wits-and-wagers posts (Subscribe to this feed)

Soulcalibur bloodies up the XBLA this Wednesday

by Dustin Burg { Jun 30th 2008 at 12:45PM }

Sometimes rumors turn out to be true, and in the case of Soulcalibur making its way to the Xbox Live Arcade this Wednesday ... well, that's true.

Just today, Microsoft announced that on the morning of Wednesday, July 2nd, old-school Soulcalibur will be releasing to the XBLA at the 800 Microsoft price point. Included in this XBLA version of Soulcalibur will be all nineteen fighters, leaderboards, versus play and over eight game modes to experience in gorgeous high definition. Enough to make any fanboy shed a tear of happiness. Not only will we be treated to Soulcalibur this week, but XBLA game Wits and Wagers will be receiving a 320 MS point expansion that adds an additional 280 questions to the mix. Make the jump for the official press release.

Gallery: Soulcalibur (XBLA)

X3F TV -- XBLA in Brief: Wits and Wagers

by Richard Mitchell { May 7th 2008 at 6:30PM }

After a one week break -- no new XBLA games last week -- XBLA in Brief is back. This week we take a look at the new trivia game Wits and Wagers. Aimed squarely at casual gamers, Wits and Wagers emphasizes simple gameplay over the more hardcore elements of games like, say, Ikaruga. No sharp reflexes needed here. Just select your answer, place your bets, and see who wins. Not bad, though it's definitely not for everyone. Check out the video and see what you think.

[iTunes] Subscribe to X3F TV directly in iTunes.
[Zune] Subscribe to the X3F TV directly (Zune Marketplace link coming soon).
[RSS] Add the X3F TV feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.
[M4V] Download the M4V directly.

Wits and Wagers trivializes XBLA

by Richard Mitchell { May 7th 2008 at 10:00AM }

A new Xbox Live Arcade release is upon us, brothers and sisters. This vile temptation goes by the name of Wits and Wagers and it tempts our youth to succumb to the terrible sin of gambling. True, the abomination may be disguised as a simple trivia game, but close inspection reveals that the only way to win is to bet on the winning answer. Truly it is an evil game, and one that you should spurn as you would spurn a rabid dog.

But seriously, folks, Wits and Wagers is a trivia game and it's available now for 800 Microsoft points. Oh, and Scene-It owners take note: it features support for the Big Button controller. It also make rather ... interesting use of the Vision camera. Go grab the trial version and see what you think.

Gallery: Wits and Wagers (XBLA)

This Wednesday: Wits & Wagers abets XBLA lineup

by Ludwig Kietzmann { May 5th 2008 at 5:55PM }

This Wednesday's Xbox Live Arcade addition is "trivia party game," Wits & Wagers. That's what it says in the headline. Not conveyed in the bold line of text is that the game offers 700 different questions -- none of which you necessarily need to know the answers to. You see, the trick is to place bets on the answers which you think are "closest to the truth." There's also "dancing characters and upbeat music" to look forward to, so that's nice.

Wits & Wagers (only available in the US, UK and Canada) supports 4-player couch play, 2-6 players online, as well as those wacky camera and big button peripherals you have hooked up to your Xbox 360. But how much is it?

$1,000,000
239 Wii Points
13 pieces of eight
800 MS Points
The Truth

Place your bets on the one you think is closest to the truth.

XBLA bets on a Wits and Wagers release this week

by Dustin Burg { May 5th 2008 at 12:30PM }

Coming off a a week long Xbox Live Arcade drought, Microsoft just announced that the board game based Wits and Wagers will be releasing to the XBLA this Wednesday, May 7th. W00t!

For 800 Microsoft points, players will be treated to a trivia game unlike any other, where players bet on who they believe knows the correct answer. With over 700 questions, a quirky presentation, up to six players online, local play and big button controller support, Wits and Wagers may fill that social trivia void you feel inside.

Gallery: Wits and Wagers (XBLA)

Upcoming XBLA game screeny blowout to the max!

by Dustin Burg { Mar 19th 2008 at 5:00PM }

Located after the break (in their respective game galleries) are hundreds upon hundreds of screenshots for the recently confirmed for release Xbox Live Arcade games Rocky and Bullwinkle, Wits and Wagers, TiQal and Shotest Shogi. And when we say hundreds upon hundreds of screenshots, we kid you not. The bandwidth needed for all these screens would require us to be owned by a ginormous corporate company ... thankfully, we are. So, enjoy your screenshot viewing, embrace these upcoming XBLA games and eat up as much bandwidth as you can stomach.

Continued →

Doom, Assault Heroes become $5 XBLA Hits

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Mar 17th 2008 at 5:15PM }

Perhaps, like us, you occasionally feel the urge to parade through the neighborhood, toting nothing but an impossibly huge rocket launcher and a desire to vaporize anything that, well, isn't you. And perhaps, like us, you realize (before it's too late) that these impractical desires are best expressed in video games such as Sierra Online's Assault Heroes or id Software's iconic Doom. It's certainly a lot cheaper.

In fact, the two aforementioned games will be added to Xbox Live's Arcade Hits program this Wednesday, March 19th, resulting in a 50% discount to 400 MS Points ($5) each. As Microsoft is keen to point out in the same press release, your determined point pinching may just come in handy for a lineup of new titles due to arrive on Xbox Live Arcade "in the near future:"

Continued →

List of XBLA games that are headed our way

by Dustin Burg { Mar 17th 2008 at 3:45PM }

With today's Xbox Live Arcade Hits announcement, Microsoft also felt the need to dangle a freshly baked cookie in front of our noses by revealing a few games that are headed to the Arcade soon'ish. Among the games listed in their "coming soon" checklist are Rocky and Bullwinkle, Shotest Shogi, TiQal, Wits & Wagers and Capcom's Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3. So, you can pretty much choose one or two of those for an XBLA release next week. We're also giving you permission to uncontrollably complain if none of those five titles tickles your Arcade fancy. On the same token, feel free to uncontrollably praise the games if you're excited for a specific title.

You can bet that Wits and Wagers is XBLA bound

by Dustin Burg { Feb 15th 2008 at 12:30PM }

Again, our trusty friend the ESRB has come to the rescue in fulling our insatiable appetite for upcoming (and totally unannounced) XBLA games with their latest listing for Wits and Wagers.

Wits and Wagers will be a title developed by the crew over at Hidden Path Entertainment and solely for the Xbox 360. In general, Wits and Wagers is a board game where players answer trivia and place bets on which guess is closest to the actual answer. Simple enough. Though, we're curious to see how well Hidden Path can pull off a game like Wits and Wagers seeing that their only experience on the 360 is an XNA demo and creating a trivia game isn't the easiest genre to make entertaining. It doesn't really matter though. We're just proud that we discovered another upcoming XBLA game long before its announcement. We so cool!