls and a medium to explore emotional chords uncommon in video games. In Flower, the surrounding environment, most often pushed to the background in games, is pulled to the forefront and becomes the primary "character." The player will journey through a beautifully vivid and changing landscape in this fresh and genuine game only on PS3.

"The game exploits the tension between urban bustle and natural serenity. Players accumulate flower petals as the onscreen world swings between the pastoral and the chaotic. Like in the real world, everything you pick up causes the environment to change. And hopefully by the end of the journey, you change a little as well."

Click here for the official website for Flower.

We've seen the Puzzle Quest: Galactrix page on Xbox.com (still has that release date), and we've seen the page for Texas Cheat'em page, but now we've got several more games popping up in Microsoft's Xbox.com splash page section and Xbox.com forums.

The Death Tank splash page has now popped up, complete with screenshots and the previously released trailers. Along with that, both Minesweeper Flags and CellFactor: Psychokinetic Wars have had their forums created.

We've got an interesting couple of months ahead of us now, and a lot of it will probably be following the new 1200 MSP mentality. It will be interesting to see if the individual new releases can survive this climate of more expensive downloadable titles.

NHL 3-On-3 Arcade

Developer: Electronic Arts Canada
Publisher: Xbox LIVE Arcade
Genre: Sports & Recreation
Price: 800 MSP
Availability: Worldwide

Click here for the official Xbox.com splash page

Click here to download the demo off Xbox web marketplace

And in the latest case of Microsoft not knowing what's coming out each week, TikGames have released Minesweeper Flags to the Xbox Live Arcade. I realize the initial reaction is "muuuh Minesweeper", but can act like you care, Xbox Live Team?

Minesweeper Flags

Developer: TikGames, LLC.
Publisher: Xbox LIVE Arcade
Genre: Puzzle & Trivia
Price: 400 MSP
Availability: Worldwide

Click here for the official Xbox.com splash page

Click here to download the demo off Xbox web marketplace

And finally this week, Puzzle Pack 5 for Buku Sudoku.

Buku Sudoku - Puzzle Pack 5

Developer: Absolutist Ltd.
Genre: Other, Puzzle & Trivia
Price: 200 MSP

"Extend your Buku Sudoku experience with 1200 new Sudoku puzzles! "

Click here to download this expansion pack on the Xbox.com marketplace.

[Every week GamerBytes' editor Ryan Langley passes along 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.]

This week on Xbox Live Arcade we get NHL Arcade, which was also last week's PSN release. We also get Minesweeper Flags, a game the Xbox Live Team couldn't even bother to announce.

Big week for the PlayStation Network this week - Flower is coming out! Be checking your store this week for what the developers pretentiously call "a video game version of a poem".

And finally, this week's WiiWare release was LIT, a game created by Wayforward. A strange puzzle game where you must stay in the light in order to continue through every level. One of the best WiiWare titles in a while, apparently.

Lots of news this week too - Battlefield 1943, Cletus Clay, Worms HD PSN and more showing up throughout the week. I also highly suggest checking out the new youtube XNA Community Games show XNA Roundup for your latest XNA game updates.

Specials

NY Comic-Con '09 Media Round-Up: Battlefield, Bit.Trip Beats And More
We bring together all the digital download news over the New York Comic Convention weekend.

Xbox Live Arcade

XBLA Store Update: NHL Arcade, Minesweeper Flags
Start checking your players AND your mines.

XNA Roundup: A New Show About The XNA Community Gamer
A new Youtube show following XNA Community games has begun.

Gamasutra Postmortem: NinjaBee's A Kingdom For Keflings
Gamasutra and NinjaBee discuss their latest Xbox Live Arcade title.

Cletus Clay Rambles On While Beating On Extra Terrestrials
The first footage of this clay based XBLA game has been released. Heckle Aliens while kicking them in the face, just like old times.

PlayStation Network

Worms Coming To PSN
The German rating board shows that the highly popular series is making its way to the PlayStation Network.

EU PSN Store Update: NHL Arcade, Battle Cars, Cuboid And Burnout DLC
Europe plays catchup this week with Battle Cars and Cuboid, along with NHL Arcade.

NA PSN Store Update: NHL Arcade Now Available, Burnout and High Velocity Bowling DLC
NHL Arcade now available, as well as the first paid download DLC for Burnout Paradise.

Battlefield 1943: Pacific Revealed, First Footage
Battlefield makes it way to digital download for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network. Classic Battlefield with a few new twists.

WiiWare

NA WiiWare Update: WayForward's LIT
From the makers of Shantae and Contra 4 comes a game that tells you to stay in the light.

Samurai Toaster Shoots Stuff Till Its Dead
Jump around and shoot things in this new indie WiiWare title.

High Voltage Software have been one of the biggest independent supporters of WiiWare over the last year and a half. With V.I.P. Casino: Blackjack, Hot Rod Show and Gyrostarr, they're not doing too bad of a job. But Animales de la Muerte, the zombie animal killing simulator, will no longer be coming out for it.

Animales de la Muerte was announced an awful long time ago. It was certainly the most ambitious WiiWare game game from High Voltage, but it appears to have gotten too large for the WiiWare's mearger 40 megabytes filesize. The game is currently on hold, with the plan to turn it into a retail Wii release.

A real shame, hopefully the can expand on the concept to make a really cool game.

Source: Nintendo World Report - No Local Multiplayer in The Conduit; Possibility for Sequel and WiiWare World.

[A final - we promise - reminder for anyone who hasn't signed up for GDC 2009 and still wants to. You can save 30% by registering for the event today or tomorrow.]

Organizers of the 2009 Game Developers Conference are reminding potential attendees that early registration for the March 23rd-27th San Francisco conference ends on Thursday, February 12th, with 30% discounts only available until that date.

Game Developers Conference, which is run by Think Services, as it this website, has been running a weblog covering the major GDC news this year, which includes the latest information on the Moscone Center-located conference.

Major recent announcements include major keynotes from Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima, with his GDC debut 'Solid Game Design: Making the ‘Impossible’ Possible', and from Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, with a lecture named 'Discovering New Development Opportunities'.

In addition, organizers have profiled each of the individual Tutorials and Summits on the GDC website. These Summits, which take place on the Monday and Tuesday of GDC, include standalone events devoted to AI, casual games, mobile games, game outsourcing, education, independent games, serious games, localization, and online worlds.

The main GDC event takes place from Wednesday to Friday, and includes major three-day tracks regarding audio, business and management, game design, production, programming, and visual arts. In hundreds of lectures, major developers from all the year's big games (from LittleBigPlanet through Gears Of War 2 and Fable II) will discuss the art and science of game creation.

On the Wednesday night of GDC, the flagship Independent Games Festival Awards and Game Developers Choice Awards, honoring the best titles of the year, will take place. Other major events at the show include the Independent Games Festival Pavilion, located on the Expo Show Floor, which will also have exhibits from major tools companies and game publishers.

Early registration savings for the 2009 Game Developers Conference end at midnight PDT on Thursday, February 12th, and more information about registration and content is available at the official GDC website.

Today on the official PlayStation Blog was the announcement of Spring Fever, Sony's equivalent of the Summer Of Arcade we saw Microsoft shill out last year. It's a great excuse to show the ton of PlayStation Network titles that are coming out in the next few months.

We've got Flower, Noby Noby Boy, Rag Doll Kung Fu, The Punisher: No Mercy and... wait, what is Comet Crash? You've never mentioned this game before.

After a bit of digging (Google's only answer for several pages is the reprinted press release from today), we found that Comet Crash actually has a website - it's just never been formally announced.

Created by a new company called Pelfast, Comet Crash is a Desktop Tower Defense game in a mixture between PixelJunk Monsters, where you control a character on screen, and the original Desktop TD where you can set up some of the paths that the enemies have to take.

The game will contain a Campaign mode, but also a Battle mode where you fight against your friends with your own swarm of enemies. Interesting concept.

In a strange event, the press release sent to the press and the post on the PlayStation Blog were a little different, with the e-mail mentioning several other unannounced titles.

"In addition to these titles, PlayStation Network will also be launching Bomberman Ultra, Celfactor Ignition, Flock, Texas Cheat-em, Diner Dash, Comet Crash, Hammer Fall, Underfire, Watchmen, Worms, Zen Pimball and many more during this timeframe."

There are several issues with this section of the press release. For starters, it's CellFactor: Psychokinetic Wars, not Celfactor Ignition, and it's Zen PiNball, not Pimball. We've heard of Diner Dash coming to consoles, but nothing has been said about it for a while. We recently revealed Worms was coming ourselves, but one we've not heard of is Hammer Fall. What's Hammer Fall? A cool physics based game where you swing around a giant wrecking ball to destroy enemies. Sounds perfect for the SixAxis controller.

You can check out a video of the game, as well as the PC version, over at Fun-Motion.

Source: PlayStation Blog - Close out the Winter with PSN’s Spring Fever, PSN PR.

Flower

Flower Full Game (€7,99 £6.29 / 12.95AUD)

Genre: Misc
Publisher: SCEA
Players: 1

"The pioneers that brought you the award-winning PlayStation Network title flOw are back with another concept that challenges traditional gaming conventions. Flower expands the team’s tradition of delivering simple gameplay, accessible controls and a medium to explore emotional chords uncommon in video games. In Flower, the surrounding environment, most often pushed to the background in games, is pulled to the forefront and becomes the primary “character.” The player fades from an external and stressful world in the opening of this fresh and genuine game only for PS3, and journeys through beautifully vivid landscapes, changing the his surroundings and exploring nature along the way."

Also Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket Powered Battle Cars actually IS up this week, correctly.

Flower

Flower Full Game ($9.99)

Genre: Misc
Publisher: SCEA
Players: 1

"The pioneers that brought you the award-winning PlayStation Network title flOw are back with another concept that challenges traditional gaming conventions. Flower expands the team’s tradition of delivering simple gameplay, accessible controls and a medium to explore emotional chords uncommon in video games. In Flower, the surrounding environment, most often pushed to the background in games, is pulled to the forefront and becomes the primary “character.” The player fades from an external and stressful world in the opening of this fresh and genuine game only for PS3, and journeys through beautifully vivid landscapes, changing the his surroundings and exploring nature along the way."

LUMINES Supernova

LUMINES Supernova Classic Pack ($4.99)

"This LUMINES Supernova download pack contains special classic skins from the original Lumines!"

Onslaught

Wii Points: 1000 Wii Points
Game Type: Action, Shooter
Control Type: Wii Remote, Nunchuk
Players: 1-4 Wifi Connection
Publisher: Hudson Entertainment

"In the distant future, contact with a distant research colony is lost and your team is sent in to find out what happened. Upon arrival, you’re attacked by overwhelming numbers of mysterious creatures. It’s up to you and your squad to eliminate the threat and discover the truth that lies deep inside the colony.

"Being the first FPS on WiiWare, Onslaught gives shooter fans the action you’ve been waiting for. Taking advantage of the precise motion controls of the Wii Remote, you’ll be in full command of your soldier as you tread through treacherous terrain. The action stays tight by aiming with the Wii Remote. You'll need steady hands if you're going to survive the horrors that await. When running low on ammo, give the Wii Remote a shake to get back in the game. When the odds get overwhelming, a supply of grenades will keep enemies at bay by throwing them using the Nunchuk. Get set to play an FPS unlike any you’ve ever played before!"

Click here for some footage of the game.

Pop Up Pirate!

Wii Points: 500 Wii Points
Game Type: Otherr
Control Type: Wii Remote
Players: 1-4
Publisher: Tomy

"Take turns to slide your swords into the barrel. But be careful as one wrong move will send Black Beard flying. Whose sword will be the first to pop him out of his barrel?"

Previously revealed through various video game rating websites, it has now been officially announced that EXIT 2 will be coming to the Xbox Live Arcade, and Team Xbox have the first screenshots.

EXIT, previously released on XBLA and Taito's first foray into the digital download circuit, got a sequel on Sony's PSP back in 2007. However, the game was only released in Japan and Europe, never getting its release in North America. Now through the power of digital download, the game will get a worldwide release.

If you've played the original EXIT, you'll know what to expect from this sequel. With 100+ more puzzles at your fingertips, you might consider this more of an expansion pack to the original with some additional control tweaks. Your Super Mario Bros. 2 JPN to your original, if you will.

You can see the latest screenshots at the link below. EXIT 2 should be out by the end of 2009.

Source: Team Xbox - Exit Sequel Confirmed, First Screenshots Inside

In this round-up, we highlight some of the notable jobs posted in big sister site Gamasutra's industry-leading game jobs section this week, including positions from Disney Interactive Studios, Capcom, Next Level Games, Budcat Creations, and more.

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:

With the Ultimate Genesis Collection just released in North America, it's been up in the air on whether Sega would continue their Vintage Collection line of games over the Xbox Live Arcade and if they would expand to the PlayStation Network. Sure, we've seen the ESRB updates for these titles, but they could have just been a required update due to the collection.

But it seems that Sega will continue on the tradition, with Netherlands Sega website SegaOnline releasing some new photos from an anonymous tipster, showing off Sonic 3 and Gunstar Heroes.

SegaOnline are claiming that Altered Beast, Comix Zone, Gunstar Heroes, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Shinobi are currently listed as upcoming titles. We had previously discussed that Phantasy Star II could also be a contender. Which Shinobi this is (Arcade? Revenge Of? Shinobi 3?) is also up for debate, and the inclusion of Altered Beast makes me think Sega still believes people actually liked that game.

The inclusion of Gunstar Heroes is an interesting one, as it is the only game here not in the Ultimate Genesis Collection. It was a strange omission, so it's good to see again on Xbox Live Arcade.

My main grip here is that Sonic 3 will be released seperately. I don't know how many times people have to whine about it, but releasing Sonic 3 separate from Sonic & Knuckles is absolutely ridiculous. I do hope that when they do release Sonic & Knuckles, it can read your Sonic 3 savegame and unlock that mode. If it doesn't it would be a huge "screw you" to the people who loved these games back in the day.

Source: SEGA Vintage Collection breidt uit