Ikaruga Gracefully Lands On Xbox Live This Wednesday

We were too young or too distracted back in the day when Ikaruga was released to have actually played it, unfortunately, and that's why re-releasing games like this (and Rez, for that matter) through digital download is a great idea. The majority of us here at QPHQ downloaded Rez and thoroughly enjoyed it, which may in turn directly lead to us snagging this one (for the increasingly popular price of 800 space bucks, or $10 of U.S. Bank Notes, if you're into that whole actual currency thing.)

Also of note this week, sleeper hit Poker Smash is releasing some expansions for the oh-so-nice price of 100 space bucks each ("two Action Mode Environments in the Environment Pack and an additional 15 Puzzles in the Puzzle Pack", respectively.) This of course changes the marketing plan in distinct ways, as the game now has, "[a] total of 13 immersive environments and 70 mind bending puzzles[!]." We're excited too, just not PR-excited.

All of this tasty and delicious information comes to us courtesy of Microsoft's Gamerscore Blog, our number one source for posturized information that we must then sort through and re-tell (more) honestly. Oh, and yes, we did just make up the word "posturized." Copyright!

Rez HD Thoughts

As you're probably aware, elusive Dreamcast and PlayStation 2 legend Rez was released for Xbox Live Arcade a few days ago, this time in super pretty high-definition (not that I can really tell on my 8 year-old standard-def telly). I had never played the game when it initially came out, though I'd been told by numerous people what an awesome game it was. So I finally checked it out on XBLA, for the bargain-bin price of 800 Microsoft Points (which is what, like $10?) and now I understand what all the fuss has been about, and why Sam Kennedy from 1UP called it "one of the most important games of the last decade" in his review.

For those who haven't played it, basically you're a hacker breaking into a computer network, getting rid of viruses and breaking through firewalls. It's a shooter rather than a strict rhythm game, but the music is no doubt one of the most important aspects of the game, working with the psychedelic wireframe and Matrix-esque graphics to totally draw you in. It can get pretty intense, I found that my hands were starting to ache and sweat after a while, something that doesn't happen often (not while gaming, anyway.)

It is most definitely an "experience." The game is beautiful, in terms of audio and video, and is something I would definitely consider as art. It's also just downright fun, and is easy to pick up and just play for a few minutes or hours. Even after I finished the game this morning, there are still lots of greyed-out options on the menu and it will no doubt take me quite a while to fully unlock everything. This shouldn't be too hard since I've become somewhat addicted to the game (and because I'm becoming a dirty achievements whore).

So if you have a 360, and haven't done so already, dip into your weekly Starbucks allowance and go download it. Definitely worth the ten bucks. Pity there's no support for the Trance Vibrator...