Blog

Compulsion Games has announced its puzzle-based platformer, Contrast, will finally see the light of day on November 15, priced on Xbox Live Arcade at $15. The game places you in the role of Dawn, the imaginary friend of a troubled little girl, Didi, who relies on the playable character as a coping mechanism to process an unknown trauma. As Dawn you’ll accompany Didi, slipping in and out of shadow form to platform along two-dimensional shadows cast by the 3D environment.

We delved into Contrast at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo during our preview with Compulsion Games Studio Head Guillaume Provost. The game is quite simply loaded with charm and a striking, film-noir aesthetic, but that story of a little girl who escapes into her imagination might be the biggest draw. “We try to explore something that’s a little bit more interesting than saving the world, or beating a big bad guy or getting revenge for something or other,” Provost said during our time with him. “It’s really the story of this little girl and what she wants out of her family.”

Our time with Contrast definitely left us wanting more. Be sure to keep this one on your radar for a busy November, and for more glimpses into the shadows enjoy the slideshow after the jump.

Read More

The first of many original texture packs coming to Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition has been revealed. Dubbed the Plastic Texture Pack, developer 4J Studios and publisher Microsoft Studios have announced the texture collection in a series of screenshots (below) that feature the colorfully smooth surfaces of the upcoming downloadable content.

As of now, there’s no pricing or release information to share. We’ve already learned the packs won’t be free, but they should be relatively inexpensive. In any case, the wait shouldn’t be long according to 4J Studios, which confirmed there will be a trial version for those who want to test drive the texture swap before buying.

The developer also touched on what fans can expect in the future, revealing the next pack in line will be the “Natural Texture Pack,” and teased that “something medieval is coming” down the line. No additional details were revealed for either of the offerings.

Read More

[springboard type=”video” id=”800323″ player=”xbla001″ width=”640″ height=”400″ ]

The time to declare a gladiator above all others has arrived. Kung Fu Factory, developer of free-to-play gladiatorial simulator Spartacus Legends, has decreed four weeks of bloodshed in the search for a champion of the Arena. Starting today, players can enter into online matches against a global stable of opponents during four weekly competitions – which together comprise Spartacus Legends‘ first tournament season.

The top 100 players from each week will be gifted rewards befitting their performance, with additional and better rewards going to the highest placed competitors. Victors can claim titles, wealth, legendary equipment and banners for their houses. Upon the conclusion of the season, an overall champion will be named and honored with the title of “Champion of Capua.” The tournament schedule and a full list of reward tiers can be found after the jump.

Spartacus Legends released in June of this year to a cold reception. Our own review found it buggy and bland, with netcode that made online battles nearly impossible to enjoy. However, Kung Fu Factory has supported Spartacus with several patches and compatibility updates, adding new features and addressing the connectivity issues, glitches, bugs and matchmaking system.

Read More

After repeated delays for various reasons, German developer Deck 13 Interactive’s Blood Knights might finally have its real release window in sight, according to a press release from the game’s new publisher, Kobalt Games. Blood Knights, which will be the first release under the newly formed Kobalt Games label, is now scheduled for a Q4 2013 release, meaning it could potentially arrive on XBLA as soon as next week.

For Deck 13’s hack-n-slash title, it’s been a long and winding road to release. Originally announced in July of 2012, the co-op vampire-hunting game was first planned for an October 31, 2012 release. Unfortunately for those looking forward to Blood Knights, Halloween 2012 came and went without a word from Deck 13 or its thenpublisher, DTP Entertainment.

The game’s developer took to its official Facebook page a couple weeks later to reveal that Blood Knights was still coming and would arrive in December 2012. “We are sorry to announce that the release date for Blood Knights has been delayed until December,” wrote a Deck 13 representative. “Keep your seats, sceptics… [sic] as this is due to legal negotiations which has [sic] taken us longer than we planned.”

Read More

The sales stats are in for the majority of the month of August (July 29 – August 25) on the XBLA marketplace and they certainly make for interesting reading. …
Read More

• The parody of a parody of everything you love about ’80s and ’90s culture, Retro City Rampage, has shaved a few dollars off its Xbox Live Arcade price …
  Read More

[springboard type=”video” id=”796749″ player=”xbla001″ width=”640″ height=”400″ ]

Earlier this year The Bridge released on PC to a favorable reception thanks to its mind-twisting design and minimalist aesthetic. Now, six months after …
Read More

Grounding’s Yukio Futatsugi has revealed that it was Microsoft’s decision to move Crimson Dragon from Xbox 360 to Xbox One. Futatsugi told Eurogamer at the Tokyo Game Show that …
Read More

The Xbox One won’t support vertical orientation, revealed Albert Panello, senior director of product management and planning at Xbox. Speaking to GameSpot, Panello stated that though it’s not a cooling …
Read More

[springboard type=”video” id=”796733″ player=”xbla001″ width=”640″ height=”400″ ]

Welp. Girl Fight is launching tomorrow on Xbox Live Arcade for the tidy sum of $9.99. You already know that, because of the …
Read More