Arcade Hits and Fresh Lineup of Upcoming Titles

This week’s Xbox LIVE® Arcade Wednesday is coming a day early with the Tuesday, December 4 launch of the Arcade Hits program, offering some of the best-selling Xbox LIVE Arcade games at permanently reduced prices.  Timed with the Xbox LIVE Fall Update, Arcade Hits can be found within the Xbox LIVE Arcade section of the new Game Store, making it easier than ever to build a library of great downloadable games. 

Get ready for high-flying stunt driving in GripShift.

The first games to become Arcade Hits:

• Bankshot Billiards 2 (PixelStorm): Bankshot Billiards 2™improves on the original with nine game styles—classic 8-Ball, 9-Ball, Cutthroat, Euro 8-Ball, 14.1 Continuous, 3-Ball, Trick Shots, Time Trial, and Golf. The game will be available for 800 Microsoft Points.
• Lumines LIVE! (Q Entertainment Inc.): Lumines LIVE! is a deep and entertaining game experience, enhanced with vibrant music and newly designed skins that you can custom-select in Skin Edit mode. The game will be available for 800 Microsoft Points.
• Marble Blast Ultra (Garage Games): In Marble Blast Ultra, compete against other players by navigating marbles through moving platforms and dangerous hazards, while collecting rare gems and power-up enhancements, in an effort to complete each course in record time. The game is available for 400 Microsoft Points.
• Small Arms (Gastronaut Studios): Easy to pick up but hard to put down, Small Arms is a frantic multiplayer action game with the feel of an arcade shooter. The game is available at 400 Microsoft Points.
• Zuma Deluxe (Oberon Media): Explore more than 20 realms in Adventure mode and put your skills to the test in this fast-paced puzzle game. The game is available at 400 Microsoft Points.

With free trial downloads for every game and over 100 games to choose from, Xbox LIVE Arcade offers something for every member of the family.

Major Milestones
Last month, Xbox LIVE Arcade celebrated two major milestones: its 100th title release on November 14 and its two-year anniversary on Xbox 360 on November 22, highlighting the platform’s leadership position as the premier destination for digitally distributed, high-definition original and classic games.

Play the classic Sensible World of Soccer in HD.

Upcoming Arcade Games
The fun continues through the New Year as Xbox LIVE Arcade prepares to release several new titles in the coming weeks:

• Arkadian Warriors (Sierra Online): Play as one of three heroic shape-shifting warriors embarking on a trek of epic proportions to release the Land of Arkadia from the evil Gorgon’s stony gaze. An original title on XboxLIVEArcade, Arkadian Warriors features treacherous dungeons where cooperative hack-and-slash role-playing action enhances a deep single-player storyline. The game includes a robust LIVE-enabled cooperative multiplayer mode for two players online or on the same console.
• Brain Challenge (Gameloft):An entertaining brain training program, Brain Challenge boosts brain activity and helps you develop stress-management skills thanks to a wide variety of games. A personal coach helps you develop abilities in several areas of cognitive function, including logic, math, memory and visual thinking, in a fun and entertaining way.
• GripShift® (Sidhe Interactive): Through a mix of sky-high platforming and stunt driving, GripShift combines automotive and puzzle-solving skills across 120 challenge levels, 25 rubber-burning racetracks, and 20 deadly Deathmatch arenas. Zoom to victory with four players over Xbox LIVE or race solo, all while enjoying a customizable music experience.
• N+ (Slick Entertainment and Metanet Software Inc.):Play as an acrobatic ninja in this addictive action-puzzle platformer. “N+” features inadvertently homicidal robots, stylish graphics, a level editor, and intense multiplayer awesomeness.
• Omega Five (Hudson Entertainment): Omega Fiveis a next-gen, high-definition shooter with awe-inspiring graphics. Fly through dangerous 3-D environments in this side-scroller and do battle with enemies that come at you from all sides, even the background. Omega Five comes to Xbox LIVE Arcade this winter.
• Poker Smash (Void Star Creations): Experience a whole new puzzle game with a poker twist as Poker Smash delivers stunning visuals and radical features such as super-slow motion and card-blasting bombs. Get ready for a fast-paced innovative game with amazing HD graphics and a custom soundtrack that will blow you away!
• Rez HD (Q Entertainment): The psychedelic, cult-classic shooter created by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, Rez HD makes its way onto Xbox LIVE Arcade early next year. A frenetic, wire-frame adventure backed by industrial beats, the story of Rez HD takes you deep into the world’s computer network, where you must hack the system, alter the visual output and take over the music, creating your own rhythms and eye candy as you dig deeper into the cyberworld.
• Sensible World of Soccer (Codemasters):The game that inspired a generation, Sensible World of Soccer lets you experience both the classic and modern HD version. With multiple play modes, play a quick game, start a career mode, manage a team, or take part in your own Champions league.