[From Gamasutra's creators, GamerBytes is a blog about downloadable console & handheld games - from XBLA through WiiWare, PSN and DSiWare to PSP Minis.]

GamerBytes: XBLA

March 17, 2010

XBLA: XBLA Update - Perfect Dark

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Perfect Dark is now available for 800 Microsoft Points. Go grab it.

PSN, XBLA: Footage: 11 Minutes Of Puzzle Quest 2

Do you want 11 minutes of jewel matching action? Gamespot are here to help.

Puzzle Quest 2 is looking great, I'd say it already looks better than Puzzle Chronicles, which Infinite Interactive developed but hasn't been released yet. Artistically it's better than anything Infinite have released, that's for sure.

I played the original game on the DS, so I'll be interested to see how if this one will work me over on a digital platform, heck I still need to go back and finish Gyromancer.

What say you reader? Ready for more Puzzle Quest? Do you have 30+ hours to kill on your console?

PSN, XBLA: First Person Shooter Nexuiz Coming To Consoles

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Independent developer and publisher, IllFonic, have announced that they plan to bring PC shooter Nexuiz to consoles.

Nexuiz has been an open source project on the PC which startd in 2005, and was based on a heavily altered Quake 1 engine, which was available through GNU licensing. The game has made tremendous strides since its release from the original developer Alientrap Software, now IllFonic plan to bring it to consoles. Their plans seem similar to that of Babo: Invasion on Xbox Live Arcade last year, but Nexuiz will be coming to both XBLA and PSN.

This new version will contain a new art direction for the series but will keep the same fast paced style of the PC game. It now joins a very large list of upcoming shooters on XBLA - which already includes Monday Night Combat, Lead & Gold, Quake Arena Arcade, DOOM II and Blacklight: Tango Down just to name a few. Will this hold up against the competition, or fall on its face like Cellfactor did?

Source: IllFONIC BRINGS UNDERGROUND ARENA FPS, NEXUIZ TO CONSOLE GAMERS

March 16, 2010

XBLA: First Footage Of Comic Jumper

It appears that some Joystiq sleuths popped up over to the South by Southwest Screenburn Arcade to take a look at the Twisted Pixel booth, and low and behond - Michael Wilford was showing off the first footage of Comic Jumper in action.

Looks quite good at the moment - certainly looks like 'Splosion Man with guns. The gunplay actually reminds me of the upcoming XBLA game Shank.

According to Joystiq they'll be getting some direct feed footage later this week, so keep a look out.

PSN, XBLA: Footage: Shank Reveals New Bosses, More Action

We've seen the opening scene of Shank over and over now, but now Klei have saved us with footage of some of the later levels, and a new boss encounter.

It's still some ways away from being finished, but it's still looks pretty sweet. This versus The Dishwasher 2 is going to be pretty hardcore fight at the year's end.

XBLA: Footage: Limbo (Playdead Games)

Limbo is a strange game - a platformer set in a striking black-and-white world where you're on the search for your lost sister. It's been in development for years, but now we can get a glimpse of the game for the Xbox Live Arcade. Not a whole lot is shown, but it's piqued my interest at least.

March 15, 2010

XBLA: In-Depth: Xbox Live Arcade Sales Analysis, February 2010

[Sister site GamerBytes' editor Ryan Langley examines February 2010's Xbox Live Arcade debuts and continuing successes, with charts and leaderboard data, for a look at how XBLA titles are performing.]

February has always been a strange period for the Xbox Live Arcade - in previous years, it was the birthing ground of popular titles like 3-on-3 NHL Arcade and less likely titles like Discs Of Tron. There have been successes and failures, but much has changed since last year.

For 2010 we've seen publishers try something a little different -- we had 6 new titles this February, 5 which have a Metacritic of over 79. This included the release of Zoe Mode and OneBigGame's Chime, an inexpensive charity game, as well as the release of Introversion's Darwinia+ and The Odd Gentlemen's P.B Winterbottom..

We’ll see how they’ve done in this analysis, as well as look at the new Top 20 lists released by the Major Nelson blog:

Continue reading "In-Depth: Xbox Live Arcade Sales Analysis, February 2010" »

DSiWare, PSN, PSN Minis, WiiWare, XBLA: GDC Sees Record Attendance, Reveals 2011 Dates

Organizers of the 2010 Game Developers Conference, the world's largest industry-only event dedicated to the advancement of interactive entertainment, has announced an all-time record of 18,250 game industry professionals attending San Francisco's Moscone Convention Center for the March 9th-13th event.

Surpassing last year's total of 17,000 attendees, the event - created by the UBM Techweb Game Network, as is this website - brought together experienced game developers, publishers, deal makers, industry aspirants and working press for more than 400 lectures, panels, summits, tutorials and roundtable discussions.

Offering a full five days of content, the event also hosted an extensive Exposition floor, featuring the biggest firms in the games space alongside the Career Pavilion and associated Game Career Seminar.

Also presented were the 12th Annual Independent Games Festival, the 10th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards, Game Connection America, and more opportunities for networking, discussing business, sharing knowledge, and meeting with equally-devoted fellow developers.

Following the success of the show, organizers of the Game Developers Conference have announced that GDC 2011 will return to the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco from Monday, February 28 to Friday, March 4, 2011, with a call for lecture submissions to open this Summer.

Continue reading "GDC Sees Record Attendance, Reveals 2011 Dates" »

XBLA: This Week On XBLA - Perfect Dark

But you already knew that didn't you?

While you're waiting for the game to come out on Wednesday (and for only 800MSP), you can check out the first 10 minutes of the game in the video above, thanks to Xbox Evolved.

PSN, XBLA: Trailer: Might & Magic: Clash Of Heroes (Capy Games / Ubisoft)

Earlier last week we pointed you to some off-screen video of Clash Of Heroes, now we've got the official trailer to gander at.

Art wise the game has taken a huge overhaul to the original DS game, and the influence of Critter Crunch's HD artwork is clearly seen. Let's hope the game will get the recognition it should on these digital platforms.

March 12, 2010

XBLA: The Adventures of Shuggy Announced For XBLA

Smudged Cat Games and Valcon have announced a new Xbox Live Arcade title - Shuggy: A Vampire In Distress.

Originally a XNA title set for the Xbox Live Indie Games space, Smudged Cat Games decided to try and shop the game around for the Xbox Live Arcade space - Valcon picked them up, and now they're on their way to the XBLA.

Shuggy is a 2D platform puzzler, which according to the developers webpage will contain over 100 levels and include cooperative modes. Gamespot had a look at the game at GDC, which you can see above.

March 11, 2010

PSN, XBLA: Might & Magic: Clash Of Heroes Coming To XBLA, PSN

Might & Magic: Clash Of Heroes was a sleeper hit on the DS last year - few people knew about its existance until it was released, but the game ended up winning a ton of awards for the best DS strategy game for 2009. Now developer Capybara have announced the game will be making its way to both the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network with a complete high-definition re-haul.

Clash of Heroes is a puzzle game mixed with RPG elements - similar to that of Puzzle Quest, but instead takes on a more original puzzle concept. You have an army of characters at the bottom of the screen that must fight against those on the top - but they only get sent across if you've got 3 or more lined up for battle. It's a great concept that worked well on the DS, and seems to continue to work well here.

The game will get entirely redrawn in high definition and feature some additional elements and they've fixed some problems with the original. The game will also expand on the multiplayer element of the original, now including cooperative modes.

You can check out some more screenshots and video over at the IGN link below.

Source: IGN.com - Clash Of Heroes Battling on XBLA and PSN.

PSN, XBLA: Monkey Island 2: Special Edition Confirmed For XBLA, Original Coming To PSN

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Lucasarts, via their Twitter, have announced that Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge will be coming to the Xbox Live Arcade with a new Special Edition.

The game will be completely redrawn like the original, will include a voice acting - this time available on both Classic and HD visual settings, and will finally fix Guybrush's hair.

The game will also be expanded upon from the original, and will include new puzzles and new enemies - so they're getting a bit more ambitious with this version.

The original game will also be coming to the PlayStation Network soon, and LeChuck's Revenge will also pop up at a later date.

In the meantime, check this artwork out!

March 10, 2010

XBLA: Xbox Indies: Soulcaster (MagicalTimeBean)

Soulcaster may at first look like a game trying to nick the style of 8-bit RPGs, but actually will surprise you - it's an Adventure game with Tower Defense elements.

As the Wizard, you must travel the world collecting gold, scrolls and other trinkets, but you must also place a specific amount of Archers, Bombers and Soldiers to fend off the evil undead who are trying to kill you.

It works surprisingly well and it's surprising that I haven't played something like it sooner. Check out the demo here.

XBLA: Boulder Dash Coming To XBLA

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Dutch developer Catnip games have announced their plans to bring the classic puzzler Boulder Dash to the Xbox Live Arcade, and their plans to release it in the 3rd quarter of 2010.

The developer has promised that the game will return to its roots, with diamonds and goodies to collect. Boulder Dash has tried to come back in the past with games like Boulder Dash Rocks! on the DS, but the game has always found it difficult to actually make a name for itself, despite being well known title back in the day. Whether Rockford is an explorer or a dude with a rock for a head changed between who's in charge of the game at the time.

Hopefully they do the game justice, similar to Lode Runner XBLA last year.


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