The Seventh Generation: Xbox 360

The second console to look back on is the first one out of the gate this past generation, the Xbox 360.  Microsoft stepped into the video game industry with the original Xbox, but the Xbox 360 was when Microsoft made their foothold in the market.  Launching a full year ahead of the PS3 and the Wii really helped the Xbox 360 establish itself as the must-have console for the early years of this past generation.  While the PS3 had problems with making the system easily accessible for programmers and the Wii was too concerned with the casual gaming audience, the Xbox 360 had the premier online service in Xbox Live, a prospering selection of downloadable games through Xbox Live Arcade and a good number of first and third party exclusives.  The more successful the Xbox 360 became, the more Microsoft tampered with this winning formula.  The later years of the Xbox 360 saw so many shifts in focus that have gone onto hurt this console and company's standing in various ways.

The Xbox 360 made some significant improvements over its predecessor.  Apart from enhanced processing power and improved online services, Microsoft completely reworked the controller for the 360.  While the original Xbox controller was cumbersome and uncomfortable to use, the 360 controller fit perfectly to the contours of a person's hands.  The 360 controller was so well received by gamers that it is considered among the best video game controllers of all-time.  Through Xbox Live Arcade, the 360 brought forth a new avenue to access games.  No longer did one have to go to their local video game store to pick up the latest game, there were hundreds of games, demos, downloadable expansions and extra content available to download from the system's marketplace menu.  All one needed to access all this content was an internet connection.  Xbox Live Arcade also gave independent game developers a chance to easily release games on consoles.  While these indy developers needed the support of Microsoft or a third-party publisher to get their games on this service, Xbox Live Arcade did offer an affordable way to create console games.  Some of the best games for the 360 such as Braid, Limbo, Shadow Complex and Trials were released through Xbox Live Arcade.  Speaking of games, the Xbox 360 saw the release of some generation defining games like Gears of War, Mass Effect, BioShock, Fight Night Round 3 and The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion before landing on other platforms.

The Xbox 360 was overwhelmingly successful with the core gamer audience despite the hardware problems.  There are always problems with technology, but the 360's problems like the infamous Red Ring of Death and the far too common ring scratches were widespread problems.  Although some people like this writer have never experienced such hardware failures, not everyone was that lucky.  Many people went through a good number of Xbox 360s in the last generation.  During this generation, Microsoft constantly improved the Xbox 360 hardware to avoid these hardware problems in later Xbox 360 hardware.  While the hardware improved over time, the 360's standing did not.  From 2009 onwards, Microsoft shifted the 360's focus from  the defined core gamer audience to a much broader all-encompassing audience.  Microsoft moved away from developing first-party software and pushing support for indy developers to creating new peripherals and fostering greater relations with third-party publishers.  The lack of first-party support and worthwhile exclusives pushed gamers away because there was nothing to differentiate the Xbox 360 from the PS3.  The onslaught of casual games brought on by the Kinect, Microsoft's answer to the Wii's motion controls, did not help matters either.  It did bring in the casual audience, but it also alienated a good portion of the 360's primary audience.  Microsoft's SmartGlass and multimedia initiatives made it even more evident that this company had no clue about what to do with the 360's success.

The Xbox 360 has definitely had its ups and downs.  The 360 started out as the dominant console of this generation in the eyes of gamers, but completely fell flat on its face in the past few years due to Microsoft's lack of focus.  The Kinect and SmartGlass were sadly glorified prototypes that did more to hurt the 360 than extend its life.  Although these mistakes, the 360 offers a great selection of games from the Triple A blockbusters to the independent darlings.  In the end, the Xbox 360 is hands down Microsoft's best console to date.

On the Download: August 26-September 1

Well it is the last weekly edition of On the Download for a while.  It has been a lot of fun to put the spotlight on all these unique and incredibly interesting downloadable titles that release weekly and even daily for the PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, 3DS, iDevices and PC.  Downloadable games have made their mark in the video game industry these past few years by standing toe-to-toe with even the biggest of triple A console or PC titles.  Some of the most innovative and inventive experiences in video games today come from these smaller downloadable titles.  I have really enjoyed writing On the Download on a regular basis and giving a spotlight to these games that many gamers overlook.  It has been one of my favourite weekly posts to write here on Silver Bit and I hope you all enjoyed reading it.

Now that I am done with the little farewell for now speech, let us get down to business.  Got a packed week of downloadable games to talk about.  Two games I want to talk about quickly here in the intro and the other two I will get into more detail below.  First, this week Telltale Games released the third episode in their Walking Dead adventure series called The Long Road Ahead.  Decisions from the earlier episodes affect the events of The Long Road Ahead and pave a way for new long-lasting decisions that will affect future episodes in the series.  The third episode of Telltale's The Walking Dead game is available on PSN, XBLA and PC for 5 dollars.  The second game I want to mention here is the iOS port of Bastion.  Coming completely out of right field, Supergiant Games announced the game earlier in the week only to release it for iOS this past Thursday.  Easily one of the best downloadable games of 2011 has been re-imagined to work on the iPad.  Bastion only works on iPad 2 or higher and costs 5 dollars.  If you missed out on this remarkable game last year and own one of the newer iPad models, Bastion is a no-brainer.  Download it right now!  It is that good.

For a while there it looked like Rock Band and much of the rhythm game genre was dead, thanks to an over saturation of Rock Band and Guitar Hero games from EA and Activision.  With games like Audiosurf and Symphony trying to revitalize this genre through the downloadable game space, Harmonix has decided to bring Rock Band to the downloadable space with Rock Band Blitz.  Unlike the core Rock Band games for console, Rock Band Blitz does not use special peripherals to play the game. In Rock Band Blitz, you will use the regular controller to switch between each instrument lane and match notes in one of the game's 25 songs, which is very similar to Harmonix's older rhythm games such as Frequency and Amplitude.  Rock Band Blitz offer the same Rock Band gameplay, now all just for single-player.  Without much of a campaign, the main drive to play Rock Band Blitz is due to the online leaderboards,which tracks your top scores on each song.  In addition to the 25 songs that come with Rock Band Blitz, gamers are able to import any song they have for Rock Band 3.  Rock Band Blitz is now available for PSN and XBLA for 15 dollars or 1200 Microsoft Points.

Mass Effect is a huge series with one of the most expansive universes in video game history.  To extend the life of their RPG epic and provide more insight into the rich mythology of this universe, BioWare has developed the Leviathan DLC for Mass Effect 3.  The Leviathan DLC takes place before the final mission on Earth and dives into the dark history of the Reapers.  Commander Shepard hears reports of something lurking in the dark corners of space.  That something being powerful enough to single-handedly slay a Reaper.  What is this powerful being, this leviathan of sorts and is it friend or foe?  It is up to Shepard and his crew of the Normandy to find that out.  Leviathan expands on the events of Mass Effect 3 and provides new characters to interact with, new pieces of information on the mythology to chew on and new weapons and upgrades to play with.  For those not ignorant enough to abandon Mass Effect 3 because of the polarizing ending and want to dive back into this incredible game, you can pick Leviathan for PC, PSN and XLBA for 10 dollars or 800 Microsoft Points.

On the Download: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

It looks like when the big retail releases start coming in force at the end of the summer, the downloadable games start to trickle.  That is not a big problem consider what released this week.  Valve has brought the return of the king of competitive shooters in Counter-Strike.  Easily keeping the attention of many gamers for the weeks, months and possibly years to come.  There are still a lot of people that play the original Counter-Strike and that game is over a decade old.  Another noteworthy downloadable release this week is Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II has finally released for Steam.  As a big fan of the original Knights of the Old Republic, I have personally been waiting for this game to be released on Steam for the last few years and very excited to pick it up in the near future.  Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II is available on Steam for 10 dollars if anybody is interested in picking it up.

After 12 long years, Valve has made a full-on sequel to their ever-popular Half-Life mod, Counter-Strike.  Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is an online first-person shooter that focuses on skillful team-based gameplay.  Each match allows players to play either a Terrorist or Counter-Terrorist.  The goal of a round is to either complete the designated objective or eliminating the opposing team.  In each round, the player is given one life.  If you die, you must wait until the next round to respawn.  Between rounds, players are able to purchase weapons and equipment using the money earned during the round. You earn money by completing objectives and killing enemies and you lose money by killing a teammate or hostage (accident or not).  Global Offensive features new game modes, new maps and new weapons and equipment for players to indulge in.  Along with all the new stuff packed in Global Offensive, Valve has added updated versions of classic Counter-Strike maps, game modes, weapons and equipment such as de_dust.  If you want to join in huge multi-player experience that is Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike is available on Steam, XBLA and PSN for 15 dollars or 1200 Microsoft Points.

Hump Day Music: Awesomenauts Theme Song

Never has there been a theme song so, dare I say, awesome, pun fully intended, than the theme song for Awesomenauts.  The whole reason I first became interested in Awesomenauts when it was showed off way back at E3 2011 was because of this epic theme song.  I would watch Awesomenauts' first trailer over and over again only to listen to the less than one minute snippet of this incredibly infectious song.  For the longest of times, all gamers heard of the Awesomenauts theme song was the snippets that played during every trailer for the game.  With the release of the full game for XBLA, PSN and PC, Ronimo Games has released the full theme song for download on the Awesomenauts web site.  The song is free to download only after promoting the game through Facebook or Twitter, an incredibly inexpensive way of getting a song and giving Ronimo Games some publicity.

The first time I listened to the Awesomenauts theme song, I loved it.  It is an incredibly infectious song that is very reminiscent of an old 80s cartoon theme song.  It is so simply and repetitive that it gets ingrained in your head.  Before you know it, you are humming the song wherever you go and singing along whenever you hear the song playing.  Personally I can listen to this song for hours on end and never grow tired of it.  The Awesomenauts theme song is that damn good.  So please take the time to listen to this gem of a song and if you like it download the song from the Awesomenauts web site.

On the Download: August 12-18

The new game releases keep on rolling.  There were some big retail releases this week in Darksiders II and Sleeping Dogs and some big downloadable releases in Papo & Yo and Dust: An Elysian Tail, which I will be highlighting today in On the Download.  As I have nothing more to say, let us get on with the show.

Sony's Play promotion continues to roll on with a unique downloadable adventure game from Minority Media, Papo & Yo.  In Papo & Yo, you play as a young boy named Quico, who is accompanied by his best friend Monster.  Monster is a huge beast that has a problematic addiction to poisonous frogs.  Whenever Monster sees a frog, he immediately gobbles it up thus sending the beast into an intoxicated rage where no one including Quico is save.  Due to the bond between the two, it is up to Quico to help his best friend kick this dangerous habit.  In order to solve the puzzles in the game and further the adventure for a cure, Quico must work together with Monster and learn to use the beast's emotions, both good and bad, to their advantage.  Papo & Yo is a deep gaming experience that is directly influenced by creative director Vander Caballero's troubled relationship with his alcoholic father.  It is a really inspiring story for a game and an unique adventure that those interested in taking should make an effort to download Papo & Yo.  You can Papo & Yo from the PlayStation Store for 15 dollars.

Another year, another Summer of Arcade has come and gone.  It has been a very diverse month of games released exclusively for XBLA.  The final game in this year's Summer of Arcade is Dust:  An Elysian Tail.  Made entirely by one person, Dust is a 2D action RPG where you play as an mysterious adventurer on a quest to liberate an oppressed village and in turn find his true identity.  This mysterious adventurer goes by the name Dust and is aided by the ancient Blade of Ahrah and his sidekick, Fidget.  The world of Falana is a massive open world that encourages gamers to explore, take on many side-quests, discover the many secrets of Falana and master the real-time combat system that rewards skilled players and discourages button-mashing.  All the content packed into Dust: An Elysian Tail is suppose to take 20+ hours to complete.  So if you are a gamer looking for a long action RPG to dive into this summer, you can pick up Dust: An Elysian Tail for 1200 Microsoft Points.

On the Download: August 5-11

While this edition of On the Download is not as big as I originally thought it would be, but it is a packed edition nonetheless.  Got some big games to talk about this week on XBLA, PSN and Steam.  So without further ado, let us jump right in.

After some initial server problems, the newest release in Microsoft's Summer of Arcade promotion is up  on the marketplace.  This game happens to be Hybrid, 5th Cell's (creators of Scribblenauts and Run Roo Run) first foray into developing console games.  Hybrid is an online only multi-player third person shooter.  Hybrid takes place in 2032 where a Supercollider implosion causes a rift between our world and an alternate reality.  From this rift, a new species known as the Variant emerges.  The emergence of this new species causes a world war to break out between the Variants and a group of rebel humans known as Paladins.  Playing as either the Variants or the Paladins, players compete in 3-on-3 matches that will affect this massive online war.  Included in Hybrid are 10 maps and modes for players to compete on and tons of weapons and abilities to customize their character.  For those interested in joining this world war, Hybrid is available exclusively on XBLA for 1200 Microsoft Points.

Ever since the full reveal of the PlayStation Vita at E3 2011, there has been one game that has been everybody's mind.  That game is Sound Shapes, the latest project from Canadian-based Queasy Games that brought acclaimed PSN shooter Everyday Shooter.  Sound Shapes has finally released on PSN and good news, you can play it on both the PS3 and the PS Vita for one price of 15 dollars.  Sound Shapes is a unique blend of side-scrolling platformer with a rhythm game.  Every action in Sound Shapes from playing, composing and sharing levels all make the music in the game.  For those looking for some single-player action, Sound Shapes offers a comprehensive campaign that fuses music and artwork into a classic 2D platformer.  Many great artists from Pixeljam to Superbrothers and musicians from Beck to Deadmau5 contributed to artwork and music used in Sound Shapes' campaign.  As much as Sound Shapes is a game, it is also equal parts a musical instrument that musicians or just regular games can pick up and create their own musical levels.  All the levels you create in Sound Shapes can be shared online with friends and the entire Sound Shapes community.

Sound Shapes was not the only music game released for download this week.  Brought to you by Empty Clip Studios, Symphony is a vertical shooter in which you play through levels composed of your own library of music.  In Symphony, your music is under attack and it is up to you to liberate it.  A mysterious entity is corrupting your music as you play it.  It is up to you to play through your collection of songs in order to discover items, battle bosses, find pages of the Symphony of Souls and reclaim your music.  By completing a song in Symphony, you unlock a new item to customize your ship with in order to tackle higher difficulty levels and score targets.  Symphony also includes 6 difficulty levels and online leaderboards to keep players engaged for a long time.  If you are interested in this unique musical shooter, you can download Symphony off of Steam for 10 dollars.

On the Download: July 29-August 4

It is sad to see things to slow down this much on the downloadable front.  I can expect it from the retail side of things, but there has been a relentless slew of new quality downloadable games all competing for our hard earned cash as of late.  It is rather sad to see things slow down this much.  There was not even any new games released for the 3DS Virtual Console as part of their 8-Bit Summer initiative or a Game of Weekend deal on the eShop as well.  I am still hoping either Pushmo and/or Dillion's Rolling Western to get discounted a few dollars one of these weekends.  Even with the lack of noteworthy downloadable games being released at this very moment, there are a couple noteworthy ones that people should consider pre-purchasing.  You can pre-purchase Symphony, a very interesting musical shooter that I have actually picked up, on Steam for 8 dollars (20% off the regular price) or Sound Shapes, a platformer where the actions make the music, on PSN for 15 dollars (12 dollars if you have PlayStation Plus) both of which come out next week.  Also the first piece of Skyrim DLC, Dawnguard has been released for PC for those PC Elder Scrolls fanatics that have been waiting what to them must seems like ages for this big add-on.  This week there might not be a lot of games releasing on the downloadable side of things, but next week looks to shaping up to be one big week for downloadable games.  Might be big enough to warrant another two part edition of On the Download.  We will have to wait and see.  Before we can get to next week, we still got to take a look at the lone downloadable offering from this week, Deadlight.

Microsoft's Summer of Arcade continues with the release of Deadlight.  Deadlight is a puzzle platformer much like Limbo and Shadow Complex, which both debuted in one of Microsoft's Summer of Arcade promotions from years past.  Set in 1986, the world has been ravaged by a zombie plague.  Deadlight casts you as Randall Wayne, a survivor of this perilous plague.  After his wife and daughter go missing during the beginning of the outbreak, Randall sets out for Seattle to possibly find refuge and hopefully, if they are still alive, find his family.  Each enemy encounter in the game plays out like a puzzle.  You have to expertly use the environment to your advantage in order to get by zombies and other obstacles.  While you are given access to weapons such as an axe and guns to combat the zombie horde, the best solution is to avoid combat unless it is absolutely necessary.  It seems like every other game that releases nowadays has zombies in them in some shape or form and it is getting very tiresome.  While Deadlight is yet another game set in a zombie apocalypse, it looks to be an unique enough experience to make it standout among the horde of zombie games.  If you are interested in Deadlight, you can download from XBLA for 1200 Microsoft Points.

On the Download: July 22-28

While there were no games that came out this week, there are a few new downloadable games to dive into.  During the dog days of summer, you can always find something new to play during the seemingly annual gaming drought from one of the many downloadable services.  From demos to DLC to full games, there is always something new for release on PSN, XBLA, iOS, Steam and the Nintendo eShop.

Nintendo's 8-Bit Summer continues to roll along with the release of Wario Land:  Super Mario Land 3 for the 3DS Virtual Console.  Along with Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, Mole Mania has also been released for the 3DS Virtual Console.  Surprisingly for the third Super Mario Land for the original Game Boy, Nintendo had Wario take the spotlight from his good-doing counterpart, Mario.  After being kicked out of his castle by Mario at the end of Super Mario Land 2, Wario hears rumours that a group of pirates have a golden statue of Princess Toadstool hidden somewhere on Kitchen Island.  Wario decides to turn his luck around after facing such a devastating defeat at the hands of Mario and goes to Kitchen Island to steal said statue.   You take control of Wario as he fights his way through platforming level upon platforming level, crushing foes and collecting treasure.  Along the way, you can find different hats (Bull, Jet and Dragon Hats) that give Wario special abilities such as temporary flight.  Much of Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 is about collecting as much treasure as possible because the more treasure you collect, the bigger the castle you receive upon completing the game.  For all those interested, Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 is available to download on the Nintendo eShop for 4 dollars.

This PSN game was released last week, but I sadly forgot to cover it in the last On the Download so I have decided to highlight it today.  Dyad is a very stylistic game that should remind many gamers of games like Rez and Child of Eden.  Dyad is a tunnel racing puzzle shooter.  You control this little ship as it travels down a tube.  By using momentum in beat with the psychedelic visuals and the trance music, you can hook, graze and lance enemies in order to propel yourself further down the tunnel.  Dyad has 27 levels for players to enjoy and master.  Dyad also offers two other modes aside from the main game, Trophy and Remix Mode.  Trophy Mode is a sort of mission-based mode where you have to complete different tasks in certain levels to advance and Remix Mode is more a free play mode where the focus is more on relaxing than getting the highest score.  If you want to dive in an incredible unique and stylish download, Dyad is available exclusively on the PSN for 15 dollars.

On the Download: July 15-21

There is a lot to enjoy in the downloadable space.  There are sales on almost every major downloadable platforms, summer downloadable game initiatives are in full swing and unlike at retail, there are a steady stream of games being released each and every week.  And it is all at a click of a button.

Nintendo's 8-Bit Summer continues this week with finally the release of Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters for the 3DS Virtual Console.  Also this week sees the another 3DS Virtual Console game, Tumble Pop, released and Mario Picross go on sale for 3 dollars, but I am not here to talk about those games.  Today I am looking at the game that I have wanted on the Nintendo eShop since the release of Kid Icarus: Uprising.  Kid Icarus: Of Myth and Monsters is the sequel to the NES classic.  Angel Island is in peril once again.  This time around it is the demon Orcos and his minions who threaten Angel Island.  It is up to Pit to find the three Sacred Treasures in order to defeat Orcos.  The levels in Of Myths and Monsters allow players to freely scroll in all directions, which add more exploration elements to the game.  Also Pit is able to use his wings to slow his descent and extend his jump.  Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters is available for download on the Nintendo eShop for 4 dollars.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, in the eyes of most gamers, is the ultimate skateboarding game in existence.  When this extreme sport was just gaining popularity, Activision and Neversoft made a game that did it justice.  Yes, it was a pure arcade-style skateboarding game more than an actual simulation of the sport, but it really did showcase how spectacular of feats these tricks can be.  Sadly when Tony Hawk's Pro Skater got really popular was when Activision decided to shove it down our throats with yearly sequels, which eventually killed the series for a bit.  Funny how Activision has not learned from those mistakes, but that is not the point.  Looking for a fresh new start to the Tony Hawk franchise, Activision and Robomodo have released Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD, a re-release of the best levels from Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2, as part of Microsoft's Summer of Arcade.  Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD has the same gameplay from the first two games in the series.  Robomodo is working on Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 DLC for the game that will add new levels and new tricks like the revert.  While not every skateboarder or song return from the classic Tony Hawk games, Robomodo has tried to take the best from the first two games in order to provide a nice nostalgic trip for veterans and a fresh start for new players.  Right now, you can only download Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD on XBLA for 1200 Microsoft Points, but it will be coming to both the PSN and PC in the coming weeks.

On the Download: July 8-14

There are sales galore this weekend.  Thousands of games are being discounted on Steam while you can grab Mighty Switch Force for the discounted of price of 3 dollars this weekend on the Nintendo eShop.  Along with the sales, a couple of big downloadable games are coming to different platforms.  The every popular Tiny Wings is getting an HD port for the iPad, which you can find on sale for 3 dollars on the App Store and Airtight Game's first big downloadable project has been released for XBLA and PSN this week for 1200 Microsoft Points or 15 dollars respectively.  Re-releases were not the only thing this week as we got a few notable games to download.

While Nintendo's 8-Bit Summer continued with the release of Kirby's Pinball Land and Sword of Hope II for the 3DS Virtual Console, there is a 3DS download that should get a little more attention than it already has.  The game is called Johnny Kung Fu and comes to us by the talented people at UFO Interactive Games.  The local crime gang run by the notorious Mr. Wang has kidnapped Johnny's girlfriend.  Knowing what needs to be done, Johnny dons his Kung Fu grab in order to save his girlfriend, who is being held at the top of Mr. Wang's tower.  Johnny Kung Fu is a unique 3DS download that mixes old and new.  The game jumps between side-scrolling brawling segments to Donkey Kong-esqe platforming levels reminiscent of the games found on Nintendo's old Game and Watch handhelds.  Things start to ramp up as Johnny only has a hour or two to save his girlfriend.  If you like to pick up a game that bridges the old and new in the way Johnny Kung Fu does, you can pick this game up for 6 dollars on the Nintendo eShop.

Made by small indie developer SideQuest Studios, Rainbow Moon is a strategy RPG exclusive to the PS3 which has a strong emphasis on exploration, character development and turn-based combat.  In Rainbow Moon, you start out playing as Baldren, who has been warped to the world of Rainbow Moon by his arch-rival.  Trapped in this unknown realm, Baldren has accidentally opened up a dimensional gate which has freed a full army of monsters.  These monsters overwhelm Rainbow Moon thus turning the once peaceful realm into a living hell.  Now it is up to Baldren to seal the dimensional gate and find a way back to his home world.  Rainbow Moon is packed to the brim with content.  There are six playable characters including Baldren that can be customized with upgradable weapons, armour and other accessories.  There are over 100 special skills that you can teach one of the six playable characters, more than 20 dungeons to explore and a compelling story that will last you over 40 hours.  If you are interested, you can download Rainbow Moon off of the PSN Store for 15 dollars.

Konami has tried many times to bring Frogger into the modern age of gaming, but every time they failed.  Taking a page from what Namco did with Pac Man, Konami has released the classic Frogger gamers know and love with modern graphics and new game modes with Frogger: Hyper Arcade Edition, available on XBLA, PSN and WiiWare.  Along with the classic Frogger game mode, there are a brand new game modes such as Tile Capture, Battle Royal and Freak Out for gamers to play through.      In the Hyper Arcade Edition of Frogger, you can customize the graphics through different skins.  Some of the skins you can use are the modern neon skin of Hyper Arcade or classic 8-bit skins and sprites from Frogger, Castlevania and Contra.  Frogger: Hyper Arcade Edition also includes 4 player competitive multi-player so friends can compete to see who is the best at Frogger.  Looking to relive the glory days of Frogger, Frogger: Hyper Arcade Edition is available for 10 dollars on PSN, 800 Microsoft Points on XBLA and 700 Wii Points on the Wii Shop Channel.

On the Download: July 1-7

It has been one busy Thursday for the video game industry.  I turned on the computer today and was bombarded with at least four big news stories.  Two of these stories relate to my weekly post on the newest downloadable games.  First, Capcom and Marvel are joining forces again to bring both Marvel Super Heroes and the original Marvel vs. Capcom to XBLA and PSN this coming September in the Marvel vs. Capcom Origins.  Next story is Sega's announcement that their iconic flying platformer from the Sega Saturn, Nights into Dreams will be getting a HD remake for XBLA and PSN releasing this Fall.  Two big games you will definitely see me covering here in On the Download come their release.

July 5th marked the start of Nintendo's 8-Bit Summer initiative  on the Nintendo eShop.  Throughout the month of July, there will be two new 3DS Virtual Console games released on the eShop each week. The first two games released for the 8-Bit Summer are The Legend of Zelda and NES Open Tournament Golf.  Both games were released to the 3DS Ambassadors just under a year ago for the NES wave of free games.  For those who already own these games for the 3DS, you are able to update them, which adds the restore points feature found in all other Virtual Console games among a few other upgrades.  If you are not a 3DS Ambassador, you are able to pick up these NES games for 5 dollars each.

Made by two people, Spelunky was originally released free for the PC in 2008.  Spelunky is a 2D platformer where you journey through ever-randomizing levels on your way to the end of the game.  This week an HD version of Spelunky has been released exclusively for XBLA.  While Spelunky HD does have more polished animated graphics than the PC original, it is not a mere port.  Spelunky HD has new graphics, music, weapons, items, monsters, traps, zones and secrets for gamers to experience.  Spelunky HD has also been tailor-made for the 360 controller as the controls are much smoother and easier to get use to than in the original.  Even though the levels are completely randomized, you are able to navigate the levels any way you want.  Also each level is fully-destructible.  You can compete with gamers across the world with online leaderboards or through Spelunky HD's Deathmatch multi-player mode.  Spelunky HD's Deathmatch plays a lot like a platformer version of Bomberman as you use weapons and other items, possibly even bombs, to take out your opponents in small little arenas.  If you want to play Deathmatch alone, you can play against AI bots.  Also you are able to play through the entire game with co-operatively with three other players.  Spelunky HD can be picked up on XBLA for 1200 Microsoft Points for those interested in picking it up.

On the Download: Quantum Conumdrum

For the last few weeks there has been a little drought of noteworthy downloadable games to justify doing a new edition of On the Download.  With retail releases slowing down for the summer, gamers look to downloadable initiatives like the Summer of Arcade for XBLA and the just announced 8-Bit Summer for the Nintendo eShop to keep them entertained during the summer gaming drought.  To officially start the summer is Airtight Games' Quantum Conundrum just released yesterday for download on Steam.

From the mind of Kim Swift, the lead designer of popular puzzle game Portal, and her team at Airtight Games, Quantum Conundrum is a first-person physics-based puzzle game in the vein of Portal.  Instead of thinking with portals, you manipulate objects and the environment by switching dimensions on the fly in order to solve puzzles.  In Quantum Conundrum, you play as the 12 year old nephew of eccentric scientist and inventor Profesor Quadwrangle.  You are dropped off at Professor Quadwragle's mansion to spend some time with your uncle.  Shortly after arriving at the mansion, an explosion occurs, which causes the Professor to go missing.  Trying to figure out what is going on, you stumble upon a glove that turns out to be the Interdimensional Shift Device (ISD for short), which must be used to navigate Professor Quadwrangle's mansion in order to find your missing uncle.  Throughout Quantum Conundrum, you use the Interdimensional Shift Device (ISD) to shift between four dimensions (fluffy, heavy, anti-gravity and slow-mo) each with their own attributes to solve puzzles in each room of Professor Quadwrangle's mansion.

There is no doubt.  Quantum Conundrum is very similar to Portal, but they were designed by the same person.  You can see why there are big similarities between the two.  While I do not think Qunatum Conundrum will reach the popularity or universal acclaim of Portal, it is a unique downloadable puzzle game that looks to test your brain in new and creative ways.  From what I saw at E3, I was very impressed with Quantum Conundrum and it is a game that looking to download in the near future.  At the moment, Quantum Conundrum is only available on Steam for 15 dollars.  For console owners, do not fret as Qunatum Conundrum is coming to XBLA and PSN on July 11th.