Xbox Live Marketplace and Live Arcade discussion Part III

[Flawless]

Re: Xbox Live Marketplace and Live Arcade discussion Part III

Announcing the Summer of Arcade and Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2 releases this week

In addition, here are the games scheduled to be released for the Summer of Arcade promotion:

• July 30: “Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2” – The latest version of the wildly popular retro shooter offers screen-melting intensity and insane new features, including six action-packed gameplay modes, new enemies, scoring strategies and a diverse list of exciting Achievements. “Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2” is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB and will be available at 800 Microsoft Points.

• August 6: “Braid” – From acclaimed developer Jonathan Blow, “Braid” is a mind-bending and artistic puzzle-platformer where the player manipulates the flow of time in strange and unusual ways. “Braid”is rated E10+ for Everyone 10+ by the ESRB.

• August 13: “Bionic Commando: Rearmed” – The classic 8-bit side-scroller reports back for duty in a stunning remake, complete with all-new HD graphics and features that put 2D gaming back on the map! “Bionic Commando: Rearmed” is rated M for Mature by the ESRB

• August 20: “Galaga Legions” – The legend lives on with “Galaga Legions,” a reimagining of the classic arcade shooter. Featuring table-turning game dynamics and updated graphics, the game was created by the team behind the bestselling “PAC-MAN Championship Edition” from Namco Bandai Games. “Galaga Legions” is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB.

• August 27: “Castle Crashers” – Award-winning studio The Behemoth brings red hot arcade adventure to Xbox LIVE Arcade with “Castle Crashers,” featuring hand-drawn characters and an array of weapons to choose from as you defend your kingdom and save the princess. “Castle Crashers” is rated T for Teen by the ESRB.

5 weeks awesome.

[Flawless]

Re: Xbox Live Marketplace and Live Arcade discussion Part III

Castle Crashers dev blog

With that said we are excited to announce that one of the unlockable characters in Castle Crashers is our little yellow friend Alien Hominid. The best part about this is that if you have purchased the full version of Alien Hominid HD you will have automatically received this unlock on your Castle Crashers character select screen the day you purchase the game. (August 27th, 2008) We wanted to make sure to include this for all of our fans out there who supported us with the purchase of Alien Hominid HD. If it wasn’t for your support we might not be here today.

[ChaseB]

Re: Xbox Live Marketplace and Live Arcade discussion Part III

Castle Crashers dev blog

Remember TWO Comic-Cons ago when it was supposed to be releasing somewhat soon?

[Flawless]

Re: Xbox Live Marketplace and Live Arcade discussion Part III

Remember TWO Comic-Cons ago when it was supposed to be releasing somewhat soon?

Yep. It was going to come out in early 2007, but then Microsoft upped the XBLA file size limit from 50MB to 250MB (you can even go as high as 450MB with Microsoft's approval). That's a huge increase and The Behemoth couldn't pass up the opportunity to add more content.

[Flawless]

Re: Xbox Live Marketplace and Live Arcade discussion Part III

I really want to know when that dishwasher game is coming out.

No release date, but an update.

• The Dishwasher has a million, billion bugs. I’m fixing them all very quickly.
• The GDC build of The Dishwasher was sort of slow. The frame rate hovered around 30. This has been fixed–it’s now a steady 60!
• I’m locking the screen size at 1280 x 720. I figured that because all of my favorite AAA games do this, I’ll do it too. This addresses frame rate fluctuations and cramped menu issues.
• The dishwasher’s weapons and clothes now get stained by blood (small detail).
• There is now a Ranked story mode–it’s a brutal difficulty that’s roughly the same difficulty as Samurai. Ranked is more strict, but playing ranked obviously allows you to compare score and speed against the rest of the world.
• The game supports 3 player co-op in story mode (unranked only). It’s kind of messy. I’m going to make it a little less messy.

It’s been a wild ride, but I’m nearing the end of the tunnel!

[jmood88]

Re: Xbox Live Marketplace and Live Arcade discussion Part III

No release date, but an update.

Thanks.

[Flawless]

Re: Xbox Live Marketplace and Live Arcade discussion Part III

Geometry Wars 2 is gorgeous. The effects have been upped big time. The game is rendered at 1080p too. It doesn't take long to unlock all the modes and all of them are great. King mode is probably my favorite so far. Sequence gets truly mind-blowing. Collecting Geoms is a nice addition (risk/reward) and because of them, you will be posting some crazy high scores. The game overall is so much better. If you liked the first game, you will love this one.

[ExtremeGamer]

Re: Xbox Live Marketplace and Live Arcade discussion Part III

Zombies to XBL?

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/30/zombies-coming-to-xbox-live-arcade/

Make it happen!!

[ExtremeGamer]

Re: Xbox Live Marketplace and Live Arcade discussion Part III

Cattle Crashers 1800 points?!!?!

http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2008/07/30/summer-of-arcade-may-terrorize-your-wallet/

[Bruins]

Re: Xbox Live Marketplace and Live Arcade discussion Part III

Cattle Crashers 1800 points?!!?!

http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2008/07...e-your-wallet/

[mgoblue]

Re: Xbox Live Marketplace and Live Arcade discussion Part III

Cattle Crashers 1800 points?!!?!

http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2008/07...e-your-wallet/

Wow...and I had to rationalize 1600 for the Penny Arcade game...not sure I'd spend even more for Castle Crashers...Seems like the consumer is being punished for the long dev cycle.

[Flawless]

Re: Xbox Live Marketplace and Live Arcade discussion Part III

Cattle Crashers 1800 points?!!?!

http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2008/07...e-your-wallet/

1600 points is supposed to be the price limit.

"We are officially increasing our XBLA game size limits dramatically from 150MB to 350MB," said Whitten in an interview with Next-Gen. He also said the price limit of Xbox Live Arcade games has been raised to 1600 MS points (US $20), which was first seen this week for Penny Arcade Adventures.

I know it's been in development for a long time and it's got a substantial amount of content that dwarfs other XBLA titles and even has more content than some full retail based games, but charging $20 or more just seems greedy. The two dudes that put in all that work aren't going to get the kind of payoff they were hoping for coming in that price. 1200 points at the most.

[Flawless]

Re: Xbox Live Marketplace and Live Arcade discussion Part III

Next weeks release is also a definite purchase for me, Braid.

Braid is a puzzle-platformer, drawn in a painterly style, where the player manipulates the flow of time in strange and unusual ways. From a house in the city, journey to a series of worlds and solve puzzles to rescue an abducted princess. In each world, you have a different power to affect the way time behaves, and it is time's strangeness that creates the puzzles. The time behaviors include: the ability to rewind, objects that are immune to being rewound, time that is tied to space, parallel realities, time dilation, and perhaps more. Braid treats your time and attention as precious; there is no filler in this game. Every puzzle shows you something new and interesting about the game world.

• Forgiving yet challenging gameplay: Braid is a 2-D platform game where you can never die and never lose. Despite this, Braid is challenging—but the challenge is about solving puzzles, rather than forcing you to replay tricky jumps.
• Rich puzzle environment: Travel through a series of worlds searching for puzzle pieces, then solving puzzles by manipulating time: rewinding, creating parallel universes, setting up pockets of dilated time. The gameplay feels fresh and new; the puzzles are meant to inspire new ways of thinking.
• Aesthetic design: A painterly art style and lush, organic soundtrack complement the unique gameplay.
• Nonlinear story: A nonlinear fiction links the various worlds and provides real-world metaphors for your time manipulations; in turn, your time manipulations are projections of the real-world themes into playful "what-if" universes where consequences can be explored.
• Nonlinear gameplay: The game doesn't force you to solve puzzles in order to proceed. If you can't figure something out, just play onward and return to that puzzle later.

Edge Review - 9

• Plays upon conventions of Mario, but closer to Portal.
• Designed just as well as Portal.
• Each level has a new mechanic: Act 3's is brilliant - steps to the right advances time, steps to the left reverses it.
• One of the finest original titles on Xbox Live Arcade.

Braid best XBLA game at E3 from IGN


This video gives you an idea what Braid is all about.

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[Flawless]

Re: Xbox Live Marketplace and Live Arcade discussion Part III

Microsoft: Castle Crashers Not $22.50, Braid Not $15; Official Prices Coming Soon

Update: Microsoft has informed Shacknews that the reported $22.50 price point for Castle Crashers and $15 Braid price, believed to stem from a now-removed Microsoft Japan listing, are incorrect for both domestic and international markets.

The company further noted that it will officially announce price points for those titles on the Monday preceding Braid and Castle Crashers' respective release dates, or August 4 and 25.

So, I guess Braid is going to be 800 points.

[The GIGGAS]

Re: Xbox Live Marketplace and Live Arcade discussion Part III

Ooh, I had never heard of Braid before teh Summer of XBLA stuff, but that looks NOICE!