Q Entertainment knows that many people hate those pesky tutorials that plague the complex games of today. And so, they've created an easy to use checklist to let you jump right into the game this Wednesday and ultimately assist you on your path to extended bliss (and achievement success no doubt). Consider it the 12 step program for getting the most out of Every Extend Extra Extreme.

I have two words for this list. Pure. Genius.

1. Dim the lights in your room. Grab a refreshing drink (or beverage of your choice) from the fridge. Crack your knuckles. Sit back and relax.
2. We recommend starting with the Main Mode, E4 The Game Unlimited.
3. Get used to seeing your cute little craft, a yellow 4-pointed star with a green dot in the middle. Give it a name!
4. Take note of your Shield time/clock at the top center. You're invincible while the clock is running.
5. Collecting a balanced amount of Bonuses and Quickens is the key to getting a high score.
6. The more Quickens you grab, more enemies appear, thus making it easier to create a larger chain reaction.
7. Collecting Bonuses and Items will multiply your points by up to 100.
8. While watching the digital fireworks display is fun, you can cancel the chain explosion by pressing [B], especially when you're running out of time!
9. Explosions come in different sounds - press [RT][LT] to change the sound of the explosions and create your own beats!
10. Beat Bonus - You can double your points by detonating at the top of the beat at max power; beat bonus will multiply by 3, 4 and a max of 5.
11. Blasting the enemies that fire bullets with a direct explosion will give you more items.
12. You'll get a weird shrieking warning signal when you're down to 30 seconds, so be sure to collect the Time Extension items!

But since we still have some time to waste before cracking our knuckles, after the break are full screens from E4 and all the new LUMINES LIVE! Content.

'Tis confirmed! Every Extend Extra Extreme will arrive this Wednesday. But Q Entertainment isn't stopping there. They're also dropping the price of LUMINES LIVE! and releasing new skin packs. Good news all around.

Here's the skinny (according to some fun Google Translation):

• Every Extend Extra Extreme arrives this Wednesday for 800MSP. No word yet on if this will be region-limited.
• LUMINES will permanently drop from 1200MSP to 800MSP.
• LUMINES LIVE! Rockin' Holiday Pack will be 400MSP.
• A new Genki Rockets skin called "Breeze Skin(Translation?)" Two Genki Rockets skins ("Heavenly Star" and "Breeze") will be available for FREE to Gold Xbox Live Members until November 14th.

Presumably, Speedball 2 is also arriving this Wednesday but we'll update this story if and when official announcements are made (in english hopefully). Speedball 2 will also be 800MSP.

[Update]: It's doubly official now. Press Release after the break. Also, cleaned up some of the details.

[via gpara.com (amusingly translated here), thanks Buster]

During Tokyo Games Show, many Japanese XBLA games were announced. But my dreams of playing games like Every Extend Extra Extreme anytime soon were quickly dashed with word that E4 was slated to come to Japan near the end of the year and North America in early 2008.

So what the heck is E4 doing on the front page of the XBLA section at xbox.com? (Click the image for the full screen grab) It even has it's very own page with details and screens and everything (use the scrolling list on the left, not the big logo at the top which goes to this broken link).

Could this be an early Chrismahanukwanzica present for everyone? I sure hope so.

(To be perfectly clear: I'm still filing this under rumor as xbox.com has been wrong on many an occasion.)

[via xbox.com]

Excuse me while I weep quietly into my hands. See, I am not in Tokyo right now enjoying the XBLA riches that flow forth from Japan. And that is why I hate Eurogamer so much.

Not only do they get to play games filled with exiting, extending, shooting, more shooting, and even trigger hearts (whatever those are), but they decided to post up their impressions just to rub it in my face. That's right. To spite me. Specifically.

Damn them.

[via Eurogamer]

A preview for Every Extend Extra Extreme (aka E4) has popped up on 1UP. It seems music can be streamed off your HDD which will be automatically beat-mapped for your extending and extreming pleasure. There will also be a more geo-wars-addict-friendly mode that actually involves shooting as opposed to blowing yourself up.

While that all sounds good it's not the truly newsworthy tidbit. Here is what they say about a release day for E4:

Japan is first to throw down the E4 beat, but the game should be stateside by Q1 next year.

Could this be the first region specific XBLA launch? To my knowledge, no game has been rolled out successively in different regions like this. And why do this to a game with little to no text to translate? Is this a sign of things to come? I certainly hope not. I need more Miz in my life. And soon.

[via 1UP]

In an effort to bring you as much content in as short a timeframe as possible I have decided to take a massive collection of links and dump them all onto you straightaway.

Long story short: Kotaku invades Q Entertainment, they grill Tetsuya Mizuguchi (hilarity ensues), they see Rez HD, Every Extend Extra Extreme, and the Holiday Pack for Lumines Live!, and they take lots of photos. Enjoy!

Hands-on with Rez HD here. Now, with more impressions.

Lumines Live! Holiday Pack details here.

Q Entertainment's HQ in photo form.

And finally, The Miz justifies his "life theme" (aka Rez).

[via Kotaku, thanks Blue Falcon]

Okay, so we all know now how wrong I was about the Brutally Fun site. However, it was not a total loss. Alongside the announcement of Ninja Gaiden 2 was a bevy of Japanese themed XBLA games that are coming.

And guess what is among them? Ikaruga. It even says "available soon."

As awesome as it is to hear Ikaruga's solidly confirmed (not that we didn't expect it), I must say the surprise story for me is the announcement of Rez coming to XBLA. Then again, maybe it shouldn't surprise me after all.

The full list of mentioned XBLA games is as follows: Every Extend Extra Extreme (Q Entertainment), EXIT (Taito), Ikaruga (Treasure Co. Ltd.), OMEGA FIVE (Hudson Entertainment), Rez (Q Entertainment), Triggerheart Exelica (Warashi), Braid (Number None Inc.), Castlecrashers (The Behemoth), and Schizoid (Torpex Games LLC).

I'm too tired to say anything else of value, so just read the details after the break and let all this all sink in.

News Flash from xbox.com after the break.

[via xbox.com]

The rumors were true as Gaming Age revealed today that Q Entertainment is working on Every Extend Extra Extreme (E4) for Xbox Live Arcade. No release window was mentioned; however, screenshots and information were released. Here's a bit of the information about the modes of E4.

• E4, The Game – The core of this game, where your objective is to self-destruct and aim for large chain reactions. Your stock (life) is unlimited, so use perfect timing to detonate and score as high as you can. Picking up the right items at the right time will lead you to a whole new experience of the game.
• S4, Wiz ur Muzik – A mode where you can implement your favorite music from a CD and enjoy a customized E4 experience.
• H4, Versus Live - Full online multiplayer play over Xbox Live where you can battle your friends head-to-head.