Puzzle Quest was a surprise hit back in 2007. The mixture between Match-3 gameplay and RPG elements worked surprisingly well and hooked hundreds of thousands of gamers across the world.

Now Infinite Interactive are taking that core experience into space with Puzzle Quest: Galactrix. With a new hex-based grid system and a completely new scenario, they're all set to get everyone addicted once again on Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network this year.

We got into contact with Steve Fawkner, CEO and Lead Designer for Infinite Interactive to discuss Galactrix, their many other projects, and whether or not hex grids are too complex for the casual gamer.

This week's episode of PlayStation Pulse has revealed the Top 10 PSN Games For February 2009. They are as follows:

It's of no surprise that Flower has risen to the top of the charts for this month. The long awaited wind simulator captured the hearts of many Playstation owners and got fantastic reviews across the board.

Second on the list is Noby Noby Boy, which came out half way through the month. Noby Noby Boy was quite a risk - a game that's not quite a game, a little meta in nature, in some ways similar to Linger In Shadows - an experience more than a game. The fact that the game sat in at $5USD probably helped it along as well.

3-On-3 NHL Arcade was the first game released this month, but sold only enough to garner 4th spot on the ladder, with Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix beating it on third. This is a stark contrast to the Xbox Live Arcade lists, which had NHL Arcade on top for 3 weeks.

The final new release for the month, Zuma, did not make the Top 10 at all despite it being one of the bigger PopCap classics. I could imagine that the $10 price point, when compared to the XBLA's reduced $5 price point, makes the game look expensive. It's original release was back in 2003, so it may be looking a little old at the moment.

Both Savage Moon and Bejeweled 2, released at the very end of January, made the list in 5th and 7th place. Magic Ball, also released in January, slipped in at 10th place. As per usual, Mortal Kombat II continues to sell ridiculously well despite being out for almost 2 years.

With the release of Watchmen, Red Baron Arcade, Astro Tripper, Buzz Jr and Burn Zombie Burn for this month, it'll be interesting to see whether Flower and Noby Noby can hold onto the top spots for another month running.

It's been a strange few weeks for the Xbox Live Arcade platform. While Watchmen began to bend the rules of XBLA releases last week's NCAA Basketball MME has completely broken them, following almost none of the regular requirements for release and possibly changing the landscape of the future of the Xbox Live Arcade.

After the surprise announcement for NCAA MME a week before its release, Adam Pavlacka at Worthplaying.com got in touch with the developers at EA Canada on the process to how the game came to be and the process of getting such a large game on the marketplace in the first place.

In the interview Connor Dougan, producer on NCAA MME explains that their pitch to Microsoft was initially declined, citing that Microsoft "[didn't] have the infrastructure to support it". However Microsoft quickly came back to them, citing that this was an idea worth giving a shot, and that would "try this to set us up for the future".

Initially the development team didn't even know how the game would be supported, going back and forth with the team at Microsoft as to how it would be supported on the platform. It appears that they negotiated to a point where this is not even considered to be an Xbox Live Arcade title, despite it being in the recent release list.

This is a "new, fully sized, 1.5 GB game", and as you can see from the marketplace box art, it is not situated with an "Xbox Live Arcade" banner across the top. Not being an Xbox Live Arcade title allows the team to forgo a whole selection of XBLA specific rules set in the Technical Certification Requirement list, or TCRs, which all XBLA developers must follow. This includes featuring leaderboards, specifically having 12 different achievements and the requirement for a demo, in which none are in NCAA MME. I believe that file size is not a part of the TCRs, but rather negotiated when coming onto the Xbox Live Arcade.

Instead of advertising the game normally like an XBLA title, it will be advertised directly through the Xbox's new dashboard as a new game for people to buy and play. Right now it headlines the March Madness section of the US marketplace, they will be having question time with the developers, and have even slotted in a calendar date for a Family Game Night promotion.

This is not the first time EA has bent the rules to the Xbox Live Arcade. Last year EA released both the EA Live Draft Tracker and Live Score Tracker, which went hand in hand with EA's Fantasy Football program on PC. They were nothing more than adding additional features to the tracking system, but had to fit under the schema of Xbox Live Arcade.

This lead to some utterly ridiculous achievements. Now that the draft tipping is now over, both of these programs cannot be downloaded over Xbox Live anymore.

This week's release of Hasbro Family Game Night is another example of EA breaking the rules. FGN is a download of a platform created for Hasbro titles - you download the main application, and then download each title as if it were an "expansion", with each expansion including 200 Gamerscore, making the title appear to have 1400 Gamerscore from the outset.

If NCAA MME is not an Xbox Live Arcade title in the strictest of senses, could we see Microsoft expanding on this concept even more? Could we see a split between Xbox Live Arcade releases and new Xbox Live Marketplace games? Could we see games brand new full priced Xbox titles become downloadable to your Xbox, like the PlayStation Network and Burnout Paradise? All we know is that EA are suddenly pushing the envelope on how games are distributed on the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network, and they get what they want.

Check out the full interview with Connor Dougan here. It's a great interview if you want to get some information on the inside of the Xbox team.

BIT.TRIP BEAT

Wii Points: 600
Game Type: Arcade
Control Type: Wii Remote
Players: 1-4
Publisher: Aksys Games

"BIT.TRIP BEAT is a rhythm game that brings retro action into the present, letting you use the motion-sensing Wii Remote controller to bounce beats. Retro visuals, classic game play, four-player multiplayer and an 8-bit soundtrack will get you in the zone and rock your world. The challenges are mighty, but if you can stay cool as the difficulty increases, you'll discover the beginnings of the BIT.TRIP saga."

Click here for the official BIT.TRIP BEAT page.

Last week's PlayStation Store update brought a new trailer for the upcoming Minna de Spelunker HD, which is hitting the Japanese PSN this month.

Spelunker HD is a remake of what some might call a classic NES and Commodore 64 game. It's a somewhat infamous title in Japan as it's widely considered to be one of the worst Famicom games ever released. Its completely unforgiving gameplay, where you can die from a fall any higher than your own height, was horrible in the minds of those who just fell in love with Super Mario Bros. However the game was released near the launch of the console, so everyone bought it. Spelunker is now somewhat considered a "mascot" of bargain bins in Japanese game stores because there are so many copies floating around.

The HD remake appears to be just as unforgiving as ever, and now with a 4 player mode it can frustrate even more people at the same time. At this point there hasn't been any announcement about the game coming to Europe or America, whether that's a good thing or not is up to how much nostalgia you have for the game.

The following data is based off of the Top 10 lists from Major Nelson during February. Unfortunately a list for the week of the 2nd of February was not released, so we must make due without it.

February was an interesting time for the Xbox Live Arcade - the first of a string of higher price point games for the year. This month brought us R-Type Dimensions, 3-On-3 NHL Arcade, Minesweeper Flags, Death Tank and Exit 2.

This missing week was the week of R-Type Dimension's release, but from what we can tell the game has done quite well for itself despite the higher price point. It was able to keep itself on the Top 10 for a second week until it fell below the line. It's a bit of a niche title - incredibly difficult for a lot of people to play, even with the unlimited coin option, so it's not surprising to see it hit and go down fairly quickly.

NHL 3-On-3 Arcade has done incredibly well since it was released. The simple Hockey game was just what the Xbox Live Arcade needed, effectively taking top spot for three weeks straight. For the third week Braid was discounted from 1200MSP to 800MSP, making it rocket to the top for just a week. Meanwhile Minesweeper Flags just made it into the Top 10, not bad for a game that comes free with most computers and followed a similar sales path that Soltrio Solitaire took back in 2007. People like Minesweeper, and at only 400MSP was enough for people to bite.

Death Tank was the second high price point title for the month, and it didn't do it any favors. It opened at 5th place and then made its way down the list. I'm a big fan of the original Death Tank, but even I wish it was only 800MSP. It could have had a huge following at that price, but making it more expensive than almost everything else on the platform was a mistake from the looks of it.

But it wasn't the worst selling game of the month. No, Exit 2 bombed, and bombed hard. The original game didn't do too badly back in October 2007, and unlike the original game was exclusive to the XBLA. The game did not even make the list for its opening week.

Outside of the new releases not much has changed. Castle Crashers, Worms, Street Fighter II HD, UNO and Kingdom of Keflings continue to sell the same amount every week, while The Maw held on fairly well for a whole month after release, which doesn't happen often.

While there weren't huge differences in the list this month, the release of Peggle, Crystal Defenders and all the Days of Arcade released in March could see us have some major changes to the Top 10 list which could last for quite a while. Stay tuned.

Join your host Mr. Potato Head as you play your favorite Hasbro games including CONNECT FOUR, BATTLESHIP, YAHTZEE, BOGGLE, as well as exciting new versions created for Xbox LIVE Arcade in Hasbro Family Game Night.

Great family games: Play all your favorite Hasbro games that you know and love so well.
Exciting new versions: And play those games like never before with exciting new variants including CONNECT 4 Power Chips, BOGGLE Portal Cubes, Reverse YAHTZEE, and BATTLESHIP Barrage!
Customized game room: Choose the game room theme that's right for you. Earn new game themed trophies, furniture, and decorations to customize your game room.
Party time: Build a custom Party Game by choosing your favorite games, number of players, and time you want to play.

Technically this is four separate releases this week - Connect 4, Battleship, Yahtzee and Boggle are all bought separately from within the Hasbro FGN interface. It has been said that each will retail for 800 Microsoft Points each.

Hasbro FGN will also be expanded at a later date, possibly within the month, with the additional Scrabble (US only), Sorry! and Sorry! Sliders games.

The Behemoth have revealed their next title in this brand new teaser trailer. From the looks of it it's a simpler game to the Castle Crashers, a 2D sidescrolling platformer with some multiplayer elements.

It does not have a name as of yet, nor does it have a specific console that its coming to, all we know is that it's coming in 2010. It does seem to have a strange resemblance to Ska Studio's ZSX4 Guitarpocalypse and ZP2K9 but we won't know for sure until they unveil it.

Most likely we'll see some more at the Penny Arcade Expo later this year. While The Behemoth have stated that the game will be out by 2010, their track record for release dates hasn't been the best. Keep an eye on their Development Blog for any further updates.

Hasbro Family Game Night

Developer: EA Bright Light
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Genre: Family Games
Availability: Connect 4, Yahtzee and Battleship are available everywhere, however Scrabble is only available in North America.

Connect 4, Scrabble, Yahtzee and Battleship are now available each for 800 Microsoft Points. Each game allows you to download the trial game. You must download the complete Hasbro FGN application and then download the keys to unlock the trial or full versions of those games.

Click here for the official Xbox.com splash page.

Click here to download the application and the trial keys through the Xbox.com marketplace.

NCAA Basketball MME

Price: Free

"Update your tournament bracket with the latest teams and seedings and take your team to the Final Four! NCAA Basketball 09: Bracket Pack lets you replicate the 2009 NCAA Tournament with an authentic field of teams including updated teams ratings for all tournament teams. This update is compatible with NCAA Basketball 09: March Madness Edition."

[Every week, sister site 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 GamerBytes it was all about the special features. We chat with Steve Fawkner on Galactrix, stroke our beards about the future of the Xbox Live Marketplace, and become armchair analysts with the XBLA and PSN sales numbers. We would track WiiWare numbers, and others certainly try, but without some completely certain data it's a difficult task.

This week on XBLA we've got Connect 4, Battleship, Scrabble and Yahtzee now available for 800 MSP each. The PlayStation Network got Astro Tripper, Buzz Jr. and Red Baron Arcade, while they will also be getting Wheel of Fortune this week. European Wii owners can now grab Jungle Speed and Family Table Tennis, while North America now now enjoy BEAT.TRIP BEAT

GamerBytes Specials

GamerBytes Interview: Traveling The Galactrix With Steve Fawkner
We speak with the head of Infinite Interactive about their upcoming Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network puzzle action game, and what they'll be working on in the future.

GamerBytes Analysis: Top 10 XBLA Games For February 2009
We grab the official lists of Xbox Live Arcade sales and see what's hot and what's not.

GamerBytes Analysis: Top 10 PSN Games For February 2009
The 10 best selling games of February were released through Sony's Pulse program, and we dig into it to see how the latest releases are faring.

GamerBytes Analysis: NCAA Basketball MME - The Beginning Of Something More?
NCAA Basketball breaks all the rules, and doesn't even consider itself to be an Arcade title. Is this a look at the future of Xbox Live Arcade and the Xbox Live Marketplace?

Xbox Live Arcade

Hasbro Family Game Night - Connect 4, Scrabble, Yahtzee, Battleship Now Available On XBLA
EA's testing the waters with 4 new releases this week.

XNA Roundup Episode #9 - SLAM
SLAM is Arkanoid in a circular arena, check out the latest episode of XNA Roundup for the latest information about it.

The Behemoth Game #3 Teaser Trailer Released
The Behemoth go back to straight up block based platforming - but with coop and multiplayer modes!

PlayStation Network

NA PSN Store Update - Red Baron Arcade, Buzz Junior, Astro Tripper
Surprise release of Red Baron Arcade this week, as well as PomPom Games latest space shooter, and their first for PSN.

EU PSN Store Update - Even More Burnout DLC
You want a car? I can get you a car. I can get you a car by three o'clock.

Creat Working On Wakeboarding, Kart Game For PSN
Creators of Magic Ball and Cuboid move onto bigger and brighter games for their next PSN releases.

WiiWare

EU WiiWare Update - Jungle Speed, Family Table Tennis
Europe gets to pass the totem and hit some balls with bats this week.

NA WiiWare Update: BIT.TRIP BEAT
It's Pong meets Rez in this bit trippy game.

Scale Walls With Rock N’ Roll Climber
The ESRB spies us a new WiiWare title about the sport of Rock Climbing.

The PlayStation blog has revealed that Wheel Of Fortune will be making its way to the PlayStation Store this week, and have released the first trailer of it.

From the PlayStation Blog:

"Wheel of Fortune captures the spirit of the popular TV show with high-definition graphics and realistic gameplay! [...] PlayStation Network is so much more than a single player experience. That’s why, aside from solo play against A.I. opponents, we offer network/multiplayer modes with voice chat support. This is sure to get the competitive juices flowing with real human competition. To add even more fuel to that spirit, we’ve included PLAYSTATION 3 Trophies for players to earn."

"Do you want to go “on location” with Wheel of Fortune? We want to bring players that national flavor the real TV show brings to households across the country. So we give you the ability to play in 11 different cities across America: Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Denver, Dallas, New Orleans, Charleston, Philadelphia and Fort Lauderdale."

"With nearly 9,000 puzzles to challenge your mind, high-definition graphics, studio sets and sound effects straight from the TV show, and realistic gameplay, we think that you are in for a huge thrill with Wheel of Fortune for PSN."

The game will cost $14.99 and will be available tomorrow. Much like Jeopardy, it will most likely not make its way to the rest of the world.

Legendo Entertainment have revealed that they're planning to get into the WiiWare business with The Three Musketeers: One for All!

Legendo's The Three Musketeers is an enhanced version of their 2005 PC title of the same name. It's a side scrolling 2D platformer which uses 3D graphics, similar to a game like Klonoa. From the press release:

"Players will control famed musketeer Porthos during a daring adventure to save his kidnapped comrades Aramis, Athos and the young D'Artagnan from the clutches of the sinister Count Xavier and his evil lieutenant, the hook-handed Count Orsini. Packed with frenetic combat, heroic leaps and fun puzzles, and featuring three different endings, this is one adventure no aspiring hero will want to miss!"

The graphical style certainly goes towards the Wii's strengths as well as keeping the game small enough to fit into the WiiWare 40MB limitations. It's also supporting 480p and they are planning for a worldwide release this spring.

You can check out the screenshots of The Three Musketeers here. You can also check out a demo of the PC version of the game over at BigFishGames.com, which also includes a video of the original title.

Source: Legendo.com - The Three Musketeers

Akinai Games, the offshoot publishing label from Yuke's that brought us Evasive Space, has revealed that Neves Plus will be coming to WiiWare.

The original Neves was released on the Nintendo DS back in 2007 by Ignition Entertainment. It is based off of the Japanese "Lucky Puzzle" in which you must fill a shape on the screen with the specific blocks given to you. a block based puzzle game, essentially.

This version of Neves has taken on an Egyptian theme this time around. The game will include over 500 silhouette puzzles and have added several new multiplayer modes.

The game is planned for a WiiWare release in Q2 of this year. The original game got some good reviews So it looks like a nice, calming puzzle title to add to the WiiWare service.

You can check out all the new screenshots of the game here. You can also view a video of the original DS version here, or check out a flash demo of the DS version here.

The Microsoft Partnernet leaker, who goes by Pure De Garbanzos (translated to Mashed chickpeas) is at it again, staying away from videos of games without a date (although he has just uploaded this delightful Dishwasher Dead Samurai video), he's decided to take some screengrabs instead - this time of the upcoming Sam & Max Season One and Virtual On: OT

The screens of Sam & Max: Save The World show the game in wide screen goodness, which the game did not have in its original PC incantation. The screenshots also show that the game will play just like the PC games did - with a mouse cursor on screen that you control. It does not appear that the controls will follow a similar style to the upcoming Wallace & Gromit game.

The Virtual On screenshots are just of the controller scheme, but gives us a good indication as to how you will play the game. The standard control scheme is set up almost exactly like the Dreamcast version was. The only differences are that VOOT XBLA will use the analog stick as standard, where the Dreamcast version specifically used the D-Pad, and the Special Attack button ("Start" on the Arcade machine) has been moved from being down on the analog stick to the back button on the controller. Seems a little strange, but thankfully you appear to have complete control on what you want the buttons to do on the controller.

You can check out the screenshots of Sam & Max here or the Virtual On screenshots here. Click here to check out pure de garbanzos blog.

SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation

SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation

Category: Action
Publisher: SCEA
Price: €29,99 / £19.99

Alone I am Lethal. As a Team I Dominate. SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation deploys you online into intense and unpredictable 32-player battles where it’s better to fight as a team than it is to be a hero. Battle teams across the world, earn your Community stripes and become the ultimate Spec Ops squad.

PowerUp Forever

PowerUp Forever

Publisher: Namco Bandai Games
Developer: Blitz Games
Price: €7,99 / £6.29

Survive! Assimilate! Evolve! You must grow to survive - and to grow you must destroy! Hunt and defeat enemy Guardians to harvest their glowing energy cores, gaining power to grow your ship and expand your weaponry. As you evolve, you attract the attentions of ever-larger enemies, and your fight for survival goes on.

Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune

Category: Strategy
Publisher: Sony Online Entertainment
Players: 1-3
Price: $14.99

Spin the wheel and solve the puzzle with America’s Favorite Game Show! Wheel of Fortune captures the spirit of the popular TV show with high-definition graphics and realistic game play and is now available on the PlayStation Network! Create your own character and experience Wheel of Fortune as never before. Solve puzzles to earn PLAYSTATION 3 system trophies, and challenge your friends online or play solo to become the game’s big winner!

Click here for the PlayStation.com Store Page

PAIN
PAIN: Smack Pack

Price: $2.99

Get ready for two new ways to dish out some PAIN! This Smack Pack Add-on features two new game modes for PAIN, Darts and Fortress. In Darts, turn your favorite characters into human darts to hurl towards a giant billboard with bullseyes painted on it. Fortress mode lets you get 2-4 players together and choose your targets before you get medieval and knock apart each others’ castles. Buy these two new modes today!

Click here for more information about these modes, as well as the new online patch.

High Velocity Bowling
High Velocity Bowling: Jill’s Totally Straight Trick Shot Pack

Price: free

It’s time to bowl – High Velocity style! Add the free Jill’s Totally Straight downloadable trick shot pack to your High Velocity Bowling selection, and get another opportunity for a gold star and some of those tough patches.

Ratchet & Clank: Quest For Booty
Ratchet & Clank: Quest For Booty Price Drop

Price: $9.99 for a limited time only

[Eric Caoili at our sister site IndieGames.com recently had talks with Nicalis' Nicklas Nygren and producer Tyrone Rodriguez about Night Game -- a physics-based ambient action puzzler nominated for the Seumas McNally Grand Prize and the Excellence in Design awards.]

Nicklas "Nifflas" Nygren gained a strong fan following with his indie games Within A Deep Forest and Knytt, and IGF title Night Game marks his first WiiWare effort.

He's known for an innovative, dreamlike style backed by soft skies, detailed sprites, and ambient music and sound he usually composes entirely himself -- Night Game gets musical aid from Chris Schlarb, of Twilight and Ghost Stories and experimental jazz duo I Heart Lung.

Night Game also differentiates itself strongly from Nygren's previous work with a strong silhouette style outlined against vivid sunsets and surreal backdrops. He's working on it alongside a Wii port of Pixel's Cave Story, and ahead of the 2009 Independent Games Festival, We spoke to Nygren and producer Tyrone Rodriguez to get details on both projects:

Click here to read IndieGames' Interview with Nicalis about Night Game

Lost Cities, Sierra's Xbox Live Arcade version of Reiner Knizia's card game, has gone missing from the Xbox Marketplace.

Reader Scott Heckel brought to my attention that the game had been missing from the marketplace, and looking further into the matter, it has been missing for quite some time. According to this post in the Xbox.com forums for Lost Cities, it has been missing from at least the 20th of February - just over a month.

Lost Cities was released back in April of last year, and is actually up for an Xbox Live Arcade awards
for "Best Family Game", and while it most likely won't win against the power of A Kingdom For Keflings on user base alone, it has absolutely no chance if new people can't even look at the game.

If you have downloaded the Xbox Live Arcade Awards application through Xbox Live, you cannot download the game. If you never downloaded it before you will receive a message citing "You need to modify your existing membership before you can download this item". If you had previously downloaded the trial game, you can download the trial again through the application. If you download the trial and attempt to buy it, you will get a marketplace error for it being not available.

We've contacted Microsoft and have been told that it is being looked into, but it is such a strange occurrence. Without much of a Sierra Online left I'm guessing there's few people to contact Microsoft directly about it. Hopefully this news post with quicken things up a little bit.