The interesting, though overtime boring, Xbox Live Arcade title Boom Boom Rocket has gotten a bit of a work over. Starting today, the game will be getting a handful of new capabilities and five new songs. The best part is that all of this is free until Dec. 16 if you already own the game. It will cost you 250 Mpoints after that.

Here's the capability breakdown:
· Improved fireworks
· Compatibility with guitar and dance mat controllers
· Japanese and Korean language support
· Controller type visible in leaderboards (can you be #1 on all three...controller, dance mat and guitar peripheral!)

DDBBR? Guitar Rocket Hero? I'm down for that, but what about drum support?

The five new songs will be Eine Kleine Rochtmusik, Cannon in D, Sugar High, Sting of the Bumble Bee and Explode to Joy.

The whole guitar support could really help invigorate this game, I think.

Kotaku Fun Fact: Fireworks are sparkly.

They also touch on some of the hidden details that went into creating the city, the backdrop for the game. Apparently the lifting of Microsoft's 50MB restriction meant the city designer could go crazy with the graphical touches.

I'm think I am in the early stages of a behind-the-scenes game development addication. I really enjoy reading about what goes into creating the games I love to play. It gives me a deeper appreciation or at least a deeper understanding of the end product. Michael Fahey

Studio Update 25 - A closer look at Boom Boom Rocket. [Bizarre Creations]

Alice, once-a-month Kotaku poster and Wonderland blog queen sat in on her talk, showing off her incredible transcribing skills. Knight talks about the fiscal importance of pursuing the other half.

It is business bad practice to overlook an audience this big and this compelling. Star Wars was the biggest movie of all time... until Titanic came along. The reason? Women saw Titanic in droves - and they saw it more than once. We need to be sure that we're making content that is appealing to women. EA is the most successful developer of games for women, but we have a long way to go.

She points to games like the upcoming Rock Band and Boogie, as well as Bizarre's Boom Boom Rocket as examples of the company reaching out to the still largely untapped market. Read on to see how the world's biggest publisher is going to get your girlfriend, wife and mom hooked on gaming. Michael McWhertor

Women In Games 2007: Opening keynote, Sharon Knight, EA [Wonderland]

I played one song of the demo this morning and immediately purchased the full game, as I am a complete and utter rhythm game whore. You could almost play the game with the Guitar Hero controller, though at certain points you need to hit LB+RB, and I'm not sure how that would work. I'll tinker a bit more with it tonight.

The game costs 800 points (worth it!), and is available in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. The jump carries a quick PR blurb, followed by your caring, sensitive comments. Michael Fahey

PREPARE TO LAUNCH - EA'S BOOM BOOM ROCKET EXPLODES ONTO XBOX LIVE ARCADE
Highly-Anticipated Music Rhythm Game Arrives on Xbox LIVE Arcade

Chertsey, UK - April 11, 2007 - Find your rhythm and get ready to set off the biggest round of fireworks, as Boom Boom Rocket , the first Xbox LIVE Arcade game from Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS), explodes onto Xbox LIVE Arcade today. The game is a hypnotic rhythm music game conceived by EA's Pogo.com casual games design team and developed by Bizarre Creations, the developer who brought fan-favorite Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved to Xbox LIVE Arcade. Boom Boom Rocket will be available for 800 Microsoft Points, first launching in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and is rated 3+ by PEGI. The game also will be available in the near future in Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand.

Players find their groove in Boom Boom Rocket, by triggering rockets to the beat of the music while traveling through a 3D cityscape. The fireworks are choreographed to 10 original tracks created by Ian Livingstone. Players can play in single player mode or go head-to-head against a friend on the same console, making it a perfect social game. Easy mode allows players to get comfortable with the controls while Endurance mode challenges the savviest of Boom Boom Rocket players with its intense speed and complexity of fireworks triggers. Loosen things up with the fun-for-all Freestyle Mode, or watch your favorite tunes light up the sky with the built-in Visualizer.

"The joint effort between the Pogo.com creative team and the talented team at Bizarre Creations evolved the idea into what the game plays like today. Seeing people's response to the game itself has been such a great experience - it's what making games is all about," said Spencer Brooks, EA's Boom Boom Rocket Producer. "We're so excited to give Xbox LIVE Arcade fans this new game and have had so much fun playing it ourselves - you can't help but have fun playing this game."

The game features three modes of gameplay: Normal, Speed and multiplayer head-to-head. Each song is choreographed into three skill levels to ensure that everyone can join in the fun. Successfully chain fireworks to fill the bonus meter and activate the psychedelic bonus mode for extra points. Players can unlock new firework designs by mastering each music track. Players can utilise the connected online element and see how their scores compare with other players on the Boom Boom Rocket leaderboard.

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With the potential for delays on the Xbox Live Marketplace, don't come complaining to us if the classical music rhythm action game slips. Blame quality! Michael McWhertor

Bizarre gives Boom Boom Rocket release [CVG]

Bizarre Creations' third-person shooter The Club is getting an 8-page spread in the upcoming issue of UK mag 360 (Hey, I write for them!). Bizarre says the spread will explain the game's overall concept, the scoring system, the characters and some other little bits and pieces including new screens, concept art, wireframes and peoplespeak, aka interviews.

Also, there's a section on upcoming Live Arcade title Boom Boom Rocket.

I'll have to talk to my guys about getting yous guys some scans from the mag when it hits. Brian Crecente

Club UK First Look [Bizarre Online]

Bizarre Creations is all giddy about their second foray into the world of Xbox Live Arcade games. And why shouldn't they be, their first one was mega-hit Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved, a three-man effort.

Their next title is the already announced Boom Boom Rocket, a game created by an entire team of people including seven core team members, a composer and "a few EA Pogo chaps." Personally, I'm not one to buy into the whole more is better philosophy, but all that really matters is the end result.

On to what matters:

The game itself is a simple concept, but taken to extremes. The aim is easy: press the corresponding button for each firework as it hits a line at the top of the screen, and it'll explode. The more accurate you are with your button presses, the higher your score. The person with the highest score wins. Easy stuff... you're probably already familiar with the concept from games like DDR.

However (and this is a big however), Boom Boom Rocket introduces a few new ideas to the tried and tested formula which we think make the game really fun to play. The first thing is the idea of pure speed. We don't have to worry about complicated peripherals to make this game fun... its game pad only, and it's FAST. Within a couple of rounds you'll be setting off huge numbers of fireworks as if it were second nature... and much of the fun comes from the fact that your fingers will be moving at Mach 3 on the harder difficulties.

Another new idea is the concept of multipliers, and bonus runs. We love points-based games here at Bizarre (PGR, GW, and The Club all have elements of this), and Boom Boom Rocket is no exception! Again, the idea is simple... but the tactics can get pretty in-depth. This is your Combo Bar:

As you successfully detonate fireworks, the bar will fill. The big number is your current score multiplier. It starts at x1, and eventually hits x4 when the bar is full. Needless to say, you'll get double the points when it's on x2, treble the points at x3, etc. However, if you miss any fireworks your bar will drain a little, and potentially your multiplier could drop. The game ends if your bar empties.

So what's a Bonus Run? Well, if your bar is full it'll start to sparkle, like this:

When your bar is all sparkly, you can hit either of the triggers to activate your Bonus Run. For a limited time the graphics will go all crazy, the crowd will go wild, and you'll get a massive x8 multiplier. It's big points time! The catch is that it only lasts for 20 seconds, so you'll want to save up your bonus runs for the busy parts of the song. There's nothing worse than activating your bonus run, only for the fireworks to naturally slow down and valuable points to be lost!

The best players will no doubt save their runs for the busiest part of the songs... usually the chorus. More fireworks = more points. You have to be careful though! If you miss any fireworks whilst on your run it'll end, so measuring risk vs reward is a big part of becoming a Boom Boom professional.

The team says the game will feature classical music instead of your typical rhythm game popsynth. Sounds like it could be another Geometry Wars in a good way or a bad way, only time and the release of the game will tell. Brian Crecente

Studio Update 21 [Bizarre Online]

Bizarre Creations, the guys behind Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved and Project Gotham Racing, are working on a new Live Arcade title.

Boom Boom Rocket, set to go live this spring, is described as a hypnotic rhythm music game conceived by Electronic Arts' casual game site Pogo.com.

The game has players firing off rockets to the beat of music as they travel through a 3D city. The goal is to choreograph the firework-like explosions to the music. The game features 10 original tracks.

"As one of the worldwide leaders in game publishing, EA has long recognized the power of on-demand, online entertainment," said Chris Early, Product Unit Manager for Xbox Live Arcade and Microsoft Casual Games. "We're honored that EA has chosen Xbox Live Arcade as the platform for their first-ever downloadable game for console game players and are excited to make Boom Boom Rocket available to the millions of Xbox Live Arcade players around the world."

"Boom Boom Rocket is an addictive and original challenge for all types of gamer, and we're enjoying working with EA to create this unique Xbox Live Arcade experience", said Martyn Chudley, Managing Director of Bizarre Creations. "Our teams love both working and playing on Xbox Live Arcade, and we're looking forward to releasing another innovative title on this platform with Boom Boom Rocket."

"This is a perfect time to bring such a unique and custom-built arcade game to Xbox Live Arcade gamers," said Chip Lange, EA Vice President. "We've crafted Boom Boom Rocket to offer an intensely fun entertainment experience for the thriving community of hard core and casual gamers alike on Xbox Live Arcade. It's only natural that our launch title comes from the Pogo team, given their remarkable success with casual games."

The game supports three game modes, including multiplayer head-to-head. It sounds like it could be amazing, or completely suck. That's the thing about Live games, it's really hard to judge them until you actually get your hands on them. Brian Crecente

Redwood City, Calif., - January 17, 2007 - Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced its launch onto Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade with Boom Boom Rocket . The game is a hypnotic rhythm music game conceived by EA's Pogo.com casual games design team and developed by Bizarre Creations, the developer who brought Project Gotham Racing 3 to the Xbox 360 , and fan-favorite Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved to Xbox Live Arcade. The game is scheduled to go live Spring 2007 and is EA's first title on Xbox Live Arcade.

In Boom Boom Rocket, players trigger rockets to the beat of the music while traveling through a 3D cityscape. The better the player times the explosions, the more spectacular the fireworks effects. The fireworks are choreographed to 10 original tracks created by Ian Livingstone. Players can play in single player mode or go head-to-head against a friend on the same console.

"As one of the worldwide leaders in game publishing, EA has long recognized the power of on-demand, online entertainment," said Chris Early, Product Unit Manager for Xbox Live Arcade and Microsoft Casual Games. "We're honored that EA has chosen Xbox Live Arcade as the platform for their first-ever downloadable game for console game players and are excited to make Boom Boom Rocket available to the millions of Xbox Live Arcade players around the world."

"Boom Boom Rocket is an addictive and original challenge for all types of gamer, and we're enjoying working with EA to create this unique Xbox Live Arcade experience", said Martyn Chudley, Managing Director of Bizarre Creations. "Our teams love both working and playing on Xbox Live Arcade, and we're looking forward to releasing another innovative title on this platform with Boom Boom Rocket."

"This is a perfect time to bring such a unique and custom-built arcade game to Xbox Live Arcade gamers," said Chip Lange, EA Vice President. "We've crafted Boom Boom Rocket to offer an intensely fun entertainment experience for the thriving community of hard core and casual gamers alike on Xbox Live Arcade. It's only natural that our launch title comes from the Pogo team, given their remarkable success with casual games."

The game features three modes of gameplay: Normal, Speed and multiplayer head-to-head. Each song is choreographed into three skill levels to ensure that everyone can join in the fun. Successfully chain fireworks to fill the bonus meter and activate the psychedelic bonus mode for extra points. Players can unlock new firework designs by mastering each music track. You can also utilize the connected online element and see how their scores compare with other players on the Boom Boom Rocket leaderboard.