Water Warfare

Wii Points: 800
Game Type: FPS
Control Type: Wii Remote & Nunchuk
Players: 1-8
Publisher: Hudsonsoft.

"Water Warfare is a comical first person shooter that uses water guns to battle and soak your opponents. Each map, a Playground, Beach, Plaza, or Nature Park theme, is generated automatically when the game is on, where you can think up new strategies each time you engage! Game modes include Single Player Missions, CPU Match, and 2-Player Split Screen. On top of that, you can connect to Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection to battle with up to eight players from around the world, or participate in Ranking Mode."

Reel Fishing Challenge

Wii Points: 500
Game Type: Fishing Game
Control Type: Wii Remote, Nunchuk
Players: 1
Publisher: Natsume, Inc.

"Reel Fishing Challenge offers a fun and challenging experience for novice fishers and master anglers alike. Put your skills to the test and discover new types of fish in the challenging mission mode, or relax and enjoy the game at your own pace in free play mode. No matter which mode you play, the game's beautiful graphics and natural setting bring the fishing experience to life. Choose from a variety of lures to attract and hook the game's numerous wily fish. Each fish looks and moves so much like the real thing, it's the closest you can get to real-life fishing without putting on your waders!"

Silver Star Reversi

Wii Points: 500
Game Type: Board Game
Control Type: Wii Remote
Players: 1-2
Publisher: Agetec, Inc.

"Silver Star Reversi has 2 modes - 1-Player and 2-Player. 1-Player mode allows you to play a match against the computer opponent. 2-Player mode allows you to play against another person. In 1-Player mode, you can select amongst 5 different computer opponents, as well as turn the background music off, adjust sound effects, and access in-game help features. Also, during the match, you can redo your last move, save the game at any point, or resign from the game. After the match has ended, you can review each move made during the match. While reviewing the match like this, you can resume that match at any point."

Fantasy Zone™ II: The Tears of Opa-Opa

Original platform: SEGA MASTER SYSTEM
Wii Points: 500
Game Type: Shooter
Publisher: Sega

"Ten years have elapsed since Opa-Opa restored peace to the Fantasy Zone. Now history is repeating itself, and the planets that make up the Fantasy Zone once again find themselves attacked by the mastermind of the Nenon planet forces. This mastermind is secretly constructing a huge fortress in the Fantasy Zone and aims to put an end to their ambitious plans. Just as he did 10 years ago, Opa-Opa must do battle to save the Fantasy Zone."

"Ten years on from Worms™ Armageddon and the turn-based mayhem and destruction continues! Worms™ 2: Armageddon is the most fully-featured digital version of the game ever. With four player online and offline multiplayer, voice support, a raft of new weapons (including the return of some iconic weapons from the past), all-new high-definition landscape themes, new play modes, hats, skins, speech-banks, loads of other customization and to top it all off, a highly-involving single player experience with tutorials, deathmatches, races, fort games, and puzzles. It's a package as high on fun as it is destruction!"

Click here for the official Xbox.com splash page.

Worms 2: Armageddon will be available this Wednesday for 800MSP.

"The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match comes to Xbox LIVE Arcade! The KOF '98 fighting game has fascinated game fans all over the world, and now it's powered up and ready to be on Xbox LIVE Arcade. Additional characters have been added from the King of Fighters universe, and new battle systems and moves have been implemented. Extend the fight to opponents all over the world. Face off against others to prove who is the real King of Fighters. Use Practice Mode to learn, Challenge Mode to improve your skills, then go to battle to show what you've got!"

Click here for the official Xbox.com splash page.

Some months ago it was revealed that Empire Interactive, after several years of financial troubles, was to go into administration, and now two of its titles have disappeared from the marketplace.

Both Double Dragon and Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe are no longer available for purchase, and likely will not be coming back. Empire Interactive also had Pipe Mania in development for Xbox Live Arcade but as Empire and the development studio are now gone, it can now be considered canceled.

All of Emipre's IP rights were sold off last month, and Zoo Games, or Zushi Games as they are also known, picked them all up. Double Dragon and Speedball 2's IP are owned by both Million and The Bitmap Brothers respectively, and most likely have returned to their holders.

However Empire's PSOne and PSP titles, which includeSheep, Pipe Mania and Carol Vorderman's Sudoku, are all still available on the PlayStation Network. As Empire owned these IP they appear to continue to be published by Zoo Interactive.

It's a matter of another publisher picking up the pieces, but would it be worth it? Some suggest that Double Dragon has done well, and continued to do well, at its 400MSP price point, while Speedball 2, at 800MSP, did not. As both games came out in 2007, selling more copies now might be a difficult task, and not worth the effort.

With the announcement that the majority of Midway will be picked up by Warner Bros. Interactive we might see this situation occur once again. Midway has 9 titles on Xbox Live Arcade, but as they were published by Midway themselves there's little conflict of interest. The PlayStation side however is a different story - Mortal Kombat II, Rampage and Rampart are all Midway properties that are published on PSN through Sony Online Entertainment, with Mortal Kombat II continuing to be one of the top sellers every month.

As there will be a new owner of these IPs it may require new contracts to be written for each game, both for the PlayStation network and Xbox Live Arcade, and those decisions will all have to be made by Warner Bros.

As for those games published by Empire Interactive, the best chance would be to have Microsoft pick up the publishing licenses, as they did once before when Sierra dropped Zombie Wranglers. If you want those games to come back, let Microsoft know.

One of the hotly anticipated titles of Xbox Live's Summer of Arcade is Trials HD, a physics-based motorcycle racing game, and the first complete trailer is now available.

I was able to demo Trials HD when I was at E3, and if you loved Trials 2 on Steam, you're going to love this. The game has 50 brand new levels, complete customization of the rider and bikes, tons of neat minigames to unlock, and best of all - a complete level editor, the same one they used to construct the game, and you can share them among friends.

Recently I was able to preview the game, brought some friends along, and the game became an instant smash hit. It is the perfect pass-the-controller game.

Look for it this August as a part of the Summer Of Arcade.

It's been a while since we heard from Ankama games - while they're currently quite busy with their wildly popular Dofus, the Wakfu MMORPG and the Wakfu animated series, they've had just enough time to have their fourth (yes, fourth) Ankama convention in France. During the convention they released 3 new screenshots of their upcoming Xbox Live Arcade title Islands Of Wakfu, and it's looking as good as ever.

Check out all 3 screenshots at Xboxygen below.

Source: Xboxygen - Islands of Wakfu en 3 images

Gamelion's WiiWare game Furry Legends is nearing completion, and to celebrate a new trailer has been released.

This trailer makes it look an awful lot like Rolando 2, which in my mind is a good thing. One can only hope that it delivers some quality platforming alongside it.

[Update: The developers have told me that all levels outside of Arena gate are actually new, not just Cliffside]

It's been nearly two years since Quake Arena Arcade was announced at QuakeCon, and since then we've not heard a peep out of either Pi studios - until now.

Through the official QuakeXBLA twitter Pi Studios have revealed the first screenshot... of a level select menu. While not amazing itself it does reveal one thing - Quake Arena Arcade will include new levels, as seen by the inclusion of "Cliffside".

Pi Studios' website has also been updated with a few new tidbits - the game will allow up to 16 players to battle it out at once, the original 40 maps from Arena and Team Arena, and all the bells and whistles that come with Xbox Live Arcade games.

We expect that we'll see more about Quake Arena Arcade at this August during QuakeCon, so keep a lookout until then.

Worms 2: Armageddon

Developer: Team17 Software Ltd
Publisher: Team17 Software Ltd
Genre: Strategy and Sims
Price: 800 Microsoft Points
Availability: All Xbox LIVE regions
File Size: 176 MB

Click here for the official Xbox.com splash page.

Click here to add the game to your queue via Xbox web marketplace.

The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match

Developer: SNK PLAYMORE CORPORATION
Publisher: SNK PLAYMORE CORPORATION
Genre: Action
Price: 800 Microsoft Points
Availability: All Xbox LIVE regions
File Size: 197 MB

Click here for the official Xbox.com splash page.

Click here to add the game to your queue via Xbox web marketplace.

Kodu, the "visual programming language" made by Microsoft Research specifically for the Xbox Live Community / Indie games, is now available.

For just 400 Microsoft points you can make your own game with its own challenges and then share them over Xbox Live.

Click here to add the trial version of Kodu Game Lab via Xbox web marketplace.

NinjaBee have been very quiet since the release of Kingdom Of Keflings last year, but they have finally lifted the veil on a substantial update to one of their classic games - Band Of Bugs is getting Avatar support, and a giant expansion pack.

For the main Band Of Bugs campaign your Avatar will take over for the main character Maal, so you will now see yourself fight in hand-to-hand combat against various bug enemies.

While it seems quite bizarre to plug your Avatar into a bug-based game, if Keflings has taught them anything it's Avatar support will absolutely help your game sales. Band Of Bugs didn't sell as well as other NinjaBee's titles so this addition could bring Band Of Bugs some additional sales.

The new expansion pack actually has little to do with Band Of Bugs, but instead is more about Outpost Kaloki, their first Xbox Live Arcade game. The Tales Of Kaloki expansion will contain a 10-level campaign with characters from both games, and all new skills and strategies.

Both the update and expansion will be available next week, on July 8th. This is nice and all, but where's the Kingdom of Keflings DLC?

At E3 Konami were showing off a new version of Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment, but strangely did not reveal any screenshots of it. Now that's been rectified, with a new selection of captures from the playable E3 arena.

You can check out all the new screens here. As someone who doesn't have any knowledge of the Vandal Hearts franchise, I think it both looks good and certainly played well at E3. Turn based strategy is something that has been attempted several times before on Xbox Live Arcade but its never been quite compelling enough - hopefully this is the answer.

Konami have also revealed that Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment will be released for Xbox Live Arcade during August and on the PlayStation Network during September. That puts the game smack-dab in the middle of the XBLA's Summer of Arcade, making it one crazy, crazy August.

Sidhe's Shatter was on display at E3, though not particularly in a widely acknowledged spot. The developers were unfortunately shoved in a corner of an art exhibit outside of the show, quite far away from the rest of the populace. Thankfully I was able to find them and got a chance to play this remarkable reinvention of the brick breaking game.

Shatter alternates between a vertical Breakout style board and horizontal Pong style board, but what makes it stand out is your gravity beam. During gameplay you can push or pull objects using Sonic waves, which also allows you to alter the path of your ball, pushing it back to destroy even more blocks, or sucking in the point shards.

One of the most interesting mechanics was the use of multi-ball - unlike most Breakout games, you can launch a second or third ball at anytime - but it will remove one of your lives. It's the sort of risk-reward system that has been missing from these kind of games in the past few years.

Shatter is set to come out by the end of the year. In the meantime you can check out new footage of the game over at 1UP.com

You've been pining for it for week now, with all the fake release dates constantly being thrown around, but no more! Battlefield 1943 will be out next week - July 8th on Xbox Live Arcade, and July 9th on the PlayStation Network.

The game will sell for 1200 Microsoft Points or $14.99. In the meantime, check out the new trailer embedded above and revisit our chat with the developers here.

On Tuesday the 1UP.com gang got together for their weekly Game Night, where they do a live stream of an upcoming game. This week was for the Wii title TMNT: Smash Up, but the crew also got a chance to play XBLA's beat'em up TMNT: Turtles In Time Reshelled too.

Check it out in the embedded video above. What do you think of this revitalization of the classic Arcade title?

Source: Gamevideos - TMNT Turtles In Time Reshelled - Game Night

topatoi: The Great Tree Story
topatoi: The Great Tree Story (Full Game)

Price: £7.99 / €9.99 / Not Available In Australia

"You may have already read the post by Natalia from the Boolat team on the blog yesterday about topatoi - this unique puzzle/platform game allows you to control a gyroscopic vehicle and offers varied and inventive ways to control, and make your way round, the 3D environments."

Punisher: No Mercy
Punisher: No Mercy (Full Game)

Price: £6.99 / €7.99 / $12.95AUD

"The Punisher comes straight from the Marvel Universe to the PlayStation Network in this exclusive game – Offering frantic, arcade-style shooting action, with a heavy emphasis on multiplayer (supports eight players online), the goal is simple – survive!"


Numblast
Numblast (Full Game)

Price: £3.99 / €4.99 / $8.45AUD

"To play Numblast, move the cursor around the board and swap the positions of numeric cells to create combos of identical numbers aligned in 2×2 squares. These combos trigger explosions and as your skills improve so will the size of your combos."


Red Baron Arcade
Red Baron Arcade

Price: Trial free – unlock key £6.29 / €7.99

"Engage in the ultimate World War I arcade flight-shooter Red Baron Arcade. Grab the flight stick of 20 historic WWI planes and battle countless enemies including huge zeppelins, powerful battleships and authentic WWI aircraft in over 36 varied levels. Fight against intense computer AI in the single player missions or wage war against 7 other aspiring “Aces” online."

PSOne Classics
James Pond 2: Codename Robocod

Price: £3.99 / €4.99

"Join James Pond as he jumps and stretches his way around some truly memorable levels. This is a true platforming classic."

Punisher: No Mercy
Punisher: No Mercy (Full Game)

Price: $9.99

"The Punisher comes straight from the Marvel Universe to the PlayStation Network in this exclusive game – Offering frantic, arcade-style shooting action, with a heavy emphasis on multiplayer (supports eight players online), the goal is simple – survive!"


High Velocity Bowling
High Velocity Bowling Ball Pack 6 - 4th of July Americana

Price: $0.99

"It’s time to bowl – High Velocity style! Spice up your bowling game with this cool pack of six custom “4th of July Americana” theme bowling balls."

High Velocity Bowling Ball Pack 7 - Route 66 Americana

Price: $0.99

It’s time to bowl – High Velocity style! Spice up your bowling game with this cool pack of six custom “Route 66 Americana” theme bowling balls."

Gradius ReBirth

Wii Points: 600
Game Type: Arcade, Shooter
Control Type: Wii Remote, Nunchuk, Classic, or GameCube
Players: 1
Publisher:, Konami

"Blast your way through levels filled with alien spaceships and otherworldly creatures in this retro side-scrolling shooter. Pick your weapons carefully and upgrade them to create a devastating arsenal of space-aged weapons that will aid you in your challenging mission. Players can post their high scores to worldwide leader boards via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and see where they rank against all the other Gradius ReBirth players. Test your skills with Gradius ReBirth and see if you have what it takes to beat this action-packed arcade shooter."

Bit Boy!!

Wii Points: 600
Game Type: Arcade
Control Type: Wii Remote, Nunchuk, Classic, or GameCube
Players: 1
Publisher: Bplus

"Bit Boy!!, is a totally new kind of game mix in which one-pixel-hero Kubi rushes through the whole history of videogames in order to save his pixel pals. Players accompany Kubi in this totally crazy-pixellated retro journey and battle hordes of nasty monsters in 4-bit dungeons, 8-bit caves, 16-bit strongholds, 32-bit mazes, 64-bit arenas and 128-bit worlds."

Ogre Battle™: The March of the Black Queen™
Original platform: Super Nintendo (Import)
Publisher: Square Enix
Players: 1
Price: 900 Wii Points

"It's up to you to defeat the Empire! It's been nearly a quarter of a century since the Zetegenian Empire first conquered the Kingdoms of Zenobia with a wrath of fear and bloodshed. You are the leader of a band of rebels who have fought to preserve the last shred of honor in this desperate time of treachery. Manage the ranks of a full-blown rebel army, complete with hundreds of characters, magic items, weapons, and mystical Tarot cards. You must succeed in ousting the evil usurpers, as your fate, and that of the entire population, depends on it!"

Pulseman
Original platform: Sega Megadrive (Import)
Publisher: Sega
Players: 1
Price: 900 Wii Points

(via Wikipedia) "In the 21st century, noted scientist and computer engineer Doc Yoshiyama had succeeded in creating the world's most advanced Artificial Intelligence. He called his creation "C-Life" and managed to make her aware, thinking, and feeling. However, he soon found himself in love with this C-Life girl and wanted to be closer to her, so he digitized and uploaded himself into his computer core, where the two "made love" by combining his DNA and her program core. The end result of their love was the birth of a half-human, half C-Life boy named "Pulseman". Pulseman was unique in that he didn't need to remain inside a computer to survive, and had the power to channel electricity through his body, using it both as a weapon and as a means of quick transport through the power of "Volteccer".

"Unfortunately, living in the computer world for so long twisted Doc Yoshiyama's mind, corrupting his brainwaves and his body. Doc Yoshiyama emerged back into the human world, but twisted and changed into the evil Doc Waruyama. Now, Doc Waruyama establishes the Galaxy Gang, spreading a new wave of cyber-terrorism across the world, and Pulseman must fight his own father and put an end to his gang for the sake of the free world."

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 Blizzard, Microsoft Game Studios 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:

Bubble Bobble, Puzzle Bobble, Arkanoid, and Space Invaders have all made their way to digital release on Xbox Live Arcade and WiiWare in some form or another, but where can Taito go from there? Clearly, the answer was Qix.

Qix++ has appeared on the German USK rating board, as have many of Taito's unannounced titles in the past. This rating defines the platform as Xbox 360, but I would expect this to be coming to WiiWare as well, like every other release.

QIX is a very simple title where you simply need to take over a majority stake of the playfield. If you ever played Jezzball back on Windows 3.1 this game will instantly bring back memories. For everyone else, check out this youtube video to understand the concept a little better.

But what of the "++" addition to the name? Sure it goes along with the "Plus!" naming of the WiiWare titles, but it's more reminiscent of C programming conventions. Could we see a trippy version of Qix in a similar fashion to Jeff Minter's Gridrunner++?

Source: German USK rating board

After over a year of speculation, Polytron have finally revealed that Fez will be coming to the Xbox Live Arcade in early 2010.

Don't know what Fez is? It's the media darling indie game which breaks our brains with perspective. Check out the latest trailer here.