While we wait for all 300+ Reiner Knizia games to be translated from a board to a TV, we will be treated to at least one other title from Merscom: Buku Sudoku. Gamasutra is reporting that Merscom is publishing the game and is excited about the game's chances on XBLA. Expect a release in Q2 2008.

The company emphasized three key strengths of the XBLA platform as the pillars upon which the "best console Sudoku experience" has been built. HD graphics allow for highly readable grids and markings (kinda important in Sudoku), the Xbox 360 controller offers "a very fast entry method", and finally, Xbox Live's multiplayer system which can create "multiplayer experiences never before witnessed in a Sudoku game." Of course, I've never played Sudoku in any form of multiplayer. Should be interesting.

Another interesting tidbit: despite their love of the Xbox 360 controller, the game will also leverage the "Big Button" controller that comes with Scene It!.

Either way I'm sure Sudoku addicts will be excited. Need a demo to form an opinion? You can check out the PC demo (60 minute time-limited) and see for yourself how Merscom did Sudoku in the past. However, I've been informed that while the PC version was the original basis for the XBLA game, this new version offers much more than the PC version. Chief among the differences is the presence of multiplayer (competitive and coop).

Screens for your perusal below. Full press release after the break.

Note: This game was announced at E3 under the title "Boku Sudoku". That was just a working title but Buku Sudoku is now the official title.

[via Gamasutra]

Are you tired of looking at pixelated japanese men while slavishly performing mental gymnastics? If so, XBLA's Brain Challenge will be right up your alley. Xbox360Fanboy's got a bunch of screens of the upcoming Brain Training Age Challenge so go see 'em.

Then, come back here and tell me if your "interest" in blonde doctors with glasses is satisfied enough to make this game a purchase.

[via X3F]

Last week we told you about Asteroid Cowboys the game that received a grant from the Nordic Games Program. Details were scarce at that point but Digital Out has finally released a few more details about the game and even some images. Now, I don't speak Danish (despite my favorite author being Danish) but luckily we've got a reader that does. Cue Lars Soerensen.

Digital Out says:

Når spillet er færdigt, vil op til fire spillere kunne dyste samtidig enten alle-mod-alle eller i hold. Og her kan alle være med, for den realistiske simulering af lassokast og asteroidernes flyvebaner giver et unikt og umiddelbart medrivende gameplay, der passer perfekt til et uhøjtideligt casual-game – små enkle, hurtige og overskuelige spil, der i øjeblikket stormer frem på verdensplan.

Lars roughly translates this as:

When the game is done, you will have 4-player deathmatch and team deathmatch. Realistic simulation of lasso-throw and asteroid trajectory gives unique and exciting gameplay. Perfect for casual gaming.

Realistic lasso throwing and 4-player deathmatch, huh? I can see potential here but there is still little to go on. You've got me intrigued Digital Out, don't blow it.

If you are still not sold, take a peek at these concept images.

[via Digital Out, HUGE thanks to Lars. Who knew Danish to English machine translation was so hard to find.]

This'll be a quick post. (Must sleep at some point.) I just wanted to share this video with everyone right when I found it. Here's your first taste of the hack-n-slash fest (guest starring randomly-created dungeons) that Sierra calls Arkadian Warriors. Post your impressions of the video in the comments. Do we have a winner here or not?

[via The Xbox Domain]

Sierra Online (a division of Vivendi Games) has been a strong supporter of the XBLA platform. Go figure, since their leader, Ross Erickson, comes straight from the XBLA mothership. Even so, this has become an embarrassment of riches.

Adding to their list of four previously announced XBLA games (Arkadian Warriors, Battlestar Galactica, Commanders: Attack!, and Switchball), Sierra has just announced an on-rails shooter titled Aces of the Galaxy and a Bust-A-Move-style puzzle game, Boogie Bunnies.

Previews of all of their games have gone up on IGN and can be found through this single handy-dandy page.

Thankfully (for my wallet), Boogie Bunnies is slated for Q1 2008 and Aces of the Galaxy has a vague "winter" release scheduled (meaning sometime before February of 2008).

Add to the revelations above the fact that Commanders: Attack! has lost its emphasis and added some words to become simply (or not so simply), Commanders: Attack of the Genos. I guess Sierra lost that little game of chicken with Screwjumper!.

After the break, a list of the remaining horribly vague release dates stated by IGN.

[via IGN, thanks Blue_Falcon]

The game may have gone through one too many name changes, but it appears the gameplay is just what the doctor ordered. Simple, back to basics, Tetris with up to 6-player multiplayer over Xbox Live. Local 4-player, as well. Tetris in its pure form. Finally.

And if you are wondering why in the world it would be called Splash -- it has "beautiful aquatic backscapes add a real splash to the fun of Tetris."

Three modes included: Tetris, T-spin, and Combo. Play solo, cooperatively, or competitively. Missing anything you wanted out of an XBLA Tetris?

Check out the video on xbox.com for the full experience.

[via xbox.com, thanks JDUDE11]

This past week, Eidos New Media brought us GEON: Emotions. Little did I know, that they already announced another game: Fractal Jigsaw. Worse still, they may have even shown the game at the Leipzig Games Convention back in August. Not sure how, but this one slipped through the cracks.

The best (and only) image I could fine of the game shows what appears to be a simple jigsaw puzzle game sporting a Hitman-themed puzzle. Looks like Eidos is leveraging their franchises to make this one more appealling. Could Agent 47's grimace coerce you into buying a puzzle game? Perhaps some candid Lara Croft snaps are more your speed? Maybe you're just hoping that the game includes actual fractals?

Whatever you might fancy, the original press release states the game is slated for Q2 2008 (linked below). Guess you've got a while to wait before you can get your mitts on Lara Fractal Jigsaw.

English translation of the game's press release blurb after the break.

[via Press Release]

The guys from Frozen Codebase, the developers of the upcoming XBLA title Screwjumper!, were kind enough to not only answer some of our questions, but also send us the exclusive first screen shots of the game (click for full size!). While they wouldn't talk about any plans for DLC in the future, they describe the game in detail, and have certainly peeked my interest in what looks to be a fast paced, hectic, joyride.

XBLArcade.com:

Tell me a bit about yourself, and what you do at Frozen Codebase.

Norb:

I appear to be Norb Rozek, d/b/a Rev. Norb. I was the lead designer on Screwjumper!, and my current title is "design director," which more or less means I run around doing whatever design chore falls in my lap that day while simultaneously trying to convince people half my age that they should pay attention to my input ((try it sometime, it's great)). I write documents, adjust other people's documents, place stuff, design stuff, request stuff, demand stuff, stamp my feet and throw fits, and spend a lot of time trying to define what the problem is and how to fix it. I find myself eating animal crackers for lunch a lot.

Ben:

My name is Ben Geisler and I’m the managing partner of Frozen Codebase. Currently I’m fulfilling the role of Producer, although I served as both a Game Programmer and Technical Director on Screwjumper. As a producer, it basically means that I am the glue – or, as our developers call me, “Big Ben.” We use agile development at Frozen Codebase, so I run the scrum meetings, set priorities for our current bugs, and generally make sure everything is getting done. Finally, I am the interface to our publisher (THQ) and to Microsoft. But more importantly, last weekend “I closed Wolski’s” (in Milwaukee, WI), and I’m quite proud of it.

XBLArcade.com:

Frozen Codebase has a few former Garage Games people on the team. How has their presence and experience with Torque and with XBLA helped (or hindered) the project's progress?

Ben:

This has been a great help to Frozen Codebase. On Screwjumper!, we were fortunate enough to have artist/designer Justin Kovac, programmer James Lupiani and designer Adam DeGrandis. All three of these developers had previously shipped Marble Blast Ultra. My own experience comes from “Triple-A” development houses like Radical Entertainment and Raven Software. As such, I was used to console development, but not the specifics of XBox Live Arcade functionality or the heavy restrictions on memory imposed by the platform.

Click the "Read More" link to see the whole Q&A (and another screenshot).

"...let’s go to synaesthesia."

A strange command, but perfectly suited to Tetsuya Mizuguchi's Rez. Soon, many who never got the chance to experience the original will be treated to a remastered direct port of the original with an HD makeover and Dolby 5.1 surround sound.

Now that the game is finally confirmed, the media has begun to flow like wine at a Bacchanalian feast. Admire the rich chocolatey undertones (and hints of oak) in these screens for Rez HD.

Are you prepared for "the ultimate audiovisual experience?"

(Click for full size)

Full Press Release after the break.

A little more than a month ago, the wonderful world of ESRB exposed to us the upcoming (and still emphatically titled) Screwjumper!. Speculation said this game would arrive XBLA-style and so it shall.

Just uncovered in Microsoft's backyard: Screwjumper!'s very own xbox.com page. Developed by Frozen Codebase and published by THQ and is billed as an Xbox 360 Exclusive.

So what the heck is a screwjumper? or screwjumping? or whatever the heck this game is about?

Basically, it appears to be a modern Paperboy. But you dive into mines with your jetpack instead of ride a bike. And there are aliens instead of gray houses. And you shoot high explosives instead of papers. But it's still all about destroying stuff (I know I hated actually delivering papers).

No screens yet, but descriptions are up on the site now.

[via xbox.com, thanks JDUDE11]