One of the biggest draws of the Xbox Live Arcade, in my opinion, is that it offers incredibly accessible family titles right alongside hardcore greats such as Ikaruga. The fact that I can literally quit out of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and join my wife in a game of Catan or Carcassone in a matter of seconds really speaks volumes for the value of the wide variety of the marketplace.

Risk Factions, thankfully, honors the Xbox Live casual legacy. Read more… »

There’s a certain magic to be experienced when playing a highly regarded game nearly twenty years after its original release. It’s not something that gamers get to do often, especially in an age when high-quality releases threaten weekly to bury us even during supposed “summer droughts.” Too often, years and years of praise and hyperbole create in our minds an image of perfection that no game, especially one that has suffered the ravages of time, could live up to. We play a classic, sit back after the credits roll and wonder why we bothered, and we wish we could have played it in its prime.

Hidden among those hundreds of disappointments is the inverse: a classic game that creates in you the feelings of pure admiration and gratitude, and we know that this game is and was something truly special. And, perhaps, it can be made more special by our many years of separation from it, as if the people we are today were the ones meant to experience it.

This is that game.

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Team 17 is delivering a DLC package for Worms 2: Armageddon to the Xbox Live Arcade.  The smash series has been in the consoles and PCs of many gamers for the last 15 years and it isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

With a new single player campaign, new weapons, new customization features, and a new mode, having worms has never been so great.   Read more… »

Many people have suggested that playing Puzzle Quest is a lot like being addicted to crack, but I don’t share that view. Instead, I would compare the experience to opening a bag of potato chips. Just as you find yourself unable to stop at one potato chip and soon are in need of a new bag and a handful of napkins, Puzzle Quest sucks you in, forcing you to play puzzle after puzzle until you realize that your life has become more useless than the cast of Jersey Shore.

Now, D3 Publisher has released Puzzle Quest 2, hoping that it can capture the hearts of its consumer base once again just as the Lays Corporation did with Baked Lays. Indeed, Puzzle Quest 2 is a game that has trimmed out a lot of the fat, making for a game that is far healthier for you even if, in your weak moments, you do miss some of the rich taste of the original.

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Numerous classics of earlier console generations are available with a simple search on Xbox Live Marketplace or its equivalent on other consoles.  Many have found that this is usually a wake-up call for their own nostalgia.  And like everything else, video games age.

Obviously, some games have aged well; others, not so much.  Doom II, classic though it may have been for its era, belongs in the latter category. Read more… »

Hothead Games has finally let the cat out of the bag on DeathSpank, their newest title inspired by Ron Gilbert of The Secret of Monkey Island fame. The hacking, slashing, down-trodden saving hero will be available on the Playstation Network for $14.99, while Xbox LIVE players will have to wait until the 14th to get your slash on.

If you haven’t seen some of the interesting promo content that has gone along with DeathSpank, then now is definitely your chance. One of the greatest pieces Hothead Games has put together is the DeathSpank hotline, which you can call any time day or not to be rescued from a wide variety of problems. Check it out by calling 1-866-631-1574 to be treated with the best promotional material a game could ever get.

I gotta be honest and admit that when Sonic the Hedgehog 4 was first announced, I was extremely skeptical.  I mean there hasn’t been a good sonic game in over a decade.  Am I really supposed to believe that all of a sudden Sega has found that special spark again?

After playing the hands-on demo at E3, I am now a converted believer.  Sonic has truly gotten back to his roots, with a game that is sure to make all the old school fans of the series happy again.  To find out why I am so pleased, hit the jump. Read more… »

If you find it a little random that a franchise like Rush’n Attack is getting a revival, then you’re not alone. It surely isn’t the most obvious franchise to revive, but when it comes to Ex-Patriot, you’ll hardly care.

Essentially, the game doesn’t feel anything like the old arcade game, instead moving in a Shadow Complex direction, though there are some important changes. But if my time with the game at E3 taught me anything, it’s that I am absolutely ready for some more action in the style of Shadow Complex.

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Hydro Thunder was always one of those games back in the day that was just an absolute blast to play in the arcade.  If you could find one of the sit down cabinets with a large monitor and loud sound system, the experience was an intense thrill ride that could make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

Unfortunately, the only proper console release the game received was the Dreamcast version.  As time has gone on, Hydro Thunder has just sort of faded into the background, with little of hope of ever being revived.  Well, that’s all about to change, asdeveloper Vector Unit is about to release a true sequel to the Dreamcast version, exclusively on XBLA.  I got my hands on the demo today at E3, so hit the jump to hear all about my wet experience. Read more… »

The Tomb Raider franchise has seen a steady decline in popularity over the past few entries in the franchise, but Square Enix is banking that Lara Croft as a gaming icon still has legs (ahem). With a shift from 3D, third-person puzzling and tiger shooting gameplay to a new isometric run-and-gun style, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light aims to take gaming’s most storied treasure hunter in a whole new direction.

After getting some hands-on play time in both single-player and multiplayer modes, I’m ready to share my impressions. I have to say that while this new entry in the Lara Croft universe might not revolutionize gaming in any discernible way, it looks to offer a fun experience in a new vein. I’ve got my eye on this title moving into the Summer of Arcade season for XBLA.

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After last week’s glorious live action teaser trailer, Ubisoft has finally unveiled Driver: San Francisco. Taking heed from the original Driver game in 1999, the game will adopt a back to basics approach with an emphasis on what the franchise was originally renowned for: hair raising, movie-style car chases.

As the title implies, the game will be set in San Francisco which again harkens back to the original. There will even be licensed cars for the first time in a Driver game, including Dodge Challengers and Ruf sports cars.

Hit the jump for further information, along with the first screenshots and videos of Driver: San Francisco.

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Wow, I amaze myself sometimes. I really didn’t know I attained the ability to predict the future – as you may recall in my last post regarding the recently announced Sonic Adventure title for XBLA and PSN, I stated that this could indeed be the beginning of a new trend where we will see re-releases of classic Dreamcast games available for download.

Well, according to SEGA, it has just been announced that Crazy Taxi will be joining the roster, featuring HD quality visuals, online leaderboards, achievements and trophies. The very thought of it brings a tear to my eye.

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