The Simpson’s Arcade Game Confirmed for PSN and XBLA

Today, Konami announced that The Simpsons Arcade Game is officially coming to Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network.  Coming soon, that is. In fact, it’s launching this very week for Xbox users. The game hits the Xbox Marketplace on Friday, February 3^rd for 800 Microsoft points. Sony players will have to wait until next Tuesday, February 7^th to buy it for $9.99 from PSN.

Sony Users, to pass the time, help yourself to some more stock.

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Aww Buddies, Fez is Showing Signs of Life!

Let’s talk about Fez: the perpetually delayed indie game darling for XBLA. Guess what? Straight from the game’s designer, Phil Fish, we now know that Fez has finally been rated by the ESRB. He’s been posting about it on his Twitter:

“FEZ RECEIVES ESRB RATING: E for everyone, mild fantasy violence!”
“E FOR EVERYTHING IS REALLY HAPPENING!”

Granted, it’s now a day later and this rating still has not been posted on the official ESRB website, but this is still a great sign. The game was already rated in December by Europe’s PEGI board, so this is the next logical step. After years of delays and scattered screenshots, this is the most substantial “this might actually happen” news we’ve seen yet.

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XBLA House Party 2012 Line-Up Announced

Microsoft let slip a video on Xbox Live today announcing the line-up for the House Party 2012 promotion. I’m still not sure exactly what Xbox Live Arcade games have to do with a bunch of twenty-somethings having a high-school house party, but I appreciate the effort in putting together quality titles under a single bannerhead for the purpose of sheer hype. Ready to see what’s going to be taking your money in coming month?

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Review – Crimson Alliance

Crimson Alliance was one of the games that we got a chance to preview at E3 2011 and it has been release for download on the Xbox Live Marketplace. Crimson Alliance was developed by Certain Affinity, the same folks who brought you the Halo: Reach Defiant Map Pack and the original Left 4 Dead. Certain Affinity is also pitching in on the new Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary. With such a strong track record with high profile first person shooters, how would they do with a top down dungeon crawler/beat’em up like Crimson Alliance?

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Here Comes a New Challenger! Virtua Fighter 5 Returns!

It’s been a long time since I’ve dusted off Virtua Fighter 5, with all the other great fighting game franchises saturating the market these days. It’s hard to go back when we’ve seen new Guilty Gear, Smash Bros, Soul Calibur, BlazBlue, King of Fighters, Street Fighter, Marvel vs Capcom, Mortal Kombat, and others all make their way to home consoles since Virtua Fighter 5‘s home release. Even before we see the release of this entry, Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown, we’ll see another Marvel vs Capcom 3 and Street Fighter IV update, Street Fighter x Tekken (scheduled for Q1 2012), King of Fighters XII, and a few other potential contenders all fighting for your dollar. Don’t count Sega out, because Virtual Fighter still remains the king of technical fighting games and a refreshing alternative to over-the-top arcade style fighters. Check out the announcement trailer after the jump.

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Review – Fruit Ninja Kinect

Fruit Ninja is one of those simple, yet highly addictive iPhone games that people will play for hours on end and then deny even owning. For many people, myself included at times, it’s tough to admit when a casual game has its hooks in you. Halfbrick Studios wowed us with Raskulls during XBLA Games for the Holidays, but can Fruit Ninja Kinect, basically an iPhone port, hang with the likes of Bastion or Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet during the Summer of Arcade?

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Boomshakalaka! NBA Jam: On Fire Edition

Always one of my favorite games from back in the day, NBA Jam holds some fond memories for me. The recent installments have never quite captured that same charm, though. I always felt like something was a bit off. NBA Jam: On Fire on the other hand looks quite… hot.

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