XBLA Game Music Is Getting Better, Yo

As far as video game music is concerned, when the service first started, we either had to limit the number of the tracks or use built-in synth to play each tune in order to accommodate the capacity restrictions. I think that most of these technical problems can be solved now because of recent improvements in the technology. I think that it would be truly interesting if games come about using the powerful sound capabilities of the Xbox 360 while incorporating a system that manipulates sound in real-time so that the music interacts on a deep level with the gameplay.

Now that CES 2008 has wrapped up—with just a few leftovers to write up as part of housecleaning duties—we're headed home. And by "we" I mean "me", the guy who will be driving from Las Vegas to Los Angeles today, playing a game of Don't Get Nabbed By California Highway Patrol Doing 90. When I do get home, I'll be playing nothing but Team Fortress 2, Omega Five and a little bit of Super Stardust HD. I've been away from the kids—my PS3 and Xbox 360—and can't wait for a little leisure time.

What's the plan, gang? Got any good gaming planned for the weekend? To the comments, if so!

I've been drooling over it for months, and now it's finally here! Is Omega Five everything I had hoped it would be? Well, yes and no. It has all of the shoot-em up action I was expecting, and it is one of the most beautiful games you're likely to find on Xbox Live Arcade, but the limitations of the format inevitably shine through on the presentation end of things. After playing with the game just about every free moment I've had in the day, I can't shake the feeling that this would have been a truly spectacular game had it just been fleshed out a bit.

As I said, it is one of the prettiest games on XBLA, and the visuals alone are worth the $10 worth of points I dropped for it. Playing through as Ruby, one of the two initially available characters, I was really impressed by the variety of enemies, the colorful effects, and the sheer amount of things flying across my screen at the same time. Then I played as Tempest and my jaw completely dropped.

Omega Five, Tron Hits XBLA Wednesday

Larry Hryb points out that Omega Five and Tron will be hitting Xbox Live Arcade this Wednesday. Omega Five will be 800 points, while Tron will be 400. Gamerscoreblog also posted up this short phone interview with Hudson which also shows you some Omega Five gameplay.

This week on arcade: Omega Five and Tron [Major Nelson]

Week in Games: The First Crop Edition

And here they are, the first crop of games in the new year. Nothing that's probably going to knock your socks off, but it's loads better than the previous two weeks. That said, I am actually looking quite forward to the Harvey Birdman Game. I am both a big Phoenix Wright and harvey Birman fan so this game is a perfect fit. Anyone else going to be checking it out?

Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom (X360)
The Kingdom Under Fire series continues. This time as an RPG.

Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity (WII, PS2)
Sonic is at it again. That little blue ball just keeps on rolling.

Omega Five (X360)
Side scrolling shooter action.

NFL Tour (X360, PS3)
More football from EA Sports.

Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law (WII, PS2, PSP)
Harvey Birdman goes all Phoenix Wright style

Jackass the Game (DS)
Words cannot describe the horror.

World Championship Paintball (PS2)
Paintball, a kinder, gentler way to shoot your friends.

Dance Dance Revolution: Disney Channel (PS2)
Get down and funky with your favorite Disney Channel Stars. If you actually have any.

Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure (DS)
Get cozy with creepy underwater dinosaur things.

Hudson and Natsume's Omega Five was originally scheduled to hit Xbox Live Arcade sometime in November, but that's obviously come and gone and we're without the game. It looks like Xbox 360 owners may finally get the side-scrolling shoot 'em up as early as next week, as Console Monster indicates a January 9th release date. It was certainly one of my highlights at last year's Tokyo Game Show, so I'll be first in line. No solid word on pricing yet, but the Forgotten Worlds-esque shmup looks like it's worth the scratch.

January 9th Arcade Release Revealed [360 Monster via Destructoid]

All good things must come to an end, and this week apparently marks the end of the amazing flood of great titles we've had over the last month. This week's offerings (with a few exceptions) are a bit lackluster which is probably fine by most people's bank accounts. Due to a long trip, I'll be concentrating on some overdue handheld action and I'm plenty thankful that there is nothing this week that is just begging to be purchased.

Shadowgrounds Survivor (PC)
Fight against aliens for control of the planet.

Geometry Wars: Galaxies (DS)
Now smaller and with multiplayer!

Boogie (DS)
Dance the night away on your DS.

Omega Five (XBLA)
A new sidescrolling shooter on LIVE.

Cruis'n (WII)
Racing to the Wii.

Cranium Kabookii (WII)
The board game in video game form.

Master of Illusion (DS)
Learn magic tricks. Fun at parties, fool your friends.

Speedball 2 - Tournament (PC)
Future sports hurt.

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (WII)
The insanely addictive RPG puzzle game continues it's system wide dominance.

Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey (PC)
You know you want it.

Hudson's Omega Five isn't sorta great, it's really great. And by "really great," we mean really great. At TGS, we played the crap outta it and are very much looking forward to downloading it. Gamasutra's Brandon Sheffield has posted a Q&A with Hudson director Daisuke Sato. Hudson is publishing, but Natsume (Wild Guns, Harvest Moon) developed the game with a small five person team. That, however, is not why the game is called Omega Five. Doh! Sheffield asks Sato if the game is an Xbox 360 exclusive:

Q). Do you have any plans to bring Omega 5 to PlayStation's PSN?

A). Not at present, no.

Q). Any particular reasons why not?

A). The specs of the respective hardware were one reason. We also determined that certain aspects of the development would be easier using the 360. The project was conceived of first for the 360, and we kept it exclusive to keep the development team small.

Hudson continues to painfully tease my shmup hunger, releasing bits of information on the upcoming Xbox Live Arcade shooter Omega Five while I continuously refresh my Arcade downloads screen just in case they decide to release the game itself while no one is looking. This week we meet Ruby, the scantily clad vixen who brings sexy to the battlefield, along with a vulcan laser cannon, reflecting laser beam, and a lightning gun. I'll let you decide which of those four is the most important. Ruby also has an alternate attack that sends out a satellite that can latch onto larger enemies, dealing damage as well as providing a lock-on target for her normal attacks. Where she stores this satellite when not in use is not something I really want to think about. Lovely! Game please.

Omega Five Is Alive