Kinda, but not for the same reason. For 48 hours later this week, Carcassonne will be free: http://kotaku.com/gaming/freebies/xb...nne-322129.php

Most excellent!

You guys better download it!!!

Cool. That works for me. One I've never even tried.

Damn Korea gets Hexic 2 for free, I already own Carcassonne.

Yeah, I have Carcassonne as well and would have preferred Hexic 2 as well. Wonder if I can set up a Korean account to get it? Also sucks that I'll just miss out on the 500 point give-away. I've been active in Live since 2003, not 2002.

Wow, awesome. I was going to buy Carcassonne once MS finally fixed my XBLA problem (if that ever happens). Now I don't have to spend points to get it. MS, you screwed yourself over by not fixing my problem in the three months since I reported it

Tried the demo of Shrek & Roll. Big surprise here : it sucks. It plays like those old ball mazes people had on tabletops in the 70s where you rolled a ball around, trying to avoid holes while getting to the end. It wasn't exciting then and it makes for a less than thrilling video game today. As a mini-game it would have been okay (maybe), but that's all there is here. You get to choose characters to move your plank up and down (yippie), but they don't affect the gameplay at all. Princess Fiona will repeatedly tell you over and over "Collecting coins is fun!" as if she can Jedi-mind-trick you into believing it's so. Sorry Fiona, no sale.

The other surprise is that the Shrek game actually is the better of the two. That other game is terrible, just having you fall down a shaft while avoiding obsticals and blowing up other ones. It's like the falling mini-game in R&C Future without the motion control and with a much choppier frame rate. I barely tried it though, so maybe I didn't give it a fair shake...

Just tried the Undertow demo. Loved it. Purchased it. THIS is more like it. If nothing else, it teaches us after Battlestar Galactica and Wing Commander, that if you're making a 2-D shooter, make it scroll sideways, not lengthwise. Sees to be a pretty cool game from my limited play time. Another 2-stick shooter, I know, but I like the SW Battlefront-style gameplay.
Check it out, everyone!

Liking Undertow as well, now there just needs to be more people playing online but that should only take a little time. Also kind of glad that single player counts towards the 10,000 kill achievement. The one achievement that looks to be a bear will be the Ultra level achievement, playing on normal alone ahs proven to be tough.

Can't get much more retro than this:

Atari’s Asteroids and Asteroids Deluxe Blast Onto Xbox LIVE Arcade this Wednesday!
Hello!

Get ready for classic space shooting action with the release of “Asteroids” and “Asteroids Deluxe” which will be available jointly for download on Xbox LIVE Arcade for Xbox 360 this Wednesday, November 28 at 9:00 a.m. GMT (2:00 a.m. PST).

Save the earth from a deadly deluge of asteroids and re-experience the beloved arcade classics “Asteroids” and “Asteroids Deluxe” on Xbox LIVE Arcade. Players control a spaceship in an asteroid field and shoot to destroy asteroids and saucers, all while trying to avoid a costly collision. Complete with re-mastered HD visuals and the whiplash inducing high-speed “throttle monkey” mode, players will be hooked for hours! “Asteroids” and “Asteroids Deluxe” will be available worldwide as a joint download for 400 Microsoft Points and are rated E for Everyone by the ESRB.

For more details on “Asteroids” and “Asteroids Deluxe” please visit: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/a/as...xboxlivearcade



Also, don’t miss out the new downloadable content for “Bomberman Live.” For more details please visit www.xbox.com/livearcade.





Not sure if the updated graphics make the game better or worse, though.

Yeah, I didn't even know Asteroids was coming out until I was checking out the Arcade tonight. I bought it immediately.

I loved the original Asteroids...well, maybe not the true original but the Atari 2600 version (which to me was one of the closest Arcade experiences the Atari 2600 accomplished). I never played the true Arcade version because I always felt it was a waste of a quarter. Unless you were really good, your game could be over in a matter of seconds. It was always one of the hardest video games for me.

I actually like the updated graphics. The old black & white may be classic but they were also very dull. They really made the new graphics colorful and the explosions extreme. There really isn't much of a difference in gameplay between the Asteriods & Asteriods Deluxe but it was nice of them to include both.

For 5 bucks, you can't go wrong.

Any word on what's in the new Bomberman pack?

Don't know. It's not up yet.

BTW : You can play Asteroids with arcade-original graphics as well. It does look a lot better "evolved" though. It's funny, I keep wanting to use the right stick to move.

Anybody up for some Mutant Storm Empire co-op tonight?

I guess the "new content" was another theme and gamerpic pack.

Yeah, I wish they gave you the option to change the thrust to a stick. I am so used to Atari Asteroids (even after almost 20 years of not playing it) that you used the joystick to thrust (or you could at least set it up that way). I keep pushing up on the left stick and forgetting to hit the button.

Posted a Gripshift trailer up on VGT. The game really looks like a lot of fun.

Spoken like someone who never played it on the PSP. I'll sell you my copy for 50 cents. Who knows, maybe this one is a lot better, but the PSP version sucks; it's a miserable experience to play it.

I haven't seen this mentioned elsewhere, so I thought I'd post it here. It's what a lot of us have been waiting for :

Xbox LIVE Arcade Hits: On Xbox LIVE Arcade, the Arcade Hits program kicks off as some of the best-selling Xbox LIVE Arcade games become available at permanently reduced prices, making it easier than ever for everyone to build a library of downloadable games! The first games to become Arcade Hits will be Bankshot Billiards 2™ and Lumines™ Live!, which will be available for 800 Microsoft Points each, and Marble Blast Ultra, Small Arms™, and Zuma® Deluxe, which will be available for 400 Microsoft Points each. With free trial downloads for every game and over 100 games to choose from, Xbox LIVE Arcade offers something for every member of the family.

Personally, I have already gotten all those games (at the discounted prices during previous sales, fortunately), except for Marble Blast. Might get that one now...

Marble Blast is one of the few games actually worth 800 points, and I'd pay more. At 400, you'd be clinically insane not to get it.

Agreed. I love MBU, and wish people still played it online...multiplayer was fantastic fun when that game first released.

so when do these prices go into effect?

How much were those games originally? I don't have any of them, I'm glad they're doing a 'hits' line with discounted prices.

Lumines & Billiards were $15, are now $10.

Zuma, Marble Blast and Small Arms were $10 and are now $5.



Zuma is worth every penny, BTW.