Peggle is the tremendously addictive ball-bouncing game for the PC, ported to Xbox Live Arcade with 55 levels, 75 challenges, and multiplayer support via Xbox Live for 2-4 players. I am terrified to purchase it, since the last time I launched Peggle on Steam I disappeared for several days.

Crystal Defenders is Square's take on tower defense, using characters from the Final Fantasy Tactics series to defend your crystals against evil invading hordes of classic Final Fantasy monsters in more than 300 increasingly difficult stages.

Rounding up this week's Arcade releases is the second downloadable level for Twisted Pixel's The Maw, River Redirect, delivering a little more gameplay for a little more money.

Both Peggle and Crystal Defenders will run you 800 Microsoft points, with The Maw: River Redirect a steal at 160 points.

Hothead Games, the developers behind the Penny Arcade Adventures series, is teaming up with other indie developers to help bring their games to new platforms so they can focus on development. They'll be helping Jonathan Blow bring Braid to Mac users, while delivering Twisted Pixel's Xbox Live Arcade title The Maw to Windows PCs.

"We focus on finding new distribution opportunities so that they can focus on what they do best: developing their next great game," said Hothead Games COO Joel DeYoung. "These two titles represent only the tip of the iceberg. We're committed to working with indies and helping them be successful, so look for lots more announcements to come."

This is an excellent example of the kind of comraderie you find among independent developers. Let's hear it for the little guys!

All three levels will play as "deleted scenes" from the game, and will be playable by selecting "Deleted Scenes" from the menu, once purchased. Each of the levels will come with a new achievement and will cost 100 Microsoft points.

Brute Force will fill in some missing moments found between and original game's second and third level, the team told me. In this level, Bounty Hunters have sent in members from their new elite strike force, the Brutes, to stop Frank and Maw.

In River Redirect, which occurs after the original game's sixth level, Frank and Maw have to change the course of a rive to reopen their path past a raging fire.

The Speeder Lane level will take place after the original game's seventh level and has Maw and Frank stealing a Bounty Hunter Speeder and using it to break through a blockade.

Twisted Pixel said they don't yet have a release date for the DLC, but that it won't all be hitting on the same day.

The Maw's gimmick, as it were, is the title character's ability to eat, expand and absorb the abilities of the lifeforms it ingests. Swallow a flaming Gastro and the Maw will be able to breathe fire. Eat a floating Puff-tor and the Maw can inflate itself to make massive, coasting jumps. Using these abilities, Frank and the Maw must make their way through eight levels, with Frank guiding his rotund cohort via a remote control collar, overcoming obstacles with unique abilities and an ever-fattening Maw.

How'd we feel about the game, now that we've stuffed ourselves on The Maw?

Loved
Personality: The Maw is oozing with charm, thanks to its beautifully animated, expressive star, the Maw itself. The game is packed with delightful moments, a brightly colored world and refreshing gameplay that's hard to find amongst the Xbox Live Arcade competition. Frank and Maw's moments interaction are disarming, with substantial doses of humor spread throughout the game, from its quirky alien inhabitants to pop culture jabs.

Classic Appeal: The Maw has somewhat of a throwback feel to it, with nods to classic platformers like the Kirby series and A Boy And His Blob as well as more recent entries like Crash Bandicoot and Ratchet & Clank — and that's a good thing. The Maw feels akin to a slice of a much larger game, just one world in a hub of many, but Twisted Pixel mixes up the action with enough variety to make the short stint in the world feel fresh.

Hated
All The Small Things: There are a handful of tiny, bothersome quirks present in The Maw, from its occasionally slow pace, to a camera that won't pan skyward, to its extremely short play time — more disappointing because of some repetitive, busy work-like tasks. These are minor complaints, but compound to keep The Maw from achieving a level of greatness that it seems more capable of.

The Maw is a great game, one of the best Xbox Live Arcade has to offer. It's quirky, funny and clearly the effort of a developer who loves making video games. The game also shows so much promise that we look forward to Twisted Pixel's next effort as much as any potential sequels to The Maw. It may feel a little pricier than it should, given its limited scope and relatively short length, but it's still a fun ride.

The Maw was developed by Twisted Pixel Games, released on January 21 for Xbox Live Arcade. Retails for 800 Microsoft Points ($10 USD). Played game to completion.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

The Castle Crashers: King Pack hits XBLA tomorrow, with it gobs of new content for all the good little boys and girls. The Open Faced Grey Knight and The King join the fray, bringing with them a new seal animal orb called Pelter (ha!), three new weapons, and the King's Heal spell, which heals both yourself and your party.

Twisted Pixel's The Maw is an action adventure platformer that places you in the role of Frank, an alien stranded on a strange planet with the Maw, a strange, blob-like creature that acts as his only friend and ultimate weapon, all at the same time. It's the type of game I would have readily picked up at retail (Crecente probably would agree), so getting it for a mere 800 Microsoft points on the 21st seems like a steal.

So Xbox Live Arcade has had a slow start this year, but it looks like they'll be fully up to speed by the time we get our greedy little hands on The Maw.
Let action and adventure fill your January with the release of “Castle Crashers: King Pack” downloadable content and “The Maw” on Xbox LIVE Arcade

There’s nothing like a jam packed January from Xbox LIVE Arcade to whittle away those winter blues. You’ve been ringing in the new year with international investigation in “Interpol: The Trail of Dr. Chaos,” but it’s officially time to crash some castles and master The Maw!

“Castle Crashers” is the game that keeps on giving after the holiday season with “Castle Crashers: King Pack” downloadable content available on Xbox LIVE Arcade this Wednesday, Jan. 14 at 9 a.m. GMT (2:00 a.m. PDT), while indie title “The Maw” hits the circuit Wednesday, Jan. 21.

It’s time to revisit your favorite modern medieval magic kingdom and load up on two new kicking characters - the Open Faced Grey Knight and the leader of the fearless knights, The King, a new seal animal orb named Pelter, and three new weapons, including the Gold Sword. Last but not least cast a new spell called the King's Heal which heals not only yourself but your party as well!

Re-storming the castle not quite enough to carry you through the month? Keep a lookout for full featured 3D action/adventure indie title “The Maw” and try your skill at navigating a strange planet with an even stranger blob.

With no powers of his own, Frank must rely on a blob-like creature named Maw. Discover the mysteries of the Maw’s abilities as you try to pilot Frank around the dangerous planet and ultimately help him escape the ruthless bounty hunters. An unlockable theme and gamer pictures will earn you bragging rights for the month of January .

Published by Microsoft and developed by The Behemoth!, “Castle Crasher: King Pack” will be available for 160 Microsoft Points per pack, worldwide. The game is rated T for Teen by the ESRB.

For more details on “Castle Crashers” please visit: http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/games/media/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802584108b7/?of=7

Published by Microsoft and developed by Twisted Pixel Games, LLC, “The Maw” will be available for 800 Microsoft Points, worldwide. The game is rated E+ for Everyone 10+ by the ESRB.

For more details on “The Maw” please visit: http://mawgame.com/

"The intense sense of purpose and camaraderie amongst The PAX 10 was astonishing," commented Michael Wilford of Twisted Pixel. "We feel extremely lucky to have been chosen from such an august group and grateful to have been a part of the PAX experience."

Judging from what I've seen of the game along with Crecente's hands-on impressions from the show, I'd say the PAX audience made a very good choice. Look for the award-winning title to hit Xbox Live Arcade early next year.

THE PAX 10 AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD WINNER ANNOUNCED

"The Maw" Selected from PAX 2008's Inaugural Indie Games Showcase

Seattle, Wash., September 22, 2008 - The votes are in! The organizers of The PAX 10 today announced Twisted Pixel's The Maw as winner of the 2008 Audience Choice award. The PAX 10, a showcase of ten independently developed games, were selected by a panel of 50 industry experts out of over 80 submissions as the best in terms of gameplay and "fun factor." The PAX 10 winners displayed their games at the 2008 Penny Arcade Expo (PAX), allowing attendees the opportunity to view each of the titles and cast their secret ballots, earning The Maw top honors for the inaugural year of the showcase event.

"The PAX 10 winners were great to work with and were as busy as any other booth on the Expo Hall floor," said Penny Arcade's Robert Khoo. "We're happy that we could support these amazingly talented developers and want to thank everyone who voted for their participation."

"The intense sense of purpose and camaraderie amongst The PAX 10 was astonishing," commented Michael Wilford of Twisted Pixel. "We feel extremely lucky to have been chosen from such an august group and grateful to have been a part of the PAX experience."

The Maw is a 3D action-adventure game in which players take control of Frank, a simple alien that must partner up with The Maw, a cute little blob with an insatiable hunger. Players will need to harness The Maw's unstoppable growth and incredible powers in order to help Frank find his way home. The game is expected to debut on Xbox LIVE® Arcade in early Q1 2009 and has been rated "E10+" for Everyone 10 and older by the Entertainment Software Rating Board for this platform.

The complete list of 2008's The PAX 10 (in alphabetical order):

- The Amazing Brain Train by Grubby Games (puzzle/strategy)

- Audio Surf by Dylan Fitterer (rhythm/action)

- Chronotron by Scarybug Games (puzzle/platformer)

- Impulse by a team of Rochester Institute of Technology students (puzzle)

- The Maw by Twisted Pixel Games (action/adventure)

- Polarity by a team of Carnegie Mellon University students (platformer/puzzle)

- Project Aftermath by Games Faction (tactical/action)

- Schizoid by Torpex Games (action/strategy)

- Strange Attractors 2 by Ominous Development (puzzle/strategy)

- Sushi Bar Samurai by Molly Rocket (exploratory puzzle)

In the game you play as Frank, a hapless alien armed with only a Plasma Leash. Fortunately he has the frighteningly large and easily frightened blob-like pet Maw. Frank can use his leash to guide Maw around to eat thing and clear paths, but despite being nearly all teeth, Maw is an easily frightened creature. So Frank has to spend a lot of time bulking up Maw and dealing with obstacles that the creature won't face.

The game has a lot going for it. First there's the amazing personality built into the game. The Maw and its lead creature are sure to win over the hearts of gamers as they play through it. The game itself is a nice combination of unique mechanic and fun puzzles. To take on many challenged gamers have to move Frank around which, in turn thanks to the leash, gets Maw to move around. But the fact that you don't have total control over Maw and can merely suggest where it should go, adds a whole other level of challenge to the game.

While seems big enough to take on everything in the game if it wanted to, the fact that everything even slightly close to his size, makes the game much more challenging. Often Frank will have to find ways around scary creatures to move Maw along through the game. Frank can use his leash on other creatures, he can also use it to occasionally grab some items for puzzle solving.

Maw grows as you feed it, it also takes on the powers of the things it eats. So when he sups on a fire creature he temporarily gains the ability to shoot out flames.

The Maw seems to have that pleasing mix of fun graphics, engaging character art and interesting game mechanic that virtually insures success. The game is due to hit the Xbox Live Arcade next year.

The Maw