The following titles were released for Xbox 360 this week. Almost all of these games, with the exception of the Live Arcade title, are headed to Ps3 this week, so in the future, I might consolidate these posts a bit more. I’m still testing the waters with these release features, so if I can limit the number of posts about them, I’ll probably see fit doing so. I’ll also make sure to note PSN and Xbox Live! exclusives.

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Easily the best looking SNK fighting game developed prior to the announcement of King of Fighters XII, Garou: Mark of the Wolves was the ninth and final title in the Fatal Fury series. For some time, it was considered the best looking 2d fighter, only rivaled by the likes of Capcom’s Street Fighter 3. There were several announcements over the years regarding a potential sequel in development, though it seems that the series has taken a back seat to the more popular King of Fighters.

I was pretty sad when they failed to bring over the PS2 port that was released in Japan the other year–especially since I never got a chance to buy them game when it came out here for the Dreamcast. Thankfully, 1Up reported that Garou will be headed to Xbox Live Arcade on June 24th in Japan. While there’s no word yet on if the title is heading to America as well, Siliconera noted that the only Xbox Live Arcade game to be released in Japan before hitting the US market would be a Shogi game (a Japanese version of Chess).  Garou: Mark of the Wolves also comes with worldwide online play, so it would be quite a shame to see that go to waste.  I guess all I can do is cross my fingers.

[Image Source - Racketboy.com]

Konami held a press conference Wednesday to discuss it’s upcoming projects. Announced were 5 titles, 2 of which had been previously talked about at various conferences over the course of the week. In addition to Metal Gear Peace Keeper, and Metal Gear Rising, Konami went on to announce Metal Gear Arcade, an coin-op title heading to Japanese arcades later this year. This brings the total number of Metal Gear titles in development to 3, which raises concerns of over saturation for the series. While I’m glad that they’re pushing the product into new markets, I’m curious about the quality of these titles.

And if that’s not enough, Kojima also announced his involvement in the new Castlevania game, titled Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. Destructoid has the trailer posted on their site here. I was incredibly impressed with the games visuals and the voice actors they’ve gathered are top notch. In fact, the moment I heard Patrick Stewart’s voice during the trailer, I about died. I don’t know why his voice is so good. As for the gameplay, I’m not too concerned. While previous attempts at a 3d Castlevania have often led to terrible results, I have faith in Kojima Productions. After all, they made Metal Gear, right? I just hope that they can handle all the projects they’ve decided to take on.

Finally, Konami announced a new Dance Dance Revolution title which will take advantage of an 8 sided control scheme. It’s as if they took two DDR pads and layered them instead of placing them side by side. While I’m kind of disappointed that they would use that as the big surprise for the end of their conference, I’m sure someone was excited about… somewhere.   

[Image Source: http://www.konami.jp/kojima_pro/next/]

I was recently sent a press release regarding, Pro-Gamer, Justin Wong’s upcoming canned food drive being sponsored by Evil Controllers at E3 next week. The release reads as follows: 

As part of his attempt to set the world record for longest win streak, pro-gamer, Justin Wong and Xbox 360 modded controller creators, Evil Controllers will be holding a canned food drive and raffle at the 2009 E3 convention June 2rd through 4th at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, CA.

“The premise behind the food drive is simple,” says Evil Controller’s Director of Operations, Jonah Coe, “When we realized how many people were expected to attend E3 this year, Justin and I saw this as the perfect opportunity for Evil to do some good in the world.”

Wong will begin entertaining challengers at the Evil Controllers booth on Tuesday morning and will continue playing until the convention starts to wind down on Thursday. For each person who challenges Wong, Evil Controllers has promised to donate 1 can of food to the Saint Mary’s Food Bank Alliance. If a contestant manages to do the unthinkable and beats Wong, Evil will donate 10 cans.

In an attempt to sweeten the deal, Evil has made it free to play, and all contestants will be entered into a raffle drawing to win a Red Elite Xbox 360. The drawing will be held at the Evil Controllers booth at 3:00 pm on Thursday June 5th, the final day of the E3 convention.

A stop by Evil’s booth not only offers visitors face time with one of pro gaming’s fastest rising stars; it will also give them hands on experience with Evil’s newest innovation: the Evil Sticks. The recently introduced ergonomic xbox 360 thumbsticks are already gaining praise from pro gaming’s elite. WGC Ultimate Gamer, Prodigy X says “Precision and Accuracy of this level will make any game better.”

Evil will also be showing off a wide variety of its custom controllers at the convention in Los Angeles this summer. For more information on Evil’s product line and what to expect from them at E3, visit www.evilcontrollers.com.

ABOUT EVIL CONTROLLERS - Evil Controllers is a Tempe, Arizona-based company that specializes in custom modded Xbox 360 controllers designed to enhance game play for a variety of different game genres.

Evil Controller LLC develops modded controllers whose aim is to mitigate a player’s physical limitations while gaming. Through innovative design and ergonomic upgrades tailored for specific types of games, Evil provides gamers with custom controllers that best fit their needs.

Justin is a really sweet guy, and I think it’s wonderful that he’s decided to do this. I have to warn anyone who feels like taking him on though, the guy is a definite shark when it comes to fighting games. I’ve even lost $20 to him over a game of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 years ago, and I consider myself formidable. I don’t believed they mentioned which game he’ll be playing but I can only assume it’ll be Street Fighter 4, MvC2, or a similar title. No doubt he’s cleaned plenty of unsuspecting gamers wallets for them. Thankfully this event is free to all comers, assuming you can get in to E3 in the first place. I suppose that once you’re over that hurdle though, you’re welcome to try your hand. Besides, if a good cause isn’t enough, you can always brag about how you took on the champ and won.

[image source: evilcontrollers.com]

Set for release later this summer, King of Fighters XII provides stunning hand drawn sprites with colorful visuals and a refined fighting system in an attempt to breath some fresh air into the aging franchise. From the videos floating around the web, it’s clear to see that unlike it’s PS2 predecessor–unsurprisingly titled King of Fighters XI–the new direction has paid off, providing a welcomed alternative to the latest 3d fighters, such as Tekken 6, and Soul Calibur 4. While not sporting as many characters as it’s previous incarnation, the game instead provides a heavier focus on the main characters of the series, progressing the story arc, and balancing it’s gameplay.

Ignition Entertainment, who publishes the game, has announced via their forums that they’d like to have fans decide on the cover art for the upcoming sequel to the King of Fighters series. They’ve provided two covers for the Xbox360 and PS3 versions of the game which feature the characters Iori Yagami, and Kyo Kusunagi on each cover. Personally I think they both look good, and while I’m pretty good with both characters myself, I’d love to see Iori get a cover shot for once. Feel free to go on over to their forums and voice your opinion. I’ve went ahead and posted several of the covers above. By the way, incase anyone missed the disclaimer at the bottom of Ignition’s posts, the winning art is still subject to approval by SNK/Playmore.

[Image sources: Ignition Entertainment]