Dead Block

This Wednesday we have two XBLA games to enjoy, though perhaps not the most obvious choices for a Halloween release date. First up we have the long awaited platformer …
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A new trailer for upcoming XBLA title Dollar Dash has been published and hints at an October release date. The game from Candygun Games, developers behind last year’s Dead …
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Gamasutra editor Ryan Langley has released his Xbox Live Arcade sales analysis for the month of July. July marks the start of the Summer of Arcade promotion for 2011, so that …
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Today’s XBLA release is Toy Soliders: Cold War. Priced at 1200 MS points, it’s the last game that counts towards the Summer of Arcade promotion and it’s a belter. …
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Dead Block was developed by Candygun Games. It was released on July 6, 2011 and retails for 800MSP. A copy of the game was provided for review purposes.

Dead Block is one of the rare games that truly defies a proper description. It has a lot of familiar gameplay elements put together in a truly unique way. Zombies and Rock n’ Roll are the two main themes of this game. It is set in the 1950’s and the new genre of Rock n’ Roll has somehow raised the dead back to life. Huh, guess all those preachers were right. Rock n’ Roll really is of the Devil.

You take control of three survivors who each have a different set of skills. The idea is to rummage through whatever building you are in and find enough resources to hold off the zombies until you can find the key or piece of equipment you need. This is where the game gets weird. To finish a level you need to find a guitar and amp and play rock music to defeat all of the zombies.

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Today is a triple release day on XBLA and all three games share the common price point of 800 MSP. For the history buffs and fighting game fans, there’s Deadliest …
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Slaying zombies has never been an easy task, but the new Dead Block trailer gives a simple three step program to aid in survival. The trailer shows off some …
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Dead Block, the cartoony zombie tower defense game (what a mouthful), has a solid release date: July 6. We don’t have a price for you, but if we had …
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Dead Block takes the traditional zombie game and throws it out the window. Gone are the grotesque parts-hanging-off zombies, gone are the photorealistic graphics. In their place is an art style that’s reminiscent of the 2006 CGI film Monster House. It’s got that 3D comic look that was popularized by Team Fortress 2, and it looks great. The game is set as a campy classic TV show featuring characters from all different walks of life. The horrific sound of Rock ‘n Roll has caused the dead to rise from their graves. Now it’s up to the few remaining survivors to set traps in a tower defense like manner to stop the oncoming hordes.

It’s certainly a fresh take on a genre that, in our opinion, went stale long ago. Maybe comical tower defense is just what the zombie genre needs. We’ll find out this summer when Dead Block comes to XBLA. Check out our initial coverage of the game here and hit the jump for another trailer.

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We’re starting yet another feature here at XBLAFans that will showcase any newly announced Xbox Live Arcade-based avatar awards from are friends over at AvatarAwards. They’re a great site that somehow gets news on avatar awards for all 360 games before they’re released. Be sure to check them out if you’re curious about any non-XBLA related avatar awards. For simplicity’s sake and so that we don’t leech from them, each of the links below will take you to their site. Remember, these are awards, so they’re given out to the player by completing criteria in each game. For more detail hit up the Avatar Awards site. You can also follow them on Twitter at @AvatarAwards360.

We’ve got a big backlog to fill between the AvatarAwards and things that pre-date their site, so this one’s a lot longer than usual. Hit the jump to see the list. Also, let us know if we missed one.

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