Game Stooge

XBLA Wednesdays: Triplets!…Kinda

• Scribbled on April 30th, 2007 by Devin Grimes
• Filed in Microsoft Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade

Xbox Live’s Major Nelson updated his blog this morning with news on this week’s Xbox Live Arcade titles. The top of the blog may read “Triplets,” but don’t be so quick to get excited — they’re stretching it a little bit.

Catan, the long awaited multiplayer tabletop board game will be hitting the Marketplace for 800 Points on Wednesday. This will mark the first of a series of popular tabletop games that’ll be available soon as downloadables, with other titles such as Puerto Rico following in it’s footsteps.

This week’s retro title is actually two classic games packed into one 400 MS Point bundle — Centipede and Millipede. Each arcade classic will feature an “Evolved” version with updated graphics and all the other good high-def stuff.

Interesting fact of the day: Centipede is the first arcade game developed by a woman.

Full press release after the break.

Legendary board game “Catan” arrives on Xbox LIVE Arcade

Brush up on your plans for expansion and hone your trading strategies because “Catan” is coming to Xbox LIVE Arcade for Xbox 360 this Wednesday, May 2 at 0900 GMT (2:00 a.m. Pacific).

“Catan” from Big Huge Games is the Xbox LIVE Arcade edition of the legendary multiplayer board game Settlers of Catan. With over 10 million units sold, Settlers of Catan is one of the most popular board games to hail from Europe, and has been translated into twenty-five languages from the original German.

“Catan” for Xbox LIVE Arcade puts players in the role of colonists on a newly discovered island, where they vie for control of valuable territory and resources through strategy and trading. The game can be learned in just minutes, but will challenge players of all skill levels, even the experts!

Klaus Teuber, creator of the original Settlers of Catan board game, had this to say about the collaboration with Big Huge Games: “I had no doubts that Brian Reynolds would do a great job, and the first version of the game exceeded my highest expectations. The AI is so clever that I even lost several games in a row! Hands down, this game for the Xbox LIVE Arcade is an amazing achievement.”

“Catan” will be available worldwide for 800 Microsoft Points and is rated E for Everyone.

Game Features

• Learn As You Play tutorial, making the game instantly accessible even to players who have never played “Settlers of Catan” before
• All New 3D “Living World” Board
• Play against any combination of 13 historical personalities such as Alexander, Cleopatra and Tokugawa, which provide a range of play styles and difficulty levels that will test players’ wits and strategy
• Fans of the board game will enjoy the inclusion of popular house rules like Friendly Robber and Friendly Resources
• Multiplayer gameplay over Xbox LIVE for up to 4 players
• The ability to taunt opponents with engaging animations and use emotes to compliment (or belittle!) the opposition over Xbox LIVE
• Voice Chat enabled
• Earn up to 12 Achievements and 200 Gamerscore points

More information is available at http://www.xbox.com/games/livearcade and http://www.catanlive.com.
Arthropods Attack! “Centipede” and “Millipede” Invade Xbox LIVE Arcade

Two of Atari’s best loved coin-op classics, “Centipede” and “Millipede,” will be available for download on Xbox LIVE Arcade for Xbox 360 beginning Wednesday, May 2 at 0900 GMT (2:00 a.m. Pacific).

The classic version of “Centipede” challenges gamers to defend their villages against an onslaught of centipedes, spiders, army ants and more. Xbox LIVE Arcade gamers will also have access to an “Evolved” version which features pre-rendered, high definition graphics, special effects like motion blur, trails and particle-based explosions that make this classic as enjoyable today as it was in the arcade decades ago.

In “Millipede,” the primary challenge is to obliterate chains of arthropods that creep down from the top of the screen. Scattered mushrooms are the gamers’ main tool to shoot, destroy and redirect the menacing millipedes. “Millipede” also offers up Xbox LIVE Arcade gamers an “Evolved” version of this coin-op classic.

“Centipede” and “Millipede” will be available worldwide as a joint download for 400 Microsoft Points and are rated E for Everyone.

Game Features

• Two games in one! Enjoy both classic and evolved versions of both “Centipede” and “Millipede”
• Dolby Digital surround sound
• Earn up to 12 Achievements and 200 Gamerscore points

More information is available at http://www.xbox.com/games/livearcade.