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Table Pack 1 and Table Pack 2 for The Pinball Arcade were developed by Farsight Studios and published by Crave Games. They were released August 2, 2012 for 400 MSP each.

The Pinball Arcade was very well received for its historical tables and accurate physics. But it would take more tables if it hoped to truly compete with Pinball FX 2 for the highly competitive XBLA pinball crown. Unfortunately the release of both table packs was delayed and fans were left wonderingif it was ever going to come. They’ve finally been released and we can say that Farsight has done a great job. Table Pack 1 consists of Bride of Pinbot and Medieval Madness. Table Pack 2 includes Funhouse and Cirqus Voltaire. Both packs are very different in their theme and content but both deliver an outstanding pinball experience that in many ways out does the base game.

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A new batch of CastleStorm screenshots have been released by Zen Studios for your enjoyment. The game is being described as “medieval castle vs. castle warfare physics based destruction real time strategy game” or “2D strategaction game” as our Guide Co-ordinator, Todd Schlickbernd, preferred when he got to see the game in action at this years E3. Zen has also released some free CastleStorm desktop wallpapers for you to download and kit yourself out with in preparation for when is published on XBLA later this year by Microsoft Game Studios. Head over to the official website for the wallpapers or hit the jump for the new screenshots.

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Two new gameplay videos have surfaced during Gamescom 2012, showcasing the some of new DLC levels for Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD. The DLC is set to include Airport, L.A. and Canada levels from Tony Hawk 3 and was said to be getting a release approximately a month after the game, which should be any day now. Also included in the pack, priced at 400 MSP, will be veteran Steve Caballero and the revert trick. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD was released July 18 for 1200 MSP, check out our review here and kickflip the jump for the new videos.

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Humble Hearts’ Dust: An Elysian Tail wrapped up this year’s Summer of Arcade yesterday, and in just over 24 of your standard Earth hours the leaderboards have jumped to …
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Sega has announced it will bring nine titles to the Penny Arcade Expo (better known as PAX Prime) later this month – one of which has yet to be announced. All nine titles will be playable at the festival. Hit the jump for the games we know will be there, some of which include forthcoming XBLA titles.

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UPDATE: Video’s here. Right there! Look! Click it! – Todd

As we come to a close on this year’s Summer of Arcade, it seems like we’ve saved the best …
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The reveal of Minecraft‘s second skin pack means the return of revealing sets of skins five at a time. While 4J’s Minecraft skins have always been good, the skins revealed today may be the greatest, most XBLA-friendly ones yet. The newest skins are all characters from indie games: Skulls of the Shogun‘s General Akamoto, Super Meat Boy, Spelunky, Cobalt Agent from the Mojang-published PC game Cobalt, and The Player from Retro City Rampage. Skin Pack 2 will feature 45 skins and is expected to cost 160MSP, akin to Skin Pack 1. More skins will be announced in the coming weeks.

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Dust: An Elysian Tail was developed by Humble Hearts and published by Microsoft Studios. It was released on August 15, 2012 for 1200 MSP. A copy was provided for review purposes.

Dust: An Elysian Tail opens with a lone figure awakening in a forest with no memory of his past. The mystical, obviously powerful blade he comes into possession of assumes the dual roles of death-dealer and imparter of wisdom; its cagey words imply that it knows more about the main character and the quest he is destined to embark upon than it is willing to reveal just yet. A cutesy and somewhat annoying sidekick flies alongside, providing help and occasionally pointing out the obvious. Once the opening scene closes, players move left to right and merrily hammer away at face buttons to dispatch beasties marching towards them on a 2D plane, all of it accomplished in stunning effect thanks to gorgeous hand-drawn art. There are peaceful villages besieged by overpowering forces and inhabited by locals in need of a hero to carry out various quests, and it’s not long before the environment betrays the fact that the completionist player will be revisiting areas later on to accumulate all of the hidden goodies once more skills have been unlocked.

It all sounds fun, right? Of course it does, but it’s probably also sounding a bit familiar at this point. Here’s the good news: there is much more to Humble Hearts’ Dust: An Elysian Tail than can be summed up in a handful of broad sentences about its action-adventure game tropes. Yes, it shares much with other throwback side-scrollers, and the sole member of the game’s development studio, Dean Dodrill, is unlikely to hear any complaints about that fact. But his studio’s debut effort also establishes an excellent identity all its own. Dust is a joy to play and the star of Microsoft’s 2012 Summer of Arcade lineup. There are some issues with pacing, voice work and the framerate hiccup, but wonderfully charming artwork, a wealth of content and a combat system that just feels right will allow gamers to look past the issues and enjoy Dust for many hours.

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Namco Bandai and Lexis Numerique have announced that Red Johnson’s Chronicles – One Against All will be coming to XBLA, PSN, …
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To make up for the rather short show last week, we’re back to a more usual length. We brought in our Video Co-ordinator Shawn Saris to help with that. This week Perry tells us all about the final Summer of Arcade game Dust: An Elysian Tail, which he enjoyed quite a bit. We talk a bit about Hybrid, including that metagame, then you can hear me rant about Star Wars for a little bit.

We have actual news this week, then Andrew rounds out the show with the ol community corner.

Please subscribe, rate and review the podcast on iTunes. We appreciate it! Check us out on twitter (@XBLAFans) where you can win codes for games, give us feedback or just ask a question. You can do the same on Facebook, and hey while we’re plugging stuff be sure to check us out on YouTube and Twitch.TV. We are also now on Stitcher, so you can stream the show on your smartphone, give it a go!

Big thanks to Chris Green for the awesome theme music, be sure to check out his site BlurredEdge and why not follow him on twitter too @BlurredEdge.

[podcast]https://xblafans.com/xblafancast/XBLAFancastEp74.mp3[/podcast]

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