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After teasing the upcoming "Big Pack" DLC for Trials HD, developer RedLynx has revealed some actual details. According to a new trailer hosted by Eurogamer, the DLC will contain 35 new maps, 50 new objects for the level editor and 5 new tournaments. The DLC will also pack three more Achievements, which should please all the trick jumping masters out there. Head over to Eurogamer for the trailer, and keep an eye out for the Big Pack, which hits XBLM on December 24 for 800 ($10).

It looks like we get more than the previously announced Alien Breed Evolution on XBLA this week, as Major Nelson has revealed that it will be joined by Puzzlegeddon from Tecmo. Despite its apocalyptic name, Puzzlegeddon sports an entirely cheery disposition, complete with lots of bright colors and bubbly music. The PC version previously received some decent reviews, and we've certainly been roped in by cute puzzle games in the past.

Alien Breed Evolution and Puzzlegeddon will run you 800 ($10) apiece.

The trailer we've placed below the break for XBLA's Zeno Clash: Ultimate Editiion is a failure. It's not that you won't get a good idea of the first-person-brawler-slash-shooter's gameplay -- you will. It's that the clip doesn't come within a million miles of communicating just how skin-crawlingly creepy the experience of playing Zeno Clash is.

Just for the record, it's kind of like taking a shower in Neil Gaiman's bathwater after its been filtered through David Lynch's birth certificate. Cr-eepy.

Microsoft has announced the Xbox Live Marketplace content schedule for December and it's a real doozy. The Deals of the Week -- usually a haven for long-forgotten or unwanted DLC -- are actually real deals this month. In particular, Shadow Complex will be dropped from 1200 ($15) to 800 ($10) during the week of December 21. The following week, starting December 28, Twisted Pixel's The Maw will fall from 800 ($10) to a miniscule 400 ($5).

In addition to the normal Deals of the Week, Microsoft will also be offering daily deals from December 18-31. The company didn't specify what any of those deals will be, though it promises discounts on "games, movies, blockbuster game add-ons, holiday themes, you name it!" Rest assured, we'll be keeping our eye on things once the deals start rolling.

In the meantime, check out the XBLM December schedule, including Deals of the Week, Games on Demand and XBLA after the break.

Taito's unleashed a new puzzle game on Xbox Live Arcade this week: Qix++ for $10 (800). The demo version of the game only offers two levels to try out, but the full game sports 16 different stages and a multiplayer mode. So, without further ado, check out the video above to see what the game is all about.

Shortcut: Download the trial version of Qix++ [Via Xbox.com]

Say what you will about Rare, it certainly knows us. The company announced via its Twitter account that the XBLA version of Perfect Dark was officially slated for early 2010 and not winter like it promised, and before we could even work ourselves into the hint of a lather, Rare chided that the window "is still 'winter', stop moaning."

To help smooth things over a little more the company dropped the fresh screenshot you can see above. OK, Rare, you're forgiven ... this time.

If dynamite comes in small packages, it's fair to assume that lots of dynamite comes in BIG packages. Enter: a new teaser video for the "BIG Pack," an upcoming downloadable add-on to Xbox Live Arcade's bone-breaking bike-'em-up, Trials HD. It's an explosive montage of two-wheeler stunts that fly by too quickly for the brain to process, so be sure to make use of that pause button on the video embedded after the break.


[Thanks, billymagnum]

Rare has posted some new screenshots of the upcoming Xbox Live Arcade remake of Perfect Dark. If you're looking at the above screen and thinking it doesn't look too hot, you aren't alone. Fret not, however, as this is a shot from the original game. After the break, you can see what the wizards at Rare have done to beautify the original.

Once you finish marveling at its majesty, check out another screenshot and some new art in the gallery below.

Microsoft's Major Nelson has announced that Qix ++ is headed to Xbox Live Arcade this week. Apart from the price (800 / $10), that's really all we know. The "++" in the title might be a clue, though, given that Jeff "Why'd you buy Frogger" Minter seems to have an affinity for throwing plus signs at the end of retro game titles. It's also worth noting that Minter worked on the XBLA version of Space Invaders Extreme which, like Qix, is a Taito (via Square Enix) game. For now, with no assets of the game available, you'll have to settle for a video of the original Qix posted after the break.

In other news, the Xbox Live Deal of the Week is Rock Band DLC, specifically No Doubt's The Singles 1992-2003 album. The DLC has been discounted from 1600 ($20) to 1200 ($15).

Shortcut: Download The Singles 1992-2003 [Xbox.com]

There's good news and bad news about Metal Slug 7 on Xbox Live Arcade. The bad news is that we're pretty sure it's not coming out. The good news is that Metal Slug XX, the upgraded, multiplayer-capable PSP remix of the DS game, is replacing it in SNK's 2010 lineup. SNK also announced XBLA ports of two of its fighting games: King of Fighters 2002 Ultimate Match and Neo Geo Battle Coliseum. All three will join the weird King of Fighters shooting game, The King of Fighters Sky Stage, on XBLA in spring 2010.

These games have, so far, been announced only for Japan, but we are sure SNK will release them all worldwide -- if only because it would be a waste of effort to develop an XBLA title just for the few people in Japan who would buy it.

[Thanks, sacra!]

What's the only thing more satisfying than aligning colorful blocks on a rectangular grid while simultaneously recreating pleasant ambient tunes from musical artists such as Moby? Simple -- doing so while simultaneously donating to charity. That's the package that OneBigGame and Zoe Mode will offer on XBLA at some point this winter, when their music/puzzle game Chime lands on the XBLA.

Though we've known about this non-profit puzzler for a month now, we've yet to see the title in action. Fortunately, OneBigGame dropped a gameplay demonstration video earlier today, which we've posted above. Yeah, sure, it's got a few aesthetic similarities to Lumines, but considering all the proceeds from the game go to Save the Children and Starlight Children's foundation, we're not going to raise a stink about it. We think saving children is like, the coolest thing you can possibly do.

Team17 has announced that the first episode of its upcoming shooter, Alien Breed Evolution, will arrive on Xbox Live Arcade on Wednesday, December 16. The first of three planned episodes, the game will offer both single-player and co-op play. Team17 revealed earlier this year that each episode would contain a prologue and five full levels, lasting roughly five to eight hours altogether. Each episode will also include a cooperative battle mode. The first episode has been priced at 800 ($10).

Check out a new trailer above, new screens below, and episode one videos after the break.

Last year's free Xbox Live Arcade game from the Unlock Xbox contest, Dash of Destruction, may not have been the best game we ever played, but it was certainly far from the worst. Also, it had that whole costing nothing thing going for it, so that helped our opinions considerably. This year, our chances of getting a fun game have doubled, with the contest's 1,500 competitors vying for two spots rather than one.

The final eight contestants have been culled from the initial submissions (listed after the break), and are now available to be voted on over at the contest's website, ultimately determining three game ideas to be given final pitches at Microsoft. From there, we get two XBLA games full of Doritos' "bold, intense" branding -- and at the very least some free Achievements.

Tragnarion Studios has announced that it will soon bring its third-person shooter, entitled The Scourge Project -- first announced in 2007 -- to Xbox Live Arcade, PSN and Steam. The game, powered by the Unreal Engine, promises "a unique focus on co-operative narrative and gameplay," in which each of the four playable characters will have a unique perspective on the story. From a more meat-and-potatoes standpoint, the game features five hours of gameplay over four levels (each with different special abilities), nine different weapons and co-op for up to four players. The Scourge Project also offers versus multiplayer for up to sixteen players and includes deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture the flag and "Frontier."

The game certainly seems to be packing some graphical chops, especially compared to Tragnarion's previous project for the DS, a puzzler called Doodle Hex. The game is expected to debut on Steam this month, while the XBLA version is scheduled to arrive in March 2010. The press release does mention a PSN version of the game, though it doesn't appear in the body of the text. We've contacted Tragnarion to see if the PSN listing was legitimate or made in error.

Check out some screens in the gallery below and find more info on the official Scourge Project site.

[Via Big Download]