GamerBytes

The Eighth DSiWare Sudoku Game rated by the ESRB

editors@gamerbytes.com (Ryan Langley) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 11:35:13 +0000

It's only been seven months since the Nintendo DSi was released in North America, but that hasn't stopped at least eight Sudoku games to be revealed for the system.

Crazy Sudoku by German publisher DTP Entertainment popped up on the ESRB today, which now joins the already released Brain Age Express: Sudoku from Nintendo, Sudoku by EA, the double hit of Sudoku 50! For Beginners and Sudoku 150! For Challengers, as well as the announced Simply Sudoku by Engine Software, Sudoku 4Pockets by Limelight Software and Sudoku Sensei by Hudson.

I realize Sudoku has been a thing for several years now, but in a world where shelf space doesn't dissappear, is there a need for eight Sudoku games? Geez. Just how crazy can Sudoku get, honestly?

Best Of GamerBytes - All Out Of Gum

editors@gamerbytes.com (Ryan Langley) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:40:08 +0000

[We round up the top console digital download news of the last week from GamerBytes, including brand-new game announcements and scoops from the world of Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, WiiWare, PSP Minis and DSiWare.]

This week on GamerBytes we broke a whole lot of news - a new Duke Nukem game is being developed for the Xbox Live Arcade and Phoenix Wright might be coming to the Wii, plus we've seen a ton of independent development with Joe Danger, Auditorium and Aleph. Plenty of games to look forward to in the future.

Interviews

EA, Criterion Vet Murray Forms Indie Hello Games, Talks Joe Danger
"Tiny UK studio Hello Games has announced its first title, Evel Knievel-inspired stuntman bike racer Joe Danger, on its way to digital platforms. You can view some leaked footage here."

Store Updates

XBLA Update - Wallace & Gromit Episodes 2, 3 And 4

NA PSN Store Update - Military Madness, Numblast, Creature Defense, Gex And More

EU PSN Store Update - Spot The Differences Cheap 3-On-3 NHL Arcade And Winnie The Pooh

NA Nintendo Update - Vikings & Dragons Play Card And Carnival Games

EU Nintendo Update - Monkey Island Chapter 3, UNO, Bomberman Blitz And More

Microsoft (Xbox Live Arcade, XBL Indie Games)

Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project Coming To XBLA?
"Not even game cancellation can get the Duke down, as we've learned that his 2002 sidescroller may be on its way to the Xbox Live Arcade."

Synaesthete Devs Bring Aleph To Xbox Live Arcade
"The DigiPen students behind Synaesthete reveal a music-driven arcade shooter with a psychedelic aesthetic."

Joe Danger Is On Fire, First Footage Leaked

Encleverment Experiment Finally Announced, Out Soon
"We've been discussingEncleverment Experiment' existence for years now, but it appears that it's finally on its way to the Xbox Live Arcade.

Sony (PlayStation Network, PSP Minis)

Auditorium Announced, Coming Next Year
"The winner of 2BeeGames' Indie Game Competition back in July now has a contract, and their game Auditorium will be available next year on Xbox LIVE Arcade, PlayStation Network, and PSP Minis."

Nintendo (WiiWare, DSiWare)

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Coming To The Wii
"In today's gift from the German USK rating system it has revealed that the Phoenix Wright might be on its way to WiiWare."

Blitz Games' KrissX Lives On
"t was a nice surprise to see Encleverment Experiment finally announced earlier this week, but now we can also reveal KrissX is also still alive, and is being published by Konami."

Space Invaders Extreme Z Out On DSiWare In Japan
"It standard Japanese fashion, Taito have unveiled a digital download version of their Space Invader Extreme series for the Nintendo DS, and have released it on the same day."

Uncharted, PAIN And More Get Pinball-ized on PSP

editors@gamerbytes.com (Ryan Langley) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:22:27 +0000

While Zen Studios may be the Pinball aficionados on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, it appears Sony themselves are taking action on the PSP with Pinball Heroes.

The ESRB has leaked news of this new Pinball game, but unlike Zen Pinball and Pinball FX this series will be entirely dependent on Sony's own intellectual property, and each table will be released separately. The ESRB claims that Uncharted, PAIN, High Velocity Bowling and Hot Shots Golf will each get its own table.

The ratings also describes some of the gimmicks of the tables - the Uncharted board will has a crashed airplane and have gold coins for bumpers, while the Hot Shots Golf board will be set up like a miniature putting green, and will include a water hazard to avoid and fairway targets to hit.

Outside of the rating board reveal, we don't know anything else about the series - for all we know Zen Studios are developing these too, but we'll likely hear something about it in a couple of weeks.

Source: ESRB (Uncharted, High Velocity Bowling, PAIN, Hot Shots Golf)

NA PSN Store Update - Military Madness, Numblast, Creature Defense, Gex And More

editors@gamerbytes.com (Ryan Langley) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:08:51 +0000

This week PS3 owners can finally get their hands on Military Madness: Nectaris from Hudson Entertainment, and the puzzling Numblast - both on PSN and PSP.

PSP games include Hudson's own Creature Defense tower defense game, Crimson Room: Reverse and the PSOne classic Gex. Nice to see the original game popping up, since the third title (which popped up a little while ago) isn't nearly as good.

Military Madness: Nectaris

Publisher: Hudson Entertainment
Developer: Backbone Entertainement
Category: Turn Based Strategy
Price: $9.99

"The Military is back for a new generation of recruits! The classic turn-based strategy series Military Madness, a.k.a. Nectaris, is exploding onto PlayStation Network. With an all-new graphical barrage, an all-new commander unit, online team and vs. multiplayer, and a platoon of other new features, this is the maddest game in the series yet!"

Click here for the official Military Madness page.

Numblast

Publisher: SCEA
Developer: Japan Studio
Category: Puzzle
Price: $4.99

"Prepare yourself for a number puzzle game that’s easy to play, totally addictive and laced with dreamlike, surreal undertones: are you ready for Numblast?"

Click here for more information on Numblast.

topatoi: Arcade Style Pack

Price: free

"Topatoi for PlayStation 3 brings your screen to life with classic platforming gameplay over a variety of dynamic levels. Angry barbarians and tricky puzzles will challenge you at every step in the world of the Great Tree, but overcome these obstacles and you’ll unlock an extra fourteen bonus levels!"

Gex

Price: $5.99

"Gex, the lovable couch-potato lizard, has been sucked into the wild worlds of the media dimensions! Help him escape in this classic side-scroller from Crystal Dynamics."

Crimson Room: Reverse

Publisher: Agetech
Developer: Toshimitsu Takagi
Category: Puzzle
Price: $7.99

"In a small and ordinary-looking room, you are trapped. You must figure out how to leave from the various rooms by finding, using, and combining items found there. Using the graphics, the sounds, and the responses as your only clues, you are using all your guile and ingenuity to escape. At the end of the game as you successfully escape, a fun video ending scene is presented as the screen credits roll, you are free!

"This PlayStation Portable version of Crimson Room is actually a compilation pack that includes multiple rooms previously available in the Flash version of the game, as well as, new scenarios and a "Reverse" Mode, which are all supervised by the brains behind the game himself, Toshiyuki Tagaki."

Creature Defense

Publisher: HudsonSoft
Developer: Hudson Entertainment
Category: Tower Defense
Price: $7.99

"Creature Defense will place gamers in a variety of stunningly illustrated worlds where they will be tasked with defending their land from invading attackers. After creating a deck where players take into consideration the types, tolerability and elements of the enemy, the onslaught begins and continues until adversaries are defeated, or the land falls. Special skills and attacks are added to the player’s arsenal as the game goes along. With new levels and attributes to explore, as well as 50 types of Monster Cards drawn by well known illustrators available for download, Creature Defense is an ongoing adventure for strategic minded gamers."

Numblast PSP

Publisher: SCEA
Developer: Japan Studio
Category: Puzzle
Price: $4.99

"Prepare yourself for a number puzzle game that’s easy to play, totally addictive and laced with dreamlike, surreal undertones: are you ready for Numblast?"

Click here for more information on Numblast.

Joe Danger Is On Fire, First Footage Leaked

editors@gamerbytes.com (Ryan Langley) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:25:09 +0000

At the Eurogamer Indie Games expo last week everyone was talking about Joe Danger, the new stunt racing title from Hello Games. Thing is, all we had were screenshots to go by - until now.

The Koalition happened to sneak past a camera and get some Joe Danger footage on the sly. At first glace you might think it's going for the same demographic as Trials HD, but it actually mixes more with Excitebike, but more emphasis on score and tricks rather than times.

Looks like a ton of fun. Hello Games haven't specified a platform just yet, but it's looking to be on XBLA, PSN and PC sometime next year. I can't wait.

Round-Up: Gamasutra Network Jobs, Week Of November 6

editors@gamerbytes.com (Simon Carless) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:41:05 +0000

In our latest employment-specific round-up, we highlight some of the notable jobs posted in big sister site Gamasutra's industry-leading game jobs section this week, including positions from 5th Cell, Insomniac and more.

Each position posted by employers will appear on the main Gamasutra job board, including positions from Sega of America, 2K Marin and more.

Each position posted by employers will appear on the main Gamasutra job board, and appear in the site's daily and weekly newsletters, reaching our readers directly.

It will also be cross-posted for free across its network of submarket sites, which includes content sites focused on online worlds, cellphone games, 'serious games', independent games and more.

Some of the notable jobs posted this week include:

Rainbow Studios: Senior Producer
"Rainbow Studios, a subsidiary of THQ, is one of the largest video game developers in the Southwest and develops premier original and licensed titles for current and next generation console systems. Rainbow’s video game history includes the critically acclaimed Motocross Madness PC series, the award-winning ATV Offroad Fury, top-selling Splashdown, the highly praised MX franchise, the blockbuster Disney-Pixar Cars titles, and the critically acclaimed Wii title Deadly Creatures, along with the soon-to-be-released MX vs. ATV Reflex."

Relic Entertainment: Environment Artist
"Your friends will call in the middle of the night, cursing you. When you see them, they’ll wear sunglasses to conceal their bloodshot eyes, and they’ll be alone, because their romantic interests left them without even texting goodbye. They won’t be able to stop playing. It’s a terrible fate, but I’m afraid it’s what we want. And we need your help."

Demiurge Studios: Senior Game Designer
"Demiurge Studios is seeking a talented, experienced Senior Designer to help lead our internal design team. A focus on communication, organization, iteration and polish are all critical attributes for our ideal candidate. Prior experience leading a team of designers and a demonstrable portfolio of game/level design across different genres are requirements for this position. If you can deconstruct reflex; if you can engineer adrenaline; if you can architect fun - we want to speak with you."

Sega of America: Senior Online Interactive Developer
"The Senior Online Interactive Developer will design and develop interactive online content including web sites, banners, promotions, games and other applications for the Sega family of web sites and other initiatives. The Senior Online Interactive Developer will be a part of the Online and Community teams as well as collaborate closely with cross-functional teams within the organization. This person will also manage staff and resources as necessary."

2K Marin: Engine Programmer
"2K Games seeks the talents of a seasoned and passionate programmer who enjoys a collaborative and creative work environment and is looking to work with like minded professionals to create a truly amazing game. Improve, maintain, and optimize the engine. Contribute to the design of a wide variety of enhancements to the Unreal Engine."

To browse hundreds of similar jobs, and for more information on searching, responding to, or posting game industry-relevant jobs to the top source for jobs in the business, please visit Gamasutra's job board now.

EU Nintendo Update - Monkey Island Chapter 3, UNO, Bomberman Blitz And More

editors@gamerbytes.com (Ryan Langley) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:24:16 +0000

Pretty large week for European Nintendo owners - You can now grab Tales Of Monkey Island: Chapter 3, UNO or Manic Monkey Mayhem on WiiWare, or Clubhouse Games: Family Favorites, Bomberman Blitz and EA's Sudoku on DSiWare. If you're up for an old game, you can now grab the Turbografx version of Fighting Street.

Best part for me though - Lost Winds 2 is finally available in Australia. About time!

Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 3

Nintendo Points: 1,000
Game Type: Adventure
Control Type: Wii Remote, Nunchuk
Players: 1
Publisher: Telltale Games

"In the third Tales of Monkey Island chapter, Guybrush gets in deep - literally - as his quest for the voodoo exfoliating La Esponja Grande takes a scenic detour through the guts of a giant manatee. Our hero encounters a surprising band of castaways, including the long-lost explorer Coronado De Cava. Can the Mighty Pirate win the suspicious De Cava's trust? Will sexy pirate hunter Morgan LeFlay prove to be a ruthless enemy or an unlikely ally? Will the group find La Esponja Grande in time to save Elaine from the rampant Pox of LeChuck? And will the world be crushed by the gnashing teeth of a certain demonic skull? Tales of Monkey Island's moist and absorbing third episode, "Lair of the Leviathan," will answer some of these urgent questions and raise even more as the five-month adventure builds to its epic climax."

Click here for the trailer of Tales Of Monkey Island: Episode 3.

UNO

Nintendo Points: 500
Game Type: Card & Puzzle
Control Type: Wii Remote
Players: 1-4
Publisher: Gameloft

"Play the #1 classic card game for fun with friends and family! Compete against the AI or friends in thrilling games. Relive all the crazy fun of UNO: match colors or numbers with all your favorite cards or challenge yourself with increasingly difficult games in Tournament Mode. Choose your favorite way to play, use your Action Cards wisely and don't forget to call "UNO!" when you have only one card left!"

Click here to view a trailer of UNO in action.

Manic Monkey Mayhem

Nintendo Points: 1,000
Game Type: Battle
Control Type: Wii Remote
Players: 1-8
Publisher: Codemonkeys

"As with most fights no-one really knows where, how and when this rivalry started, but this group of monkeys have not stopped battling for as long as they can remember. Their chosen fighting style is the ancient art of Banana Flinging and although their manic screams of rage may insinuate uncontrolled anger, they are in fact highly accurate and adept banana flingers. Now sworn enemies, this band of angry apes is each determined to outlast the other in a furious contest of fruity war."

Click here for the official Manic Monkey Mayhem website.

Lost Winds - Winter of the Melodias

Nintendo Points:1,000 (Now Available in Australia!)
Game Type: Platformer
Control Type: Wii Remote, Nunchuk
Players: 1
Publisher: Frontier

"LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias is the follow up to 2008’s best-selling, award-winning WiiWare launch title ‘LostWinds’. In this new adventure players are able to instantly transform Mistralis between Summer and Winter, harnessing the brilliance of nature: frozen Winter ponds and waterfalls become deep, teeming Summer pools and chambers in which to dive and unlock secrets, enemies can be frozen or doused, and the very air itself used to form snowballs or moisture-laden clouds. Other amazing new abilities include the cyclone, which can be used to transport Toku, smash powerful enemies and even drill through the rocks of the Mistralis’ diverse, richly interactive Chilling Peaks and Melodia City areas"

View the teaser for Lost Winds - Winter of the Melodias here.

Fighting Street

System: Turbografx
Nintendo Points: 800
Game Type: Fighting
Control Type: Wii Remote, Classic, GameCube
Players: 1-2
Publisher: Capcom

"A port of the arcade version of STREET FIGHTER, the legendary fighting game that started it all. Players control RYU or KEN and battle against unique fighters from all over the world. The first fighter to knock out an opponent and win two rounds is the winner. Power up your attack to three different levels – the longer you hold a button, the stronger your attack. Input commands to perform special attacks and deal serious damage to your opponent. Combine your normal and special attacks effectively to fight your way to victory."

A Little Bit of... All Time Classics: Family Favorites

Nintendo Points: 500
Game Type: Card Game
Players: 1-8
Publisher: Nintendo

"Choose from five family-friendly games in this DSiWare version of the popular Clubhouse Games. Play classic card games like Hearts and Contract Bridge, connect bones to other bones in Dominoes, think strategically in the simple, but addictive Dots and Boxes, and move your pieces towards a common goal in Ludo. Play by yourself or use DS Download Play to host as many as seven friends."

Bomberman Blitz

Nintendo Points: 500
Game Type: Battle
Players: 1-8
Publisher: Hudson Entertainment

"That's right people, Bomberman makes his debut downloadable appearance on the DSiWare System with Bomberman Blitz! Experience the classic Bomberman multiplayer experience with 8 player local and online multiplayer through the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Strategize accordingly on maps spanning both screens. Change multiple map and item preferences for tons of customization options. The world of Bomberman is in your hands with Bomberman Blitz; the essential multiplayer game on DSiWare!

"Newcomers can also learn the ropes quickly and easily with the included training mode. Hone your skills and learn the maps on computer opponents and when ready; take the battle online! The next heated match is always available as players from around the world are waiting to battle it out! Delivering unparalleled social gaming excitement, “Bomberman Blitz” gives everyone who picks up the DSi the addictive fun of Bomberman, anytime, anywhere! Bring friends!"

Click here for a trailer of Bomberman Blitz

SUDOKU

Nintendo Points: 200
Game Type: Puzzle
Players: 1
Publisher: Electronic Arts

"SUDOKU offers hundreds of number-crunching puzzles that will stretch your brain power to the limit. Take it even further by playing in the exclusive Newspaper Mode. Add a daily puzzle from your favorite paper and build your very own collection. From Easy to Insane, a total of five different levels are available for novices and masters alike. Enjoy a host of grid designs that will keep you coming back for more. This worldwide phenomenon delivers an exhilarating game of logic that's not only challenging, but also surprisingly relaxing. It's everything you want for a quick puzzle getaway. Make life easier by taking advantage of smart features like automatic annotation for effortless calculation of your achievements. Stumped? Get help with error-checking tools and friendly cell hints. Track your stats and test your reaction time with the in-game timer. This addictive brain game has been polished to perfection and renders a sleek design that's easy on the eyes."

Click here for screenshots of EA's Sudoku.

EU PSN Store Update - Spot The Differences Cheap 3-On-3 NHL Arcade And Winnie The Pooh

editors@gamerbytes.com (Ryan Langley) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:39:54 +0000

Very slow week this week, but we were warned about this prior. Sony are currently doing some back end stuff to the store that a full, regular update wasn't possible. That's what they say anyway.

This week comes Party Time with Winnie the Pooh for PSOne and Spot The Differences! for PSP minis. Along with that there are still several games on sale which you can pick up, along with Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket Powered Battle Cars and 3 on 3 NHL Arcade now on sale until the 19th.

Special Offers

Until the 12th of November:

Siren Blood Curse (Was – £19.99/€29.99 Now – £14.99 / €19.99 / $29.95AUD)
Siren Blood Curse Chapter One: The Siren’s Call (Was – £6.99/€9.99 Now – £4.79 / €5.99 / $9.95AUD)
Siren Blood Curse Chapter Two: No Refuge (Was – £6.99/€9.99 Now – £4.79 / €5.99 / $$9.95AUD)
Siren Blood Curse Chapter Three: Nest of Devils (Was – £6.99/€9.99 Now – £4.79 / €5.99 / $9.95AUD)
Siren Blood Curse Chapter Four: The End is the Beginning (Was – £6.99/€9.99 Now – £4.79 / €5.99 / $9.95AUD)

Until the 19th of November:

3 on 3 NHL Arcade (Was – £6.29 / €7.99 / $12.95AUD Now – £4.79 / €5.99 / $9.95AUD)
Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket Powered Battle Cars (Was – £7.99 / €9.99 / $15.95AUD Now – £3.99 / €4.99 / $8.45AUD)
Echochrome Micro (PSP) (Was – £6.29 / €7.99 / $15.95AUD Now – £3.99/€4.99 / $8.45AUD)
Syphon Filter: Combat Ops (PSP) (Was – £7.99 / €9.99 / $15.95AUD Now – £3.99 / €4.99 $8.45AUD)
Command & Conquer (PSone) (Was – £3.49 / €4.99 / $8.45AUD Now – £2.39 / €2.99 / $4.95AUD)
Command & Conquer: Red Alert (PSone) (Was – £3.49 / €4.99 / $8.45AUD Now – £2.39 / €2.99 / $4.95AUD)
Command & Conquer: Red Alert Retaliation (PSone) (Was – £3.49 / €4.99 / $8.45AUD Now – £2.39 / €2.99 / $4.95AUD)

PSone Classic

Party Time with Winnie the Pooh (£3.49 / €4.99 / $8.45AUD)

"Join Winnie the Pooh on an exciting adventure in search of lost treasure! You can invite your friends to join the fun - there are lots of games to play together (and lots of silly tricks to play on each other!) Everyone is sure to have a very good time. But remember to watch out for Woozles and Heffalumps!"

PSP minis

Spot the Differences! (£2.49 / €2.99 / Not available in Australia)

"The most complete Spot The Difference game on PSP! 240 scenes, 4 levels of difficulty and 4800 differences to spot!"

Auditorium Announced, Coming Next Year

editors@gamerbytes.com (Ryan Langley) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:01:09 +0000

The winner of 2BeeGames' Indie Game Competition back in July now has a contract, and their game Auditorium will be available next year on Xbox LIVE Arcade, PlayStation Network, and PSP Minis.

Auditorium is a puzzle game where you position circles on the screen that manipulate a stream of dots to hit notes across a screen. You'll have numerous circles at once, with specific directions they're pointing to, and by manipulating their position and strength you'll need to hit all the notes on the screen to progress.

Currently the game is on the PC, and you can check out a quick flash demo of it here. It's a fairly simple, but nice looking puzzle game that'll fit just fine with Microsoft's current indie trend on Xbox Live Arcade. The Xbox Live Indie game Blow has a very similar mechanic, and while it's not as pretty as Auditorium might be, it does a lot more than this game currently does. I recommend checking that out while you wait for this one.

Auditorium will be available early next year.

Engine Software To Bring 5 Games To DSiWare

editors@gamerbytes.com (Ryan Langley) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:27:04 +0000

Straight from the German USK rating system comes 5 new titles coming to DSiWare. Don't get too excited though, it's about as bare bones as it can get.

Engine Software, probably best known to gamers as the guys who ported Puzzle Quest to the Nintendo DS, will be bringing Ferryman Puzzle, Just Sing! Christmas Songs, Simply Mahjong, Simply Sudoku and Simply Solitare to DSiWare.

I am fascinated by developers choice to create some of these titles. The DSi already has 4 Sudoku games with at least another one (Sudoku 4Pockets) on the way, you can get Nintendo's own 2-in-1 Solitare and there are already two Mahjong games out in Japan which we'll probably see pop up in the next few months. At what point does a developer think they have something to add to Sudoku on a platform where games don't drop from the shelves?

Even then, a Ferryman Puzzle game seems like a fairly dull idea, and just going by the name it sounds like it's not going to be dressed up at all. I don't even want to know what Just Sing! Christmas Songs is.

A point David Edery made in his recent address at the Australian Digital Distribution Summit comes to mind here. Simply being a cheap alternative isn't enough to get people to buy your game - in these cases Sudoku is everywhere, and being the fourth or fifth iteration on a console in seven months not going to net you anything.

I just can't get my head around it.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Coming To The Wii

editors@gamerbytes.com (Ryan Langley) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:29:26 +0000

In today's gift from the German USK rating system it has revealed that the Phoenix Wright might be on its way to WiiWare.

If you're out of the loop, Phoenix Wright is a fantastic point and click adventure game that has previously been on the GBA and Nintendo DS. The German USK rating system now suggests that the original game is also coming to the Wii.

Last year in Japan the Phoenix Wright series was ported to the PC, so the assets in higher resolution are available. When a game appears on a rating system without a prior announcement it's usually a digital release, but this could still be some crazy retail release. The way the rating is written suggests it will also be the full game, and not in episodic chunks.

If this is WiiWare it'll be Capcom's first foray since Mega Man 9. We expect a complete announcement soon.

Donate To Charity Instantly With Chime

editors@gamerbytes.com (Ryan Langley) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:06:40 +0000

Publisher OneBigGame have revealed a new puzzle game called Chime, and any money made from the game will be doing to charity.

Chime is a puzzle game mixing Tetris styled blocks with Lumines style design. Instead of blocks dropping from the top, you'll simply place.them on the screen to create quads, and you have to fill up the screen with them to move onto the next level. Actually, it reminds of a lot of the just announced Bittos for WiiWare except the off-cut block pieces will simply disappear instead of becoming a hindrance.

OneBigGame is a non profit organization, so any profits coming from the game will go to Save the Children and the Starlight Children's Foundations. Zoe Mode, a subsidiary of Kuju Entertainment, developed Chime on a pro bono basis.

While it's nice to see a game be released for charity purposes, I am skeptical on whether the game will actually sell on its merits. Not to be a downer, but as an Xbox Live Arcade game it looks pretty bland, and based on the sales of Droplitz and other puzzle games on XBLA it won't set the world on fire, and that's a shame.

Hopefully I'll be proved wrong.

Blitz Games' KrissX Lives On

editors@gamerbytes.com (Ryan Langley) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:41:12 +0000

It was a nice surprise to see Encleverment Experiment finally announced earlier this week, but now we can also reveal KrissX is also still alive, and is being published by Konami.

KrissX, which I presume is pronounced "Criss Cross", is a game that involves a lot of crossword-styled puzzles which you need to solve. It was announced alongside Encleverment Experiment and Droplitz early last year, but we hadn't heard a word of it since.

Today the game was rated by the Australian Classication Board, revealing Konami publisher. Doing some more digging it appears the game is heading to both the Xbox Live Arcade and WiiWare platforms.

It's a little odd seeing Konami as the publisher of the game, considering they released the awful XBLA game Coffeetime Crosswords last year, but hopefully this time they'll get it right.

Save Your Goldfish In Flipper

editors@gamerbytes.com (Ryan Langley) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:10:00 +0000

Our good friends at Indiegames.com have been following the story of Flipper for some time, but now the developer has released a new trailer, showing the huge improvements to the graphics since June.

The game follows our hero has he tries to find his goldfish - not a particularly remarkable storyline, but enough motivation to get the player moving through level to level. The design of the graphics however look great, using a simple - and intentional - blocky design similar to that of games like Spelunky or Fez. Players take control of the hero via the stylus, which also allows you to destroy and rebuild any part of the level in order to manipulate enemy path finding and grab all the coins and save your Goldfish.

The game hasn't got a whole lot of buzz, which is a bit difficult to conjure when you don't have a publisher, but now it appears Xform will be publishing the game officially on DSiWare, so good on them.

Flipper should apparently be out soon, so if you're an owner of a Nintendo DSi, you might want to keep an eye out for this one.

Robot Rescue And Ball Fighter On DSiWare

editors@gamerbytes.com (Ryan Langley) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:16:37 +0000

Teyon Entertainment have revealed that they're working on two new DSiWare titles - Robot Rescue and Ball Fighter.

Robot Rescue is a logic puzzle title involving some haywire robots - you have to slip them through each level while avoiding all the traps. In this game however, all of the Robots are mind linked, so moving one robot will move them all.

The game includes 45 levels from 3 difficulty levels. It'll be a simple, yet challenging puzzle title which doesn't look all too bad. Check out more screenshots of the game here.

Ball Fighter on the other hand is more akin to your standard match-3 puzzle game. You must remove the dropping spheres from the screen by connecting 3 or more in a row. It seems to be a mixture of Critter Crunch or PopCap's AstroPop based on the screenshots, but the gameplay isn't entirely clear based on the screenshots.

The game will also support multiplayer on a single Nintendo DSi - the game simply splits the screen with each player taking control of the D-Pad and buttons and fighting against each other, until one of them rips the DS out of the other's hands of course. Check out the screenshots of it here.

Both Ball Fighter and Robot Rescue should be out soon.