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Peter Molyneux’s notoriously bold vision for games hooked me the day I played Syndicate on my PC all those years ago.  Little has changed in the way he pushes the limits of both hype and game design.  With Fable II due in fall Molyneux and his team created another new way to get hyped about their game: gamble, XBLA-style. 

Sure, it’s not real money that’s on the table is the various Fable II pub games that will be released on XBLA, but that doesn’t take the value out of the experience.  Those virtual dollars earned (presuming you don’t lose your virtual shirt) go straight into your virtual Fable II bank account.  And that, my friends, translates into one huge shiny sword and a nice set of armor before you even begin to quest.

But the best part of the whole idea is the price — free.  Ok, it does come at the cost of a pre-order for the full game (which ultimately costs either .99 for the standard edition or .99 for the limited edition) but if you want the game already, seems a small price to pay.

What do you all think?  Is this a disgusting ploy to build hype and make more money or a nice fan-service gesture from the folks at Lionhead?

Note: if you don’t preorder you can still get the set of 3 games for 800 MSP when they release in August.

[via Xbox.com, thanks gr1f1th]

Filed under: News, Xbox Live Arcade, Videos

With the announcement that Schizoid will be releasing to the XBLA this Wednesday, Torpex just released a set of three new Schizoid gameplay trailers to give future Schizoid enthusiasts a feel for what co-op fun awaits. And with a slogan proclaiming it’s the “most co-op game ever”, you can expect to rely heavily on your partner’s skills or lack there of. You can watch the other two videos after the break including one featuring Razorwire gameplay. Trust, Razorwire is teh hawtness. Some would even go as far as to say it’s sploderific.

Continue reading Video: Schizoid, the most co-op game ever!

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Filed under: News, Xbox Live Arcade

It goes without saying, really. We all honor Chuck Norris in our own way, seeing as not honoring him is rewarded with a quick and painful death. Still, the developers of Pirates vs Ninjas Dodgeball have seen fit to include a Chuck Norris based achievement in the upcoming XBLA title. Entitled “Chuck Rules!” the achievement is unlocked by beating the Ninjas Story Mode. Frankly, we’re a little puzzled as to why the achievement is named after Norris, as he himself is not a ninja, though we expect he has killed his fair share of ninjas. That said, we’ve learned not to question Chuck Norris — or the things related to him — so we’ll just leave it at that. Hit the source link for the full list of Pirates vs Ninjas Dodgeball achievements.

[Via XBLArcade]

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Our eagle-eyed forumites are one step ahead of me again.  And here I thought that I could refresh Gamerscoreblog every five minutes and beat everyone to the punch.  Wrong.  But that’s beside the point.  The real important news is (as confirmed by Major Nelson) that Golf: Tee It Up! and Schizoid will be released this Wednesday (each for 800 MSP).

Tee It Up! looks like a solid and attractive golf game for the platform but my personal interest falls on Schizoid.  The first XNA Game Studio game will finally be released into the wild after months of hype.  Can it hold its own?  Will the totally cooperative gameplay be successful?  Only a few more days till we can find out for ourselves.

Check out the Xbox.com pages and then let me know if either suit your fancy.

• Golf: Tee It Up!
• Schizoid

[via MajorNelson.com]

Filed under: News, Xbox Live Arcade

Moments ago, Microsoft announced specifics regarding the Fable 2 mini-games that were announced back during GDC that will allow gamers to earn gold for use in Fable 2 prior to the game’s release. And you’ll be pleased to know you can play the mini-games without spending any Microsoft points.

The Fable 2 “Pub Games” will release later this year (release date still pending) in August and will include three mini-games where players can earn gold for use in Fable 2. The three games include a craps / roulette type game called “Keystone”, a slot machine game called “Spinnerbox”, the press your luck style game called “Fortune’s Tower” and a tutorial for all three games called “Shell”. The best news is that all three Pub Games will be available for FREE with a Fable 2 pre-order. The games will also be embedded on the retail disc. Otherwise, you’ have to option to purchase the pack off the XBLA for 800 Microsoft points when they release.

Microsoft also announced a Fable 2 limited collector’s edition that’ll retail for .99 and include a behind-the-scenes bonus disc, collectible Hobbe figure (w00t!), a LIVE trial card and other additional in-game content. Of course, the collector’s edition will also include the Pub Games on disc.

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Filed under: News, Xbox Live Arcade

Hey fanboys, we have some sploderific news to share! This week Microsoft is treating us to an Xbox Live Arcade twofer as Golf: Tee It Up! and the long awaited, highly anticipated and co-op friendly Schizoid make their release to the Arcade this Wednesday, July 9th. Huzzah!

For 800 Microsoft points, you can grab Torpex Games’ Schizoid, a cooperative, explosive, color coded adventure featuring 120 levels of craziness, online co-op and an Uberschizoid mode where one player takes command of both ships. Yikes! We don’t have to tell you that we’re a tad bit excited to play Schizoid, so you can all but guarantee we’ll be giving it a test drive this Wednesday and earning the coveted Sploderific achievement. Also releasing for 800 point this week is the cartoonified golfing game Golf: Tee It Up! where eighteen holes of online golfing competition with up to four players awaits. Unfashionable golf shorts not included. Check the screenshots below and drool over the Schizoid greatness.

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Filed under: News, Xbox Live Arcade

When Shotest Shogi and Basement Pool were originally announced, we were a bit harsh on the latter and quite welcoming to the former. Well thanks to that delisting process that Microsoft unveiled not too long ago, Basement Pool is going to be seeing a bit of a delay. Posting on the Indiegamer boards, Paul Johnson of Rubicon said that while the game is a pet project of his that will likely never really die, Rubicon is waiting for Bankshot Billiards to be retired before releasing Basement Pool to XBLA.

And hey, as for Shotest Shogi, after a bit of a certification debacle, it’s finally passed and it’s only up to Microsoft when it goes live. For those unfamiliar with the concept, Shogi is a harder, deeper, and more complex version of chess. Thankfully Rubicon professes to have spent an inordinate amount of time on a tutorial mode, meaning that anyone who’d like to deepen their strategic thinking a bit should be able to find some enjoyment here.

[Via Gamerbytes]

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As a big slap to the face of gaming pundits everywhere XBLA throws more and more games at the apparent misconception that games aren’t released in the summer time.  Week after week the list of potential summer releases gets longer and longer.  I say, bring it on.  I’m ready.  Well, actually that is patently false as I’m just now finishing up Mass Effect and have about 10 XBLA demos to catch up on.  But more is always better, right?  Right?!?

Before I go completely bonkers trying to play catch up, here’s the latest achievement additions:

• RocketBowl (Win 25 times in a row on Xbox Live…seriously?!?)
• Gin Rummy (Well rounded if possibly a bit uninspired.)
• Pirates vs Ninjas: Dodgeball (Pure awesome!)

And yes, I realize I just made a seperate Geo Wars 2 achievement post.  But don’t you think it deserves it?

Pointless pontification after the break as per usual.

[via A360P]

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That’s right.  Forumite Hazuki has pointed us all in the direction of the Geometry Wars 2 achievements as posted on Achieve360Points.com.  The achievements hint at a variety of Geo Wars fun.  Modes apparently include the previously seen Waves (see PGR4) and also King and Deadline.  There is even a cryptic achievement called Smile which give us the clue "2, 4, 11, 15, 17, 18 and 19". 

We know that we got burned by an prediction of the release of Geo Wars 2 many months ago so we won’t make an out and out prediction this time.  However, doesn’t it seem obvious that news of a release date (or even the release itself) would come at the impending E3 in less than two weeks?  Sure seems like good timing in my mind.  But will the game be a mere 400 MSP like last time?  My guess is no.  Let the speculation commence!

[via A360P, thanks Hazuki!]

Double D Dodgeball, that other dodgeball game for the XBLA has been busy.  Yuke’s, developer of the game, has launched their Double D Dodgeball site*, released their first trailer, and given us their release date: July 30th.

In order to prepare you for that faithful day you can learn all you need to know about the game on their site including multiplayer setups, rule variants, character types, and much more.  And if you enjoy those childish slow-mo kid’s face smashed into the pavement videos on YouTube, then I strongly encourage you to watch the "Bruise More Than Egos" video.  I’ll leave it at that.

(* - Beware the loud music when you hit the site.  You have been warned.)