XBLA Catch-Much: Farewell to XBLA

I played it quite a bit this morning. I like it a lot personally. Seems like there's a lot of depth there. Multiple factions to join, each with multiple ships. Lots of weapons. You have an "AI" bot of a few types to choose between and upgrade, with stats and abilities to upgrade as well.

The new Trials and Choplifter games are supposed to be out in the fall. I'm patiently waiting. Also, did anyone try the map pack out for Toy Soldiers: Cold War?

Hmm, nothing coming this week? Major Nelson's Marketplace blog post doesn't have anything.

EvilDead wrote:

The new Trials and Choplifter games are supposed to be out in the fall. I'm patiently waiting. Also, did anyone try the map pack out for Toy Soldiers: Cold War?

I thought Trials was delayed until next year sometime?

MannishBoy wrote:
EvilDead wrote:

The new Trials and Choplifter games are supposed to be out in the fall. I'm patiently waiting. Also, did anyone try the map pack out for Toy Soldiers: Cold War?

I thought Trials was delayed until next year sometime?

It still says 2011 on their webpage. Although, if it was delayed it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world considering I already have too much stuff to play and too little time right now.

EvilDead wrote:
MannishBoy wrote:
EvilDead wrote:

The new Trials and Choplifter games are supposed to be out in the fall. I'm patiently waiting. Also, did anyone try the map pack out for Toy Soldiers: Cold War?

I thought Trials was delayed until next year sometime?

It still says 2011 on their webpage. Although, if it was delayed it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world considering I already have too much stuff to play and too little time right now.

I guess this is what I saw after the developer was bought by Ubisoft.

MannishBoy wrote:

I guess this is what I saw after the developer was bought by Ubisoft.

Yeah, that doesn't make it sound like its coming out anytime soon.

Just a heads up. I was browsing the marketplace last night and noticed that Trine 2 and Joe Danger are both available. I queued up both the demos but haven't tried them yet.

Choplifter HD is out. I hope it doesn't ruin my childhood memories of the original. Unfortunately it was movie night yesterday so I didn't get to try it.

I played a bit of the Joe Danger demo but "physics" games where you can make your guy change directions in the air don't do it for me. Bring on the new Trials game!

Choplifter demo is pretty good. Any opinions on the NFL Blitz re-awakening and the rumors of Mutant League Football?

It seems word around the campfire is that XBLA and Games On Demand will merge, with larger XBLA titles pointing the way.

I've gotta edit that "now available list".

MaxShrek wrote:

Choplifter demo is pretty good. Any opinions on the NFL Blitz re-awakening and the rumors of Mutant League Football?

I played the demo for Blitz last night and it was allot of fun. Keep in mind that I have never played a Blitz before and was trying to figure out the mechanics. I only played the CPU and the demo cuts you off at the half. Since the CPU can react in a split second, D can be rather difficult being a new player. I imagine this would be a blast if I had a human opponent. I loved that their were no flags and you can slam their receivers to the ground before they get the ball. Offense is all about big blowout plays since first downs require 30 yards!

The price tag kept me from pulling the trigger but I could see myself doing it come Sunday while I'm waiting for the playoff games to start. I would recommend that others give the demo a try.

Edit: Choplifter didn't do it for me. It felt like the helicopter had no weight. Maybe the original was like that too but I thought I remember you had to put some effort into getting a smooth landing due to the physics. Also didn't the angle and speed of the chopper determine your bullet trajectory? This one uses the typical twin stick shooter controls.

The original Choplifter is insanely difficult, I think I remember crashing into the ground and crashing into the side of the boat. The controls felt floaty but it was playable, I wish they had made it easier to control like the feel of the chopper-jeep shooter Silkworm.

NFL Blitz was always an AI crapfest, but it was fun. You get up by 30 points, and you lose by 10. You're down by 40 and win by 8. The rubber banding was huge, much like it was in NBA Jam and NHL Open Ice Challenge. But not as brutal as the curve for Mortal Kombat.

I'm still waiting on a new NHL Hitz, the superior arcade sports franchise ending the the letter Z.

Blitz has been fun so far. The new CCG-type mode is kinda neat, I suppose, but doesn't fundamentally alter the formula. The game is best enjoyed multiplayer, for sure. My biggest knock on this reboot is the removal of late hits. What gives?

kincher skolfax wrote:

Blitz has been fun so far. The new CCG-type mode is kinda neat, I suppose, but doesn't fundamentally alter the formula. The game is best enjoyed multiplayer, for sure. My biggest knock on this reboot is the removal of late hits. What gives?

Apparently the NFL is really strict what they will and won't allow in games representing the league. Right now the NFL is really into showing that they are protecting the players from career ending injuries. From a podcast I was listening to (Bombcast maybe) they said that early builds of Blitz had late hits and also the hits in general were more violent. The NFL forced them to tone it down. Considering all the other NFL penalties that are not called in Blitz, its kind of silly.

Trials Evolution is looking better and better. This will be a day one for me.

An M-rated shmup?

Specific dates and prices for the House Party titles:

February 15th, 2012: Warp - 800 MSP
February 22nd, 2012: Alan Wake's American Nightmare - 1200 MSP
February 29th, 2012: Nexuiz - 800 MSP
March 7th, 2012: I Am Alive - 1200 MSP

Buy all four, get 800 MSP back.

The Simpsons Arcade is coming to PSN and XBLA, with the XBLA launching this Friday for $10 and PSN being free for PS+ next week, according to Joystiq.

That would complete the holy trinity of konami arcade, with the original TMNT, X-Men, and The Simpsons, but $10? I can wait for a sale, I think.

Just played through Gatling Gears and I thought it was great. Thumbs up to anyone on the fence looking for a fun arcade shooter.

I can't wait for Trials Evolution tomorrow.

I was browsing some of the recent releases and noticed Fez. I just watched the gametrailers review and am intrigued. Has anyone gave this a try yet? Pixel art usually annoys me but the puzzle mechanics look really interesting.

http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/1...

There are some bugs, but if it looks interesting to you, I'd recommend it.

cyrax wrote:

http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/1...

There are some bugs, but if it looks interesting to you, I'd recommend it.

Thanks for the link. This was completely off my radar so it's surprising to see a thread about it starting in January.

I just queued up the trial game to see what it is all about.

EvilDead wrote:

I can't wait for Trials Evolution tomorrow.

I was browsing some of the recent releases and noticed Fez. I just watched the gametrailers review and am intrigued. Has anyone gave this a try yet? Pixel art usually annoys me but the puzzle mechanics look really interesting.

I've played it for about an hour. It's good. Definitely looking forward to digging into it further. It's pretty damn charming.

I downloaded the Minecraft trial just to see what everyone's been talking about for the past few years. I thought it was neat. It ran smoothly. The sheep were funny. I punched a tree into pieces. Nothing spectacular.

Then, I built a house. Then, I dug a tunnel and put torches on the wall for light. Then, the sun went down.

I've fallen down the rabbit hole.

Correction: I've dug the rabbit hole, then fell down it and found cobblestone.

I played until the demo ran out. I haven't even started to plan out what kind of fortress I'm going to build. It didn't take long for this game to get its giant, pixelated hooks in me.

skeletonframes wrote:

I played until the demo ran out. I haven't even started to plan out what kind of fortress I'm going to build. It didn't take long for this game to get its giant, pixelated hooks in me.

I'm buying this today. It may replace Skyrim as the random game I throw in when I want to relax at night by wandering.

DSGamer wrote:
skeletonframes wrote:

I played until the demo ran out. I haven't even started to plan out what kind of fortress I'm going to build. It didn't take long for this game to get its giant, pixelated hooks in me.

I'm buying this today. It may replace Skyrim as the random game I throw in when I want to relax at night by wandering.

Just to note, I hear that the world map is not infinite as it is on PC version -- but rather large area. There is some speculation that it might get patched later.

Also, GiantBomb Review

As one who has played the PC version for quite some time, I have to say that my first impressions of the XBL version are very positive. Right now the kids have been playing, so I don't have a lot of hands on myself but from watching, the crafting layout is an improvement for them since it shows the recipes whereas the PC version requires memorization, trial and error, or the wiki. Overall, seems like a pretty close port. I think it's based on code from a older version so it may lack some biomes or other features, but I would definitely add it to the "games for kids" (and adults ) list.

Maybe I'll post more impressions after I have some hands on, but for now it looks like a winner for those who haven't been able to play (or want to pay full price for) the PC version.

So does anyone have their eye on Frogger: Hyper Arcade Edition?

Classic reskins are usually a miss, but this one looks to be taking just enough notes from the Pac-Man: CE/DX book to garner interest.

The Tron visual style and Daft Punk-esque remix soundtrack seems pretty ace all by itself, even if the mini-games look hit and miss.