The good people at Gaia Industries were nice enough to give me a private look at their upcoming game, Street Trace: NYC (including schooling me in some multiplayer, thanks Damon!). The result of that sneak peak will be found here at XBLArcade.com in my 3-part preview. Enjoy!

You have to suspend your immediate confusion when I explain the mashup (I swear everyone is doing the mashup these days) that is Street Trace: NYC. It's a hoverboard game with guns. There, I said it. And, I have to be honest -- when I first saw this game at DigitalLife in NYC, I was a little baffled by the concept. Maybe part of the problem then was that it was surrounded by games I was already interested in: Mutant Storm Empires, Lumines Live, Small Arms, and many more. Street Trace: NYC seemed like the bastard child of the XBLA family. But now, after playing it, I think this game has a legimate chance. (See what I did there, nudge nudge)

Hit the jump and I will break the gameplay down a bit to help give you a better feel.

Hot off the presses comes word of this weeks new release, which is the "controversial" Double Dragon. Some may recall a bit of a fuss over the new HD look of the graphics, so this release will give us the perfect chance to make our decision in person. Of course not only is Double Dragon coming this week, but Microsoft has let slip a few more games that will be "coming soon". Full details below, but for the entire press release read the full post.

The legendary arcade classic that introduced gamers to co-op street-brawling action is back and looking better than ever. Team up with a friend or prepare to go it alone, because "Double Dragon" is hitting Xbox LIVE® Arcade Wednesday, May 9, at 9 a.m. GMT (2 a.m. PDT). "Double Dragon," from Empire Interactive Ltd., is a genuine re-creation of the classic coin-op arcade game. For the first time ever, fans of the franchise can play "Double Dragon" online with a friend over Xbox LIVE.1 The game features enhanced art, a new soundtrack and a host of extras. "Double Dragon" is the story of Billy and Jimmy Lee, twin brothers who learned to fight on the cold, tough streets of their city. Their expert knowledge of the ancient martial art of Sou-Setsu-Ken, combined with their streetwise outlook, means that they're two of the most formidable combatants ever to walk the streets. Billy and Jimmy will use their feet, fists, elbows and whatever weapons come to hand to defeat the gang that kidnapped Billy's girlfriend. "Double Dragon" will be available worldwide for 400 Microsoft® Points and is rated E10+ by the Entertainment Software Rating Board, with mild suggestive themes and violence. Game Features The title includes the following: · Two-player co-op multiplayer locally or over Xbox LIVE1 · Special extras such as a look at the original Japanese and U.S. "Double Dragon" sales fliers · Gameplay with either the original graphics or with new high-definition graphics

The recent Street Trace: NYC community event has led to a blowout in not just Street Trace news but Wing Commander Arena news! The most important of which comes straight from DaKing240, who you may recall dropped hints prior to the WCA announcement about it's existence. Still, remember to take this with a grain of salt. According to DaKing240, Wing Commander Arena will be "coming soon... my guess is within 3-4 weeks".

Next up is that Gamertag Radio has released a podcast containing an interview with Gaia industries about Street Trace: NYC and a bit about Wing Commander Arena. The Wing Commander CIC has transcribed the Wing Commander Arena portion and posted it on their site, but of course you can always listen to the excellent Gamertag Radio for the full interview. They also took this lovely shaky cam.

Lastly, Wondermonkey2k has posted a few pictures from the event on his Flickr account.

Inside Gamer has a new montage of games that are coming soon to Xbox Live Arcade. Games included in the montage are Street Trace: NYC, Mad Tracks, Yie Ar Kung Fu, Rush 'n Attack, Super Contra, Tron, Double Dragon, and Missile Command A few of these games like Yie Ar Kung Fu were the first clips (or even images) of the XBLA version of the game.

There's a great Street Trace: NYC interview over at XBLA INFO,, since it's coming from fans it has better questions than the generic big gaming site questions. The questions included why it wasn't released as February, controls, conbat, controls and AI. Here's a sample.

How does the combat aspect of the game work? There are 4 different weapons, each with its own purpose. The combat is a good blend of action and strategy, the challenge being how you use your weapons based on the given situation. The player’s objectives change within the game depending on the type of game, the environment or who is in the lead. You could be trying to take down as many people as you can, trying to get to a flag, trying to take out a target, trying to hold onto a lead in a race or trying to run away and hide (which is difficult). The mines are great in some of the tighter arenas and for trying to hold onto first in a race. The laser is a great precision weapon from a distance or in open spaces, excellent for taking out a flag carrier. Stampedes (it fires a spread of heavy, bouncing projectiles) are great for clearing a path during a race and can also be used as kind of “sawed off” shotgun if you’re quick enough to get someone up close. The heat seeking rockets are a great mid-range weapon for knocking someone off of their board but are tougher to use in closer quarters. The board also plays a factor as it has shields, jump, engine and boost units that can all be upgraded along with the guns. Boost really helps for escaping and jump is great for maneuvering around the arenas and hitting shortcuts in the races. Shields are important as well, you won’t get far near the end of a long tournament if you haven’t upgraded your shields a bit.

Make sure you at least skim the full version of the interview if

The Xbox Domain, Gamertag Radio and Gaia Industries are planning a Street Trace: NYC community event for May 5th @ 2pm EST in New York City. That is a Saturday, so there shound be no excuses for those of you in the area. I guess this means no Street Trace: NYC until May 5th at the earliest. Stay tuned to this thread and Gamertag Radio for more information.

The Xbox Domain has an interview with Damon Branch of Gaia Industries about Street Trace: NYC. The interview covered the basics of what is Street Trace, what were the inspirations and history of the game, and also the future of Gaia (2 new games + Wing Commander). Noted in the interview also is that Street Trace will have a 60 second trailer released sometime in the future on the Xbox Live Marketplace. The interview noted a spring 2006 release date, but keep in mind Street Trace isn't in the list of the next eight titles on Xbox Live Arcade.

Our friends at Gaia Industries have been kind enough to send along a whole whack of information and screen shots of their upcoming XBLA title, Street Trace:NYC. Click any of the thumbnails to see the full images.

While this game, unfortunately wasn't one of the ten games recently announced to be making it's way to the service next, we have been assured that it is still expected this Spring.

After the x360a.org Event went so well, Gaia Industries is putting on another pre-release event, tentatively scheduled for Feb 6th in the evening. If you'd like to go, simply send me an e-mail at xblarcade@gmail.com final details will be announced soon.

Hexx, who runs the fantastic site ilovexbla.com, sent us a heads up to a comment on his site about the price and release time frame for Gaia Industries' Street Trace:NYC. Well we've just now been able to confirm the comment and it is certainly great news for everyone looking for new indie content coming out soon.

On one of the four Wednesdays in February, we will be paying 800 points to play Street Trace:NYC.

Thanks again Hexx