Microsoft (via Gamerscoreblog) has declared that Coffeetime Crosswords is a lock for the E3 week release this Wednesday. Cue the complaining about how this isn't a "worthy" release followed by crossword fans snapping the game up in droves.

But could it be that Coffeetime will be sharing the E3 spotlight? X360F speculated that Shred Nebula would be starring alongside the puzzler but have since updated their post. I guess not every E3 mystery will be solved before breakfast. We'll have plenty of answers in a few hours though. Stay tuned.

Oh, I almost forgot. We'll also be getting some Buku Sudoku DLC (It's out now and includes 1200 New Puzzles for free!) and Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords will be hitting the Arcade Hits library with a price drop down to 800 MSP.

PR post break.

[via X360F]

Hot off the presses!  This week's pair of games will be Ticket to Ride and Happy Tree Friends: False Alarm.  You would be hard pressed to come up with a more different set of games to pair up for an XBLA Wednesday. 

Ticket to Ride (based on the board game of the same name) challenges you to travel the grand U.S. of A. by train and is the E-rated (and thus family friendly).  On the other side, Happy Tree friends is about rescuing your cute cuddly woodland animal friends from almost certain gruesome death.  If you hadn't guessed, it's rated M.

Which will it be my fine gentlemen and ladies -- click-clack click-clack or kaboom?

Press release after the break.

[via Gamerscoreblog]

Just in case you thought I went and died on you, here's a message to prove that it was just a flesh wound -- Aces of the Galaxy and Roogoo are coming out this week.

To discover why it took so long to get the word out (and why I've been AWOL the past few days) pick one of the following reasons: A) Laziness B) Kidney problems C) An Eternal Sonata Obsession or D) All of the Above.

But to get back on track for a second, let us all check out the official word on Gamerscoreblog and then make our important purchasing decisions based on our demo experiences this Wednesday. That or you could buy a game purely based on its genre. If that's the case, what's your poison? Shooting or puzzling?

Both games are 800 MSP.

P.S. The answer is D. AKA, it's been a hell of a week.

[via Gamerscoreblog, thanks to everyone who sent this in]

The Gamerscore Blog brings word that this week's release is the much anticipated classic shmup Ikaruga. Originally released as a Japan-only title for the Dreamcast it was later ported for the GameCube for a worldwide release, and this Wednesday, April 9th, it arrives to the Xbox Live Arcade service.

Officially announced back in September 2007 (rumored existence since February 2007), Ikaruga is known for the nerve-inducing mechanic of your ship having 2 color schemes, which you have to manage in order to deal maximum damage and shield yourself from the enemy fire.

Costing the standard price of 800 Microsoft Points (~10$USD), Ikaruga on XBLA will feature 2-player coop (offline or over Xbox Live), HD graphics, video replays and online leaderboards.

Full press release and some screenshots after the jump:

Press release:

According to the Gamerscoreblog, Xbox Live Arcade this week won't see any new release (*sad panda face*), instead we'll be treated to 2 new titles being added to the Xbox Live Arcade Hits program, namely Assault Heroes and Doom.

• “Assault Heroes” (Sierra Online). Become the only surviving member of an elite special forces unit searching for a secret underground lab. Play the mission alone or fight side-by-side with a friend in the two-player cooperative mode. The winner of IGN’s Xbox LIVE Arcade game of the year for 2006.
• “DOOM” (id Software). Originally released in 1993, “DOOM” introduced millions to the white-knuckle excitement of the first-person shooter (FPS). Relive the classic demon-blasting action with up to four players over Xbox LIVE*, complete with 5.1 surround sound and smoother graphics.

Both of these titles will be available from now on for 400 Microsoft Points.

Are you picking any of these or would you rather have a new title this week?

If you really cared you probably already knew, but just in case you have a press release fetish I'm posting the weekly press release after the break.  If nothing else, it does have links to the xbox.com pages, and that's something.

What I really want to know though is who is buying?

Oh, and there's a bunch of screenshots after the break too.  (Was that important to mention?)

[via Gamerscoreblog]

This week, XBLA will be celebrating the highs and making up for the lows of 2007 which they have experienced alongside us, their customers.

On the high side, Microsoft will be honoring the top XBLA Games of 2007 later this year. And you can help! Log on to xbox.com's XBLA awards page and begin voting (starting Jan. 22 @ 2AM PST) for your favorites. Categories open for public voting include the following:

• Best Overall Arcade Game
• Best Classic Game
• Best Original Game
• Best Family Friendly Game
• Best Competitive Multiplayer Game
• Best Cooperative Multiplayer Game

On the low side, (as we well know) Microsoft will making Undertow free for download this week in order to thank us all for our patience during a spotty Live performance over the holidays. Personally, I must say, free games are great and Undertow is a worthy choice. I look forward to having more people to play with very soon.

So, what were your highs and lows of XBLA's 2007? Hit up the comments and let us know.

Check out more info on the XBLA awards and getting your Undertow on this week, after the break.

[via Press Release]

[Update] I chopped the Press Release and missed the fact that there will be new DLC for Mutant Storm Empire this week.

It's a holiday miracle! Sensible World of Soccer (previously announced for August) will finally arrive on XBLA this Wednesday, December 19th. We told you it would, but confirmation was necessary on this one after previous hopes were dashed. Is your enthusiasm dampened by the news that this classic will cost you 800MSP?

Also on tap this week is Tempest. This version of the Atari arcade classic will be the first "true" arcade port of the game (exciting those full of nostalgic quarter sucking memories) along with the typical "enhanced" mode. Retro standard pricing here with Tempest costing 400MSP.

Neither game will be available in Korea and Tempest has bowed out of a Japanese showing, but otherwise it's a worldwide celebration. Who's buying?

Press release where it belongs (aka after the break).

[via Gamerscoreblog]

If you took some time to watch the Gamerscoreblog Fall Dashboard Update video in the last post you may have caught a bit of news that will excite you. If not, I'll spell it out for you.

Xbox Live Arcade trial versions will no longer display on your games played list.

All of you that were gnashing your teeth over this issue can finally sleep soundly. Your gamerscore completion percentages will finally appear as they should. That should make stat-junkies like myself pleased.

In my opinion, simple user-driven changes like this speak volumes about Microsoft's commitment to getting it right. And there was much rejoicing!

[UPDATE] Chris Paladino from the Gamerscore blog let us in on the dirty little secret of this new feature: it will only remove the 0/200 titles that you play AFTER the update.

[via Gamerscoreblog]

Undertow will arrive this Wednesday. This, we already knew. What we didn't know was the price: 800MSP. Personally, that makes me pretty excited. Seeing the 1200MSP price tag of the other Unreal Engine 3-powered XBLA game (remember Roboblitz?) made many hesitate to purchase it (myself included).

The rest of the news this week: the release of a Halo 3 map pack (blah, blah) and a 1/2 off sale of MSN Games for Thanksgiving (US only, sorry). Actually, that second bit might just interest all of you. If you're tired of waiting for the XBLA announcement of Bookworm Adventures, perhaps you should pop over to MSN Games this Wednesday to snag some casual PC games with a decidedly XBLA-style price tag.

[via Gamerscoreblog]