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If an IGN source is to believed, then production has officially begun on Microsoft’s next-generation video-game console. The insider reports that Flextronics International, manufacturer of the both the original Xbox and the Xbox 360, just recently fired up the production line for the console believed to be codenamed Durango at its Austin, TX plant. Flextronics declined IGN’s requests for comment on the story.

Before reaching this stage in the process, Singapore-based Flextronics is said to have formed an internal division solely concerned with testing the Xbox 360’s successor. IGN claims that said division, operating autonomously from the rest of the company, focused its efforts on “comprehensive marketing, software, and hardware tests” of the device it is said to be producing. With those efforts behind them, the time to build is now.

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Vessel is already out on Steam, so we didn’t want to bore you with a giant preview. We did, however, stop by the booth at PAX East to chat with  head John Krajewski, who confirmed that the physics-based puzzle platformer is still safely on its way to XBLA. As a quick recap for those of you who aren’t familiar with Vessel, you play the part of a genius scientist whose liquid-based automatons have gone a little mad, and it’s up to you to stop them. To help you on your way you’ll have to use the predictability of the automatons and a sweet liquid-sucking-and-blowing backpack to make your way through the world.

John didn’t need to say much, he mostly stepped back and let the demo speak for itself. One area Vessel shines in is the difficulty department. The puzzles increased in difficulty over the course of the demo, and while some of them took a while to figure out, it wasn’t in a frustrating way — in fact, it left us with a sense of accomplishment that some games struggle to achieve. Almost overshadowing the puzzles are the amazingly beautiful backgrounds and sounds. While much of the demo took place in steampunk-y factories, there are also outdoor areas that looked just as good. If that wasn’t enough, Strange Loop tagged Jon Hopkins – former producer and contributor to Imogen Heap, Coldplay, and Brian Eno – to create the incredible soundtrack.

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2011 was a big year for Twisted Pixel, releasing the pseudo-sequel Ms. Splosion Man and the Kinect-enabled Gunstringer. They haven’t announced much for what they’re doing in 2012 beyond …
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Zen Studios have released a new trailer for the next Pinball FX2 table heading to XBLA. The Avengers table is based on the recently released Avengers Assemble movie which …
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You might know Haunted Temple Studios as the developer of the upcoming action-strategy game Skulls of the Shogun, but you won’t see that name attached when the game is …
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You know those songs you come across in a game sometimes that are so good that you find a safe spot, put the controller down and just listen to the music? Those moments where you completely forget what you are doing while you are mesmerized by the melody? Well that’s what this list is dedicated to. Those moments in gaming where the music captures your attention and your imagination. Moments of music so good, you wish the level would never end. Music so captivating that you hum these songs to yourself for days, weeks, months or years later. These are the top five in-game songs in XBLA.

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It appears that Tribes: Ascend‘s chances of getting ported over to consoles are all but dead. Speaking in an interview with Gamasutra, Todd Harris, CEO of Hi-Rez Studios, stated that the developer is not currently planning on bringing the free-to-play FPS to either XBLA or PSN. Though no official announcement of a console version(s) had ever been made, Harris stated last year that “an eventual XBLA version, and even [a] PSN version, is not out of the question.”

Yesterday, however, the CEO sang a somewhat different song. “We do not have any plans for Tribes on console at this time,” he said. “…The way it went is that we wanted to do the free-to-play model, and there wasn’t a clear path to that on consoles early on. Based on that, we optimized the game around the strengths of the PC, and specifically a keyboard and mouse control.”

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Team17 will deliver plenty of new features to the Worms franchise in Worms Revolution, such as the new engine and environments, but today we see new additions to gameplay. The latest installment of the wacky turn-based series will be the first Worms game to feature a class system.

Their are four brand new classes: soldier, scientist, scout, and heavy. Each class will have 4 different variants, for a total of 16 unlockable worms. The soldier class will be most familiar to fans of the franchise; it is not specialized, but can fight and get around well enough. The scientist is the support class; he is weak and slow, but can build the strongest items and heals the team on his turn. The scout is also weak, but extremely light and agile. He’ll fly farther if hit, but will also take less fall damage than the heavier classes. Then there’s the heavy, the biggest and most powerful worm available. He may not be very agile, even with a jetpack or ninja rope, but is almost immovable when hit by an enemy attack.

Players can mix and match classes on their team, so they can have a diverse team, or a team comprised of only one class. Click the link below to see screenshots of the classes, and start thinking about your team strategies. Worms Revolutions will release third quarter 2012.

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We’ve got to clear out the queue. We have tons of great tracks waiting in the wings to showcase, so we’re periodically going to run Trials Tuesday on Thursdays as well. So here you have it, five more tracks to dig your tires into: three trials, two skill games. As always you can find these tracks by entering Track Central, selecting Get Tracks, then pressing X to search. Enter the gamertag below to find the track. Be aware that the search is case sensitive.

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When Xbox Live Arcade launched in 2004 on Microsoft’s debut console, six titles well-known for their arcade roots appeared on the service at a fraction of retail cost. After Xbox Live Arcade re-launched on Xbox 360, the “Arcade” titles being released had a meager size limit of 50MB and retained the trend of being quick, shallow experiences. Today, some downloadable titles earn more critical attention than major blockbusters and may even reach Microsoft’s mandated size limit of 2GB.

“Now is an excellent time for high-quality, original, specific, relatively low-priced games, and I think this will continue for the foreseeable future,” said Greg Kasavin, writer and designer at SuperGiant Games. “Though it’s very difficult to make games, it’s never been easier due to the digital platforms and free tools out there these days.”

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