Joystiq [Xbox]

That is to say: All forty characters in the game will be available from the first moment Tekken 6 graces your disc drive. Speaking to VideoGamer, Tekken series director Katsuhiro Harada stated -- through a translator -- that unlockables in games are "outdated."

Harada says that unlockables were originally implemented in order to extend the life of arcade games. As characters are unlocked, players would have more reason to come back to the machine. We definitely wasted a few quarters just for the chance to play as Kuma, so we'd say the plan worked. Harada said that unlockable characters were added to the home version for the same reason, implying that it would discourage gamers from renting the game instead of buying it.

Fast-forward to Tekken 6, and Harada says that unlockables are "outdated now ... especially with online play." He notes that today's gamers would be irritated by competing online against characters that they have yet to unlock. Thus, you won't find any unlockable characters in Tekken 6.

Of course, history tells us we still might see some characters for sale.

Another twofer this week, as XBLA adds a fighting game and a turn-based strategy game to its ever-growing ranks. From SNK's huge library of fighting games, we have King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match. The XBLA version includes online play and will set you back 800 ($10). Meanwhile, Team17 has dropped the sequel to the XBLA version of Worms, which is titled, appropriately enough, Worms 2: Armageddon. The game brings lots of new features to the table -- as well as some old favorites -- and also costs 800 ($10).

Watch the latest episode of XBLA in Brief and see which one is screaming for your hard-earned cash.

Download the trial version of King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match
Download the trial version of Worms 2: Armageddon

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So, remember how NinjaBee teased us with fireball-tossing Avatars last week? It turns out that the developer isn't creating a brand new Avatar game after all. Instead, NinjaBee is adding Avatar support to its turn-based strategy game, Band of Bugs. Yeah, it's not as exciting as the Avatar fighting game of our dreams, but it might be enough to make us blow the digital dust off of the XBLA title. Players will be able to use their Avatars in both the single-player campaign and in Spider Hunter multiplayer mode. The Avatar support will be coming as a free update on July 8.

In addition to Avatar support, NinjaBee is also set release an entirely new campaign for Band of Bugs entitled Tales of Kaloki, though it's very different from traditional DLC. Instead of simply expanding Band of Bugs, Tales of Kaloki actually plays like an entirely new game set in a different universe with different characters. Rather than pitting bugs against one another, players will control spaceships -- which utilize new weapons and abilities -- and try to blast their enemies out of the sky. And, judging from the above image, you can also wreak urban havoc with your Avatar.

As the title implies, Tales of Kaloki is based on another NinjaBee XBLA game, Outpost Kaloki X. The DLC will be available July 8 for 240 ($3). NinjaBee will also be releasing a Band of Bugs dashboard theme on the same day for the same price.

Check out screens of Tales of Kaloki and Avatars in Band of Bugs in the galleries below.

Now, NinjaBee, seriously ... about that fighting game ....

Just shy of its official release on Xbox Live Arcade, Team17 has dropped plenty of details and a big ol' pile of screens for Worms 2 Armageddon, out tomorrow for 800 ($10). First up, there are lots of new weapons in Worms 2, some of them are brand new, while others are returning favorites from other installments in the series. Fans will be happy to know that the Concrete Donkey is back (as is his nemesis, the Buffalo of Lies[?]). The game also includes bunker buster bombs which, true to their name, are used to take out cowardly worms that have burrowed deep, deep out of harm's way.

As we've mentioned before, the game also brings persistent fire, which is utilized in weapons like napalm and the petrol bomb. The game includes a handful of new modes too, such as Fort Mode -- which sets each team's worms in opposing bases instead of placing them randomly -- and Rope Race Mode. Another addition that might not sound too sexy but, trust us, it's important: Host migration for network play. The game also introduces vertical levels, which are tall and narrow, as opposed to the traditional wide levels.

All in all, it sounds like Worms 2 Armageddon is packing plenty of punch. Check out new screens in the gallery below and two trailers after the break.

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And the mighty Xbox Live tug-of-war continues this week as Major Nelson reports that Halo 3 has once again wrangled the top spot from Call of Duty: World at War. We'd like to say there were some other -- more interesting -- changes this week, but the rest of the list remains almost completely unchanged. The only other difference is that Fallout 3 replaced Prototype at ninth place, knocking the latter to tenth.

Don't worry, though, we've got a new Halo game and a new Call of Duty game on the way in just a few months. Then we can at least see different iterations of the same series occupying the top two slots. That's something to look forward to, right?

[Image: Pwn or Die]

Once again, we provide you, our dear listeners, with a fresh episode of the Xbox 360 Fancast. This week, we chat about important console features, ODST and more. We also take quite a bit of time discussing Natal and whether or not the act of sweating makes a game better. Alexander submits that it does not. Download the latest episode and enjoy.

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Hosts: Richard Mitchell (SenseiRAM), Dustin Burg (SuperDunners), Alexander Sliwinski (Sli Xander).

Produced by Richard Mitchell

Music: Intro/Outro: "Electromooq" by Uma Floresta. "Right On" by Special Patrol.


For fans: Xbox 360 Fancast Facebook group

Continued →

MCV reports that Microsoft has signed a deal with Canal+ to provide on-demand programming to France via the Xbox 360. Microsoft will utilize the Canal+ on-demand service Canalplay, which offers movies and television programs, and will also offer the football (soccer) channel Foot+. According to MCV, the deal will eventually expand to include other Canal+ services and other Microsoft platforms as well.

Welcome to the magical world of Xbox video on-demand, France. Or should we say bienvenue?

If you're in the market for a delightfully bouncy orchestral video game soundtrack, then we've got some good news for you. Sumthing Digital will be offering the official Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts soundtrack starting tomorrow. We've sampled a few tracks and can confirm that it is most definitely delightfully bouncy and orchestral. All kidding aside, it's actually a pretty decent soundtrack, and certainly better than a lot of the other game music out there.

The soundtrack will also be available from Amazon, and can currently be pre-ordered for $13.99, nearly two bucks off the $15.98 list price. As Rare states on its website, "Nobody has an overabundance of vehicular bear music in their library right now, so this deserves a shot."

Source - Sumthing Digital
Source - Amazon

CVG reports that the UK version of Official Xbox Magazine will include a free, premium Left 4 Dead theme in its next issue's disc. We contacted OXM's US offices and have confirmed with Senior Editor Dan Amrich that the theme will also be appearing in same issue of the US publication. The theme, incidentally, was actually crafted by Valve. Amrich also mentioned that the disc will have five Left 4 Dead gamerpics as well. The issue should already be arriving in subscriber mailboxes and will hit newsstands next Tuesday.

Oh, and the magazine has info about Left 4 Dead 2 in it too, so that's a plus. If you'd like to pick one up for yourself, keep an eye out for the Left 4 Dead 2 cover, which you can check out after the break.

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Square Enix has released some brand new DLC for its saccharine puzzler, Yosumin Live. Called "Yosumin Adventure," the content has players traveling "the world to recover the pieces of a beautiful stained-glass window." That's just precious, which is in keeping with the game's already colorful presentation. According to Siliconera, the content adds a full 180 stages to the game. At only 80 ($1), we'd say it's a steal for Yosumin fans.

Add "Yosumin Adventure" to your Xbox 360 download queue.

[Via Siliconera]

This week on XBLA in Brief, we take the trial versions of both Droplitz and Garou: Mark of the Wolves for a spin. Droplitz is a puzzle game that involves turning lots of dials so that the game's titular droplets make it safely to the bottom of the screen. Garou -- known as Fatal Fury outside of Japan -- is a fighting game from the fine folks at SNK. Watch the latest episode of our XBLA series above and decide if either game is worth your 800 ($10).

Download the trial version of Droplitz
Download the trial version of Garou: Mark of the Wolves

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Major Nelson sends word that new summer fashions are now available (and free!) for Xbox 360 Avatars. The ladies get the bulk of the new clothing options, with the flower vest, surfer hot pants, surfer skirts, surfer shorts and the surfer dress (protip: Don't surf in a dress). Male Avatars get the rashguard, swim shorts, surfer shorts and what Microsoft calls a "white vest." Come on Microsoft, we know a K-Fed tank top when we see one.

We know, we know, it's been a while. And, for that, we're sorry. Between E3 recovery, vacations and crippling sickness, we just haven't had a Fancast out for a while. Fret no more, for the show is finally back and better than ever. Well, okay, not better than ever. After all, Xav was still sick for this one, so you'll have to make do with only 75 percent of our usual awesome.

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3).
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[RSS MP3] Add the Xbox 360 Fanboy Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.
[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.

Hosts: Richard Mitchell (SenseiRAM), Dustin Burg (SuperDunners), Alexander Sliwinski (Sli Xander).

Produced by Richard Mitchell

Music: Intro/Outro: "Electromooq" by Uma Floresta. "Revenge of the Daft" by Sunshine Variety Club.


For fans: Xbox 360 Fancast Facebook group

Continued →

Good news, puzzle poppers, an Xbox 360 listing for a new Bust-a-Move title has been spotted on the ESRB database by Siliconera. The new entry in the bubble-popping puzzle series is entitled Bust-a-Move Live! and ... we don't know much else about it. Given that it's on Xbox (probably Xbox Live Arcade), we would certainly hope it contains Xbox Live play. Siliconera notes that the WiiWare release, Bust-a-Move Plus, has downloadable puzzles, so it's possible we'll see them in the Xbox release as well.

Even without downloadable puzzles, Bust-a-Move is one of the better puzzle series out there, and we're glad to see it heading to Xbox 360.

After running into some significant (and now fixed) issues on Xbox Live Marketplace, it looks like there are still more kinks to be worked out of Xbox.com since the Xbox Live maintenance earlier this week. Tipster soulpopped reports that secret Achievements are showing up on gamercards, regardless of whether or not you've unlocked them yourself.

Specifically, the new Xbox.com shows three of the most recent Achievements unlocked on any person's gamercard. If one of those three Achievements happens to be secret, it will still show the full achievement description and image, even if the person viewing it hasn't unlocked it. If, however, you open the "Compare Games" section, the achievement is simply listed as "Secret," as it's supposed to be. If you're still confused, check out the images in the gallery below for a more detailed example.

We haven't been able to replicate the bug, as there's a slim chance that one of the three most recent Achievements unlocked by someone happens to be secret, but it's still worth noting if you absolutely hate to see any part of the gaming experience spoiled.

We asked Major Nelson if Microsoft has encountered this (admittedly minor) issue. We'll update this as soon as we hear anything.