XBLA

September brings some interesting new releases, and with them sales data from the folks at Gamasutra. The data lists two late August releases and the eight September releases we …
Read More

Daytona USA was developed and published by Sega. It was released October 26, 2011 and retails for 800 MSP. A copy of the game was provided for review purposes.

Daytona USA is perhaps the most famous arcade racing game ever. Much of its fame is due to the massive eight and even sixteen player arcade setups featuring chairs, force feedback steering wheels, shifters, and foot pedals. The experience of playing with a group of your friends was an undeniably fun event. Sega is a modern master of not only creating fun games but also completely immersive experiences that seamlessly integrate physical and electronic media into one. Released back in 1993 we are almost 20 years removed from its beginnings. Though the graphics are laughable by today’s standards the game hasn’t lost any of its fun and atmosphere. The only question is whether or not Daytona USA can be a worthwhile experience outside of an arcade setting.

Read More

The downloadable content It Came from Outer Space for A World of Keflings was developed by NinjaBee Games and published by Microsoft Studios. It was released on October 26, 2011 for 320 MSP. A copy was provided for review purposes.

A World of Keflings released last December as part of the Games for the Holidays promotion, and was an instant success, building off the original A Kingdom for Keflings. The extraterrestrial DLC, It Came from Outer Space is now available to download. Featuring new characters, blueprints, building materials, and dozens of sci-fi references, the DLC looks to further plant the Keflings’ games as some of the best out there on Xbox Live Arcade.

Here’s what we liked:

New story/characters – Aliens have crashed their ship….stop me if you’ve heard this one before. It may sound like a plain alien movie, but that’s the story of the DLC. Some very weird looking people have crashed their ship, and it’s your job to help them fix it and get them back to their planet. New characters also appear in this new DLC. The characters have always been loved in the Keflings universe, and in the new DLC that continues. With names such as Captain Warfbart, Dr. Snippetoff, and Senator Hadookin, it’s hard not to just laugh and appreciate them. All the characters mentioned play a big part in the DLC, their spaceship crashed and you just happen to be there to help them. They assist you, giving you the newest blueprints, so you can help fix their spaceship. The characters throw around some crazy sci-fi references that almost everyone will get a kick out of. The new story fits right into the outrageous world NinjaBee has made with the Keflings, and even though this one might be the craziest, it’s also the best.

Read More

Download the Paranormal table for FREE and compete to win 7 more tables!
Read More

After running over loads of pedestrians and stomping on their heads in Theftropolis City, it’s good to know that there’s a super hero protecting the city. That is, unless …
Read More

Ubisoft has let us play a god before with From Dust but they’re looking for something more biblical and controller-free with Babel Rising. Based on the iOS game, you play as a god preventing towers being built by followers. The game is being developed by Mando Productions and will utilize the Kinect sensor, using motion based controls to simulate the same effects of the iOS game. It’ll be fun to see how you destroy towers with your hands and make crazy motions for catapulting. Catch some screenshots after the break and look out for this title in 2012.
Read More

It’s been nearly a year since Super Meat Boy tested our thumbs and our patience and became one of the best platformers ever made on XBLA. To celebrate its …
Read More

From what we’ve seen from screenshots and video diaries, The War of the Worlds is shaping up to be an XBLA game worth noting. Based on the H.G. Wells …
Read More

The folks over at Gamasutra have posted an interesting Q&A with Kim Swift, the lead designer of the mega-popular Portal and the designer of the XBLA-bound FPS/puzzler Quantum Conundrum. …
Read More

Microsoft’s Xbox Live Arcade service has been running for over half a decade now seeing a major boost in content since the Summer of Arcade promotions began running and since last year House Party (previously Block Party) has joined it for Spring releases. A steady flow of releases during each month also bring a fair amount of titles to the downloadable market space. With a healthy mix of ports, original content, big and indie developers, it begs the question: how mixed is the genre offering?

Before examining what isn’t out there, it’s important to observe what is. Xbox.com has listings for the amount of games contained in each of their classifications, bringing up some pretty startling numbers. Leading the way (not surprisingly) are Action & Adventure games with 177 individual titles including Castle Crashers, Battlefield 1943, Geometry Wars and Shadow Complex. Puzzle & Trivia and Classics are the next highest below Action with 74 and 76 respectively. On the opposite side of the spectrum are some very niche genres including Kinect with 4, Music with 6, and Educational with 3. A genre expected to have plenty of titles would be fighting, but believe it or not only 13 titles are classified as fighting games on XBLA, while the nebulous Other category has 7. Above those are 23 Role Playing games, 20 Racing & Flying games and 33 Strategy & Simulation games. Also noteworthy you’d think there’s more than 38 platformers out there, but not according to Xbox.com. (as of October 2011) Read More