As many of you may be aware, the newly created Xbox LIVE Productions creation, Fable II Pub Games, was released to gamers everywhere via Gamestop & Amazon’s Fable II pre-order codes. (The game was also released on the Xbox Live Arcade, where it can be purchased in full for 800 Microsoft SpaceBux, or $10). However, the immediate response by hardcore Fable fans has been starkly polarized — some love the game while others seem to loathe it.

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Earlier today, Dan Paladin of the Castle Crashers development blog announced that the much anticipated upcoming Xbox Live Arcade behemoth would cost 1200 Microsoft Points ($15 USD). This price is being met with cries of joy and admiration from many forum folk who had initially thought that the game would cost a staggering 1800 Microsoft Points ($22 USD).

Hit the jump for the full blog post!

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1942: Joint Strike is a wonderful reiteration of the revolutionary top-down shoot ‘em up that originally graced the NES so many years ago. However, this time, instead of featuring mandated screen-flicker, Joint Strike delivers a monotone array of greys and browns and blues that define the war game atmosphere. Coupled with a vast enemy system with decent AI, the result is a dreary, sometimes confusing pandemonium that lasts until the final shot is fired.

Can 1942: Joint Strike stand up to the success of it’s predecessor? Hit the jump to find out!

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Castle Crashers, the newest XBLA game from The Behemoth finally has a release date for their eagerly-awaited co-op action game. August 27 is the day you can pay a few spacebucks for this adorable little adventure. Woohoo!

Microsoft has also given release dates for titles such as Bionic Commando: ReArmed and Geometry Wars: RE 2, which you can find after the jump.
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Let me begin this review of one of this past week’s new Xbox Live Arcade releases with a quick disclaimer. Sea Life Safari, developed by WildTangent Game Studios, is less of a game and more of an experience. The game pits you as an underseas photographer bent on shooting animals with film instead of bullets to provide research material for a crotchety old professor, who then rates your photographs based on different criteria. These three major criteria are as follows: whether or not the animal is in the middle of the picture, the relative size of the animal in the picture (I guess he doesn’t like negative space) and whether or not the animal is doing its special movement, which can be elicited by heaving a glowstick or flare at the animal by hitting the B button. The professor then ranks these pictures on a basis of zero to three stars (three being the best) which are then needed to move on to the next level. This type of system seems natural for the type of game that it is, and the professor’s continual dissidence with you will have you hunting for three star photos for quite a while.

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Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipe of Darkness is the first installment of what developer Hothead Games promises to be a four-part series surrounding the world of the popular webcomic, Penny Arcade. The creators of Penny Arcade, Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, took a major risk in jumping their strip from relative cult success to mainstream Xbox Live Arcade media. Has the risk payed off for us gamers? Hit the jump to find out!

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The Xbox Live Arcade is a unique creature. Most of the time, it spits out dreck and crud with the frequency of a sewage plant. But on rare occasions, a hidden gem will shine through at just the right time to restore our faith in the service. One such game was the original Assault Heroes, a two-stick shooter in the vein of Geometry Wars. What set it apart was that on top of such simple gameplay, developer Wanako Games provided a unique presentation with the use of multiple vehicles and realized enemies, rather than simple shapes.

The game was such a fun, little experience and so well received that Sierra released a sequel for it a few weeks ago. But does Assault Heroes 2 provide anything new, or is it just more of the same? Keep reading to find out.
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When it comes to purchasing Xbox Live Arcade games, I am always quite frugal. Personally, I won’t pick up an XBLA game that is anything short of stellar. (I like to save my money for the big retail games … and booze, too, I guess.) Unsurprisingly, Rocketmen: Axis of Evil is one of those games that I would not buy … never in a hundred years.

Why is Rocketmen so utterly horrendous? Hit the jump for the rest of my review!

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Yes, your beloved MEGATONik has now committed to bringing you news of which Xbox Live Arcade games will be released every week. This week, Microsoft will bring you Switchball and Word Puzzle, each with a price of 800 MS points.

I don’t really know too much about Word Puzzle, except that it has a painfully bland name, but Switchball really does look interesting. In this half Super Monkey Ball, half Mercury Meltdown hybrid, you control a marble and navigate your way through 30 single players, filled with over 40 different obstacles. With the addition of co-op and competitive multiplayer, Switchball should be a nice addition to your XBLA collection. Be sure to save up those points because come Wednesday when the game drops, you’ll want to pick it up.