After a summer wave of hot games like Braid and Galaga Legions the Xbox Live Arcade train appears to be slowing down. Games are still coming, but Microsoft hasn’t been as loud about what games are coming out this month. Shadow Assault: Tenchu was haphazardly thrown on to Xbox Live Arcade during Tokyo Game Show along with Beat ‘n Groovy, Konami’s hip version of Pop ‘n Music last week when all we were told about was MLB Stickball.
Shadow Assault: Tenchu is Bomberman stealth. You take control of Rikimaru, Ayame, and other Tenchu characters on ninja missions played with a grid. Goals range from killing all of the guards by setting springs on the floor and escaping to a safe zone in a set amount of time. Avoid being seen by treading around yellow squares which indicate what guards can see. Shadow Assault: Tenchu has an online multiplayer mode too where four players attempt to out trap one another. Shadow Assault: Tenchu costs 800 Microsoft Points ($10).
Beat ‘n Groovy is Pop ‘n Music minus the controller or DJ Max without a slick art style. Beats fall from the sky and you hit them by pressing a combination of D pad directions and face buttons in either three beat or five beat mode. Nine songs are packaged with Beat ‘n Groovy and some of them like 100sec. Kitchen Battle and Moon are directly from Pop ‘n Music. An Xbox Vision camera mode changes Beat ‘n Groovy from a button pressing game to an arm waving game. Online features include leaderboards and Xbox Live Starmine (pop’n mixx) battles. Beat ‘n Groovy is available now for 800 Microsoft Points ($10).
Crazy Mouse (pictured) snuck on to Xbox Live Arcade today too. You control a mouse with an insatiable appetite. The gameplay is similar Pac-Man’s pellet collecting adventures, but Crazy Mouse comes packing heat with a few weapons. It’s one of the cheaper titles on Xbox Live Arcade for 400 Microsoft Points ($5).
Images courtesy of Ultizen Games and Konami.
Published: Oct 15, 2008 10:55 am