What’s hot on Xbox Live

XBLCG Zoomaroom – 200 points

XBLCG Miner Dig Deep update

XBLCG Bowling X – 200 points

XBLCG Drum Kit – 200 points

XBLA Exit – 800 points

XBLCG Easy Golf has a major update

XBLC Double Vision now available

XLCG Snake 360 update – including 2 new modes

Grand theft auto IV Lost and Damned DLC – 1600 points

Tomb Raider Beneath the Ashes – 800 points

XBLA Braid on sale at 800 points (deal of the week)

Burnout Paradise 1.7 DLC –FREE

Street Fighter IV costume packs – 320 points each

Call of Duty 4 Variety Map Pack – 400 points

GHWT Wings Track Pack – 440 points

All the above can be found at the Market Place;

http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/games/default.htm

 

Xbox Live Snake 360 adds two new modes

Snake 360 on the XBLCG has had an update-listed below are the new features;

“Version :

1.1.0       
– New 2-player mode added: Competition Mode! Choose any unlocked course and face off against a rival. You will play one life on each stage. If you survive the stage you’ll receive the time bonus. Win or lose, you’ll go to the next stage, and continue until all 10 are played. Highest score at the end wins.

– New 1-player mode added: Practice Mode! Choose any unlocked course, and pick a stage for practice. You can only select a course’s Extra Stages if you’ve at least reached the first.

– Marathon Mode now awards a bonus for lives left upon clearing stage 60. The value depends on the difficulty you’re playing: Easy: 100000. Normal: 125000. Difficult: 150000. Expert: 175000. Master: 200000. I have decided NOT to clear the leaderboards.

– USB keyboard support added. ENTER = Start, ESC = Back, arrow keys/WASD for movement. To use the keyboard, press ENTER during attract mode. Multiplayer is disabled while using the keyboard.

– “Cheat” debug menu added. Hold buttons (which? it’s a secret!) as the intro screens end (”Aaron Teplitsky Presents”). Instead of attract mode, you will see a menu fade in with two functions: Unlock All (self-explanatory), and Disable Profiles, which disables loading/saving and prevents players from having to sign in. This mode is ideal for party settings.

– fixed bug where “how to play” window for first-timers would re-appear if the game was paused.

– Occasionally, the game would crash while trying to save profiles in multiplayer modes, because it believed that the player had signed out and the save could not occur. Now, If this situation occurs, the game will put up a notification saying that the save failed, but will continue running. If you encounter this, I recommend that you quit to the main menu, then sign in all players again before continuing. If you still encounter this error often, you are encouraged to use the Debug Menu cheat and activate Disable Profiles.

– Normal is now the default difficulty, not Easy.

– Changed color of some of the text in the “How To Play” screen for first-timers, to help point out that the face button control method is best.

– Rich presence strings (AKA spy on your friends) are more accurate than before.

– Target appearance in the “How To Play” attract mode demo was slightly wrong and was fixed.

 

The latest version is 1.1.0, released on February 27th, 2009.

 

To upgrade, download Snake360 from the Game Marketplace again. There is no “auto-update” feature for Community Games. For best results, delete the old version first (go to System Settings > Memory > Hard Drive > Community Games). Delete only the game itself, easily identifiable by its size. Leave the save files, as the new version should recognize them without issues.

You can check what version you have by looking in the bottom-left corner of the screen during Attract Mode. You will see the string “XBLCG VERSION x.x.x,” where x.x.x is the version number you’re currently running.

Note: There is only one difference in scoring between 1.1.0 and earlier versions. It affects Marathon Mode only.”

You can download the update here;

http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/games/media/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d8025855011b/

Easy Golf update and contest to win 1600 MS points

 

Easy Golf on Xbox Live Community Games has had a major update and to celebrate, Barkers Crest have announced a competition to accompany the release. So for for info on how to win 1600 MS points read the press release below;

 

“Xbox Community Game Easy Golf ‘How Low Can You Go?’ contest and game update announced.

 
Barkers Crest Studio today announces the release of the long anticipated game update for the critically acclaimed Xbox Community Game Easy Golf.

 
In conjunction with this release, Barkers Crest Studio also announces the ‘How Low Can You Go?’ skill based contest.
Contest prizes include 1600 Microsoft Points awarded to the each of the gamers who submit the best course record from the blue tees for any of the following courses available in the full version of Easy Golf:

 
–  Weeping Willow
–  Desert oasis
–  Robot Retreat
–  Hazard County
–  White Mountain C.C.
–  The 19th Hole

 
The contest begins immediately and ends on March 31, 2009.
For more details and contest rules visit;

http://www.barkerscrest.com/contest

 
New features of the game update include unlockable character accessories, three new courses designed by the talented Nicholas Wilson, and 8 player online matches. 

 
Other new features include:
– Rain and snow weather effects
– Course records
– Four new scenic backgrounds
 – Outer Space
 – City Lights (Downtown)
 – Rain Conditions
 – Snow Conditions
– Three new trees and two new rocks added to the course editor
– Ability to create islands in the water
A full list of new and updated features can be found at

 http://www.barkerscrest.com
 
About Barkers Crest Studio

 
Barkers Crest Studio is an independent games studio founded in July 2008, specializing in sport oriented games for the Xbox Live Community Game channel. For more details visit

 

 http://www.barkerscrest.com

 
About Easy Golf

 
Easy Golf is an Xbox Community Game developed and published by Barkers Crest Studio.  Easy Golf is a fun and accessible golf game for people of all ages and skill levels.  Easy Golf features a state-of-the-art golf course designer that allows gamers to create courses in minutes with no special skills involved.”

Download Easy Golf straight to your 360 here;

http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/games/media/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d8025855011c/

We can heartily recommend Easy Golf, it has a fantastic course architect and the online sharing of facility means that you’ll always have a new course to play.

Plus with the announcement of the “How low can you go” competition, there has never been a better time to buy Easy Golf. See you online.

Worldwide leaderboard coming to Lips

This is exiting news for all you Lips fans, hidden amongst a press release from MS for upcoming Lips songs is the news of  a title upgrade that will incude a world wide leaderboard. Here is the release

”

“Lips” Sings Into Spring with First Song Pack from Multiple GRAMMY Winner Coldplay

Keep your party going with more fresh tracks from popular bands including The Fray, The Veronicas and 311 along with a title update there’s no better way to shed the winter cold than with “Lips”

Just in time for spring, “Lips” is set to debut its first downloadable song pack featuring Coldplay, who recently took home three GRAMMY awards including Best Rock Album. Available worldwide on March 13th, the song pack will encompass three of Coldplay’s most famous pieces, including “The Scientist,” “Speed of Sound,” and “In My Place.”

Also budding on Xbox LIVE Marketplace and the “Lips” Get Music Store from February 20 until March 6 are nine fresh tracks from groups like The Fray, Angels and Airwaves, and 311. With tracks hailing from a variety of artists, “Lips” is an affordable way to consistently expand the party game experience only on Xbox 360.

Finally, for singers with a competitive streak, an upcoming title update scheduled for early March will provide improved scoring, better vibrato detection and initiate global Leaderboards that will allow players to see how their performances rank compared to other “Lips” fans around the world. For more details on the title update as well as learn details of an upcoming Q&A with iNiS’ Keiichi Yano, go to the “Lips” Web site at www.xbox.com/lips. “

Interview with developer of Johnny Platform’s Biscuit Romp

Continuing our series of Developer Interviews, today we have Craig Forrester the creator of Johnny Platform’s Biscuit Romp answering some questions for us about his game.  Thanks for taking time for us Mr. Forrester.

 

Question: How did the idea for Johnny Platform’s Biscuit Romp come about?

Craig Forrester: The main aim was just to create a fun retro style game, nothing too complex or challenging to make. Robots seemed like a traditional generic platformer enemy and I think the biscuits bit was inspired by some bourbons I had lying around at the time. The name Johnny Platform suits the character I think ’cause he’s just a guy who platforms.

 
 
Question:  Could you describe Johnny Platform’s Biscuit Romp for anyone who hasn’t played it?

Craig Forrester: It’s an easy to pick up puzzle-platformer, where each single-screen level involves killing all of the evil robots to open the exit door, or sometimes the challenge lies in just getting to the exit. You have to push cakes around to reach new places and make good use of crumbly biscuit platforms. The main twist is that in some levels the screen wraps around from left-right and top-bottom, so you have to think a bit differently than normal to solve puzzles. The game starts off super easy but by the end it should prove a decent challenge for anyone.

Read the whole interview here;

http://www.xblaratings.com/developer-qaa/544-johnny-platforms-biscuit-romp-developer-qaa

Download the game here;

http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/games/catalog.aspx?d=7

See user reviews and have your say here;

http://www.xblaratings.com/xna-ratings/menu/order:rating/page:1/limit:50/

Tomato Blaster

In Tomato Blaster you will have to collect all of the coins and make your way to the exit but in doing so you will be presented with a number of puzzles to solve including Bombs, Gates, Cannons and an evil Mango! Or make your own levels using the game builder.

Tomato blaster looks like a solid puzzle game, if you have bought it we would love to here your opinions. You can email us at xboxhornet@gmail.com

Download the game here;

http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/games/catalog.aspx?d=7

Have your say and read user reviews here;

http://www.xblaratings.com/xna-ratings/menu/order:rating/page:1/limit:50/

XBLA and XBLCG sales from Feb 16th

These are the top selling XBLA and XBLCG according to Major Nelson.Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions purchased)

1    3 on 3 NHL(TM) Arcade
2    Castle Crashers
3    Worms
4    UNO
5    Death Tank
6    Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix
7    A Kingdom for Keflings
8    The Maw
9    Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
10    Minesweeper Flags

Top Community Games NEW! (Full Versions purchased)

1    RC-AirSim
2    Bowling X
3    Miner Dig Deep
4    Rumble Massage
5    Remote Masseuse
6    bricks4ever
7    Golden Royal Blackjack
8    Barf And Beer
9    A Game of Tennis
10    Simply HangMan

It’s great to see Bowling X and Miner Dig Deep selling well, but where are Slottso Party and Poker Squares, come on guys these games need your attention.

Sega Virtual on is heading to XBLA

Sega niche arcade classic is heading to XBLA.

The mech-vs-mech battler, that graced Dreamcast and the arcades many moons ago, will cost 1200 Microsoft Points when it crashes onto Japanese Marketplace at a later date.

Virtual On Oratorio Tangram, to give it its full and incredibly sexy title, should also be released outside of Japan as it has already popped up on the Australian OFLC ratings board classification. Stay tuned for more news.

This news is comes via;

http://www.oxm.co.uk/article.php?id=8651