Showing posts with label Sierra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sierra. Show all posts

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Tips & Tricks for Aces of the Galaxy!


Yup, that pretty much sums it up.

Sierra released a whole bunch of videos for Aces of the Galaxy, which you can check out here, here and here. Showing off the worlds including "flying towards the sun" world, and "caverns of crystals and ice" world.

Source: Sierra.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Aces of the Galaxy and Roogoo are out!

Developer: Artech Studios
Publisher: Sierra Online
Genre: Action
Price: 800 Microsoft Points
Availability: Everywhere

Click here for screenshots of Aces of the Galaxy

Click here for the official Xbox.com webpage

Developer: SpiderMonk Entertainment
Publisher: SouthPeak Games
Genre: Puzzle and Word
Price: 800 Microsoft Points
Availability: Everywhere except for Japan

Click here for screenshots of Roogoo

Click here for the official Xbox.com webpage

Click here for the official NeoGAF forum topic on both of these releases!

Monday, June 2, 2008

Roogoo and Aces of the Galaxy are your games of the week!

Two two-game weeks in a row! Are Microsoft on a roll? This week brings you the Space Shooter Aces of the Galaxy, and the cute original puzzler Roogoo!

Enjoy the frantic action of Aces of the Galaxy, an old fashioned arcade adrenaline-pumping shoot-em-up that allows players to save the Universe from the wicked Skurgian Empire. Players annihilate enemy ships with an impressive arsenal of upgradeable weapons including high-powered missile launchers, devastating torpedoes and the relentless chain gun.

Battle intense waves of enemy Skurgians against a breathtaking outer space backdrop, and choose to fight alone or join up with a friend at home or via Xbox LIVE.
Aces of the Galaxy will be released Worldwide for 800 Microsoft Points.

Click here for brand new images of Aces of the Galaxy!

Click here for the official Xbox.com webpage, or here for the official webpage!

Roogoo updates the square peg in round hole premise to a whole new level. Help the Roogoo defeat their enemies, the evil Meemoo, in Roogoo, a new and innovative action based-puzzler with addictive gameplay. Players line up multiple platforms on different levels to allow shaped blocks to pass through and once enough stack up, that particular shape closes off.

A simple premise becomes more complicated as Meemoos begin to obstruct players' paths and butterflies attempt to steal blocks away. Players must swivel, roll and boost their way through 45 puzzle-filled levels alone or with up to four friends in cooperative party mode play.

For those with a more competitive spirit, Roogoo offers a two-player multiplayer mode over Xbox LIVE where players battle to solve the same puzzle and can build up attacks to thwart their competitors' efforts.
Roogoo will be available Worldwide, with the exception of Japan, for 800 Microsoft Points.

Click here for new images of Roogoo!

Click here for the official Xbox.com webpage!

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Aces of the Galaxy - your second game next week!

Looks like Microsoft may be amping up the release schedule. Previously Sierra's Aces Of the Galaxy was thought that it might reach here on the 11th of June, but now it seems that it's joining Roogoo for a two-fer week!

Sierra Online's webpage has updated with the release date, along with some small tidbits of information. You can check out that page here. If their site is anything to go by, Sea Life Safari will be next month's Sierra title for XBLA.

As well as this, IGN have a new preview with a set of environments available to the player,, and the weapons you can pick up! Check it out below.

Source: Xbox360 @ IGN.com - Aces of the Galaxy: Weapons and Environments

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Ratings Watch - Gin Rummy not enough for you? Well look out for Cribbage!

In the latest update of "Sierra games that get revealed far ahead of time", the OFLC rating has added a new game to their website - Cribbage!

Much like the case with Zombie Wranglers, the game is being published by Sierra Online, in which all previous Xbox Live Arcade games have been rated by, while games normally released are under the Sierra Entertainment label.

This will be their 4th addition to the Card & Board genre - After Carcassonne, Lost Cities, and the upcoming Gin Rummy. It appears they're getting in on that market in a big way.

So are you interested in playing online Cribbage? What other card games should Sierra or go after next? Leave a response!

Source: OFLC Rating Board - Cribbage

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Review wrap-up: Wits & Wagers, Assault Heroes 2

A little behind but here are a list of recent reviews for Assault Heroes 2 and Wits & Wagers for the XBLA!

Wits & Wagers

- Xbox360 @ IGN Review by Ryan Geddes - 6.4 / 10

- Gamespot Review by Justin Calvert - 4.5 / 10

- Team Xbox Review by Dale Nardozzi - 7.0 / 10

- Eurogamer.net Review by Dan Whitehead - 4.0 / 10

Wits & Wagers has gotten some fairly poor reviews, usually noting that the game's main draw - that you don't need to know the true answer and have to guess at the answers - isn't all that fun. You also need to get the closest answer below the true one, and not simply the closest, which can be kind of a pain.

The graphical style of the game can be a little off putting too.

Assault Heroes 2

- Xbox360 @ IGN Review by Nate Ahearn - 8.5 / 10

- Gamespot Review by Tom Mc Shea - 7.5 / 10

- Team Xbox Review by David Chapman - 7.0 / 10

Assault Heroes 2 has gotten a lot of good reviews - They're enjoying the bigger campaigns and weapons - more of the same more or less - and more fun in cooperative (which a lot of the achievements end up pushing you towards)

Incidentally - website MEGATONik has a new competition for Assault Heroes 2! You can win Caps based on the game - simply go to this topic on their site and reply with something you enjoyed about AH2 - and you might be randomly selected for a prize!

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

New Aces of the Galaxy trailer, possible release date released!


A new trailer was released for Sierra's upcoming space shooter Aces of the Galaxy today. Check it out above, or you can download the trailer here.

An interesting tidbit though - The Gamespress website - which deals with collecting all the game press releases and media - claim that the game is coming out next month - the 11th of June to be exact. Keep an eye out until then.

Looking back at the previous Xbox Live Arcade releases by Sierra, it appears that they're trying to release at least one title a month. With Aces of the Galaxy, Zombie Wranglers, Gin Rummy, Red Baron Arcade.. Maybe Megaforce and The Incredible Machine if their two year old Investor Presentation means anything - they look to keep the XBLA quite healthy. They even mention "12 short session games" in that presentation. Keep it up, Sierra!

Source: Gamespress, Gametrailers

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Assault Heroes 2 is up! Rocketmen Expansion is up!

Assault Heroes 2
Developer: Wanako Studios
Publisher: Sierra Online
Genre: Action
Price: 800 Microsoft Points
Availability: Everywhere

Click here for images of Assault Heroes 2!
Click here for the official Xbox.com webpage!

Rocketmen: It came from Uranus Expansion Pack
Developer: A.C.R.O.N.Y.M. Games Inc.
Publisher: Capcom
Genre: Action
Cost: 400 Microsoft Points. Requires Rocketmen: Axis of Evil
Includes: 3 new levels, 3 new main weapons, 2 new secondary weapons, and new enemies.

Click here for images of the Rocketmen: Axis of Evil Expansion!
Click here for the official Xbox.com webpage!

Monday, May 12, 2008

Assault Heroes 2 is your game of the week!


Assault Heroes 2 is your game of the week! It's more crashing, more carnage, and more destructible than before!
Assault Heroes 2 reveals that the original enemy in Assault Heroes is merely a pawn of a more sinister force, which players must now seek out and destroy. Armed with stronger weaponry and the ability to hi-jack more powerful enemy units, players must prepare to face relentless enemies and outrageous bosses in climactic battles, including an all-out skirmish in outer space.

In the sequel, players can experience the full fury of war outside of the safety of their vehicle with even more intense on-foot gameplay, where increased firepower and the new dodge roll feature are necessary to survive. Players can choose to fight alone or battle with a friend using the enhanced two-player cooperative mode. Either way, players will travel through diverse and interactive environments on land and in space to overcome the newest enemy and save mankind.
For those worrying it may now come out everywhere - Sierra is touting that the game will be released everywhere on Wednesday, May 14, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. GMT (1:00 a.m. PDT).

As well as this, the second trailer showing off the big bosses has shown up! Watch it from the Youtube video above!

Click here for the Xbox.com webpage!

Thursday, May 8, 2008

New Achievements - Sealife Safari, Elements of Destruction, and Aces of the Galaxy

Achievement lists for 3 upcoming Xbox Live Arcade titles have leaked onto the French website succesfull.fr - those being Sealife Safari, Elements of Destruction, and Aces of the Galaxy

For Sea Life Safari Achievements, click here.

For Elements of Destruction Achievements, click here.

For Aces of the Galaxy Achievements, click here.

Source: Succesfull.fr

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

New Assault Heroes 2 footage - Bosses!

Team Xbox have gotten even more footage of Assualt Heroes 2 - this time showing the players match up with some of the games giant bosses, "including the Mecha Quadriped, the Mecha Gorilla and the Mecha Scorpion."

To watch or download the video, click here.

Source: Team Xbox

Review wrap-up: Lost Cities finds demographic

A little late, but not many reviews have popped up for the game - it's a little difficult to get into I suppose.

Two great reviews have popped up from Gamespot and Team Xbox. Both reviewers loved the game - the art style and design, they seemed quite into it. The main problem cited as some sloppy AI by the CPU Player.

IGN gave a lower review of the game, mostly citing the lack of options and variation in game play - you can only play it one way, and they weren't too happy with the graphical design at all - and got bored of it rather quickly.

So the game gotten a bit of love-it-hate-it from reviewers. Best to check out the demo and see what you think.

Gamespot review by Brett Todd - 8.0 / 10

Team Xbox review by David Chapman - 8.5 / 10

Xbox360 @ IGN review by Ryan Geddes - 5.5 / 10

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Confused by Lost Cities? Maybe this'll help.

Sierra has released a new video in the hopes to help those who don't know how to play their latest game Lost Cities, as well as some tips on how to win.

Source: Gametrailers

Monday, April 28, 2008

IGN, X3F and Joystiq - Sierra's Digital roundup


Websites outside of Team Xbox have started putting up their previews of Sierra's XBLA titles from their recent expo.

Zombie Wranglers
Amy, for example, is the "cool kid" of the group. With Boombox gun in hand, she fires CDs to cut into the undead. She can also unleash a Sonic Boom Zombomb which first stuns zombies and then lets loose a sonic boom. Another of the Wranglers, Uju, can drop voodoo dolls, which gets the zombies to ignore their hunger and dance in the streets. He also uses a special blow dart gun that drives zombies into an insane frenzy. You damage zombies enough and they are ripe to be wrangled. So, they are more like cows than your traditional zombies.
IGN Preview
Xbox 360 Fanboy - Sierra XBLA Roundup
Joystiq impressions: Assorted Sierra XBLA games

Sea life Safari
Sea Life Safari is a colorful kids' game that casts the player as an ambitious underwater photog. Your goal is to snap as many high-quality fish pics as possible with a limited number of exposures. As you float through a pre-set course under the waves, fish will appear briefly and you'll have to quickly compose a good shot before they swim away.
IGN Preview
Xbox 360 Fanboy - Sierra XBLA Roundup
Joystiq impressions: Assorted Sierra XBLA games

Assault Heroes 2
The graphics in Assault Heroes were quite good for an XBLA game, and what we've seen of the sequel so far looks impressive, too. Environments are more destructible than before – trees can be set alight or even frozen solid, depending on which weapon you're wielding. Wanako has also paid close attention to perspective, adding nice touches here and there to create the illusion of depth.
IGN Preview
Xbox 360 Fanboy - Sierra XBLA Roundup
Joystiq impressions: Assorted Sierra XBLA games

Gin Rummy
So it was with a bit of suspicion and bitterness that I sat in on a recent preview of Sierra's upcoming Xbox Live Arcade version of the popular card game. The game was being shown at Sierra's recent Gamer's Day event in San Francisco, and it was my briefest preview of the afternoon. So I can confirm that the game exists, but it still hasn't really been shown in action.
IGN Preview
Xbox 360 Fanboy - Sierra XBLA Roundup
Joystiq impressions: Assorted Sierra XBLA games

Source: IGN, Joystiq, Xbox 360 Fanboy

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Assault Heroes 2 coming out May 14th!


Shacknews has gotten a hold of a Sierra press release stating that the sequel to the popular twin-stick, cooperative shoot-em-up Assault Heroes will be dropping on May 14th!

Along with the news - in Sierra's PR blowout on TeamXbox they've released a whole slew of new videos:

Access Multiple Weapons On-Foot

Destroy the Rainforest

Hijack Enemy Choppers

Extended Trailer

They've also got a quick rundown of features, which you can view here

Assault Heroes 2 and Commando 3 are coming out very soon... hopefully they don't cannibalize each others sales since they're both from the same genre. Even if they're both quality titles, the pure fact that Commando 3 comes with a Street Figher II HD BETA will very likely destroy AH2. Let's hope Sierra and Microsoft know what they're doing.

Speaking of releases.. pure speculation, but there's probably a good chance that nothing will be released this week. Why? A little game called Grand Theft Auto IV. Same thing happened with Halo 3, and anything released this week might get sent to die, so to speak.

Source: Team Xbox, Shacknews - Assault Heroes 2 Hits XBLA May 14

Told you so #2, #3, and #4 - Gin Rummy, Sea Life Safari and Zombie Wranglers announced!

Team Xbox seems to be all nice and snug with Sierra lately - Sierra's online branch has exclusively announced Gin Rummy, Sea Life Safari - which XBLAH did some digging about some months ago - and Zombie Wranglers which we discussed just four days ago are all coming to the Xbox Live Arcade.

Gin Rummy is a classic card game, which is being brought to the XBLA supposedly by Sierra Shanghai - who just last week brought us Lost Cities, another card based game.

Gin Rummy for XBLA will feature the original game for playing over Xbox Live, along with many variations including Oklahoma Gin, Hollywood Gin, Three-hand Gin, as well as your own Custom Gin game. It will also support 4-player multiplayer with some Gin variants - which you can read up about in this page.

Secondly, Sea Life Safari is a photography game similar in design to the Nintendo classic - Pokemon Snap. As the player, you must go through different environments trying to get sea wildlife to 'show their best side' for the camera.

As mentioned in XBLAH's previous article, Wanako Studios are behind SLS (just like.. well, almost everything else for Sierra) and is already available for the PC, and had an achievement system set up inside it. Probably not too big of a job to port - certainly helps the casual demographic Microsoft wants!

And Lastly, Zombie Wranglers. This game allows the player to run around as one of 4 characters as you... well, Wrangle Zombies. It actually looks a little like Monster Madness that came out as a retail title last year (which really should have been XBLA material). It looks okay - it needs to be seen in action before any real comments can be made, at the moment they've just shown off the equivalent of a Ghost Buster Proton Pack or Luigi's Vacuum which turns Zombies into energy.

We can now confirm that this game IS being made by Frozen Codebase - the people behind Screwjumper last year and the upcoming Elements of Destruction sometime this year. Both their previous games were published by THQ - it's a little odd that this has now been picked up by Sierra. I may have stepped on a few toes with the last post too, since the blog and websites were taken down. Apologies to those involved! It'll be interesting to see how it holds up against Wiiware's Animales de la Muerte, which also seems like a lot of fun. Hopefully Sierra will spill some beans soon.

Check out Team Xbox for all the new images and previews for each game. Each of these games is currently slated for a Summer release.

Source: Team Xbox Sierra’s Summer ’08 XBLA Lineup Hands-On Preview

Edit: Fixed some information regarding Zombie Wranglers.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Lost Cities is out!

Little late for the update, sorry!

Developer: Sierra Online Shanghai
Publisher: Sierra Online
Genre: Action
Price: 800 Microsoft Points
Availability: Not available in Japan and Korea

Click here for the NeoGAF forum topic!

Click here for Images of Lost Cities!

Click here for the Official Xbox.com webpage!

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

OFLC Update: Unannounced game "Zombie Wranglers" shows up


The Australian Classification website has had a late night update with a new entry - Zombie Wranglers, with all the details seen above. While not officially announced for the Xbox 360 - the Author for the rating is Sierra Online. All previous entries by Sierra Online have been for Xbox Live Arcade titles - Including Aces of the Galaxy, Assault Heroes 2, and Carcassone.

So we have a name and a publisher, so who is the developer? Doing a quick Google finds... well, very little shows up. What does show up is a small website called DOOM3D Poop Art. The site itself has 'closed down' but before that, it was a gathering place for Wisconsin indie game developers, gathering together to discuss their games. Though they've since moved onto a new website there are a few puzzle pieces to be found.

Noticeably this topic discussing the name of the group, which mentions the game in passing. It appears that that the game was a student project at one point - but also features some help from the current Wisconsin developer Frozen Codebase - known for their XBLA game Screwjumper last year.

One could put both together and determine that it is Frozen Codebase which is now developing the game - their website does specify they have more than one team working on games - however they previously worked with THQ for publishing Screwjumper, while it appears Sierra is doing so for Zombie Wranglers. Admittedly things didn't go so well with THQ, and Sierra's such a nice publisher. We're not jumping to conclusions just yet!

Until it's announced, or it starts showing up on the USK and ESRB, who knows what the game is. Hopefully it's not going to hide in the shadows until two weeks before release like things have been lately.

Source: OFLC - ZOMBIE WRANGLERS

Monday, April 21, 2008

Lost Cities is your game of the week!

Lost Cities comes to life on Xbox LIVE Arcade this Wednesday, April 23, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. GMT (1:00 a.m. PDT).

True to the original adventurous card game, “Lost Cities” transports players to exotic destinations where riveting adventures await. Before players embark on their trips they must choose how much to invest in the expedition in hopes of increasing their investment. Players then play their cards with the goal of amassing the most points and making prosperous expeditions through the various lost cities: the Himalayas, the Brazilian rain forest, the ever-shifting desert sands, ancient volcanoes and the mystifying depths of the oceans. Don't journey alone, invite up to three friends to join in the journeys over Xbox LIVE!
Developed by Sierra Online Shanghai, Lost Cities will be available worldwide (with the exception of Japan and Korea) for 800 Microsoft Points

Click here for the Xbox.com webpage

Click here for new images of Lost Cities!

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Major Nelson Podcast - Interview with Sierra Online's Ross Erickson


After making the rounds on the Three Red Lights Podcast, Sierra Online's Ross Erickson has popped up on the Major Nelson Podcast, discussing their recent and upcoming XBLA games!

On Lost Cities:

"Possibly 3 weeks out [before release, maybe]"

On Assault Heroes 2:

"Bigger Badder, Better, Bolder. A lot more enemies, lot of weapons. [...] Playing with the camera for different opportunities, hijacking weapons.."

On Aces of the Galaxy:

"Pure Adrenalin Space Combat, a cross between Starfox 64 meets the original Warhawk on PSOne."

On upcoming games:

"We have roughly a dozen titles in production for the XBLA right now, we're very committed to the platform."

On the quality of games:

MN: "Recently there has been some Buzz on the internet with the quality of games on the XBLA. That's got to hit you right below the belt!"

RE: "Well it kind of does in two ways, number one I'm responsible for identifying and fighting for some of these games to come to the XBLA and that covers a wide variety of game experiences and types for different kinds of users, and you're also talking about games I'm publishing right now.

I can appreciate when people - particularly hardcore gamers who have their favorites talk about their favorite game. I think the situation is that gamers are very wide and diverse these days. I like Astropop but I don't think many people pay attention to it much.

Some categories on XBLA on the original vision was diversity and something fun for everyone. I can't get my wife to pay Assault Heroes for instance, and I like N+ and Commanders but they're very different kinds of games."


On bringing classics to the service:

"There is a lot of buzz around Bionic Commando and the fans of that, and we're looking at some of our old franchises and not just figuring out how to quickly put a coat of paint on it, but how to reinvent the franchise without turning it into another franchise.

A lot of our franchises at Sierra have been known as retail 50-60 dollar games and here we are with Sierra Online and seeing how we can bring IP we own to the online space, so it's a challenge but a lot of fun too!"


There is also a great discussion about just how much Erickson loves Lode Runner, and his difficult time in trying to find just who owns the rights to the franchise. A great interview.

Download the podcast here or join the RSS feed.