Runner 2

• The Xbox Live Family Gold pack is no longer available. Originally introduced in November 2010, the four-pack of year-long Gold memberships was a popular deal among families, allowing discounted membership as well as Family Center content management. (Via Joystiq)

• TimeGate studios, developers of Aliens: Colonial Marines and XBLA’s Section 8: Prejudice, recently underwent layoffs. Twenty-five employees were laid off. The president of the studio, Adel Chaveleh, confirmed to Polygon. “This is never easy, and we’re doing all we can to assist those developers affected.” Sources told Polygon that the layoffs were a result of the game getting many negative reviews and lack of a publishing deal.

• Starting this month,Microsoft will be selling a 320 GB media hard drive and as an added bonus, a few games will be included on the drive. Major Nelson reports that XBLA titles Ms. Splosion Man and Pinball FX (with Sorcerer’s Lair) will be included, as well as the 360 title Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. The drive will be available for $129.99.

• Runner 2 is known for its flashy graphics, quick game play and fun music. Now fans can purchase music from the game with the Runner Extended Play album on Disasterpiece. The album is composed of five different tunes ranging from 30-34 seconds in length. The price starts at $1 for all five tracks, but buyers can elect to pay more as they see fit.

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[springboard type=”video” id=”674947″ player=”xbla001″ width=”640″ height=”360″ ] With over a year of delays behind it, Gaijin Games’ Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien will be hitting the Xbox Live …
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We spent last week ringing off 40 of the year’s biggest upcoming XBLA games. It was a collaborative process that saw the whole XBLAFans team put together a varied list of many of the top titles headed to Microsoft’s downloadable platform in 2013. Today we’re capping off our look forward with our staff members’ picks for the game each of them is aching to play most in the months ahead. You don’t have to agree with any of us, of course, so make sure you jump into the comments and let us know the game you think should be at the top of everyone’s list.

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Here we are once again at the start of what’s sure to be another fantastic year of XBLA releases. Each day this week XBLAFans will be rolling out a list of eight of our most anticipated Xbox Live Arcade releases of 2013. While we can’t possibly cover every single XBLA game planned for this year, we’ll be giving you a varied list of 40 of the most promising titles we expect to release on XBLA this calendar year. Once it’s all done, be sure to check back in next Monday when each staff member makes his/her picks for the game he/she is most looking forward to.

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Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds

Developer: Division2

[springboard type=”video” id=”628937″ player=”xbla001″ width=”640″ height=”400″ ]

A spinoff of 2011’s (Japan only) Phantom Breaker, Battle Groundsis a 2D brawling side-scroller that ditches the original’s look but keeps the attitude. Up to four player can go on this 8-bit adventure using four members of the original cast, or they can fight each other in an online versus mode.

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Gaijin Games’ Bit.Trip series hasn’t graced XBLA but the announcement a while back for Bit.Trip Presents: Runner 2 is causing fans to go back to one of the best …
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Believe it or not my favorite part about video games isn’t the games themselves but the way they bring people together. Arguably no show demonstrates this bond better than PAX. Thousands of likeminded individuals flooded Boston this past Easter weekend. It didn’t matter where you worked or what you did or what you had to do when you hit the ground again on Monday; for one glorious weekend everyone was an equal: a gamer. It didn’t matter if your weapon was a die, a mouse, a controller or one’s own body. Everyone at this show had a passion for games.

A few of us from XBLA Fans made the trip and had the honor of mingling and checking out some of the upcoming XBLA titles for 2012 and beyond. We were able to hear developers in their element talking to fans about their projects. It was an amazing experience. Our own Andrew Crews has already elaborated on this issue, but in the end you remember the little things. That being said, there were some amazing games. Check out our full breakdown below!

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Bit.Trip.Runner was one of the best games on WiiWare and it only made sense to make a sequel. However, instead of taking the pixel-art approach, Gaijin decided to change the style, but that’s within the story. Now Commander.Video has arm-bands and sneakers and is ready to keep running in Runner 2.

Gaijin didn’t give too many details on the story at PAX East but showed off Levels 1-1 to 1-19 and it already looked amazing. The look of the game is much more whimsical, almost like a breathing cartoon. But his trademark moves remain the same from running and jumping to springing and kicking. You’ll have to combine moves in order to get through the new levels.
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Our Editor in Chief John Laster returns to the hosting chair for this special episode of the podcast, recorded at PAX East. He’s joined by News Editor Perry Jackson, Reporter Nick Santangelo and Nick DePetris from XboxKinectFans.com. They chat about some of the games they saw on the first day of the show, including Mark of the Ninja, Runner 2 and Rock Band Blitz.

Due to the nature of recording in a hotel room and passing the mic the audio is a bit spotty, we apologise for that but hope you still give it a listen.

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. 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/XBLAFancastPaxEast2012.mp3[/podcast]

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What we are playing is a weekly column published on Sunday. Various members of the team let the world know which games have had them hooked over the past week …
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Were you stuck at home this while your gamer friends partied at PAX this weekend? Well dry those eyes, for Gamespot have compiled a neat video showcasing five of …
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