Buku Sudoku & Warlords are out!

Developer: Merscom LLC
Publisher: Microsoft
Genre: Puzzle and Word
Price: 800 Microsoft Points
Availability: Worldwide

Click here for the official Xbox.com webpage!

Click here for more images of Buku Sudoku!

Merscom are also having a competition! Be the first person in the world to get to 200 Gamerscore on Buku Sudoku and you will win yourself a 40" Samsung TV!

Merscom announced today that it is sponsoring a contest with Xbox360Achievements.org (x360a.org) for the upcoming Xbox LIVE Arcade title, Buku Sudoku, which is scheduled to launch Wednesday, 28 May. A drawing will be held two weeks after launch among players who earn all 200 achievement points, with the winner receiving a Samsung LN40A550 40" television. An additional five players who complete all the achievements win a copy of Scene-It? Lights, Camera, Action for the Xbox 360 that also leverages the Big Button Wireless Controller.

Merscom chose an HDTV as way of informing gamers about the incredible high res graphics of Buku Sudoku. Just as the Samsung LN40A550 represents the next step in digital televisions, Buku Sudoku represents the evolution of Sudoku into core gaming. The HDTV features include full HD 1080p resolution, 5 ms response rate and a dynamic contrast ratio of 30,000:1. Superb connectivity and networking with a USB port and 3 HDMI 1.3 ports with Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) also makes it perfect for the gamer's 360. Also, Samsung's DNIe Digital Natural Image Engine improves the picture by enhancing the contrast, detail, and white balance.

In addition to the Samsung TV, the other five players chosen from those that earn 200 out of 200 Achievement Points will receive Scene It? for the Xbox 360. Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action includes four wireless Big Button Controllers, giving each player their own buzzer. Both Scene It? and Buku Sudoku utilize the simple and intuitive Big Button Controllers for a casual and fun experience.

For more information, check out Xbox360Achievements.org


Developer: Stainless Games
Publisher: Atari
Genre: Console Classics
Price: 400 Microsoft Points
Availability: Worldwide (with the exception of Japan and Korea)

Click here for the official Xbox.com webpage!

Click here for more images of Warlords!

Click here for the official NeoGAF topic for both of these titles!

Penny Arcade Adventures is up!

Developer: Hothead Games
Publisher: Hothead Games
Genre: Role Playing Game
Price: 1600 Microsoft Points
Availability: Worldwide (with the exception of Korea)

Click here for the official Xbox.com webpage

Click here for images of Penny Arcade Episode 1

Click here for the official NeoGAF forum topic

Click here, here, here and here for videos of the game

Source: Major Nelson

Wits & Wagers is out! (In NA & UK)

Developer: Hidden Path Entertainment
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Genre: Family Games
Price: 800 Microsoft Points
Availability: Only available in the US, Canada and the UK

Click here for images of Wits & Wagers

Click here for the official Xbox.com webpage

Click here for the NeoGAF.com forum topic

Wits & Wagers is your game of the week, but only for you in the NA and UK!

The Wits & Wagers trivia game, developed by Hidden Path Entertainment, is coming to Xbox Live Arcade this week! Bad news though, it's only being released in The US, The UK and Canada! Boo!

Just like the award-winning board game, players don’t have to be trivia experts to excel at Wits & Wagers, which balances social and betting skills with trivia knowledge. Choose your wacky dancing character and then dive into the game. You can win by making educated guesses, playing the odds or just knowing the interests of other players, whether they are local or online.

Break out the Big Button pad controllers and invite friends over for an entertaining couch vs. couch multiplayer experience on Xbox LIVE, supporting 1-4 players offline and 2-6 players in online multiplayer mode. With 700 trivia questions, great character costumes and dance moves, catchy music, achievements, leaderboards, support for the Xbox LIVE Vision Camera, the Xbox Big Button Pad and more, Wits & Wagers is the fun party game you can play with your family and friends starting this Wednesday!

The game will be released this Wednesday, May 7, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. GMT (1:00 a.m. PDT).

Now I can understand why this is only being released in the US, UK and Canada - It's probably only in English (Though doesn't Canada have a rule of requiring French as well?), and that other English speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand miss out! Bah! It's not rated on the PEGI or OFLC either, so don't expect it.

Click here for images of Wits & Wagers

Click here for the official Xbox.com webpage

Source: PR Release.

Told you so #5 - NOTHING this week!

Although Microsoft have the right to say what gets released on the XBLA, developers have the right to say when (well... mostly) and I don't think ANYBODY would want to be released this week - being the release of Grand Theft Auto IV. You can bet your dashboard will be filled with GTAIV advertisements (in another case of advertising for a game that doesn't need it)

Still need your XBLA fix? Go back and buy Switchball or Gripshift, because I know damn well you didn't buy either of them damn it! Do it!

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!

XBLA Activity for week of 4/14

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1 Ikaruga (-)
2 Battlezone (debut)
3 Brain Challenge (+1)
4 Rocky and Bullwinkle (debut)
5 DOOM (-2)
6 UNO (+3)
7 N+ (+1)
8 Worms (-1)
9 Bomberman LIVE (+1)
10 Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (v)

The above arcade list is based on full versions purchased.

From the previous week (which I've admittedly been skipping the past few weeks, too busy unfortunately) we can see that Ikaruga is still on top for the second week in a row. Mr. Driller Online, which last week was at No. 2 last week, has suddenly dropped off the map and out of the top 10. Surprising since it stayed quite high in its second week.

Dissapointing debuts for Battlezone and - more surprisingly - Rocky & Bullwinkle, since it was meant to appeal to a wider demographic. Poor reviews aside, I think Zen Studios were expecting big things from Bullwinkle.

Brain Challenge continues to sell well - and unlike Bullwinkle appears to have found it's niche and has done well for itself.

Source: Major Nelson - LIVE Activity for week of 4/14

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!

Ikaruga is up!

Developer: Treasure Co., Ltd.
Publisher: Treasure Co., Ltd.
Genre: Shooter
Price: 800 Microsoft Points
Availability: Everywhere

Click here for the Xbox.com page for Ikaruga

Click here for the official NeoGAF Forum topic.

Mr. Driller Online is up!

Developer: NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc.
Publisher: NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc.
Genre: Xbox LIVE Arcade (Uhh...)
Price: 800 Microsoft Points
Availability: All Xbox Live Arcade Regions

Click here for images of Mr. Driler Online

Click here for the official Xbox.com webpage

Mr. Driller Online is your game of the week!

Joining the fabulous lineup of puzzle games available on Xbox 360, “MR. DRILLER Online” comes to Xbox LIVE Arcade this Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Players take on the role of a driller moving through levels of colorful blocks, avoiding the threat of being crushed by falling blocks, all while keeping their air supply from running out.

“MR. DRILLER Online” features single player modes including Standard Driller and Quest Driller, as well as online multiplayer support for up to four players on Xbox LIVE. In online multiplayer mode, players can participate in a split screen Solo Battle, where the best score wins, or in Tag Battle, where friends team up in pairs to beat the game.

Mr. Driller certainly is a weird one - not for the game itself, but the fact that.. well, NOBODY has played it! Despite being a fairly well known puzzle game to Namco fans, there has been absolutely no news about the game at all. The only 'preview' information can be seen here at IGN, which is little more than a list of features (though admittedly, much like the beginning of this post), outside of that, nobody has played the game. It's not even up on Microsoft's Partnernet service for developers.

Considering Namco's previous effort of Pac-Man CE was so well received by Gamers and Game Press alike, it's a little strange to do the same here. Though Pac-Man CE was a secret addition to XBLA when originally announced, the game was a collaboration between Namco and Microsoft. Mr. Driller Online appears to strictly be a Namco idea, and of the very few screen shots available it's looking a little half-arsed - particularly the sprites of your players.

We'll know in less than 24 hours, I guess. But the Xbox Live Arcade service should have gotten over this a long time ago.

Check out images of the game here.

Check out the Xbox.com page here.

Source: Major Nelson

Rocketmen is up!

Developer: A.C.R.O.N.Y.M. Games Inc.
Publisher: Capcom
Genre: Action
Price: 800 Microsoft Point
Availability: Worldwide (with the exception of Japan and Korea)

Click here to check out pictures of the game!

Click here for the official Xbox.com webpage!

Click here for the official NeoGAF forum topic!

Source: Major Nelson

Triggerheart Exelica is up!

Developer: WARASHI Inc.
Publisher: WARASHI Inc.
Genre: Shooter
Price: 800 Microsoft Points

Click here to check out pictures of the game!

Click here for the official Xbox.com webpage!

Click here for the official NeoGAF forum topic!

Source: Major Nelson