Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 1

Wii Points: 1000
Game Type: Adventure
Control Type: Wii Remote
Players: 1
Publisher: Telltale Games

"Join Guybrush Threepwood, Mighty Pirate, in this first chapter of an epic five-part saga, filled with humor, romance and piratey swashbuckling. When a showdown with the demon pirate LeChuck goes up in flames, Guybrush gets marooned on a strange island. How will he escape? Where is Guybrush's beloved wife, Elaine? And what's up with the voodoo pox spreading through the isles? Jump into Tales of Monkey Island today to find out!"

Click here for the official Tales Of Monkey Island page.

The Three Musketeers: One for All!

Wii Points: 900
Game Type: Platform Adventure
Control Type: Wii Remote, Nunchuk
Players: 1
Publisher:Legendo Entertainment

"The Three Musketeers have been imprisoned by the treacherous Count Xavier and his sinister lieutenant, Count Orsini! Well, almost - take on the role of Porthos, famed member of the Musketeers, to save the day in this swashbuckling platform adventure inspired by the classic novel. Swing the Wii Remote™ to launch blistering sword attacks on your foes, avoid fiendish traps and discover hidden collectables. Packed with frenetic fencing, heroic leaps and fun puzzles, this is one adventure no aspiring hero will want to miss."

Click here for a trailer for The Three Musketeers

HB Arcade Cards

Wii Points: 500
Game Type: Card Game
Control Type: Wii Remote
Players: 1
Publisher: HB Studios Multimedia

"HB Arcade Cards is a great collection of fun and easy-to-play card games. The collection of games included in this title includes: Rummy, Hearts, Euchre, Canasta, Cribbage and the always-classic Solitaire. Each game comes with an interactive tutorial to show you the rules and basic game play. You'll need to be clever to outsmart your opponents, and you can even team up with a computer partner to play Euchre and Cribbage. You can play HB Arcade Cards using a Mii character from your Wii console, or play with one of our four new characters. HB Arcade Cards has lots of style and flare, and will keep you coming back for more. Remember, it's never the same game twice. "

Click here for the official HB Arcade Cards page.

Bryan Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim, a popular indie comic turned Michael Cera-starring film, will be getting its own game on digital download.

IGN have got the first details about the game, presumably for Xbox Live Arcade. The game is being developed by Ubisoft Montreal, and is intended to come out alongside the release of the film set for a Summer 2010 release. Despite this, the game will follow a closer style to that of the comic book.

Source: SDCC 09: Scott Pilgrim Game Coming

Indie developer / publisher Nicalis is carving out quite a niche for itself - bringing top quality independent titles to the realm of digital download. Cave Story and Night Game look to be some of the best downloadable titles, WiiWare or otherwise, and their latest pickup is no different - they're bringing La-Mulana to WiiWare.

La-Mulana is a freeware sidescrolling platformer released on PC back in 2005. Initially only released in Japanese, and later patched for English a few years later, it was a homage to the MSX computer games, keeping a 16-color palette and low resolution. Now with the help of Japanese developer Nigoro, Nicalis will bring it to WiiWare with a complete graphic overhaul.

The game continues to keep its pixelated charm, but now sports a vastly superior palette - something between 16 and 32-bit systems. The game will also expand on the original adventure with downloadable content, including Boss Rush modes, special stages and more.

The game is set to be released this Winter, and no price has been set for the moment. For more screenshots, check out the official site here.

In a very clear case of blogs and websites not reading their own comment pages and skimming the headlines, it appears everyone is in a frenzy about this "leaked" video of Avatar Golf, a game which everyone has already thrown in the idea that it's got something to do with Project Natal.

Let's get the story straight.

The footage is of a demo whipped up by Barker's Crest Studios, the creators of Easy Golf on XBL Indie Games. The demo shows uses the very same trees and very same hit bar as Easy Golf does, but instead is missing a lot of the HUD and now includes Avatars.

While Barker's Crest are currently avoiding discussion on the game, we do know that this is not an update to the original Easy Golf, and is likely a tech demo showing off the recent ability to add Avatars into XBL Indie Games.

Not to discourage Barker's Crest at all - it just needed to be made clear. An avatar-based Golf game is a fantastic idea, and by the response of the community it's clear that it would be a very hot item on the marketplace. Quite frankly I'm astonished that XBLA's own Golf: Tee It Up never got onto the bandwagon, despite very close similarities with the game characters and the Avatars.

So there you have it - not some super secret Natal based golf game. I advise blogs to please think and ponder a little before posting next time.

"Fans asked, and Capcom listened! One of the most popular fighting games of all time arrives on Xbox LIVE Arcade. MARVEL VS. CAPCOM 2 brings legendary characters from throughout Marvel and Capcom history to duke it out in an insane tag-team fighting experience. From Ryu to Wolverine, pit your favorite heroes in dream match-ups thanks to an unprecedented 56-character roster. With all new online play, take the fight across the globe and decide who really has the best "dream team." Widescreen support, enhanced HD graphics, and a robust leaderboard makes one of the best fighting games even better!"

Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 will be available this Wednesday for 1200 Microsoft Points.

Click here for the official Xbox.com splash page.

We've had a few quality XBLA games over the past few weeks, and even more to come, so how about we celebrate by sharing the love?

We've got 2 'Splosion Man and 3 Madballs In Babo: Invasion codes to give out to our lucky readers. What do you have to do to win? Simply join our Twitter feed- we'll be posting the codes over the next day, so look out for them.

Boy, that's the scariest looking screenshot I think I've ever used for GamerBytes. Yikes.

Last year Nathan Fouts showed us all what could be done with XBL Indie Games with Weapon Of Choice, a game made entirely by himself, and it was highly acclaimed for it.

Now nearly a year later Fouts is working on his newest title - Grapple Buggy, an extraordinary platfomer / action hybrid where you must use a grappling hook to traverse the environment.

At E3 we caught up with Fouts as he dragged around his giant bag willed with goodies, his laptop and a Xbox 360 controller. We had a chat about his upcoming game, his adventure working in the Indie game space, what his thoughts are about the XBL Indie Games space is now and where he's going now.

Marvel vs. Capcom 2

Developer: Backbone Entertainment
Publisher: Capcom Entertainment, Inc
Genre: Coin-Op Classics
Price: 1200 Microsoft Points
Availability: All Xbox LIVE regions
File Size: 197 MB

Click here to add Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 to your download queue via Xbox web marketplace.

Click here for the official Xbox.com splash page.

According tot he latest update to the ESRB website, Frogger will be making a return to the PlayStation 3 and Wii with Frogger Returns.

According to the description, this game will keep to its roots - keeping it close to the arcade game where players guide a frog across the other side of a screen to safety. However it appears that they'll mix up the environments a little - with busy streets and conveyor belts alongside your standard river settings.

If there's any hope at all this game will be completely different to Konami's Frogger 2, released last year on the Xbox Live Arcade as it was absolutely garbage.

Source: PlayStation Lifestyle - Frogger Hops On Over to PSN

2K Sports have revealed that they will be releasing a new addition to this year's NBA 2K10 title - an Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network title titles Draft Combine.

This 400MSP ($5) title will allow players to get in on the NBA action a little earlier - creating the ability to build a custom player and run him through drills and boost his stats for the release of NBA 2K10. It works in a similar way to Fable II Pub Games, which allows you to earn money before the release of Fable II, and also expands the experience like EA's Fantasy Football applications released a few years ago.

The game will be available in September in North America, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and India. You can check out the screenshots at the official website.

I'm a little saddened by this news - Basketball has been used twice now as a testbed on XBLA - first NCAA Basketball MME and now this. When will we finally get an Arcade-styled Basketball game on XBLA and PSN?

Redlynx have released a new "metal" trailer for Trials HD, coming to the Xbox Live Arcade on August 12th. While still looking as great as ever it also showcases the best part of it all - extensive stat tracking.

Check out the little bar at the top - every level in the game will show the completion times for every person in your friends list. Not only that, but it will track the best scores in the multitude of minigames the game has on offer.

You thought Geometry Wars kept you up at night? You've not played Trials HD.

Developer doublesix have today revealed that their game Burn Zombie Burn! has now reached their internal sales benchmark of 70,000 sales on the PlayStation Network.

Burn Zombie Burn was released at the end of March, so the game has had 4 months of availability. We followed the Top 10 lists for North America during March and April, and it did not chart for either month. It appears that it must have had a larger following in Europe, or had very healthy continuous sales since.

James Brooksby, Studio Head of doublesix has also commented digital publishing. "I do wish that all the platform owners would make their digital sales figures public", he says, "We feel this lack of transparency is hindering the development of these channels". Currently the Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and WiiWare services never specify any sales statistics outside of the weekly or monthly Top 10 lists, and we at GamerBytes have been doing our best to give our own analysis of the month's statistics through them along with any available Leaderboard data.

James continued, "As a developer trying to decide which platforms to develop for, as well as what type of games to make, we're currently in the dark regarding real sales performance for digital platforms and that makes it increasingly difficult to make realistic plans. I'd like to see some kind of verified sales charts on all digital systems to encourage more developers to support these channels and to help make sensible investment decisions."

I ccouldn't agree more. This month we've already seen a couple of statistics with Battlefield 1943 and Magic: The Gathering, but with the event of the PSPGo! close at hand publishers, developers and the community need something more concrete to base their decisions on. Let's hope all parties involve start thinking about this.

Burn Zombie Burn will also be receiving its own home space and "In Space" expansion soon, so keep a look out.

Fat Princess
Fat Princess (Full Game)

Category: Action
Publisher: SCEA
Players: 1-32
Price: $14.99

"Rescue your beloved princess through teamwork in this comic medieval battle royale. There’s a catch, though—the other team has been feeding her magical cake, making her harder to escort back to your castle. Choose from five distinct character classes and switch at any time to best help your team as you work to save your princess."

Watchmen: The End Is Nigh
Watchmen: The End Is Nigh Part 2 (Demo also available)

Category: Action
Publisher: Warner Bros.
Players: 1-2
Price: $14.99

"Rorschach has uncovered a mysterious missing person’s case and with the help of Nite Owl, the pair sets out to find the young girl. Their search takes them deep into the depraved, sleazy corners of the city and eventually face-to-face with the mysterious Twilight Lady. Experience the next saga in Watchmen’s unlawful brand of justice in this long-form downloadable game."

Rag Doll Kung Fu
Rag Doll Kung Fu Time Saver DLC

Price: $1.99

"The Rag Doll Kung Fu: Fists of Plastic Time Saver pack will unlock all of the game’s costumes and accessories to allow you to customize the hilarious kung fu puppets. Download the Time Saver pack to save yourself from the challenge of collecting all of the trophies and jump right into the rewards!"

PSOne Classics
Spec Ops: Airborne Commando

Price: $5.99

"The Rag Doll Kung Fu: Fists of Plastic Time Saver pack will unlock all of the game’s costumes and accessories to allow you to customize the hilarious kung fu puppets. Download the Time Saver pack to save yourself from the challenge of collecting all of the trophies and jump right into the rewards!"

Fat Princess
Fat Princess (Full Game)

Category: Action
Publisher: SCEA
Players: 1-32
Price: £11.99 / €14.99 / $23.95AUD

"Rescue your beloved princess through teamwork in this comic medieval battle royale. There’s a catch, though—the other team has been feeding her magical cake, making her harder to escort back to your castle. Choose from five distinct character classes and switch at any time to best help your team as you work to save your princess."

Watchmen: The End Is Nigh
Watchmen: The End Is Nigh Part 2 (Demo also available)

Category: Action
Publisher: Warner Bros.
Players: 1-2
Price: £9.99 / €12.99 / $19.95AUD

"Rorschach has uncovered a mysterious missing person’s case and with the help of Nite Owl, the pair sets out to find the young girl. Their search takes them deep into the depraved, sleazy corners of the city and eventually face-to-face with the mysterious Twilight Lady. Experience the next saga in Watchmen’s unlawful brand of justice in this long-form downloadable game."

Numblast
Numblast (Demo)

"This demo of the number blasting game (see where the name came from) allows you to try the Time Trial and Tutorial modes found in the full game for a limited period of three days."

Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 1

Wii Points: 1000
Game Type: Adventure
Control Type: Wii Remote
Players: 1
Publisher: Telltale Games

"Join Guybrush Threepwood, Mighty Pirate, in this first chapter of an epic five-part saga, filled with humor, romance and piratey swashbuckling. When a showdown with the demon pirate LeChuck goes up in flames, Guybrush gets marooned on a strange island. How will he escape? Where is Guybrush's beloved wife, Elaine? And what's up with the voodoo pox spreading through the isles? Jump into Tales of Monkey Island today to find out!"

Click here for the official Tales Of Monkey Island page.

The Three Musketeers: One for All!

Wii Points: 900
Game Type: Platform Adventure
Control Type: Wii Remote, Nunchuk
Players: 1
Publisher:Legendo Entertainment

"The Three Musketeers have been imprisoned by the treacherous Count Xavier and his sinister lieutenant, Count Orsini! Well, almost - take on the role of Porthos, famed member of the Musketeers, to save the day in this swashbuckling platform adventure inspired by the classic novel. Swing the Wii Remote™ to launch blistering sword attacks on your foes, avoid fiendish traps and discover hidden collectables. Packed with frenetic fencing, heroic leaps and fun puzzles, this is one adventure no aspiring hero will want to miss."

Click here for a trailer for The Three Musketeers

Driift Mania

Wii Points: 800
Game Type: Racing
Control Type: Wii Remote
Players: 1-4
Publisher: Konami

Konami's Driift Mania is a top-down multiplayer racer. You can play with seven other players as you choose from 32 different vehicles in four categories (small, medium, heavy, special) and race on 12 different tracks. There are traditional single-player, team race and multiplayer championship modes.

Click here for more information on Driift Mania on NintendoLife.

In our latest employment-tastic 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 2K Boston, Sony Santa Monica, 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 our main market area this week include:

The Xbox Live Indie Games can now go to as low as 80 Microsoft points, or one whole American dollar, but we're still a few weeks away from seeing the new rating system become available to consumers. Some games have already gone down in price - but which ones are the best?

We've chosen the 11 best titles that have changed their prices, and tell you to go and download the trials right now. Simple click on the XboxIndies game badge to go download the trial version via Xbox web marketplace.

"Hit a hole-in-one with Easy Golf! Features: Create and share courses over Xbox Live, 8 player online matches, unlockable character accessories, player statistics, course records, weather conditions and much more! With a Metacritic score of 70, Easy Golf is one of the best values on the Marketplace. Golfers of all skill levels can have a blast with Easy Golf, so get in on the fun today. v1.3"