Terry - You might be wondering why there were so many posts on GamePro Arcade last night. I moved everything up that was scheduled for the next few days to tonight, I wanted to make sure the hard work put in by the GPA staff got the love it deserved. Why? Because just like every other Blogfaction site, we've been shut down. Yes, the old saying is true. Shit does happen.

I've been working for GamePro for almost 2 years and I plan on doing some freelance work with them again as it arises but I'm not going to lie, losing GPArcade hurts. It was my baby, I've been running it since its inception, giving it tons of love and watching it grow. So to get the phone call I got telling me that we were shut down and having to tell my staff we were done was gut wrenching. Sadly that's just the way this business seems to be going, so its time I bid adieu. 

But before I go, I want to give thanks because I have so much to be thankful for. First and foremost I'd like to thank our loyal readers. You've been great! I'm sorry I won't be around any longer to pass out freebies every Wednesday. I'd like to thank GP staffers Will Herring, McKinley Noble, and Dave Rudden for their frequent assistance. And I'd like to give a big shout out to my editor Tae Kim. He's one of the best guys in the biz. Thank you for trusting me with this responsibility.

And finally I need to give some love to my great staff. Joe, you might have recently joined us but your talents are obvious. You're one hell of a writer. My boy Jay, you've continually improved, have always been reliable, and have great skills. And finally there's Scarecrow. I think I'll miss you most of all. Oops, I meant Sean. Sean, you've been with me the longest and you've held out through thick and thin. You're an excellent writer and a good man...even if you like country music.

Even though GPArcade is closing shop you haven't heard the last of the GPA team. We're still scheming and trying to figure out a way to keep pumping out great content. Be sure to follow us on Twitter to see just how far the rabbit hole goes.

Follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/terryterrones  

P.S. It wouldn't be GPA without a giveaway. Congrats to xAluru, you've randomly selected by the GPArcade Super Computer (and yes I'm taking it with me, I'll be renaming it soon) as the winner of our final giveaway. Email me with your GP login name and password to collect your prize.  

Hit the jump to read the final adios from the rest of the GamePro Arcade staff. 

Let’s start this off with a confession: I’m obsessed with vintage gaming, and am a strong proponent for keeping the classics alive. By and large, I don’t think that the industry has done a good enough job of acknowledging and promoting video game history. So many titles that were influential in getting us to where we are today are currently lost in the gaming void or unplayable on modern hardware, leaving expensive eBay auctions or seedy emulation as the only viable options for play.

Enter GoodOldGames.com, a 15 month old service that offers DRM-free old-school PC gaming at competitive prices. This site aims to deliver titles that you just can’t find anywhere else, and guarantees that they will work on modern day PCs. But with so many digital distribution sites out there, does GOG.com really offer enough to make it worthwhile? Does everything work as advertised? To find out, I spent a few days playing with the site and a handful of its games, and thought that you--the GPA readership--might appreciate a full breakdown of what I found.

The Indie section of Xbox Live Marketplace just got a bit hotter with Weapon of Choice—an early favorite of the service—dropping its price to only 240 MS points, or $3 in real money. This Contra-esque 2D platforming ‘splod-em-up turned many a head when it was released last year, offering magnificent boss battles, a ton of weapons, and seven weird-yet-awesome characters.

While it might be difficult to sort through the heaps of massagers and screen savers that populate the XBL Indies section, Weapon of Choice is just one of the many truly solid titles that exist in there. Though the service had a bit of a rough start, titles like Johnny Platform’s Biscuit Romp, Angry Barry, and Jump! have really stood out as unique experiences that you just can’t find in the traditional Arcade. WoC features similar action to both Shadow Complex and Bionic Commando: Rearmed, meaning that fans of either of those titles should at least give the free trial a download. Weapon of Choice is also the highest rated XBL Indie game on Metacritic, a tremendous accomplishment indeed.

Interested actioneers can check out the developer’s official website here, or just head straight to the Xbox Live Marketplace to give Weapon of Choice a shot. You really should. Just sayin’.

Wolfmother, a newer band from Australia, will rock you until your face melts off with their heavy metal/hard rock style and badass persona. The Sydney trio has been making a splash at Australian MTV events and is slowly transforming into an American sensation too.

Their three-song track pack consisting of, "Pilgrim," "California Queen," and "Cosmic Egg," is ready for download Thursday at the Guiter Hero Store. If you're into that, check these guys out and then throw another set of shrimp on the baaaarbie.

Hit the jump.

Related Links: We're giving away 2,000 Wii points. And here are the Rock Band songs for the week, too.

 

 

WiiWare releases of recent weeks have been, to say the least, underwhelming. Gravitronix, unfortunately, is not the exception.

While the concept of spherical Pong with various shaped projectiles flying around the screen between anywhere from 2-8 players is only mildly entertaining in itself, the controls make every effort to make the gameplay as unenjoyable as possible.

Another Wednesday, another chance for you to win something for free from GamePro Arcade. Up for grabs this time? One (1!) download code for 2000 Wii/DSi Points. 

Winning, as always, is easy. All you have to do is write a comment on this post telling us how you'd spend your points. Would you download some Rock Band songs? Super Star Wars Empire Strikes Back? Major League Eating The Game? Let us know. 

Post as many times as you like, just remember that posting multiple times does not increase your chances of winning. One (1!) lucky gamer will be randomly selected by the GPArcade Super Computer and announced on Sunday.

Good luck!

Follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/terryterrones  

ED NOTE: For reasons you'll find out shortly, this contest officially ends at 10pm Pacific time tonight. 

 

I’ve never really been into Madden. Maybe it’s because I get intercepted every time the ball leaves my quarterback’s glove, or possibly because the rules of football are as clear to me as an ancient Chinese proverb, but EA football and me never seems to gel. The NFL Blitz series was always more my style, with bone-crunching tackles, flame-spouting turbo boosts and over-the-top sports action keeping my adrenal juices flowing.

Now, it appears as if EA would like to tap into the Joe market as well with the announcement of Madden NFL Arcade, which is currently being developed by EA Tiburon. This Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network title will loosen the rigid NFL rules a bit, as each five player team has four downs to advance 60 yards and score a touchdown. The first team to nab 30 points wins, and there are no pesky penalties in place to slow things down. Best of all, each team can activate unique power-ups to change the tide of battle, including one that freezes certain players and another that messes with the other team’s icons. Couch coop and online play are available of course, which is sure to lead to many a spilled soda or crushed potato chip during uncountable hours of gridiron goodness.

Madden NFL Arcade will sack PSN and XBLA this December for $14.99/1200 MS points. Tackle the jump for the full press release, pah’tnah. (Sorry, going through a bit of an Arrested Development-inspired cowboy phase at the moment)

LucasArts does a whole slab of things in an utterly unique way, whether it's painting a completely obscure scene or injecting steroids into the creativity sector of their brain while in the planning stages of making a quality video game. One can always tell the cartoony feel of a game from their company. While that entails one-of-a-kind production value, it also means hours of fun through story lines and addictive gameplay with lovable characters.

In Lucidity, that main goal isn't present.

Fun.

This rather bare game asks you to place objects and obstacles in Sofi's pathway while she scrolls to the right side of the screen. Yes, this is a 2D video game. And while many gaming companies can still pull it off, LucasArts, well, fails.

Word Searcher is yet another attempt on Nintendo’s WiiWare platform to capture the so-called casual gaming audience, but falls flat on its face. A common trend I am noticing with WiiWare games is developers making games that would be better suited for a mobile platform such as the iPhone, DSiWare or even PlayStation Minis.

Finding words on a console game means nothing more than sitting in front of the screen while trying not to submit to sleep-inducing gameplay and remain conscious enough to make sense of the letters on the screen. I think I actually felt my heart rate slow and my breaths become slower as I continued trying to find breakfast-themed words while listening to the repetitive elevator music that plays continuously in the background.

 

This week Rock Band gamers get ten (10!) new songs to download. The highlight of the week is the Brutal Legend Pack. "(We Are) The Road Crew '08" by Motorhead, "The Metal" by Tenacious D, and "More Than Meets the Eye" by Testament are all in the game, and if you buy Brutal Legend from Best Buy you'll get a download code to get the 3-pack for free. 

Also available this week are a song each from Black Tide, Blink-182, and L7, and two-packs (or Tu-Pacs as I call them) from Joe Satriani and Kansas. Rock Band Unplugged gamers get one song each from Pearl Jam and Foreigner. 

HIt the jump for all the details on this week's new tunes. 

Follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/terryterrones