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The Jewel of the Nile downloadable content for Serious Sam 3: BFE was developed by Croteam and published by Devolver Digital. It was released on October 17, 2012, for 1200 MSP. A copy was provided for review purpose.

Jewel of the Nile is an interesting approach to how digital games could be published in the future. It’s really a companion piece to Serious Sam 3: BFE, a small portion of the game that was deemed valuable enough to sell on its own for the price of the original. The “downloadable content” adds a few additional campaign levels and the online competitive multiplayer suite.

The idea of selling digital games in a piecemeal fashion certainly has its merits. By allowing players the option to purchase a title in discounted portions, they could potentially tailor their experience and save money by avoiding elements that don’t apply to their interests. Unfortunately, the Jewel of the Nile downloadable content originated in the opposite school of thought. Where dicing up a complete game and selling it in chunks seems like a good opportunity to cash in at the expense of eager fans. You could argue that the content contained within Jewel of the Nile is enough to warrant the price, but compared to what’s offered in Serious Sam 3: BFE, you’d be wrong.

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Serious Sam 3: BFE was developed by Croteam and published by Devolver Digital. It was released on October 17, 2012, for 1200 MSP. A copy was provided for review purpose.

It’s been a long road for “Serious” Sam Stone. Over a decade ago, he dove into the past to prevent a present-day alien invasion by confronting the extraterrestrial menace throughout ancient Egypt and Mesoamerica. Serious Sam 3: BFE (Before First Encounter) picks up that story before it began, following Sam as he battles through modern Egypt on a mission to activate the time travel device and begin that inevitable journey.

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XBLA Fans’ Calendar Update helps you keep track of all those XBLA release dates that often seem to spring upon you at the last minute and remind you of those promised games you were looking forward to that just seem to disappear without explanation. In this edition we’re taking a look at a particularly sparse November along with some hopefuls for December so you can start organizing your MSP and schedule in some serious controller time or sick days well in advance.

The XBLA release schedule seems to have gone a bit quiet for the last two months of the year. So far we only have 3 confirmed November game launches. In the first week of the month gamers can get their hands on the next release in the SEGA Vintage Collection, Toe Jam & Earl for 800 MSP on November 7. In keeping with the retro feel for this week, the remake of 1984’s Karateka will also release November 7 for 800 MSP. The only other confirmed release this month is for Warlords on November 14, also priced at 800 MSP. However Skulls of the Shogun developers 17-Bit, have stated they would like a November launch despite having previously announced it would release with Windows 8, and developers Chasing Carrots have also indicated they would like to release their top-down racer Pressure this month too.

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Two more heroes were recently revealed for the upcoming Guardians of Middle-earth.

This time around, the new hero fighting on the side of good is Ori, dwarven scholar and brother to Nori and Dori, giving him a tie to the upcoming Hobbit film. As an Enchanter, Ori functions in the role of a mage, and looks designed to deal out lots of damage utilizing combinations of magical spells. One of his abilities, “As it is Written,” marks enemies, making followup spells deal even more damage. He looks to be a fun combo-based mage.

Agandaûr, Sauron’s lieutenant, fights on the side of Mordor in a similar role, despite his knight-like appearance. Agandaûr’s Overcharge ability powers up the remaining skills at his disposal, making his Shockwave a formidable strike. It is worth noting is that Agandaûr possesses a teleport — usually extremely powerful in MOBA games, since the teleport can be used for both offense and defense. He will be a hero to watch once the game releases in December. Check out the video below for the full rundown on each champion:

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Pool Nation was developed by Cherry Pop Games and published by Mastertronic. It was released on October 31, 2012 for 800 MSP. A copy was provided for review purposes.

Cue-sport video games are relatively rare, which is odd given pool’s popularity and accessibility at bars and pool halls around the world. On XBLA, there’s Bankshot Billiards 2, which offers a basic yet functional take on the game of pool. With its first game, Pool Nation, Cherry Pop Games takes aim at this largely uncontested genre, placing more emphasis on visuals than its peers. But it’s no mere case of “all style and no substance” – Pool Nation manages to deliver a great-looking billiards game without compromising on real-world physics or in-depth mechanics.

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Less than a hour ago the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD Facebook page was updated to inform fans that the Pro Skater 3 downloadable content pack had been delayed …
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Red Bull Crashed Ice Kinect is the upcoming Xbox Live Arcade Kinect adaptation of the Crashed Ice winter extreme sport. Skaters compete in a downhill session in an urban environment with jumps and obstacles littered throughout the track. The Kinect cam footage above (and another after the jump) was taken by the game’s developer, Bongfish. It demonstrates both the overall look and feel of the game as well as how players will use their bodies to navigate the treacherous courses. We’re cautiously optimistic given that Bongfish’s last XBLA title was the free game Harm’s Way. No release window has been set, but at this point we’re shooting for “winter.” It’s fitting, right?

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Where else to *you* get your news from? Me, I stick to Joystiq for news and reviews, IGN and Giant Bomb solely for reviews, and hit up Kotaku …
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We’re in the process of upgrading systems. As such you might have noticed a bit of down time. We’re back up now, however and just have a few final …
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A few weeks ago, we posted a developer blog for cartoony Dollar Dash from Candygun Games showing off the creative arsenal of household materials the bank robbers will use to shoot for loot. Now, we have two new trailers showing them in multiplayer action! Throw thieves off your trail with an identical decoy, or shrug off the shots behind a riot shield. Drop bombs, bear traps, oil slicks, or even a boom box to ensure the perfect getaway. Key word here: frantic. Read More