The other key component of XNA Game Studio 4.0 that we’ve enabled exclusively for Xbox partners is Xbox LIVE and a premium gaming experience on Windows Phone 7 Series. Through the Gamer Services API’s you can pull in a user’s Gamertag and 2D Avatar as part of the game experience, unlock achievements on the platform, and leverage notifications for asynchronous turn based gaming.

That’s some pretty exciting, but expected, news. It looks like I’ll have yet another reason to consider Windows Phone 7 as an iPhone alternative come contract renewal time.

For those of you who are developer types and want to see more on the XNA Game Studio 4 feature talk, head on over to Mr. Klucher’s blog and read the whole shebang; additionally, you can check out the list of its features over at the XNA Creators Club.

Five brand spanking new XBLIG games out today and they look like a pretty decent bunch. I haven’t played any of these yet so no commentary today, but stay tuned as some of them may get the full review treatment soon. All descriptions are that of their respective developers.

Zombie Armageddon
	Introducing Zombie Armageddon, a new tower defense game combining innovative gameplay and a cinematic “boy meets zombies” storyline. Zombie Armageddon engages players with 11 progressive levels of zombie mayhem, plus an unlimited “Onslaught” mode to tax players’ defensive strategies and intestinal fortitude. Developer: Xenite
MagicalCube
	Magical Cube is a mission-clear style puzzle game. The object of this game is to defeat monsters in battle by using Marie’s magic. When 3 Cube is aligned (only same color), Marie’s magic is invoked. Marie can deliver a damaging blow to the monster with magic, and when monster’s life gone run out, you win! Collect coin, and purchase accessories to make Marie more powerful! Developer: FixedStarWorks
Colony Defense
	Colony Defense is 360 degrees of fast-paced tower defense strategy where the player has to defend an entire planet and multiple paths against invading alien forces. Defend each planets colonies from the alien onslaught in this high action, strategy title. 10 upgradable weapons to fight the good fight with. Ricochet laser cannons, flame throwers, stasis towers, artillery cannons, and many more Developer: Mana Bomb Game Studio
Drooop!!
	Move player to turn the field. If you clear all conditions, an exit will appear. Let’s complete all stages! You can also play the endless mode. Developer: TokyoGameBros
Bush Hunt
	Play as a safari hunter re-capturing animals that have escaped from RidKim Zoo. Play over 20 levels across 4 different terrains capturing some of the most dangerous and unusual animals. Try survivor mode to see just how long you can survive against a never ending barrage of animals. Developer: Riddlersoft

Gameplay

The gameplay is simple, drop the blocks consisting of gems and stones into position in typical block dropping game fashion. The gems and stones can be made to disappear in two different ways. Gems are done away with by boxing them in using stones. Once a gem has been boxed in, it and all other gems of the same color will instantly disappear. The stones, which come in different shapes and sizes, will only disappear when a full row of stones is constructed.

The game presents itself as some sort of block dropping date simulator and I have no idea how the two of these things are supposed to go together. Unless of course, you’re talking about dropping the ol’ I block in for a Tetris, if you know what I mean. All that really seems to happen in Jewelry Master Twinkle Light is your “date” occasionally rambles about pickles or going for a ride on a Ferris Wheel as you score more points. I never really make it past talking about going on the Ferris Wheel though, so I suppose, in that sense, it is a pretty accurate dating sim.

The controls are fully customizable and even in their default configuration work well enough. I didn’t run into any major annoyances other than an occasional accidental instant block drop caused by nudging the thumb stick in the up direction. Really though, once you are aware of this particular control nuance it is easily avoided.

“Jewelry Master Twinkle become easier and re-release ! The jewels drop one after another. Join the jewels and enclose by the stones to erase ! The Graphics and the scenarios are changeable. It will depend on game play. You can enjoy the game kind of like a date. The game system has been changed. It’s Especially recommended for beginners ! “

The above is the developer’s description of the game on Xbox Live Indie Games Marketplace. The bold portion of the description seems erroneous as the only visuals I saw that were customizable were in the screensaver mode which allowed you to change the background color. The references to change in scenarios seem exaggerated as well, since the only gameplay that seemed to change what your “date” says to you is how far through the linear scripts you get. This is more then likely a result of a bit of copy/pasting from the previous full versions description and possibly some language barriers.

Audio Visual

The visuals of JWTLight are quite nice, the anime girl is nicely drawn and the backgrounds are animated and lively. One note worthy difference from the original is the inclusion of only one of the original girls. On the same topic, there are no male dates either, which may be a deal breaker for some out there.

The music of the game is descent enough for its stripped down nature, which is a good thing considering there appears to only be one track.

Summary

The price tag sells this one, at 80 Microsoft Points its production qualities are a bargain. There are a lot of less developed block dropping puzzle games out there at the same price, so if you are looking for a bargain in this genre I recommend checking it out.

Miku has been featured before as a daily fig and as a music video idol, but never before has she been featured as the leek waving tycoon of Monopoly. As mentioned elsewhere Hatsuna Miku is a Vocaloid character used for the marketing of the popular singing synthesizer software developed by Yamaha. This shot and lots more can be found over at figure.fm.

The first screen shots of Derek Yo’s up coming XBLA release Spelunky have emerged. The pictures themselves are still a work in progress as noted on the site, but so far they look pretty good.

While the XBLA version is going to have vast improvements, the Windows version of Spelunky is currently available for download.

Developer Klei Entertainment’s upcoming action/adventure Shank just got a new HD Trailer.  The EA Partners published  game is expected to land on PC/XBLA/PSN this summer.

Kyle Gabler, Kyle Gray, and Allan Blomquis, whose projects include titles such as 2D Boy, World of Goo, Henry Hatsworth, and co-founding the EGP, have teamed up to form Tomorrow Corporation. There’s not a great deal of detail regarding their current projects but a post on the EGP reveals that super secret work has been under way for a bit now:

In semi-related EGP news, three of us, Allan Blomquist, Kyle Gabler, and Kyle Gray have been silently toiling away on an actual real game for months now, and while we’re not yet ready to announce it, expect more information to flow from our brand new studio’s brand new website:  Tomorrow Corporation!

Also, totally digging the deco style of the site. I sure hope it translates into the game they are working on. I would guess chances of that are good. Additionally, nice hat Mr. Gray.

sources:

Gravity Bone creator Blendo Games has released their latest game, Flotilla, for the PC. Flotilla is a turn based 3D space combat game in which combatants simultaneously select their actions, resulting in highly strategic play. Sounds pretty complicated, right? I’m not sure it is designed for people that fail at 5 letter word games. But for the rest of you the video, below, does a pretty nice job explaining the basic mechanics of the game.

The game is already available for $10.00 on the PC and is expected to release soon for the Xbox LIVE Indie Game store. Oh and there is a demo, go do it.

]]> http://www.twofedoras.com/2010/03/flotilla-released-space-flanking-ensues/feed/ 0 http://www.twofedoras.com/2010/03/xblig-update-2/ http://www.twofedoras.com/2010/03/xblig-update-2/#comments Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:25:12 +0000 GeoffS http://www.twofedoras.com/?p=371

It’s time for a XBLIG Update we had lots of titles release since the last one and a couple of them look worth taking a look at. On the downside a few of them look like they will be wasting space on the new arrivals board for a bit. I’ll let you decide which ones are which. Unless noted otherwise, we haven’t had a chance to demo these yet and all descriptions are that of the developer and our comments are in bold.

Convextrix
	Shapes drop down and dart across the gridded aisles, connecting through electric impulses with the solitary goal of expending their energy as the breaking integer is reached while tech-inspired beats caress the aural waves until complete vicissitude. Can you get SSS in each one of this challenging, quick-paced puzzle game’s 10 zones?
Ask Angela
	I don’t have a crystal ball, but Angela does! If you are lucky she will tell you your future. mkay… Thinking no.
Puzzle Drop – Mountain Set
	Puzzle Drop® – Mountain Set – A fun jigsaw puzzle game where you place puzzle pieces as they fall from the top of the screen. Hours of fun – go back and redo puzzles with different options such as rotation or background type. Our puzzles start out easy and progressively get more difficult. How about you? If you love jigsaws – you’ll love Puzzle Drop®  – Mountain Set!
Toad Man’s Bizarre Quest
	A Princess, Toad Man, Mermaids, and Bombs. Bizarre. Silver Dollar Games back with more shovelware. Thanks for peeing in the pool guys.
Jewlry Master Twinkle Light
	Jewelry Master Twinkle become easier and re-release ! The jewels drop one after another. Join the jewels and enclose by the stones to erase ! The Graphics and the scenarios are changeable. It will depend on game play. You can enjoy the game kind of like a date. The game system has been changed. It’s Especially recommended for beginners ! ©ARIKA CO.,LTD.2010 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Pretty fun little puzzle game, probably have a micro review of it at some point.
Experiment 13
	50 levels of fun platforming action. Lots of things that kill you included!
GoonyCru Day One
	A store. A customer. And a trainee with grenades. What could go wrong?
Spot the Difference
	You’ve played the game in the pub, now from the makers of the patented pub amusement machine game you can now download and play this special edition of Spot-The-Difference with the same game play as the pub game on your Xbox 360.

MagicalTimeBean’s recent Xbox Live Indie Game release, Soulcaster, drops you into the role of a wandering geriatric wizard who, aside from having impeccable taste in hats, appears to have no talents of his own. That is of course until the souls of long ago heroes lend him their strength in an effort to restore peace to the land.

Gameplay

Soulcaster is an action adventure similar in design to The Legend of Zelda in that it features a top-down camera and a real-time combat system. That, however, is the extent of the similarities between the two, as the combat and progression systems differ fundamentally from the old Zelda hack, slash, and find.

Early in the game you come across the heroic souls of  an archer, an alchemist,  and a warrior. These three souls are summoned by you as combatants who will aid you on your dangerous adventure. The summoning system utilizes Soul Orbs as regents for the process and can not be used again until the Soul Orb is deactivated and recollected. You are initially given three orbs and then have the opportunity to buy two more to allow for the summoning of up to five of the three heroes; for example, you could summon three archers and two warriors if you possessed all five Soul Orbs.

As you may expect, each hero excels in certain areas of combat. The archer can fire arrows over chasms  and water, but not over walls or through compatriots. The alchemist can throw explosive potions over walls and compatriots but cannot throw them over bottomless expanses or water and upon death he will explode causing damage to anything in the area. The warrior is a master of close quarters combat, and is equipped with additional hit points and a shield that reduces incoming damage. The configuration of the maps and the adversaries you face will dictate who you summon and in what formation. The focus on strategy and  the summoned heroes immobility give the game an almost tower defense dimension.

To add a sense of progression, Soulcaster allows for the acquisition of not only more Soul Orbs but also upgrades for the individual heroes. There are four  basic classes of upgrade; a weapon upgrade, an attack speed upgrade, a hit point upgrade, and a range upgrade. These upgrades are all purchasable at the shop keep who, in typical game form, appears throughout the various dungeons.

The death and save systems of Soulcaster are a bit reminiscent of games of yore. Upon your death you will be forced to restart the map you’re on. In the event that you wish to save your progress you pause the game and are presented with a code to write down and then enter when you return. There is no confirmation of a purple leotard code.

The game works really well; therefor, I don’t have much to complain about from a mechanical perspective. The controls at time were a little strict only allowing for movement in the cardinal directions, but this is really an intentional design decision to give the impression of retro or D&D style movement.

If there is one thing to complain about it is the length of the game because it really feels like you are just starting when it ends. The pacing of the game felt perfect, so I do think it was simply  a need of, perhaps, another level or two. That said, the game sports two difficulty modes and seems to offer reasonable replay value.

Another item that stands out in Soulcaster is the lack of boss battles. However, even without boss battles the creators manage to escalate the difficulty by deploying swarms of normal creatures in less than ideal environments. Now this isn’t really a complaint, it’s more of an observation, though I wouldn’t have minded seeing a boss or two. I have the feeling that the mechanics of the game’s combat system didn’t lend itself to easy boss designing and tuning.

Audio Visual

Soulcaster has a nice retro eerie feeling world filled with pixel art sprites and a classic tile map environment. The aesthetics of the game are going to appeal most to those who are appreciative of retro styling but likely wont hinder players who may be indifferent to it.

One of the bits I enjoyed most about the game was its music. My favorite track is the one played during courtyard scenes in which you talk with the heroes’ statues and receive information pertaining to the world.. The music itself feels a bit more modern than the game looks but it still has that old school synthesized feel to it that keeps it from seeming out of place.

Summary

I got to say I really enjoyed this one and if you are looking for a top-down action adventure role playing game with a  retro look and feel it would be difficult for me to not recommend Soulcaster. If, maybe, you aren’t looking for a game that fits in exactly that sub-category and are just looking for a fun game, you should definitely check out the demo as its quite representative of the full game experience. The only aspect one should be mindful of when considering Soulcaster as a purchase is its length, it clocks in on initial play through at around an hour long; but do note, the game has a hard difficulty mode and some pretty decent replay value. Soulcaster rings up at 240 Microsoft Wing Dang Doodles and feels appropriately priced.