Wii owners get Sonic the Hedgehog 3 today, and Xbox 360 owners will be just one game behind come this Wednesday. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 has been marked as the official title being released this week, and will cost 400 Points. Hopefully Co-op will work out smoothly online, and maybe one day we’ll be able to play Knuckles on it…? Check back Wednesday for more information.
Oh yeah baby, that’s right 
. From 12:00am GMT September 2nd (Sunday) until 11:59pm GMT September 3rd (Monday), four select Xbox Live Arcade titles will be 50% off. The following is a list of the games along with the prices they will be selling for. I am not listing their original prices because if you can’t do this simple math than I doubt you even understand what you’re reading:
Dig Dug – 200 Points
Gauntlet – 200 Points
Small Arms – 400 Points
Zuma Deluxe – 400 Points
This is the first time there has been a price drop in Arcade games, so you should get while the gettin’s cheap. Plus if it does well we should expect more promotions like this in the future…
Unlike Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, this game actually is a sequel.
Originally released in 1993 by SEGA, Streets of Rage 2 is the second part of the side-scrolling beat ‘em trilogy that became one of SEGA’s most popular franchises at the time. Weighing in at a mere 28 MB and costing 400 Points, Streets of Rage 2 features Single Player along with supporting 2 Player Co-op both online and off. Taking place one year after its predecessor, the city goes to hell again ironically after Blaze, Adam, and Axel celebrated the year’s peace the night before. Here is how Xbox Live explains it:
“To commemorate their defeat of the Syndicate exactly one year before, Blaze, Adam and Axel went out to celebrate. The next morning, however, Axel received a frantic phone call from Adam’s younger brother, Eddie ‘Skate’ Hunter. Blaze and Axel rushed over and found Adam and Skate’s house wrecked and a picture of Adam chained to a wall at the feet of Mr. X. The city was returned to its nightmarish state and criminals were once again running rampant. Unable to contact their old friend in artillery, Axel and Blaze team up with Skate and Max Thunder to free the city and rescue Adam from the Syndicate. It is up to you to take down Mr. X once and for all!”
The game is available in ALL Xbox Live regions (yay!) .
Or Puzzle Fighter HD for short…
As the title suggests, Puzzle Fighter HD is a ‘remix’ of the original Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo that was released in Spring ’96 in Japan as an arcade game. Don’t let the ‘II’ in the name fool you, as this game is not a sequel to any other. Coming in at a smidge above 72 MB, Puzzle Fighter HD will set you back 800 Points. Along with Single Player, the game supports up to 4 players online and 2 players off with enhanced high definition graphics. There is even a spectator mode.
The game is available to all regions except Asia.
Track & Field was released over the Xbox Live Arcade today. The game supports 1-4 players both online and off, and costs 400 Points.
Originally released in 1983 as an arcade game, Track & Field is an Olympic themed videogame by Konami in which the player controls an athlete through six different events, mainly through button-mashing and timed presses. The six events are in order:
Each event has qualifications that need to be passed in order to proceed to the next event. Consistent failure to do so results in a game over and having to start from the first event all over again.
I remember playing Track & Field with a giant pad. I don’t believe it was the Power Pad, but it was the first game I played without having a controller in my hands. I tried to cheat on the Long Jump by jumping off the pad onto the bed, thinking the game will register that I never landed and give me a ton of distance. This didn’t work though and I blew the game off as a piece of crap.
The achievements don’t look easy either, at least not for my poor little thumbs. I can’t even pass the 100 Meter Dash in under 10 seconds. Maybe with practice, but it isn’t something I see my self investing a lot of time in.
Today on the Xbox Live Marketplace, Band of Bugs received a new expansion titled Red Kingdom. Weighing in at a mere 7 MB and only costing 250 Points, Red Kingdom provides fans of the strategy game with plenty of new content. Providing ten new missions, two new troop types (Cavalry and Siege units), a higher level cap, new main characters with special powers, new achievements, and even new cinematics, 250 Points seems like a steal. Moving the action away from the Western Kingdom to the barren desert of the Southern Kingdom, those who spend a lot of their time with the level editor also have new content to play around with. Along with a new desert tile set, players will also have access to new rock formations, stone huts, and cactus types.
For those who consider themselves quite adept at designing awesome levels, can now put their skills to the test with NinjaBee’s new level editor contest. After creating their level, editors can head over to NinjaBee’s user forums and post a description along with screenshots showcasing their handiwork. Members will vote for their favorite level, and the top three with the most votes will be played by the NinjaBee staff with the best one being chosen as the winner. The prize is 4,000 Microsoft Points along with a NinjaBee T-shirt. Level entry ends August 16th, so you better start designing!
