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Eager to ditch the office for the last rays of summer sun, Microsoft has let loose word of next week's Xbox Live Arcade update a bit early. Ready for this...? A pair of Silver Age arcade ports:

• Cyberball 2072 (400 points): X3F calls it "football for nerds" where today's deficiencies are replaced with robots and the pigskin explodes. 2072 is the 1989 update to the original Atari game and is better known as Tournament Cyberball, which still captivates competitive circles of, um, nerds.
  
• Fatal Fury Special (400 points): Fatal Fury 2 with bells and whistles, namely some old fighters and playable bosses. As Garou Densetsu Special, the game became a huge hit in Japan for successfully transplanting Ryo Sakazaki (from sister franchise Art of Fighting) as a hidden character, laying the seed for SNK's The King of Fighters series. Nearly 15 years later, perhaps the innovation is lost on us.
  

And for those in search of an alternative to the weekend's poolside barbecue, Microsoft has also announced a Labor Day XBLA sale, dropping Zuma and Small Arms from to 800 to 400 Microsoft Points, and Dig Dug and Gauntlet from 400 to 200 points. The sale begins at 5:00 PM PT on Saturday, Sept. 1st, and ends at 4:59 PM PT on Monday, Sept. 3rd. Nothing like half-priced underperformers, eh?

If you were into combing Xbox Live Arcade last fall, you probably remember Small Arms. For the uninitiated, the game could probably best be described as Super Smash Bros. crossed with ... well, with no recognizable characters. If you've played the game, but thought it could be improved with the introduction of squinting and phone call interruptions, your prayers are about to be answered.

Reaxion Corp. has announced that they'll be working with Gastronaut Studios to bring the diminutive brawler to phones in October of 2007. Listen, Gastronaut, we'll be happy to download it, just, please, stop making their arms smaller! It's like a Pikachu convention over there.

Remember when some of us thought Small Arms was destined to be "Smash Bros. with guns?" Oh, we can all alternate between the "L" and "O" keys about that now, but to be fair, it did have guns. And after downloading today's new Xbox Live content, it'll have two additional (and surely wacky) characters and two more combat arenas. The add-on will set you back 250 MS Points, which converts to a very awkward $3 and 12 and a half cents.

Those still playing Gastronaut Studios' frantic XBLA fighter will also receive a free update that sets right some of the game's weapon balancing, framerate hiccups and other issues that really shouldn't have taken six months to repair. And sadly enough, we're still getting better treatment here than we are with Assault Heroes and Sierra's shockingly overdue multiplayer patch.

Announced last week by Gastronaut Studios, the new downloadable content for Small Arms is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace. The new content includes 2 new levels and 2 new characters. We tooled around with the new characters and levels today. The new levels are an especially welcome addition to the game, as the old ones have become somewhat tired over time. You can check out videos of the new levels and characters after the break. Also added to the game are 2 new achievements, which can obtained with very little work at all. Should you desire the new content, it will set you back a reasonable 250 MS Points.

An free update to the game has also been released, which includes game performance tweaks and bug fixes. The update also includes some much needed weapon balancing. In particular, we've noticed that the electricity gun's secondary fire has a much slower rate of fire. If you ever found yourself frustrated by the game's weapons, you might want to give it another go with the new update in place.

How about it fanboys, do you plan on picking up the new DLC?

Gastronaut Studios has announced that the new downloadable content for Small Arms will be released tomorrow on Xbox Live Marketplace. As we've detailed before, the new content contains 2 new levels and 2 new characters (though no new weapons, regrettably). The two new characters are Ivar, a saber-toothed tiger, and Gullarp, the elephant. The new maps are Arctic Ice Floe and Pillaged Village, the respective stomping grounds of Ivar and Gullarp. The new content also packs 2 new achievements for finishing Mission Mode with a new character and for hosting an Xbox Live match on a new map. The new content pack will be available for 250 MS Points.

Alongside the new content, Gastronaut Studios will also release a free update that will address certain issues within the game. Chief among these issues are weapon balance and bug fixes. Check out some shots of the new characters in our gallery below.

We recently revealed to you that Gastronaut studios has a couple of maps and new characters coming over Xbox Live Marketplace downloadable content for Small Arms. Well, Godfree over at Gamertagradio has a video showcasing Ivar and Gullarp in the new arenas. Since the new characters are barbarian in nature, the new areas follow suit. Unfortunately, we only have the name of one map, Iceberg, as the other is shown through a mission instead. So how do these look, or would you rather have them come with new weapons?

Gamertag Radio breaks the news that new content is on the way for the Xbox Live Arcade.title Small Arms from Gastronaut Studios. X3F readers may recall that we have something of a soft spot for the game, so new content is great news. In addition to the new content, an update will also be released that should address several bugs in the game (and some weapon balancing, we hope). The new content pack will include 2 new characters and 2 new maps. We don't know about the maps yet, but the new characters have been revealed. Above you can see Ivar the tiger. Check out Gullarp the elephant after the break.

Gastronaut has finally launched the official site for Small Arms. Just a place holder before, the site is now fully functional and loaded with content. Those unfamiliar with the game can learn about all the characters, check out the weapons, and get a glimpse at the levels, too. We recommend looking at the weapon models. It's amazing how much detail they packed onto them (especially considering you can never focus on it during play). There are plenty of downloads including wallpapers and IM icons. There are also links to the Small Arms forums and blog. Finally, there is a section for viewing the Small Arms leaderboard, though it's not up and running yet.

Small Arms is still one of our favorite Live Arcade games. Here's hoping we get some new content soon.

[Via The Xbox Domain. Thanks, Tom]

The third original title to hit Xbox Live Arcade in less than a month, Assault Heroes, will arrive on Wednesday (for 800 points). Wanako Studios' top-down shooter (à la Commando, Ikari Warriors, etc.) will follow closely behind two insipid releases, Small Arms and Roboblitz, which have appeared on XBLA during the past three weeks.

Ever since Geometry Wars stole the Xbox 360 launch spotlight, there's been a great deal of anticipation for more original XBLA titles; and Microsoft has certainly put together a fine strategy: holding them off for a holiday blitz. But the early bait has failed to earn our confidence -- our assurance that XBLA can consistently provide distinguishing experiences. And so, it's with much trepidation that we look forward to Assault Heroes' impending arrival.

We missed this earlier today (thanks to my recent move, I haven't had internet for three days!) but there is some new Small Arms content available on Xbox Live Marketplace. The theme (150 points) features Fox Claw, Marky Kat (fear the shotgun), Tyrone, and Lord Peet. The gamer pics (100 points) feature the same characters and also ... um ... a ham. Yes, a ham. We may be stepping over the line here, but that just might be the best gamer picture ever. It's also perfect -- and a little diabolical -- that we have just enough points left over for these after purchasing Small Arms. Go grab 'em if you're so inclined (you know you want the ham).

And since we're talking Small Arms, how is everyone liking it (or not)?

Gears of War may be king of the hill for the second week in a row, but it isn't the only game making statistical waves on Live. Small Arms, you know, the game we've talked about incessantly for months, debuted at number four on the overall 360 Live charts -- and number one in Xbox Live Arcade specifically. It's really no surprise that the latest XBLA title would debut at number one in the Arcade list, but making number 4 overall is very impressive. For our part, we probably played Small Arms for 4 hours straight the night it came out (and that was just me). As long as you're not stuck in a room full of Unit 51 electricity gun spammers*, there's a lot of fun to be had. How many of you spent time with Small Arms this weekend?

*Seriously, that gun could use some tweaking.

I downloaded Small Arms this morning and played it for a good solid hour. I managed to fight our way through single player and played a few Live matches, too. What was the experience like? Is Small Arms worth 800 points? Read on to find out.

"What are you playing" hits a little early this week, thanks to the holiday of Thanksgiving. For most lucky Americans, Thanksgiving means that today is actually Friday, and we have a long weekend ahead of us. As such, Thanksgiving is about more traditions than turkey. Thanksgiving is also traditionally a time that we all gather around the TV to play videogames. But, we wouldn't want our friends up north, down south, or across the ocean to feel left out, so we have something for the rest of the world to celebrate, too. Celebrate the fact that Small Arms is now resting comfortably in its new home, Xbox Live Arcade. Take comfort knowing that a multiplayer demo of Lost Planet is arriving tomorrow (hopefully worldwide).

So what am I playing this long weekend? Small Arms is a no-brainer, maybe some Gears of War, and still Lego Star Wars II (damn you Minikits!). I hope everyone has a nice Thanksgiving. And don't fret, we're not going away. We'll have news for the rest of the day and some posts for Thanksgiving and "Black Friday," too. But enough about that, what are you playing this weekend?

Leaderboards:
Xbox 360 Fanboy Leaderboard
Xbox 360 Fanboy Leaderboard Mk. II

What were you playing (WRUP archive)

It has been a long time coming, but Small Arms has made it (after all) to Xbox Live Arcade. Sure, it brings 4-player rapid-fire blasting action to the Arcade, but we all know that its major innovation is the introduction of psychotic Mexican chickens to videogames. It's a milestone that is long overdue. We're getting on in just a few minutes to try this puppy out, so all the working stiffs out there can rest assured we'll have impressions soon. While we're at it, we'll see if we can't find a Gastronaut employee so we can grab the awesome "Six Degrees" achievement. With any luck, the whole readership of 360 Fanboy will be "infected" in no time!

See Also:
X360F Interview with Small Arms' GastronautDon
Small Arms Archive

Xbox 360 owners looking to feed their Smash Bros. urges will now have an outlet on Wednesday, when Gastronaut Studios' Small Arms will be released on Xbox Live Arcade. The four-player beat-and- shoot-em-up features 12 anthropomorphic characters, each with their own weapon, across eight levels.

One of the achievements which stands out as an interesting social experiment is "Six Degrees of Small Arms." You can only earn the achievement by playing with someone who has it, and right now only the game's creators have it. If the six degrees phenomenon has any merit on Xbox Live, earning this achievement should be a matter of time.

Though the press release does say to "expect premium downloadable content" in the future, it also promises that Wednesday's download will include three single-player modes and both online and offline multiplayer. Small Arms will be available for download 1:00 a.m. PST (that's 4:00 a.m. EST) for 800 MS points, or $10 in real money.

Continue reading for a video of Small Arms in action.

See Also:
X06: XBLA mini-impressions