916 replies to this topic

[Gamble]

What is Xbox Live Arcade on Xbox 360?

Xbox Live? Arcade is your destination to find, download, try, and buy smaller games for your Xbox 360? console. Discover a variety of genres, including puzzle games, card and board titles, retro arcade faves, and action games. It's easy to get started. Just go to your Xbox 360 Games Blade and choose the Xbox Live Arcade option.

* Sample all Xbox Live Arcade games for free before you buy.
* Games are small enough to fit on your hard drive or memory unit.
* Xbox Live Arcade games support high-definition output, achievements, gamerscore, and leaderboards.
* Multiplayer play is supported by most games (including some retro titles) via Xbox Live.

New games

Crystal Quest



The 1987 classic, Crystal Quest, returns with updated graphics, enhanced special effects and Dolby sound! Pilot your ship through 60 waves, collecting crystals and evading the Nasties. These unique baddies?each one different--emerge from portals on each side of the screen. Fire your weapon at them, or deploy a smart bomb to vaporize every Nasty on the screen. Grab all the crystals to open the gateway at the bottom of the screen. And don't forget to gather up the goodies in each wave... you can find bonus points, extra smart bombs and even an occasional mega-crystal for massive points!

* 60 action-packed levels.
* Extra bonuses and power ups.
* Updated graphics and enhanced special effects.
* Dolby sound.


Screenshots



Trailer

High Low

Release Date: February 2006

Marble Blast Ultra


Marble Blast Ultra is the latest in the classic Marble Blast series. Get ready for an arcade action masterpiece with stay-up-all-night gameplay and an insane level of visual polish.

Suitable for players of any age, Marble Blast Ultra transports you to a futuristic 'astrolab' arena suspended high in the clouds. Compete against each other by navigating your marbles through moving platforms and dangerous hazards, while collecting rare gems and power-up enhancements, in an effort to complete each course in record time. Compete head to head in Xbox Live? ultra blast multiplayer mode!

# Online multiplayer: Get in action via Xbox Live.
# Power-ups: Mega Marble and Ultra Blast let you roll over the competition.
# Expansive gameplay: Sixty single player levels and ten multiplayer levels.

Screenshots




Release Date: February 2006

Feeding Frenzy



Slurp, gulp, and crunch your way all along the Frenzy Coast in Feeding Frenzy! The rules here are simple: Eat anything that's smaller than you and swim clear of everything else. The more you eat, the bigger you get, and the bigger you get, the closer you come to taking on the fearsome Shark King.

Starfish bubbles don't help you grow, but they?re an easy way to boost your score. Oysters offer up bonus points in the form of pearls, but be quick or the shell could snap shut with you inside! Nibbling on the tail of a patrolling barracuda is a risky way to earn extra points?he can turn on you in an instant. And the jellyfish?well, it's best to swim clear of them altogether.

Did you know that tuna can swim up to 50 miles per hour? Or that a parrot fish can change its gender? Feeding Frenzy includes more than four dozen fascinating fish facts like these?one between each game level.

* A living world: Stunning underwater environments and rich sound effects.
* Extras galore: In-game tips and fascinating oceanic trivia.
* Multiple characters, modes, and levels: Gain exciting power-ups as you progress through 40 underwater levels in either of the two amazing game modes.
* In-depth experience: Intuitive interface and addictive, unlimited gameplay, with unlockable secret skills and more!

Screenshots




Release Date: February 2006


Astropop



Fire your rockets and blast off to fast-paced, arcade-puzzle action! Astropop blends fast twitch challenge with an offbeat, fun storyline. Choose from four space pilots, each with unique abilities and weaponry. Then grab, group, and blast bricks to create combos and clear a path to the stars.

As you progress, a mysterious link between the pilots unfolds against a backdrop of spectacular graphics, captivating sound effects, and myriads of scoring opportunities. Astropop?s two different gameplay modes, coupled with 33 challenging bonus rounds, offers hours of extraordinary replay value for players of all ages and skill levels.

* Next-gen visuals: Stunning 3-D special effects and hi-res full-screen graphics.
* Different pilots: Play as any of four unique characters.
* Two play modes: Try Classic and Survival mode.
* Extra features: Dozens of bonus levels to test your wits.

Screenshots




Release Date: February 2006

[Gamble]

Crystal Quest came out sometime ago.

?Crystal Quest? marketplace content now available

Now up on marketplace: new sounds and graphic packs for ?Crystal Quest?

Animal Madness Sound Pack
Xtreme Scenario
Nano Graphics Pack
Sketch Graphics Pack
Super Synth Sounds Pack

?Fight Night Round 3″ Picture packs and themes

Now up on marketplace:

Fight Night Round 3 Picture Pack
Oscar DeLaHoya Picture Pack
Ring Girl Picture Pack
Fight Night Round 3 Theme
Oscar DeLaHoya Theme
Ring Girl Theme

?Hexic? and ?Bejeweled 2′ theme packs

Both ?Hexic? and ?Bejeweled? have theme packs you can download via the Xbox Live marketplace.

?King Kong? demo

Available now in your Xbox Live marketplace.

[Kinetic]

Is Street Fighter II dated for early March? I also heard something about a GRAW demo coming around that time too.

[Gamble]

Gamespot has Street Fighter, AstroPop, Jewel Quest, and Feeding Frenzy listed as " Week of Feb 26, 2006". I believe the GRAW demo will hit the marketplace a week before the game launches. Also, the Outfit demo should be coming out around the end of the month.

[Gamble]

The King Kong demo is bugged in the Vrex mission. You walk around the whole area, your teammates don?t move, there is no T-rex, no gates can be opened, you?re just stuck.

[DualX]

Yeah...you can't even shoot them either. I could only get them to look at me, and trade weapons. The Kong part was pretty fun though, almost like the movie...

[Vanwadilion]

Yeah, that game's fun. It's definitely worth a rental.

[Gamble]

lol, King Kong demo has been taken offline.

[Gamble]

THQ has officially announced that demo that was mentioned in an ad last week. It will be, as previously stated, a multiplayer demo (500 MB) which lets you fight up to seven other players via Xbox Live. You'll also be able to challenge one friend offline split-screen. The demo will be up 3rd of March on the Market Place, and it will also be available in the next issue of Official Xbox Magazine. Images from the demo inside.

Once in a match you'll be able to choose either the Axis or Allies, choose one of three playable squad leaders on either side and then blow the crap out of each other. Specifically, the action will take place on a map called Estate Assault and will be set in the Strategic Victory game mode. The Allies start in a French villa across a river from the Axis headquarters. Your goal will be to capture certain areas on the map so you can earn Field Units (F.U.s) that are used to call in machine gun nests, half-tracks and airstrikes, among many other destructive options.

Images from the demo

[Gamble]

Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting Hands-On

We finally get our hands on the most anticipated Xbox Live Marketplace game to date.

LAS VEGAS--Amid all the games Capcom was showing at its recent press event in Las Vegas, Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting stood out as one that was high on our list to play as soon as we could. The game made its playable debut at Capcom's event, hot on the heels of its announcement last month at CES. Though the game was very much a work in progress and featured the expected rough spots in its frame rate, the conversion has a diamond-in-the-rough quality that gives us hope that the final game will live up to our skyscraper-esque expectations.

The game is, in a nutshell, intended to be an arcade-perfect re-creation of the classic entry in the Street Fighter series that 2D fighting aficionados have long crowned one of, if not the, best entry in the SFII series. That game's unique alchemy of an expanded roster made the four boss characters you faced selectable. And the ability to tune the battle mechanics let you adjust each fighter's repertoire of moves. The end result was a faster, tighter controlling fighter that appealed to just about everyone.

The Xbox 360 game has all of these elements intact, but it just needs to tighten things up. The work-in-progress game we tried had all the content it needed, except the frame rate was shy of what we'd like it to be. Control was solid and mapped out well to the Xbox 360 controller. The handling was fine and let us get our groove on with little problems.

There have been some extra touches added to the content, which are welcome. The achievements for the game will be split between offline and online accomplishments, requiring players to hone their skills alone and in the wild, untamed atmosphere of online play. In addition to the traditional Xbox Live offerings, the game will feature "quarter matches" that let spectators throw their hats into the fighting ring, in an approximation of how matches used to be in arcades.

From the look of things, Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting is shaping up to be just what fans want. The visuals look promising, the control is basically solid, and the breakdown of achievements for it are good, too. The only stumbling block we've noticed has been the game's performance, which we expect to be improved. If Capcom can improve that aspect of the game, then Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting should not disappoint. Look for more on the game in the coming weeks.

SCREENSHOTS

[Gamble]

An Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion trailer is now available in the Market Place. There is also a theme and picture pack for Oblivion.

[Gamble]

A Call of Duty 2 demo in now available for download.

[Gamble]

?Burnout? Monday

All sorts of new ?Burnout Revenge? content is now available on the Xbox Live Marketplace.*

?Burnout Revenge? Picture Pack (40 points)
?Burnout Revenge? Theme (150 points)
?Burnout Revenge? Trailer [720p and 480p] (Free)

*Available in all regions where the Xbox 360 is sold.

Have fun :)

If you don?t have the content, it will show up soon!

[DualX]

I want the demo >_<!

[mattacus]

Someone, please, give me a quick summary of how the points work. And how much do demos usually cost?

[Gamble]

Someone, please, give me a quick summary of how the points work. And how much do demos usually cost?

A demo is free.

[Kinetic]

Someone, please, give me a quick summary of how the points work. And how much do demos usually cost?

400 points=about $5
800 points=about $10

It's pretty much that pattern. Demos are free though.

[mattacus]

If a group of Pictures would cost forty points, why would a demo (which is arguably cooler and definitely more interactive) be por libre?

[Kinetic]

If a group of Pictures would cost forty points, why would a demo (which is arguably cooler and definitely more interactive) be por libre?

I blame the parents and schools.

[Gamble]

A Dead Rising trailer is now avalibile in the market place.