At this point, it's just become ludicrous.  First, it was Boom Boom Rocket.  Then, Hexic 2.  And now OXfire of XBLAddict is giving away two games at once: Spyglass Board Games and Bomberman Live!.

So get on over there (make a comment) and win some free stuff.  If you're anything like me, your wallet is probably feeling some serious fatigue about now.  So give it a break from the grind and get something for free!

[via XBLAddict.com]

Turns out that my speculation about the strange reappearance of all those PopCap games was likely wrong.  It now seems apparent that they reappeared due to their inclusion on the PopCap Arcade Vol. 1 disc.  And that accounts for the presence of Astropop and Feeding Frenzy right at the top this week.

However, we still have some news lurking amongst all the PopCap games.  New to the list this week are Arkadian Warriors, OMEGA FIVE, and Rocketmen: Axis of Evil (all are E10+).  Rocketmen already appeared on the USK.  Also of note, The 3D Ultra Minigolf expansion Lost Island aquired its own seperate rating (E) and Carcassonne popped up again. 

Carcassonne's presence is likely the result of the recent expansion Kings & Barons, but could Rocketmen be nearing release?  And what about Arkadian Warriors and OMEGA FIVE? 

Usual list of ESRB lurkers post-breakage.

[via the ESRB]

Q Entertainment knows that many people hate those pesky tutorials that plague the complex games of today.  And so, they've created an easy to use checklist to let you jump right into the game this Wednesday and ultimately assist you on your path to extended bliss (and achievement success no doubt).  Consider it the 12 step program for getting the most out of Every Extend Extra Extreme.

I have two words for this list.  Pure.  Genius.

1. Dim the lights in your room.  Grab a refreshing drink (or beverage of your choice) from the fridge. Crack your knuckles. Sit back and relax.
2. We recommend starting with the Main Mode, E4 The Game Unlimited.
3. Get used to seeing your cute little craft, a yellow 4-pointed star with a green dot in the middle.  Give it a name!
4. Take note of your Shield time/clock at the top center.  You're invincible while the clock is running. 
5. Collecting a balanced amount of Bonuses and Quickens is the key to getting a high score.
6. The more Quickens you grab, more enemies appear, thus making it easier to create a larger chain reaction.
7. Collecting Bonuses and Items will multiply your points by up to 100. 
8. While watching the digital fireworks display is fun, you can cancel the chain explosion by pressing [B], especially when you're running out of time!
9. Explosions come in different sounds - press [RT][LT] to change the sound of the explosions and create your own beats!
10. Beat Bonus - You can double your points by detonating at the top of the beat at max power; beat bonus will multiply by 3, 4 and a max of 5.
11. Blasting the enemies that fire bullets with a direct explosion will give you more items. 
12. You'll get a weird shrieking warning signal when you're down to 30 seconds, so be sure to collect the Time Extension items!

But since we still have some time to waste before cracking our knuckles, after the break are full screens from E4 and all the new LUMINES LIVE! Content.

'Tis confirmed!  Every Extend Extra Extreme will arrive this Wednesday.  But Q Entertainment isn't stopping there.  They're also dropping the price of LUMINES LIVE! and releasing new skin packs.  Good news all around.

Here's the skinny (according to some fun Google Translation): 

• Every Extend Extra Extreme arrives this Wednesday for 800MSP.  No word yet on if this will be region-limited.
• LUMINES will permanently drop from 1200MSP to 800MSP.
• LUMINES LIVE! Rockin' Holiday Pack will be 400MSP.
• A new Genki Rockets skin called "Breeze Skin(Translation?)" Two Genki Rockets skins ("Heavenly Star" and "Breeze") will be available for FREE to Gold Xbox Live Members until November 14th.

Presumably, Speedball 2 is also arriving this Wednesday but we'll update this story if and when official announcements are made (in english hopefully).  Speedball 2 will also be 800MSP.

[Update]: It's doubly official now.  Press Release after the break.  Also, cleaned up some of the details.

[via gpara.com (amusingly translated here), thanks Buster]

Switchball is finally getting a full retail PC release this week after weeks (months even) of being available for purcahse as a downloadable PC title. I'm sure everyone must be thinking that this must be a sign that the XBLA release is just around the corner, right? Yes and no. Sierra will release the title close to the release date of the XBLA version, which is sometime before the end of the year.  However, recall that Roboblitz was released for PC a few weeks prior to the XBLA release.  Who knows maybe Microsoft will announce it as one of this weeks titles, but I wouldn't hold your breath.

Normally I would shy away from talking about games on "other" console's download services (scare quotes intentional) but I cannot stay silent on this one any longer.  Last week saw the release of Everyday Shooter by Queasy Games (aka Jonathan Mak) exclusively on the Playstation Network (PSN). 

Now, if you look at the games that I enjoy (or those I am anxious to try) many of them involve either shooting stuff (Geometry Wars, Mutant Storm) or puzzly sonic experiences (Lumines Live, Every Extend Extra Extreme).  You can imagine my intrigue (read: giddiness) when I learned about Everyday Shooter.  Here's a game that combines my sonic sensibilities with my desire to blow up brightly colored shapes.  Mak even admits to being obsessed with Mizuguchi's games (Lumines and E4).

And thus, filled with excitement, I began my wait to actually play the game.  But I was destined to be disappointed.  More tears are shed (and rage-filled blame is placed) after the break.

Yet another discovery I made while browsing the IGF entries was the identity of Reflexive Entertainment's next XBLA game. Reflexive was responsible for the game Ricochet Lost Worlds on the original Xbox version of XBLA and also for Wik: Fable of Souls (a personal favorite). As a result of their high standing in my esteem, I was intrigued when I saw their name amongst the IGF entries. And thus, I set out to do some internet Matlocking, and I struck gold.

Long story short: Axiom: Overdrive will be Reflexive Entertainment's next XBLA title, and it's coming in "Winter 2007". Want to know how I cracked the code? Want to know more about Axiom: Overdrive? Hit the Jump.

[via IGF and Reflexive Entertainment Inc.]