Team 17 boss Martyn Brown says the developer is as frustrated as anyone about Worms' prolonged absence from Xbox Live Arcade, but he expects we'll see it very soon.
 
"The delay with Worms for XBLA has been as frustrating for Team17 as it has been for the very many players eager to see it's release," Brown told Eurogamer this morning.
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"It's really been a case of the last cycle of production/testing and certification taking much longer than we would have hoped. We know we aren't the only case, but that doesn't ease the frustration."
 
Earlier this week Microsoft said that it had nothing to offer on Xbox Live Arcade today as the scheduled title had been "delayed". Director of programming Larry Hryb said the platform holder had "a very high bar that each title must pass over in order to be released," and that nothing had quite made it in time.
 
Brown believes the depth of the experience offered by the Live Arcade version of Worms may have complicated the process, too.
 
"Worms is one of the 'richer' XBLA experiences in that it'll provide hours and hours of repeat play through it's on and offline multiplayer modes. Unfortunately that's meant a hell of a lot of testing and also re-submissions on what we felt were final builds.
 
"We've been working very closely with Microsoft XBLA team on this who are as excited and just as keen to see the game out there and on XBLA but there are procedures to follow before that can be the case.
 
"We're very close to being able to celebrate it's release though, although it's almost happened twice before, so we better keep quiet and hope that we get the green light soon."

EA LAUNCHES WING COMMANDER ARENA ONTO XBOX LIVE ARCADE
 
Legendary Game Franchise Delivers 16-Player Online Space Combat
 
Electronic Arts today announced the return of its beloved Wing Commander™ franchise with Wing Commander Arena in development for the Xbox LIVE® Arcade*. With up to 16 players, Wing Commander Arena offers the largest multi-player melee experience to date on Xbox LIVE Arcade. The game is scheduled to go live worldwide on the Arcade service in Summer 2007.
 
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.
 
Wing Commander Arena is produced and published by Electronic Arts and cooperatively developed with Gaia Industries. This is the second EA title for Xbox LIVE Arcade with EA's first title Boom Boom Rocket set to launch this Spring.

Codemasters has announced it's set to bring Sensible World of Soccer to Xbox Live Arcade this summer, describing the decision as a "no-brainer".
 
Since the revelation that Sensible World of Soccer would grace both PC and Xbox Live Arcade, the UK developer has remained tantalisingly tight-lipped regarding the matter. However, in an update on the official SWOS forum, Nick Pili, director of casual gaming at Codemasters, has finally unveiled some more information on the Live Arcade version.
 
According to Pili, Codemasters originally discussed a series of potential titles to bring to Xbox Live Arcade but "Microsoft was keen to have an easy to pick-up-and-play football game for the XBLA platform and a Sensi-type game seemed like the obvious choice".
 
Although gameplay is largely similar to Sensi tiles released on Amiga, PC and Super NES in the mid-90s, one mode is set to feature enchanced high-definition graphics and improved audio. "To produce the authentic SWOS experience," explained Pili, "we'll be using the original source code used in SWOS 96/97, so you can celebrate now! The core gameplay will be untouched, and therefore identical to that within the SWOS96/97 game."
 
Currently, the PC game is being developed for Windows Vista only, but Codemasters is hoping to create iterations for other operating systems as well. The developer is working closely with Microsoft to implement Vista's Windows Live functionality, with Codemasters set to confirm online tournaments and features in the PC version as soon as possible.

Microsoft annonce à l'instant que Worms sera enfin disponible la semaine prochaine sur Xbox Live Arcade. Que voilà une excellente nouvelle, surtout quand elle est accompagnée de quelques images
MAJ: Le jeu coûtera 800 points.

Invertebrates Invade! “Worms” Now Available on Xbox Live Arcade
 
Worms have evolved and are taking no prisoners! Team17 Software Ltd. brings its popular “Worms” franchise to Xbox Live® Arcade, delivering the first turn-based strategy game to the platform. “Worms” will be available for download on Xbox Live Arcade for Xbox 360™ beginning Wednesday, March 7 at 0800 GMT (1 a.m. PST).
 
“Worms” is a cleverly balanced turn-based strategy game in which teams of heavily armed worms battle across bizarre, randomly generated landscapes for supremacy. Each team takes turns picking off opposing team members using crazy weapons, tools and other utilities along with whatever foul strategies they can devise. The simple and cute appearance belies the deep strategy of a game that is easy to play but difficult to master.
 
“Worms” will be available worldwide for 800 Microsoft® Points.
 
GAME FEATURES
· A mix of strategy and arcade action that, although simple to understand, contains real depth and massive replayability
· Turn-based multiplayer action for up to four players locally or over Xbox Live*
· An assortment of game options:
o Landscape on which to do battle
o Turn and round times
o Starting weapon arsenal for each team
· Three detailed tutorials to introduce the mechanics to first-time players
· Twenty increasingly difficult single-player challenges
· Three graphical themes for play
· A random landscape generator to ensure that no two landscapes are ever the same
· Twenty-two weapons and utilities to deploy against your enemies
· Many customizable elements, including what worms and teams are named, what Worms say, and which gravestone they have when they die
· High-definition visuals and many graphical improvements throughout the game
· Twelve achievements
· Weekly, monthly and overall leaderboards
 
 
WHERE CAN I GET IT?
You can download “Worms” beginning Wednesday, March 7, at 0800 GMT/1 a.m. PST on Xbox Live Arcade.
 
“Worms” will be available for 800 Microsoft Points, and rated E10+, Mild Cartoon Violence.

Full list of weapons/utilities:
 
Bazooka, Homing Missile, Grenade, Cluster Bomb, Banana Bomb, Dynamite, Air Strike, Shotgun, Uzi, Fire Punch, Dragon Ball, Prod, Blowtorch, Land Mine, Sheep, Kamikaze, Ninja Rope, Girder, Jet Pack, Teleport, Skip Go, Surrender.

GAME FEATURES
 
* A mix of strategy and arcade action that, although simple to understand, contains real depth and massive replayability
* Turn-based multiplayer action for up to four players locally or over Xbox Live
* An assortment of game options:
o Landscape on which to do battle
o Turn and round times
o Starting weapon arsenal for each team
* Three detailed tutorials to introduce the mechanics to first-time players
* Twenty increasingly difficult single-player challenges
* Three graphical themes for play
* A random landscape generator to ensure that no two landscapes are ever the same
* Twenty-two weapons and utilities to deploy against your enemies
* Many customizable elements, including what worms and teams are named, what worms say, and which gravestone they have when they die
* High-definition visuals and many graphical improvements throughout the game
* Twelve achievements
* Weekly, monthly and overall leaderboards