News

Dying happens a lot in Spelunky, but up until now the game has caused some unfair deaths. The game’s first patch was released recently, and it sets out to improve …
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Deck 13 and dtp entertainment have announced that action RPG Blood Knights will release on XBLA on February 20 2013 for 1200 MSP. According to Deck 13 and dtp, Blood …
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It’s the gift that keeps being given, it seems: Mojang’s runaway indie success Minecraft continues to sell through the roof, reportedly chalking up an additional 453,000 sales across all …
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If you’ve somehow missed out on Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead, or have been on the fence on whether it’s for you, you’re in for some luck – the first of the game’s five episodes, “A New Day,” is currently as cheap as free on the Xbox Live Marketplace, giving waffling players the perfect excuse to try out one of the biggest surprise hits of 2012.

Telltale PR rep Job Stauffer confirmed on Twitter that the debut episode will enjoy its 100 percent discount through Monday. Other episodes sell for 400 MSP a pop, meaning the entire first “season” of the game is available at one of the lowest prices it’s yet seen.

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XBLA players will be able to ring in the New Year next week by partying like it’s 1999…or 1989…or any other year from the ’80s or ’90s, for that matter: developer Vblank Entertainment Inc. has revealed that Retro City Rampage will finally release on Xbox Live Arcade on January 2. The game first released on PSN and PC in October, but the announced XBLA and WiiWare versions were pushed back indefinitely.

Brian Provinciano, the man “almost entirely” responsible for developing Retro City Rampage, announced last month that an improved XBLA version was complete and had entered certification, but he was unable to provide a concrete release date at the time. Provinciano used the time between the October release on PSN/PC and the game’s November certification bid to tinker away on the XBLA version, ensuring it would be what he calls “a better experience.”

The retro-tinged open world game was designed from the beginning to require players “to stop and strategize” while playing. Unfortunately, he received player feedback following the October release that the game was frustrating when players entered into certain missions with “just fists and guns.” Additional tutorials and tip screens that show after a player has failed a mission a certain number of times have been added to the XBLA release in an attempt to smooth out the experience. Further softening the difficulty are additional checkpoints sprinkled throughout the game.

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“If Clementine came off annoying, people would be trying to find the button that sends her straight into a herd of walkers,” Melissa Hutchison, voice actress behind The Walking Dead‘s Clementine, told Game Informer in regards to how she and developer Telltale Games had to avoid making the little girl just another aggravating video game companion character.

“From the beginning, the designers knew they wanted a character that would act as a moral compass for the main character as he progressed through the game,” Art Director David Sakai said. “The designers envisioned a smart, honest, and capable girl around eight years old.”

Telltale’s designers didn’t have to completely imagine the character into existence, however: Clementine’s personality, attire and candid dialog were based upon Sakai’s daughter. With those inspirations and imaginations in place, the developer then had to find someone to breathe life into its creation, a task that proved to be initially troublesome.

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Developer Arc System Works has revealed that it will be bringing the previously Japan-only Plus R update for XBLA fighting game Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus to North America next spring.

After Core was initially released on the PS2 in 2008, its developer followed up with Core Plus in 2009 before releasing Plus R exclusively in its home country back in September. The XBLA version of the game then arrived in North America on October 24 sans Plus R. Despite the game’s myriad ports and updates, fans in this part of the world have still been asking questions on message boards such as NeoGAF as to when the most recent update would make its way here. Now they have their answer.

When Plus R does arrive in the States players will be greeted with a new title screen that reflects this version of the game once an update has been installed. They will then need to go into the game settings in the options menu and enable Plus R. Players who trudge through all of that setup will be able to select fighters Kliff-Undersn and Justice in ranked matches and all Player Match sessions. In addition, Plus R-specific leaderboards and achievements will be appended to the XBLA game.

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Weekly Roundup compiles all the biggest news stories, reviews and features from the week into one handy post on the weekends.

The holidays are officially upon us. It’s been a busy week around these parts, thanks to our own Andrew Crews, who’s diligently orchestrated yet another year of fantastic giveaways. Today marks the end of The 12 Days of XBLA, and your last chance to score the amazing Grand Prize worth $55 in Xbox Live Arcade games. Be sure to check out the final entry of the contest, and toss your hat in the ring. Finally, we want to wish everyone a very Happy Holidays from all of us here at XBLAFans!

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As the countdown to 2013 continues on Xbox Live, today’s daily deal sees three games from this year’s Summer of Arcade promotion on offer:

Dust an Elysian Tail – …
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Japanese developer 5pb Games has revealed in a recent blog post that Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds, the XBLA co-op side-scroller starring characters …
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