Croteam, the creators of the first-person shooter Serious Sam: The First Encounter on Xbox LIVE® Arcade, will play their game with Xbox LIVE® Gold Members in an Xbox LIVE Game with Developers event. If you're a Gold member (if you're not a Member, upgrade now!) join Croteam and XBLArcade.com on Saturday, March 13, from Noon – 4:00 P.M. ET for some serious (har) action.

Return to the golden age of frantic, non-stop shooting action with Serious Sam's trademark onslaught of enemies rushing towards you at every turn. From the charging Sirian Werebull to the screaming Headless Kamikaze and the multi-story Ugh-Zan, all of the infamous minions of Lord Mental are back as you battle through more than 12 levels of bedlam set against the expansive backdrop of ancient Egypt with every square inch upgraded and reworked to create one of the most visually stunning experiences on Xbox LIVE Arcade.

The Xbox LIVE Arcade action-packed strategy-based game that lets you fly planes, zeppelins, and even drive tanks to help your unit succeed in protecting its base, receive a temporary price reduction as part of the ‘Xbox LIVE House/Block Party’ promotions for Xbox LIVE Gold subscribers. And with no arcade title being a part of the ‘Deal of the Week’ promotion, it shouldn’t be surprising then that Toy Soldiers climbed to the top of this week’s top 20!

Every week XBLArcade.com will be publishing the Top 20 list of Xbox LIVE Arcade titles based on the information posted on Major Nelson’s website. We think this will give you a much better idea what the other 23+ million Xbox LIVE members are playing in the realm of Xbox LIVE Arcade games and perhaps to better help you choose what Xbox LIVE Arcade games you want to spend those valuable Microsoft Points of yours on.

For the week of March 1st to March 7th, the Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions purchased), are as follows:

FunTown Mahjong brings the traditional Chinese board game to Xbox 360®, with a well-balanced design and unique style that is sure to keep you coming back for more. Play against friends over Xbox LIVE®, or take on the challenge of the A.I. opponents. With a tutorial for new players and featuring the 16-tile Mahjong rule set, FunTown Mahjong is great for Mahjong players of all experience levels. Get ready, you'll need strategy, wisdom, and luck to win!

FunTown Mahjong - Zen Garden Theme: Unlock the full version of FunTown Mahjong to play even more of this traditional Chinese tile game! The full version includes the ability to compete against your friends on Xbox LIVE or against AI opponents. The Zen Garden Theme allows you to play Mahjong in a Japanese garden surround by red and white Sukura blossoms and the springtime vista of Mount Fuji Mountain. FunTown Mahjong - Zen Garden Theme contains no new achievements and is available now for 160 Microsoft Points. There are no refunds for this item.

Drift around corners with guns blazing and take out legendary competitors in the fast-paced, top-down racing game Scrap Metal™. Fight your way through explosive, action-packed missions and defeat cunning bosses to add their vehicles to your garage. Customize your newly-acquired cars and then return to the track to blast through more enemies. Jump online with Xbox LIVE ® to race against your friends and crush their cars with the wheels of your monster truck in pulse-pounding online multiplayer matches. Also, Scrap Metal has full anaglyph 3-D support.

“Scrap Metal” starts their engines on March 10th at 9 a.m. GMT (2:00 a.m. PDT).

Published by Xbox LIVE Arcade and developed by Slick Entertainment, “Scrap Metal” will be available for 1200 Microsoft Points everywhere and is rated E10 for Everyone 10+ by the ESRB. For more details on “Scrap Metal” you can visit: http://www.xbox.com/games/s/scrapmetalxbla/

Don’t forget to tell your friends about the first game of the of the Xbox LIVE Block / House Party promotion, Scrap Metal, by reTweeting this message using the button below. Also feel free to leave a comment talking about this week’s game!

Today First Star Software, Inc. and Catnip Games officially announced their upcoming production of a Boulder Dash® sequel for Xbox Live Arcade for release in Q3 2010. In cooperation with First Star Software, the owner of the Intellectual Property; and, with the assist of “simple plan production”, Catnip Games will deliver both charming and challenging entertainment to the XBLA worldwide community. The team is using the latest technology to present the unique gameplay and all of the characteristic elements associated with Boulder Dash® in a modern and incomparable style.

EA Partners, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. and award-winning independent development studio Klei Entertainment announced today an exclusive publishing agreement to bring the provocative new game Shank to Xbox LIVE® Arcade this summer. Featuring a unique art style inspired by graphic novels and golden age comics, Shank blends the intensity of classic 2D side-scrolling action games with a gripping and mature storyline. The cinematic brawler is a finalist for “Excellence in Visual Art” at this year’s Independent Games Festival and will be featured at the IGF Pavilion during the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco next week.

EA Partners, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. and leading independent developer Hothead Games announced today an exclusive publishing agreement that will bring DeathSpank to Xbox LIVE® Arcade in 2010. Developed under the vision of The Secret of Monkey Island creator and industry icon Ron Gilbert, DeathSpank blends a story filled with Gilbert’s unique humor and wit with classic and addictive action RPG gameplay.

“The team at Hothead Games is a perfect fit for EA Partners. They are a great example of how the EA Partners program continues to emphasize the importance of building strong relationships with the world’s top indie developers,” said Jamil Moledina, Outreach Director, Business Development at EA Partners. “DeathSpank is an engrossingly fun and hysterically funny experience, and we are all excited to have the opportunity to help introduce DeathSpank to gamers across the world.”

At the beginning of last week, we saw the popular Xbox LIVE Arcade first-person shooter classic that lets you battle through 39 levels of mayhem, or fight it out with your friends in DukeMatch, receive a temporary price reduction as part of the ‘Deal of the Week’ promotion for Xbox LIVE Gold subscribers. Not surprisingly then that Duke Nukem 3D climbed to the top of this week’s top 20! But the action didn’t stop there as mid-week saw the release of not one, but three new XBLA titles: Lazy Raiders, Greed Corp and Fret Nice.

XBLArcade.com is continuing our new weekly trend to publishing the Top 20 list of Xbox LIVE Arcade titles every week based on the information posted on Major Nelson’s website. We think this will give you a much better idea what the other 23+ million Xbox LIVE members are playing in the realm of Xbox LIVE Arcade games and perhaps to better help you choose what Xbox LIVE Arcade games you want to spend those valuable Microsoft Points of yours on.

For the week of February 22nd to March 1st, the Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions purchased), are as follows:

Experience the excitement of the world's hottest number game sensation! Buku Sudoku™ takes the pen-and-paper puzzler high-tech with HD graphics, helpful tutorials, single- and multiplayer game modes, multiple grid sizes, and the option to display hints, highlight errors, undo moves, and even solve puzzles. 1,200 puzzles give you plenty of opportunity to challenge your own brain, play cooperatively with friends, race head-to-head to see who can complete a board first, or compete in the new battle mode, where completing a line, row, or square will remove numbers from your opponent's board. It's Sudoku however you like to play it!

Buku Sudoku - Puzzle Pack 13: Single Player, Local Multiplayer 2-4, HD (High Definition). Want more Buku Sudoku? Upgrade to the full version now to unlock 1200 challenging puzzles, four grid sizes, three difficulty levels, two modes, and three varieties of multiplayer action. Play cooperatively with friends, race head-to-head to complete a puzzle first, or try the new battle mode in which completing a line, row, or square will remove numbers from your opponent’s board! Buku Sudoku - Puzzle Pack 13 contains no new achievements and is available now for 160 Microsoft Points. There are no refunds for this item.

Put your foot soldiers, snipers, cavalry, and fighter pilots to the test in Toy Soldiers. Poised to be a smash hit on Xbox LIVE® Arcade, Toy Soldiers is an action-packed strategy-based game in which players command antique WWI toy soldiers vying for control of the trench-filled battlefields of Europe. Deploy an exciting arsenal such as tanks, cavalry, biplanes, and flamethrowers in vintage WWI toy dioramas. Developed by Signal Studios exclusively for Xbox 360, Toy Soldiers allows you to take control of individual units or control the entire battlefield from a strategic view. Integrating multiple game genres and world-class visuals, Toy Soldiers is a unique and action-packed entertainment experience!

“Toy Soldiers” go to war on March 3rd at 9 a.m. GMT (2:00 a.m. PDT).

Published by Microsoft and developed by Signal Studios, “Toy Soldiers” will be available for 1200 Microsoft Points everywhere and is rated T for Teen by the ESRB. For more details on “Toy Soldiers” you can visit: http://www.xbox.com/games/t/toysoldiersxbla/