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Batman: Arkham Origins: Blackgate, the handheld companion game to Batman: Arkham Origins will soon make the jump to the Xbox 360. Subtitled Deluxe Edition, the new Metroid-esque, 2.5D brawler will retain the gameplay of it’s less deluxe parent, but will improve on visuals and adds Dolby 5.1 surround sound. Console players can also unlock a Zero Year Batman suit by signing into (or registering for) their Warner Bros ID account. The Armature studio title feature motion comic-styled cutscenes and a fully voiced narrative. The game arrives April 1, 2014 and will retail for USD 19.99. No word yet on whether any cross-unlocks will occur between the original Origins and Blackgate. Hit the jump for a trailer, additional screenshots, and the press release.

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Last week, you may have caught our five-part feature looking ahead at as many XBLA games and their Xbox One brethren as we could possibly cram into one week’s worth of articles. If you missed it, go ahead and check it out right now. Start here.

All done with that? Great. Now you know what’s coming. What you may not know, however, is which of those games you should be looking forward to the most. Don’t worry — XBLA Fans has you covered. Read on to find out what upcoming XBLA and Xbox One games select members of our team are most looking forward to getting their hands on. Once you’re done, let us know which ones you’re most excited for in the comments section. We’re asking you to read through our many thoughts on the big releases ahead, so we figure the least we can do in return is to read yours as well.

Strider

Ryan Thompson, Contributor — When Capcom first announced that it was releasing a modern Strider title, my first thought was to listen to a track by game composer Jake Kaufman entitled “Dracula Man X2 Alpha Turbo.” Kaufman was clearly having fun when he created the track, giving one potential answer to what the Castlevania franchise’s music would sound like if Capcom had developed it instead of Konami. With the imminent release of Strider on the 18th of February, Capcom is poised to give something of an official answer to the same question Kaufman must have asked himself — what would Castlevania be like if Capcom released it instead?

First of all, it would have the same level of polish as the best of Capcom’s 2D games, with controls that never fail, leaving players without excuses for failure in the tradition of both the original Strider for NES and the more famous Mega Man games. Second, it appears that, judging by the trailer, there would be more emphasis on combat and slightly less on exploration, though that might be just the frantic flow of activity in a short video speaking. Finally, as Kaufman hints in his tribute, this game would come with a soundtrack worthy of the rest of Capcom’s 2D oeuvre.

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South Korean programmer Jae Kwan Ko has developed a Kinect-based software system that is being used to monitor the Demilitarized Zone that separates North and South Korea.

Its existence …
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Two of the first ID@Xbox games set to hit Xbox One in March have been announced courtesy of Phil Spencer, corporate vice president at Microsoft Game Studios, who tweeted:

@GeorgeTeV @Lambent_Ewok I think you will with @ID_Xbox. Played 2 of the first shipping games, a Worms game n Nutjitsu, right before DICE.

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) February 10, 2014

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The February Xbox One system update was supposed to hit on Tuesday, but it sounds like there were some unexpected delays. According to Microsoft’s Major Nelson, it will still …
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We’re late, and it seems that’s become somewhat of a trend for us lately. Our Game of the Year awards weren’t doled out until January, and now our look forward at the XBLA and Xbox One XBLA-type games of 2014 is just making its way to you now in February. You were on your own when it came to planning out January’s releases, but now it’s time for our annual look ahead at the top downloadable games likely to arrive on an Xbox platform during the (remainder of) the year ahead. Read on to find out what you can expect out of Xbox over the next (not quite) 365.

Developer: RedLynx

First announced by Ubisoft at E3 2013 and heading to Xbox One and XBLA at an unannounced future date, Trials Fusion is the next game in RedLynx’s physics-based motorcycle racing series that found no small measure of success on Xbox Live Arcade. The first XBLA take on the series, Trials HD was extremely popular due to the fierce competition it inspired among players to hit the best runs on each of its 50 courses. That was nothing. RedLynx followed it up with Trials Evolution, which added an in-depth track editor and turned the franchise into a true obsession for its many fans.

With Trials Fusion‘s announcement trailer showing off player failure, it’s evident that RedLynx once again intends to scratch the competitive itch inside gamers as vehemently as motorcycle tires scratching the dirt of a Trials course.

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We’re late, and it seems that’s become somewhat of a trend for us lately. Our Game of the Year awards weren’t doled out until January, and now our look forward at the XBLA and Xbox One XBLA-type games of 2014 is just making its way to you in February. You were on your own when it came to planning out January’s releases, but now it’s time for our annual look ahead at the top downloadable games likely to arrive on an Xbox platform during the (remainder of) the year ahead. Read on to find out what you can expect out of Xbox over the next (not quite) 365.

Developer: Capcom

http://www.youtu.be/watch?v=0jMwcJI0pEg

Capcom’s Strider, today most commonly known for the main character’s appearances in the Marvel vs. Capcom franchise, will be the star of his own game next week on February 19 for the first time in more than 20 years. This particular entry appears to draw more from his NES game than any of his other appearances, mixing the exploration of Metroid with the visceral combat of Ninja Gaiden. As a result, comparisons to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night are inevitable and likely warranted. If any company can follow in the footsteps of these giants, it’s Capcom — seeing what it does in a two-dimensional environment given the horsepower of the Xbox One will be a treat.

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We’re late, and it seems that’s become somewhat of a trend for us lately. Our Game of the Year awards weren’t doled out until January, and now our look forward at the XBLA and Xbox One XBLA-type games of 2014 is just making its way to you in February. You were on your own when it came to planning out January’s releases, but now it’s time for our annual look ahead at the top downloadable games likely to arrive on an Xbox platform during the (remainder of) the year ahead. Read on to find out what you can expect out of Xbox over the next (not quite) 365.

Developer: 4J Studios, Mojang and Microsoft Studios

As was announced at Microsoft’s E3 2013 presentation, 4J Studios will be bringing its open-world block-building game to the Xbox One. The 360 edition of Minecraft was a huge success and 4J is looking to build off of that success by bringing a “bigger” world to players. The Xbox One edition promises to deliver on the power of next-gen gaming by giving players more of what they want. Maps, Adventures, multiplayer features and console specific enhancements will all be improved and larger in scale on the Xbox One than they were on the Xbox 360. Minecraft: Xbox One Edition will be released sometime in the month of March of 2014.

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We’re late, and it seems that’s become somewhat of a trend for us lately. Our Game of the Year awards weren’t doled out until January, and now our look forward at the XBLA and Xbox One XBLA-type games of 2014 is just making its way to you in February. You were on your own when it came to planning out January’s releases, but now it’s time for our annual look ahead at the top downloadable games likely to arrive on an Xbox platform during the (remainder of) the year ahead. Read on to find out what you can expect out of Xbox over the next (not quite) 365.

Developer: International Games

Set aboard a doomed space station in which the flow of time has stopped, Constant C has you playing as a rescue robot navigating the paused wreckage to save the station and its survivors. Constant C is a 2D-platformer boasting gorgeous soft blues and reds on a jet-black background. As the rescue robot, you will manipulate time and space to overcome the puzzles and challenges you’re pitted against. The time manipulation is based on your touch; whatever you touch returns the object to the flow of time, such as blocks paused in mid-fall. The gravity manipulation consists of tilting the 2D screen in 90-degree rotations. Both abilities will be crucial to traversing the 100+ mind-blowing stages. Met with favorable reviews on PC, Constant C is now on its way to XBLA this spring.

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Child of Light, the upcoming role-playing game by Ubisoft Montreal, will be headed to both Xbox 360 and Xbox One on April 30, 2014 for $14.99. The game has …
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