Grand Prize
• 50" 1080p Flat-Panel Plasma HDTV
• Theater System with Progressive-Scan
• Xbox360 Elite
• Extra Controller
• 4X Xbox Live Gold Membership
• Wing Commander Arena + 11,200 Microsoft Points

Four Runners-up will each receive:
• 1 Xbox360 Elite videogame and entertainment system
• 11,200 Microsoft Points

Da Rules
Qualifying Rounds: Qualifying rounds will begin at 8:00PM PST on 7/30/07 via Xbox Live Arcade.
A. This tournament is a free for all, and editors are allowed to choose what ships they want to use.
B. The Tournament will start with 2 rounds of 16 person free for all up to 25 frags. The 8 editors with the
highest frag count at the end of those rounds advance to the next round which will be 1 round up to 25 frags.
The 4 editors with the highest frag count at the end of that match go to a 4 man free for all up to 25 frags.
The 2 editors with the most frags go to a hosted "bear pit" match to see who can get to 20 frags first. There
is going to be a splinter bomber ship in the pit with you and frags against him count as well. The editor who
gets to 20 frags first wins the prize!
C. In the event of a tie, there will be a sudden death match between the two tying parties in a 1 vs. 1 match
with the rogue bomber in the bear pit. The party with the highest score at the end of the match will be
declared the winner.

Of course, the game supports online Leaderboards and sports 12 Achievements (totaling 200 Gamerscore points). It's the stock Contra storyline, for those who don't have their Konami bibles handy, featuring super soldiers Lance and Bill using loads of ammunition to take down the alien menace Red Falcon. Simpler times!

This is news to me, but Super Contra takes place in the very distant future, the year 2634 to be exact. December of 2634, if you really want to nitpick. Since I haven't played the game since, let's say, 1989, I think I can be forgiven for not knowing my Contra history.

XBLA This Week - Wing Commander Arena and Super Contra [Gamerscore Blog]

If you haven't already read the other articles we've written on this game in the past, Wing Commander Arena will feature a sixteen player online co-op mode and is a 3D arena style addition to the beloved Wing Commander series. If all goes according to plan, WCA will be available this Wednesday, July 25 for 800 MS points.

Wing Commander Arena is coming to the Xbox Live Arcade in the "coming weeks" and Electronic Arts just sent me a cool little magazine called Star Soldier to prep me for the game's launch.

The January 2701 issue of Star Soldier is 60 pages of ads, articles and details about the game and the universe in which it exists. It's pretty neat. The thing does a really good job of blending fictional pieces (like bios of the top 12 mercenary pilots and ads from Joan's Fighting Spacecraft) with hard facts (like the game's play controls, fughting maneuver tips and a list of Achievements.)

I've tried to scan in a nice collection of the fact sheets for your perusal. Brian Crecente

OK, let's get this out of the way: Wing Commander Arena isn't Wing Commander.

If you were hoping for cheesy graphics, cheesy cut scenes, a bit of Mark Hamill, maybe a cockpit view, you're going to be disappointed. If you can put all that behind you and try the game with an open mind, you might like what you see.

Wing Commander Arena is essentially an online only Xbox 360 game. Sure there are some single-player, off-line modes, but they're designed to just hone your skills for online play. While the game doesn't support split-screen gaming (a big disappointment to me), it does include a very robust online mode which can host up to 16 players at a time.

The game itself sort of plays like a super version of Galaga. You start the game by choosing your ship, each of which has it's own stats and weapon layouts, and then launch into space.

The left control lets you move right, left, forward and back, but nothing lets you move up or down, something that takes a big of getting used to. You use the right control to do things like barrel rolls, loops and strafing. The buttons let you fire weapons, drop bombs and change your views. But no matter how many times I pressed that view change button I couldn't get a view inside the cockpit.

I asked one of the EA guys about that and he told me that the cockpit view just didn't fit with this version of the game. Mostly, he said, because the game is so fast-paced and can have up to 15 others in the game dog-fighting with you. He also said it' a view that can make you motion sick... and I know what that's like.

I found the game fun to play, though it was hard to get over my initially disappointment that it was so very much not Wing Commander. It's fun to play, but I don't see why they bothered to attach that particular franchise to this game. Besides the look of the ships, there really wasn't much WIng Commander in Wing Commander. Brian Crecente

I talked a bit earlier about my feelings on Wing Commander Arena, but I bet you didn't believe me when I said it wasn't Wing Commander. Well, look up and weep. Brian Crecente

It's true, sorta.

Electronic Arts just announced that they are developing Wing Commander Arena for the Xbox Live Arcade.

The 16-player space melee game is set to hit this summer.

Wing Commander Arena is a fast-paced space combat game where players can team up to attack other teams of ships. The game introduces the classic franchise to an arcade-style experience that allows up to 16 players online in battle at once. Players can propel their customized ship through space, fire torpedoes and unleash deadly gravity bombs as they try to climb the leader board. Online players will compete for Frag count, high score and dueling stats.

"We're really excited to deliver unparalleled multi-player arcade action," said Chip Lange, EA Vice President. "The design for Wing Commander will appeal to both long-time fans of the franchise and immediately engage anyone who wants the melee style action of an arcade shooter."

Wing Commander Arena will feature four styles of play: single player, multi-team, multi-player free for all and multi-player duel. Within the game there are eight game maps that include team maps, free for all maps and dueling maps, so Wing Commander Arena offers a gameplay experience for every Arcade gamer, whether they want a quick ten minutes of action or a longer more immersive game.

Excuse me, I've got to go pass out. Brian Crecente