It's been about a year since I downloaded PinballFX and I only discovered something about it last night.

There are times (last 6 months, or so) when I played that I found the scoreboard really small and hard to read through my standard 480i set-up. I always thought it was some sort of glitch.

I realize now that the RIGHT thumbstick functions for the scoreboard placement and resolution.

Left/Right on the thumbstick moves the score board left or right.
Up/Down on the thumbstick changes the size from small/medium/large.



I must have accidentally hit the stick (up/down) when playing before. No idea it served this function.

Yup, that's right. I think we've all acidently shrunk our scoreboard while playing a game a time or two.

It's the SUMMER OF THE ARCADE!!!!!!

Kicking off the Summer of Arcade this week is Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2 being released this Wednesday for 800 pointes. Plus be sure to read details on how you can win 100,000 MS points.

In addition, here are the games scheduled to be released* for the Summer of Arcade promotion:

• July 30: “Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2”

– The latest version of the wildly popular retro shooter offers screen-melting intensity and insane new features, including six action-packed gameplay modes, new enemies, scoring strategies and a diverse list of exciting Achievements. “Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2” is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB and will be available at 800 Microsoft Points.

• August 6: “Braid”

– From acclaimed developer Jonathan Blow, “Braid” is a mind-bending and artistic puzzle-platformer where the player manipulates the flow of time in strange and unusual ways. “Braid”is rated E10+ for Everyone 10+ by the ESRB.

• August 13: “Bionic Commando: Rearmed”

– The classic 8-bit side-scroller reports back for duty in a stunning remake, complete with all-new HD graphics and features that put 2D gaming back on the map! “Bionic Commando: Rearmed” is rated M for Mature by the ESRB

• August 20: “Galaga Legions”

– The legend lives on with “Galaga Legions,” a reimagining of the classic arcade shooter. Featuring table-turning game dynamics and updated graphics, the game was created by the team behind the bestselling “PAC-MAN Championship Edition” from Namco Bandai Games. “Galaga Legions” is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB.

• August 27: “Castle Crashers”

– Award-winning studio The Behemoth brings red hot arcade adventure to Xbox LIVE Arcade with “Castle Crashers,” featuring hand-drawn characters and an array of weapons to choose from as you defend your kingdom and save the princess. “Castle Crashers” is rated T for Teen by the ESRB.

Good thing I've saved up some points!

Well, there's 4000 points gone.

Definitely in for Bionic Commando and Castle Crashers, and the other three are maybes depending on the demos.

I didn't realize that Summer was only one month long...

Anywhoo, I'll definitely be getting Geometry Wars 2, Bionic Commando, Galaga and maybe Braid - however, the one that aren't exclusive to XBLA, I will get on PSN instead - just to spread the love, and I only have about 4 gigs free on my 360, as opposed to 70 gigs free on my PS3.

Castle Crashers and Galaga: Legions for me.

I may pick up Braid depending on the demo.

... or the fact there is no promotion to be had. These were all coming anyway and are full price so... "hey, here's the next 5 games hitting XBLA, we're going to slap a label & banner on them to make it sound special. Enjoy!"

At least Sony was generous enough to toss out a sale for summer.

Dude, they're giving you a chance to win stuff! You (and everyone else) can have 5 entries in a random drawing for 1 of 8 prizes!

If you read the link, there is a promotion. If you play the demo or full game during the week it hits you are entered into a drawing for some prizes. 5 winners with one being a grand prize iirc.

Well, there is that generous promotion where they are so kind as to give away a TOTAL of 20,000 points/week. Gee, Mr Gates, are you sure you can afford it? Anyway, it's nice to see five consecutive weeks without a Suduku or Crossword game and no releases worthy of an Atari 2600.

8 prizes from 12 million Live subscribers. Yeah... I think I'll pick up a lottery ticket instead.

Oh and 20,000 free points! Free points that cost MS nothing to give out. Way to bring the promotion MS. Of course if I win I will be eating no crow and will be rubbing it in all your noses.

I suck at Geometry Wars so number 2 is probably a pass for me. Bionic Commando is a must buy and Castle Crashers probably will be as well for multiplayer.

I hope Castle Crashers is not 1200pts.

That hadn't even occurred to me. I sincerely hope not. Certainly the very few that have been over 800 points were either PSP ports of full games or that Penny Arcade game that was considered more of a full game. I'll be very upset if it runs any pricier than that.

I don't know if there's a price I wouldn't pay for Castle Crashers. 1200 is no problem at this point, but I would give the demo a good working before I decided. 800 is a no-brainer.

It isn't so much that I don't want to pay "$15" for it, but I don't want to encourage those kind of pricing scales if I can help it.

Why all the crossword game hate? I love crossword puzzles.

In for Geometry Wars and Bionic Commando.

Well, let's see :
1: Crosswords are available for free in every newspaper
2: There is already CrossworDS for the DS, which is fantastic.
3: Crossword games aren't really conducive to sitting in the living room watching TV.
4: Crossword games don't really fit in with the types of games one usually sees in the XBLA.
5: The user interface in the 360 version is terrible and nearly impossible to enter letters.

Shirley it at least has keyboard support...?

I believe it only has support for the controller.

How is that even possible? Does it not use the 360 text entry or is it more like scrolling through the alphabet per square (like entering initials on an arcade cabinet)?

It's the scrolling wheel from what I've read. You have to use the controller to access them. No keyboard or chatpad support.

From a review of it:

So you can use a USB keyboard... at least the arrow keys.

I think that reads that you can fully use the keyboard, including the arrow keys for navigation. Because if you had to use the controller ("pad"), it wouldn't go to sleep and pause the game.