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Undead Labs’ forthcoming zombie-apocalypse survival simulator continues to shamble toward an “early 2013” release. To help lighten the unbearable wait, Labs has maintained as much transparency as possible, fostering a dialogue with the community that’s more give than take. The latest in that line of communication was supposed to be a teaser trailer Undead had hoped to debut, but alas, it’s not ready. That’s the bad news.

The good news is the reason for the delay: a studio-wide crunch to submit the “first complete version” of the game to Microsoft to begin the initial round of certification testing. A milestone the studio reports being “very close” to achieving.

Fortunately for those of us who look forward to these sorts of things, Labs’ community manager and information conduit, Undead Sanya, has secured several screenshots from the upcoming teaser. We expect the trailer to hit any day now, but in the meantime, we certainly appreciate the sneak peek. Hit the jump to check out the sparse digs you might find yourself holed up in when State of Decay releases later this year.

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The wildly popular card game that encourages you to kill everything, backstab your friends and make off with the treasure, is coming to Xbox Live. Steve Jackson Games’ Munchkin is the dungeon-diving experience “without any of that stupid role-playing stuff.” Its irreverent humor, easy-to-learn rules and addictive cutthroat gameplay have spawned a Munchkin empire; spinning off dozens of expansion decks, a board game, and ironically, a role-playing game.

The Munckin invasion of the Xbox 360 is being spearheaded by Tinderbox Entertainment, an independent developer of both videogames and traditional board games. First announced back in 2011, the Munchkin team has been working diligently to translate the game digitally, stating on their official Facebook page in early January that we can expect the finished product, “Soon. Munchkin for Xbox is coming soon.”

Earlier this week, an image of the game popped up on Steve Jackson Games’ official Twitter page. Though they’re quick to call it a demo, it appears to be shaping up nicely and will hit Xbox first, before being migrated to other undetermined platforms afterward. They also qualified what to expect with the initial release, indicating that post-release content could potentially introduce the many expansion sets in the form of downloadable content.

We’re working to confirm whether Munchkin will be an officially branded Arcade title, but it’s hard to imagine it landing anywhere other than Xbox Live Arcade. Hit the jump to check out the first in-game image. Read More

Microsoft Studios announced today that World Series of Poker: Full House Pro will be coming to Xbox Live Arcade in Spring 2013. The game  will offer cross-platform play across XBLA …
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The holidays are a busy time, especially around these parts. Sometimes goods news falls through the cracks, but now’s the time of year to reach deep for anything that might have gotten lost in the hustle and bustle of the season. Recently announced by publisher Atlus and developer Old School Games, a subsidiary of Saber Interactive (best known for Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary and most recently, Inversion), God Mode throws open the gates of Hell for some unabashed third-person cooperative action.

God Mode offers up a retro-romp through The Maze of Hades where you and as many as three friends, online or off, shoot, smash, and blast your way through wave upon wave of mythological mayhem. Moving from zone to zone with your recently deceased characters, you’ll have to finagle your way through the frenzy, fighting for health/armor/ammo pick-ups while filling your Rage Meter with each successive kill to unleash special abilities. Though the action seems fairly straightforward, collected gold and experience plays into Cadaver Customization, where you’ll be able to shop for new weapons, upgrades, abilities and an absurd array of appearance pieces.

Speaking to IGN, studio head Matthew Karch touched on the pick-up-and-play friendliness they’ve instilled, “It doesn’t take itself too seriously. It is lighthearted fun and focuses on arcade style action over a deep story. I think this makes sense for downloadable games, where players are looking for some quick, thoughtless action.” While not everyone agrees downloadable players don’t want narrative and depth, there’s certainly room for the mindless obliteration of the legions of the damned.

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New screenshots from developer Moon Spider Studio’s upcoming Harold have washed up, showcasing the sandy shores of the “Beach” courses. Players can expect to guide the hapless Harold across this and other vibrant environments in the platforming-puzzle-racer hybrid coming to “consoles” and PC later this spring.

The first effort from the Florida-based developer, Harold puts the player in the role of Gabe, the titular sprinter’s guardian angel who must protect his charge through the multiple paths of each course en route to the finish line. By manipulating obstacles, disarming pitfalls and “motivating” Harold with angelic abilities, players must purportedly act fast to not only achieve the best time, but save Harold from his biggest threat — himself. Touting humorous gameplay and a casual curve that’s difficult to master, Harold aims to deliver a dynamic experience for players of all types.

However Harold ends up finishing, he’ll certainly look good doing it. The downloadable title’s hand-drawn visual style has been crafted by Moon Spider Studio’s stable of artists and animators whose credentials include the world-renowned Dreamworks, Pixar and Studio Ghibli. If these new screenshots are any indication, Harold‘s shaping up to be a beautiful game. Check out the full gallery after the jump.

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Surviving the end of the world takes skills. Skills developed in the slavering clutches of the undead, shaping wads of helpless victims into chiseled survivors. Everyone has their own strengths: the brawler, the sneak, the deadeye. Understanding your role in the zombie apocalypse could mean the difference between a lukewarm canned meal at the end of a long day and becoming the meal yourself. Undead Labs’ Richard Foge recently delved into the meaning of tactics, strategy, and how to last long enough to become a survivor in State of Decay.

“In State of Decay we put a lot of effort into making sure that players can transition smoothly between different tactical approaches to gameplay so that [you] can adapt quickly and make adjustments to your tactics as the combat situation evolves,” he writes. Foge brings considerable console game design know-how to State of Decay, having honed his craft as a Senior Designer for the SOCOM franchise, in addition to combat and systems design for God of War and Guild Wars, respectively. Now he’s set sights on ensuring your survival’s as organic as possible.

“We want you to easily flow from stealth to melee combat to ranged combat to using items. We know that everyone approaches these challenges differently, and it was important to make sure that as many approaches were accounted for as possible.” There’s a dizzying array of ways to tackle the flesh-eating obstacles infesting State of Decay — for one, literally. Though Foge discourages too much physical contact when interacting with your new neighbors, “It’s a great way to get yourself killed, but it’s also a great way to dispatch a couple of zombies without letting the legions of the damned know your exact position.”

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• The Xbox Community Ambassadors program is expanding. Ambassadors are regular community members who provide community support in exchange for some cool gifts, the higher end of which includes XBLA games. Are you knowledgeable? Apply today.
• The Verge reports that the ESPN Xbox Live app will be getting SmartGlass support some time this month.
• PlayXBLA revealed one of the new gods in  Ascend: New Gods, the Titan. See a screenshot after the jump.
• SmartGlass is now available for your iPhone or iPad–that is if you’re trendy lucky enough to have one. Pick it up here.
• Xbox Live apps Rhapsody, Blip.TV, LOVEFiLM Deutschland, RTL XL, and TOU.TV recently launched in their respective regions, and the IGN app is now available in Canada. For full descriptions, hit the jump.
• The Blinding of Isaac is coming to consoles. Super Meat Boy‘s Edmund McMillen announced the information via his blog earlier this month. No word yet if that includes the Xbox 360 and XBLA.
• Happy Wars has been updated with additional weapons, including a mailbox and a winged staff. No word on whether these are free or microtransactional.

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We’ve all thought about it: the end of days. Life, as we know it, over. Our laws, our society, our grande vanilla rooibos tea lattes, all gone, and we’re left with a staggering view of a world that’s indifferent of our existence. There’s no shortage of inventive ways to envision that demise, but the destruction-du-jour is contagion, with a twist. Infected by a mythical super-strain, our bodies succumb to the infection, wither and die. Reanimated a short time later, they shuffle (or sprint, depending on your inspiration) across the empty remains of our cities, towns and suburbs, catering to the most basic of impulses — to feed.

But the true draw, the appeal even, of an undead apocalypse isn’t the madness of the moment, it’s the days and weeks afterward. The life after life-as-we-know-it; the fitful consequences of our actions in an existence without margins for error, and how we stack up against that uncertainty. Undead Labs, the Washington-based, zombie-obsessed, fledgling development studio wants to realize that future, virtually, and give you the keys to a whole new life in a State of Decay.

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After multiple setbacks, Tony Hawk fans will be able to finally get their mitts on the Revert Pack downloadable content. Launching December 4 for 400 MSP, the pack includes three levels from Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3: Airport, LA and Canada. When playing each of these levels players will be able to perform a revert to keep their combos going a bit longer. Also included are professional skaters Steve Caballero and Geoff Rawley, plus newly announced Metallica band members James Hetfield (seen above) and Robert Trujillo  (after the jump).

Now that the Revert Pack has an official date, we can’t help but look back to our recent poll about what levels should be included in future DLC. College and Kona were clear winners from Pro Skater 4, so as long as we’re on that note we’re hoping Jango Fett will be included, too. What levels and skaters (be the professional or guest) are you still waiting for?

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What’s better than new Minecraft skins? Halloween-themed Minecraft skins, of course. Oh, better than that? Halloween-themed Minecraft skins for charity? No? Halloween-themed Minecraft skins for FOUR charities?

That’s exactly what’s on the table in this, the final week, of Crafting for a Cause — the Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition event where all proceeds of the limited edition Halloween Skin Pack go directly to charity. Our friends over at PlayXBLA want you to know that Microsoft, 4J Studios and Mojang have selected four great causes, to which they’ll donate the full 160 MSP ($2) value of every pack sold.

In an amazing show of support, the Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition community has already purchased over $700,000 worth of the Halloween Skin Pack in the three short weeks this event has been running, but there’s still time to donate/get-your-hands-on-these-exclusive-skins. Each skin was handcrafted by the hardworking folks at some of the best development studios around, including: 343 Industries, Twisted Pixel, The Behemoth, Climax Studios, Rare, Tequila Works, Mojang and 4J Studios themselves.

In order to whet your appetite, XBLA Fans has lovingly compiled all 55 skins into easy to digest, alphabetically ordered slides for you to peruse at your leisure. Hit the jump for the goods. If even one of these great skins catches your eye, please consider purchasing the pack for 160 MSP before it’s too late! Crafting for a cause will continue to collect contributions until Monday, November 26. You really can make a difference!

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