CRYSTAL DEFENDERS R1

Wii Points: 800
Game Type: Defense Simulation
Control Type: Wii Remote
Players: 1
Publisher: SQUARE ENIX

"In CRYSTAL DEFENDERS R1, you must deploy various units such as Soldiers and Black Mages to stop wave after wave of encroaching monsters from escaping the area with your party's crystals. There are many different types of units to choose from, some specializing in powerful short-range attacks, some wielding far-reaching magicks, and still others equipped with bows that enable them to bring down aerial foes. Deploy units in strategic locations to take full advantage of their traits. Each time an enemy breaches your defenses and reaches a map's exit, your party will lose crystals. When all your crystals are gone, the game is over. CRYSTAL DEFENDERS R1 comes complete with a plethora of exciting stages, each varying in layout and difficulty. Can you defend them all without losing a single crystal?"

Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair

Wii Points: 900
Game Type: Adventure, Import
Players: 1-2
Publisher: SEGA

"The once-quiet town of Xenobia is under attack from fierce and gruesome monsters. As Leo, it's up to you to save Xenobia from danger as you navigate through a series of worlds in a race against time. Use your sword and jumping abilities to battle foes. Watch for power-ups that will increase your health and add to the amount of time you have to complete your missions. Go it alone or play co-op with a friend who can take the role of Priscilla. Do you have what it takes to save the world?"

"It's an all-new Lode Runner gold mine -- 3-D graphics, frenzied 2-D action, lodes of modes, 220 levels, multiplayer options, puzzles, a level editor and more! Run, climb, blast blocks, outsmart enemies and grab the gold on your own or with a partner. It's classic action with "lodes" of new twists.

"Battle up to three friends on Xbox LIVE in a frantic game of tag, where the first to die is the first to avenge ... as an enemy. Survive endlessly spawning foes to earn medals. Create devious levels to challenge the Community. For long-time fans or first-time runners, it's the mother lode."

Click here for the official Xbox.com splash page.

Several new pieces of artwork originally slated for an Xbox Live Arcade version of The Incredible Machine Arcade have surfaced, thanks to the sleuthing of the superannuation tumblr blog.

The blog has found some old assets once used for what was called Tim 360, being developed by Sidecar Studios. Two people who previously worked on the project, David Renneker and Vadim Vahrameev have mentioned the title in their online profiles, complete with additional information.

Vadim was the principal artist for the game back between 2006 and 2007, and his online profile includes several pieces of user interface design to be used for the game. Dave's Linkedin profile says he was the Lead Animator for the game - but also says the The Incredible Machine was eventually canceled.

Back when Sierra planned to dominate the world of digital downloads, it was revealed that they planned to bring The Incredible Machine to the Xbox Live Arcade. Since then they merged into Activision, and ended up having a lot of games either canceled or put on hold. In terms of The Incredible Machine we saw that Activision themselves classified the game on the American ESRB and Australian OFLC websites, but have not heard a peep since.

While this version of The Incredible Machine appears to be canceled, the timing of Activision's rating of the game makes me think that the game was started from scratch once again with another studio. Hopefully we'll see something during E3 as The Incredible Machine is an IP just begging to be brought back for digital distribution.

I've snagged all of the relevant artwork, which you can see after the jump. It had a very Metropolis look to it, perhaps a bit too serious for a game where you scared cats to go near a mouse in a wheel.

Source: superannuation tumblr blog.

We got a glimpse of it thanks to the Korean rating board, but now it's official -- Fatal Fury: Mark Of The Wolves is Coming to the Xbox Live Arcade.

This fighting game was the last of the Fatal Fury series, released back in 1999 for the Arcades and Dreamcast. It's known for having pushed the Neo Geo to its limits, as well as being quite the quality title.

Check out the new screenshots of the game in action here.

Source: Famitsu -- Garou: Mark Of The Wolves

Just days after revealing Bubble Bobble Neo! would be coming to the Xbox Live Arcade, Taito have officially announced the game at Microsoft's Spring Preview event.

The game appears to be a port of the recently released Bubble Bobble Plus! for the Wii, complete with new 3D versions of the player characters, arranged and regular modes as well as 4 player multiplayer, online leaderboards and rankings. Whether this will also have online multiplayer is up in the air at the moment.

Bubble Bobble Plus! was considered quite good, but the characters had a lot of aliasing due to their very small size and 3D nature. Hopefully the higher resolution of the Xbox 360 will rectify that.

Click here for screenshots of Bubble Bobble Neo! for the Xbox Live Arcade. The game is set to be released in 2009 for 800MSP, and if it's anything like the WiiWare version you can expect downloadable content as well.

Source: Famitsu - Taito Arcade for Xbox LIVE

SNK Playmore have revealed their plans to release a new Shoot'em Up, and somehow they're basing it around the King Of Fighters franchise.

Not much is known about The King Of Fighters Skystage is your standard vertical scrolling shooter - only you're controlling King of Fighters characters -- and they're flying. Makes sense.

The game will feature special attacks and will allow two players to play at once. The game currently has no release date or price set, but may be quite a while, most likely after King Of Fighter's 98 makes its way to the platform.

Source: Famitsu - King Of Fighters Skystage

Square Enix have decided to try something a little different to everything else that they've been working on -- A twin stick shooter where you battle invading monsters.

0 Day Attack on Earth will take you to Tokyo, New York, Paris and many other locals as you destroy giant aliens threatening to destroying your home.

The game appears to use images taken directly from those cities, similar to what the PlayStation Network game The Last Guy did, and throws giant aliens in the mix. The game also allows up to 4 players to play online in cooperative modes.

It's certainly something different from Square, having all previous downloadable games being quite cheery in comparison. Still it's something we've yet to see on XBLA - a story based cooperative shooter, hopefully people will won't dismiss it entirely because of its shooter aethetic, like they did Shred Nebula last year.

Click here for screenshots of the game, or watch the official trailer above. The game is set for a release in 2009.

Source: Famitsu - Square Enix on Xbox LIVE Arcade

Square's second surprise announcement for the Microsoft Preview Event was the title, tentatively titled Project CUBE -- a twin stick shooter revolving around... well we're not quite sure.

Going by the video, it appears that you must absorb enemy fire and then throw it right back at them, all with a very minimalist style. Certainly does not look like anything else Square Enix has published lately, that's for sure.

The game will also include 4 player cooperative play as well as 8 player deathmatch modes. Check out the trailer above and see if you can make heads or tails of what's going on.

Source: Famitsu - Square Enix Xbox Live Arcade

Despite the fact that fans of The King Of Fighters have yet to enjoy the Xbox Live Arcade release of KOF '98 Final Bout, in true SNK fashion they've announced that in 2010 players will be able to experience King Of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match alongside it.

It appears SNK might be attempting to pull as many heart chords as possible before the release of the twelfth King Of Fighters game hitting in just a few months. Even so, announcing KOF2002 before releasing KOF98 seems a little eager to me.

It's fighting game season again. Lets hope that some of these games can grab onto the steam that Street Fighter IV and Street Fighter II Turbo HD have.

While the Microsoft Spring '09 Preview in Japan tended to discuss Xbox Live Arcade games coming out later in the year, a few titles very close to release were also given fairly firm dates as well as prices.

Sega's Virtual On: OT will be coming out next week, April 29th for 1,200 Microsoft Points, so it will be launching at the same time as Banjo-Tooie.

Space Invaders Extreme has also been given a release for April and a price of 800MSP, but the likelihood of three titles coming out next week seems a little crazy for the moment.

Arkanoid Live is also set for May, and also with a price of 800MSP. Along with Bubble Bobble Neo! slated for later in the year It appears that Square Enix have decided to continue with their support for the 800MSP price point, which is excellent news.

You can check out a ton of new screenshots of Space Invaders Extreme here and for Arkanoid Live here.

Arc Systems and Jamsworks have revealed a new puzzle game in development for the Xbox Live Arcade - 0-D Beat Drop, pronounced Zero-To-D.

0-D Beat Drop is a block dropping game where you must match up 3 or more gems of the same color. Unlike Tetris the blocks all appear to come in corner blocks, and each block has three different gems, which is a little like Columns.

Going based on the pictures and some horrible translation, this is how the game works: you can stack up these corner blocks any way you like - even have more than 3 in a row, but they will not disappear. Once you want to actually blow a set of three up and cause a big chain reaction, you "drop the beat" with the X button, causing whatever set of 3 gems are a part of it to explode and everything else chains from that.

The game will include your standard play modes including , Time Attacks, Vs. CPU and completing set tacks. It will also allow for up to 4 players to battle against each other online.

The developer Jamworks have previously worked with Q? Entertainment with Every Extend Extra Extreme XBLA, Lumines Plus on PS2 and Meteos: Disney Magic on DS so you can certainly see their influence in 0-D. Arc System Works have previously only been on WiiWare titles including the Family Table Tennis and Family Slide Hockey games, so it's good to see that they're branching out to other platforms as well.

You can view more screenshots of 0-D Beat Drop here.

Source: Famitsu - Put the Jewel In The Music

[Update: Lode Runner has now gone back up to 1,200 Points.]

Lode Runner

Developer: Tozai Games
Publisher: SouthEnd Interactive
Genre: Action
Price: 1,200MSP
Availability: All Xbox Live Regions

Despite all previous official press coverage proclaiming Lode Runner to be 1,200 Microsoft Points, the game has been released for the lower 800MSP price point. Looks like we're back to the old guessing game again.

Click here for the official Xbox.com splash page

Click here to download the trial version via Xbox live marketplace

Domino Master

Domino Master Chillin' Pack
Price: 160MSP

"Domino Master puts the freeze on. Shiver with five new backgrounds and three frosty bone sets."

Domino Master Bone Slammin’ Pack
Price: 160MSP

"Domino Master goes hip hop, mixing classic with cool. Check out five new backgrounds and three new Dominos sets. "

Click here to download the downloadable content via the Xbox web marketplace

EXIT 2

XBLA Original Stage Pack
Price: 200MSP

"Adds Situations 23 to 25 - 3 exclusive Xbox LIVE Arcade Situations (30 stages)"

Click here to download the EXIT 2 Expansion pack

Frozen Codebase have revealed that Zombie Wranglers will finally be making its debut on Xbox Live Arcade on May 6th.

Zombie Wranglers was meant to be coming out way back on September 17th of 2008 but just as it was about to be released, it got stuck in XBLA purgatory due to the Sierra merging with Activision. Now it appears that everything is sorted out, and the game will be released in just two weeks.

Source: Frozen Codebase - Shambling Towards Victory

[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.]

It's been a busy two weeks for GamerBytes. We've looked at the sales on Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and XBL Community Games in the month of March, with in-depth analysis on each of the new titles that came out in the month.

In addition, both Microsoft (via its Japanese event) and Konami had huge blowouts on upcoming XBLA, PSN and WiiWare titles as well - as I said, it's been a busy two weeks. Here's the top stories of the fortnight:

GamerBytes Originals

The Road To NPD - Xbox Live Arcade Sales For March 2009
We look at March's 5 weeks of Xbox Live Arcade sales. How well did Watchmen, Peggle and Family Game Night do?

The Road To NPD - PlayStation Network Sales For March 2009
Only two new releases made it to the PSN Top 10 in March. What happened? Find out inside.

The Road To NPD - XBL Community Games Sales For March 2009
Some XBL Community Games may not be selling too well, but we can at least see what is popular on the service.

Microsoft Spring 2009 Preview

MS Spring '09 Preview: Fatal Fury: Mark Of The Wolves Made Official
We called it - the final Fatal Fury game is making its way to the XBLA.

MS Spring '09 Preview: Taito's Bubble Bobble Neo! Announced
A port of Bubble Bobble Plus! from WiiWare is making its way to Xbox 360's soon.

MS Spring '09 Preview: King Of Fighters Skystage -- A Shoot'em Up?
This makes no sense, and yet it could be great.

MS Spring '09 Preview: Square Reveal 0 Day Attack On Earth
Square creates a twin stick shooter?

MS Spring '09 Preview: Project CUBE Is Bloody And Confusing
Square consumes and shoots bullets at you in this twin stick shooter.

MS Spring '09 Preview: King Of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match Hits XBLA In 2010
But you're going to have to wait until after KOF '98 Ultimate Match.

MS Spring '09 Preview: Space Invaders Extreme, Arkanoid, Virtual On Given Release Dates, Prices
Games coming much sooner than expected.

MS Spring '09 Preview: 0-D Beat Drop Melds Music With Drop Puzzle Action
It's Tetris meets Columns meets Lumines.

Xbox Live Arcade

XBLA Update - Lode Runner And EXIT2, Domino Master DLC
Get your Lode on.

Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 All But Confirmed For XBLA
Achievement unlocked - taken for a ride.

Death Bringer Resurrected As Puzzle Chronicles For XBLA, PSN
Sideways Columns with spells!

OutRun Online Arcade Now Up On Xbox Live Arcade
It's a Sweet Sound Shower this week.

PlayStation Network

A Peek At PomPom's Gemini Rings
A shooter that is not a shooter.

Pinball FX Wizards Bring Zen Pinball To PSN
It's not the Terminator 2 Table, but it may be just as good.

Blitz Arcade's Droplitz Goes Multiplatform, Reveals Publisher
One of the Blitz Arcade 5 finds a publisher.

NA PSN Store Update - PixelJunk Eden Encore, Magic Ball DLC
Expanssion to PixelJunk Eden now available.

EU PSN Store Update - Outrun Online Arcade, PixelJunk Eden Encore, Magic Ball DLC
OutRun Online Arcade makes it to Europe - and only Europe.

EU PSN Store Update: Flock, Worms, Chimps, Rag Dolls And Anniversary Sale
Get ready to Flock some sheep, shoot some Worms and battle a variety of animals.

NA PSN Store Update - Flocking Ragdolls
Flock and Rag Doll Kung Fu now available.

WiiWare

Get Off Road With Driift
Super Off Road is back, kind of.

Ant Nation Burns Tiny Creatures With Rocket Launchers
Toughen up your army by putting a blow torch over them.

NA WiiWare Update - Crystal Defenders R1, Wonder Boy III
Desktop Tower Defense title with Final Fantasy characters now available.

NA WiiWare Update - Party Fun Pirate, Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure
Stab a pirate in this E10+ friendly game.

EU WiiWare Update - Bubble Bobble Plus!, Family & Friends Party, EQUILIBRIO
Burst some bubbles while rolling marbles.

While not officially announced as of this post, it appears that Nintendo and Amazon are about set to announce a deal to sell WiiWare download codes through Amazon, much like the Xbox Live Arcade announcement just a few weeks ago.

Currently there is only one game available - World Of Goo for $14.99USD. Whether this is simply a test of the service or we'll see a new store pop up in a few days is currently unclear.

Either way it's a great thing to see, and hopefully we'll see a PlayStation Network equivalent very soon.

Source: Gamasutra - Amazon Begins Sales Of WiiWare Titles

This week on XNA Roundup Nick looks at the recently released Rabid Gophers, Hexement, Aria and Terwilliger.

If you haven't given the trials a download yet, check out this episode. You can also download each episode via the iTunes music store.

Click here to download the trial for Rabid Gophers.

Click here to download the trial of Hexement

Click here to download the trial of Aria

Click here to download the trial of Terwilliger

The first trailer for Icarian: Kindred Spirits has been released, courtesy of IGN.

Icarian is a new platformer coming to WiiWare in the next few months, which follows a girl named Nyx who has wings, and therefore the ability to fly. It is the first product from Spanish developers Over the Top Games, and currently looks very nice with a similar game design philosophy to the hit game Lost Winds last year.

Source: IGN.com

Trash Panic, formally only knows by its Japanese name Gomibako, has finally been revealed for a Western release by the PlayStation Blog.

Trash Panic is a new take on the classic Tetris formula - instead of falling blocks you have falling trash like kettles, bags, refrigerators and other objects which you use to fill up your trash compactor. Unlike the structered way that Tetris works you can cram smaller objects between other ones using a fairly advanced physics engine, and to destroy trash you instead wait until something on fire or something explosive makes it into the tin and destroys those which are flammable.

For those who have played it in Japan it's been given a good amount of praise. That version appeared at a fairly high price however, but hopefully it will make it here at the standard $9.99 pricepoint.

Trash Panic is expected to be released around the end of May or early June.

Source: PlayStation Blog - Celebrate Earth Day with New Trash Panic Screens and Details!

The third faction for Swords & Soldiers have been revealed - we'll get the chance to be the Chinese!

Using a variety of monks, monkeys and men with rockets on their backs, the Chinese will be joining the Vikings and the Aztecs in the side scrolling RTS.

Check out the above video, showing the variety of changed made to the third faction. Swords & Soldiers should be coming out very soon.

The Mahjong Tales: Ancient Wisdom
Booster Pack
Price: $4.99

"The Mahjong Tales: Ancient Wisdom Booster Pack features 25 new layouts to beat in Infinity Mode and a Level Editor that allows players to create a new layout from scratch that can be shared with other gamers by hosting an online multiplayer game on the custom layout. Also included is a series of new Trophies obtainable by only the most dedicated Mahjong players. Highly-requested mouse support is also available now via a free patch download."

Click here for more information on the Mahjong Tales Booster Pack.

The Mahjong Tales: Ancient Wisdom
Booster Pack
Price: $4.99

"The Mahjong Tales: Ancient Wisdom Booster Pack features 25 new layouts to beat in Infinity Mode and a Level Editor that allows players to create a new layout from scratch that can be shared with other gamers by hosting an online multiplayer game on the custom layout. Also included is a series of new Trophies obtainable by only the most dedicated Mahjong players. Highly-requested mouse support is also available now via a free patch download."

Click here for more information on the Mahjong Tales Booster Pack.

Penny Arcade Adventures
Penny Arcade Adventures - Episode 2

Category: RPG
Publisher: Hothead Games
Players: 1
Price: £7.99

"The second installment in the RPG-adventure game series based on the web comic Penny Arcade. Create your character in the classic comic style, arm yourself with your trusty gardening tools and join Gabe and Tycho in the alternate 1920s universe of New Arcadia, where you’ll combat savage enemies, solve mysteries, meet bizarre new characters, and discover their distinctive adult humor for a 100% authentic Penny Arcade experience. What are you waiting for? Your hoe awaits!"

Click here for the Penny Arcade Episode 2 Announcement

Adventure Island: The Beginning

Wii Points: 1,000
Game Type: Action Platforming
Control Type: Wii Remote
Players: 1
Publisher: Hudson

"Hudson Soft's platformer classic returns for a new generation! Help Master Higgins explore the enemy-ridden island in search of his kidnapped girlfriend. Or try all-new minigames like skateboard racing or the button-bashing challenge!"


CRYSTAL DEFENDERS R1

Wii Points: 800
Game Type: Defense Simulation
Control Type: Wii Remote
Players: 1
Publisher: SQUARE ENIX

"In CRYSTAL DEFENDERS R1, you must deploy various units such as Soldiers and Black Mages to stop wave after wave of encroaching monsters from escaping the area with your party's crystals. There are many different types of units to choose from, some specializing in powerful short-range attacks, some wielding far-reaching magicks, and still others equipped with bows that enable them to bring down aerial foes. Deploy units in strategic locations to take full advantage of their traits. Each time an enemy breaches your defenses and reaches a map's exit, your party will lose crystals. When all your crystals are gone, the game is over. CRYSTAL DEFENDERS R1 comes complete with a plethora of exciting stages, each varying in layout and difficulty. Can you defend them all without losing a single crystal?"

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 Activision, Ubisoft 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:

Australian Studio Halfbrick have revealed the final list of character available in their upcoming XBLA title Raskulls - The Koala, Ninja, Wizard and Knight. The above is not included.

Now with all of the adorable skull people revealed, all that is left is to see the game in action. Expect to see something in the upcoming weeks as we get closer to E3 this year.

Click here to see all of the characters from the upcoming title Raskulls.