Hey guys, we’re bringing you a new feature that’s simple and helpful in nature, the XBLAFans Monthly Roundup! This as well as other features will be seen a lot more should all things go accordingly, and we’ll even have some new ones on the way, so stay tuned because there’s a lot of awesome in the works here at XBLAFans.

If it wasn’t obvious by the title, this post will be your one-stop-shop to anything that happened this month with links to all our posts and excerpts where applicable. That means news, reviews, guides, features, interviews, podcasts, and even a recount of releases and sales data. Hit the jump for so many links you’ll never not know something about XBLA current events again!

This month in announcements:

This month in releases:

  • Scene It? Movie Night
  • Voltron: Defender of the Universe
  • Fusion: Genesis
  • Zombie Apocalypse: Never Die Alone
  • War of the Worlds
  • Burgertime: World Tour

This month in DLC:

  • Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 – Deck Pack 1
  • Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes – I am the Boss
  • Mercury HG – Rare Earth Elements
  • Zombie Apocalypse: NDA – Pure Pwnage
  • TNT Racers – Formula TNT Package

This month in reviews:

Xotic – WXP Games & Valcon Games – 800MSP – Score: Try It!

“Xotic creates an amazing world filled with arcadey goodness, but is soured by bad controls and lag. Playing for points is the game’s strongest feature, but the reliance on enemies isn’t a perfect gameplay match. However, the experience is very engaging once you learn its ins and outs. If you want to ease into XBLA games after weeks of Call of Duty and Battlefield, this would be a great pick.”

Fusion: Genesis – Starfire Studios & Microsoft Studios – 800MSP – Score: Try It!

“We have no doubt that Fusion: Genesis will appeal to someone, the type of person who is willing to figure out its systems for themselves. It’s a type of game we haven’t seen on XBLA before and probably won’t see again for a long while. In that regard Fusion: Genesis is the best we’re going to get for now, while it’s not the best we could’ve hoped for there is still some fun to be found here. You just have to be willing to dig for it. For everyone else though there are just too many unexplained and tedious systems to trawl through before any kind of fun or satisfaction can be had.”

Burgertime World Tour – MonkeyPaw Games & Konami Digital Ent. – 800MSP – Score: Skip it!

“BurgerTime World Tour just lets you down one ingredient at a time, definitely ruining any nostalgic memories you might have from the past. Cool characters and bright colors are just not enough to sell any game that comes out this day and age, especially when it is an old-school game that not a lot of people remember.BurgerTime is a classic that is best left in the past with great memories that have yet been tainted.”

Costume Quest: Grubbins on Ice – Double Fine & THQ – 400MSP – Score: Buy It!

“Despite conceptual shortcomings, Grubbins on Ice is exactly what it should be; More Costume Quest. If you loved the base game, then there’s no reason to hold back. Grubbins on Ice brings back lovable characters, sets them on a new adventure, and gives us more of the simple yet satisfying formula that worked so well the first time around. While Grubbins on Ice may not surpass the full length adventure of Costume Quest it may be that the bar was just set too high. Grubbins on Ice is well worth your hard earn Microsoft Points, it just doesn’t quite live up to its extremely high quality name. Upon completion, you’ll be left wanting more of this magical franchise, and we can only hope that Double Fine gives it to us in the form of a full fledged sequel in the future.”

Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet: Shadow Hunters – FuelCell and Gagne Int’l & Microsoft Studios – 400MSP – Score: Try It!

“Overall, it’s a great extension to the game but it’s hard to recommend if you play by yourself. The DLC weighs heavily on co-op so it’s best recommended you get a small group of friends to get it. 400 MSP is not a bad price for a co-op mode, provided you have friends to play with. If you got the buddies you’ll have a fun trip back to the Shadow Planet.”

War of the Worlds review – Other Ocean Interactive & Paramount Digital Entertainment – 800MSP – Score: Skip It!

“Overall, The War of the Worlds tries to do a lot thematically but it almost feels like they forgot the fun factor of the game. While the overtone and themes paint a grim picture, it gets grimmer when you start playing the game and having the control issues. For an 800 MSP game, it’s not a lot of money but it’s better spent or saved for other games like Limbo where the controls and gameplay are there. It’s always a bummer when a game you look forward to lets you down but it could be worse. It ends up feeling like the Tom Cruise movie rather than the original source material.”

Guardian Heroes review – Treasure & Sega – 800MSP – Score: Buy It!

“At the end of the day, Guardian Heroes is a retro dream back to a time where Sega made game consoles. It has some nibbling aspects to it but that’s just a matter of age and the overall quality doesn’t falter. What you’re getting for 800 MSP is a deep brawler with lots of co-op options and amazing if not hilarious music. Treasure might make great shmups but they make even better brawlers.”

Paranormal table review – Zen Studios – 240MSP – Score: Try It!

“Paranormal is a table Pinball FX 2 fans have been wanting for a while. Now that we finally have it the result is something of a mixed bag. It has really been outmoded since it was initially released. It’s somehow completely competent while at the same time feeling like yesterday’s news. For free there is nothing to complain about, but at 240 MSP things change a bit. Any fan who has all the other tables will want to add this one free or not. But for newcomers there is any number of better tables to start with. For that reason this table is best tried before it is bought.”

Daytona USA review – Sega – 800MSP – Score: Buy It! – Second Opinion: Try It!

“Daytona USA is pure racing joy when played with a group of friends or even a group of strangers. The action is accessible right out of the gate but does reward skillful play. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, and that’s what makes it work. If you go in with the right attitude it will be one of the most enjoyable gaming experiences of the year. Despite being arguably overpriced this is still an easy recommendation to almost any Sega fan, race fan, child of the 90’s, or gamer in general.”

Costume Quest – Double Fine Productions & THQ – 1200MSP – Score: Buy It!

“Tim Schafer and the folks at Double Fine Productions are known for making great games and Costume Questis no exception. The game’s candy bucket is filled to the brim with adventure, imagination, personality, and good old fashioned fun. Today’s gaming climate is filled with dark, edgy shades of brown and gray.Costume Quest represents a bright ray of light in the face of an increasingly serious industry. On paper, the game is a turn-based role-playing game. In realization, it’s one of the best RPG’s we’ve played in years. Do yourself a favor; If you haven’t played Costume Quest yet, don’t hesitate, go buy it. Costume Quest is sure to become your latest and greatest Halloween memory.”

This month in features:

XBLA’s Most Wanted: Super Monkey Ball Arcade

“The marble genre no longer has a reigning king on Xbox Live Arcade. With Marble Blast Ultra delisted there really aren’t any competitors to take the throne. Super Monkey Ball Arcade could be the game to take its place. It comes from a long line of great marble titles, and with the additions listed above it’d be difficult to dethrone the spherical simians.”

XBLA’s Most Wanted: Jet Set Radio Future

“Sega hasn’t forgotten about this game as Beat (the main character from Jet Grind Radio, one of the game’s earlier iterations who also is featured in JSRF) and Gum continue to show up in Sega’s All-Star games. JSRFclocks in at close to 2 GB, roughly the limit set for XBLA. Why not add a bit of  file compression and simply add online play to the multiplayer? People love when a game isn’t a heavy download, and they love taking things online. The game’s cel shading keeps the graphical demands low as well, so all that’s necessary is a bit of ant-aliasing. Above all, Jet Set Radio Future would be right at home with some of the crazy ideas indie XBLA developers come up with.”

This month’s podcasts:

This month in interviews and previews:

This month in guides:

XBLA sales: