Xbox LIVE Wrap-Up for May 13th, 2010

With another week, we have another full list of updates for Xbox LIVE in our wrap-up. There are two Arcade titles on tap, more demos, a few add-ons for two popular game titles, and more.

Xbox LIVE Arcade – Rocket Knight, Things on Wheels
Sparkster makes his long-awaited return after making his action platforming mark on the 16-bit era with Rocket Knight, now available on Xbox LIVE. Players control this armored, jet-pack-wearing opposum through 2D levels in this new installment developed to take advantage of the current hardware. Apparantely, not only has the game series been absent for about 15 years, the game’s story has Sparkster returning home after an extended absence to find the kingdom of Zephyrus being invaded by an army of wolves. It sounds like Sparkster still has all of his old tricks up his sleeves, including the sword-based projectiles and being able to hang from select platforms by his tail. This slice of classic material, courtesy of Konami, will cost players 1,200 Microsoft Points.

On the other side of Arcade releases this week, Focus Home Interactive is rolling out a remote-controlled car racing game, Things on Wheels, for 800 Microsoft Points. Of course, the races will be livened up with power-up and weapon-based items and the game’s tracks are touted as being “completely insane.” The title will give players a bit of versitility in the vehicles, offering models such as vintage, muscle, and sports cars. While Rocket Knight will satisfy the solo player this week, Things on Wheels offers gameplay for up to four players locally and online.

Game Add-ons – BioShock 2, Forza Motorsport 3
After a small absence on our feature, game add-ons have returned with two expansions to extend your games.

BioShock 2: Rapture Metro is now available for 800 Microsoft Points and adds six new maps to multiplayer, with some being influenced by locations in the single-player mode. The expansion also adds three new achievements as well as a “rebirth” feature. Rebirth allows players at level 50 to drop all the way down to level 1 in exchange for receiving a new, very special mask. Also on the Marketplace, a character pack has been added for the price of 160 Microsoft Points and all players can download a free game mode known as Kill ’em Kindly, a melee mode where all blunt objects are golf clubs.

For 400 Microsoft Points, fans of Forza Motorsport 3 can now enjoy exotic cars thanks to a fifth car pack. The pack adds in 10 new cars: 2010 Gumpert Apollo S, 2010 Spyker C8 Laviolette LM85, 2010 SSC Ultimate Aero, 2010 Devon GTX, 2010 Rossion Q1, 2010 Joss JT1, 2010 Mosler MT900S, 2010 Radical SR8 Supersport, 2010 Wiesmann GT MF5, and 2010 Spada Vetture Sport Codatronca TS. To use these cars in season play, though, keep in mind you’ll need credits to purchase them.

Xbox LIVE Deal of the Week – The Ballad of Gay Tony is now 1,200 Microsoft Points
Grand Theft Auto IV’s second expansion is now at 25 percent off, giving players looking for more to do in the GTA universe a bit of a cost break. If you need to enlighten yourself on the expansions, you can catch up with Diehard GameFAN’s review of Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City.

Game Demos – UFC Undisputed 2010, Iron Man 2
Players can now get a taste of UFC’s new installment with a four-fighter demo that utilizes new mechanics such as swaying, submission transitions, and cage positioning. In the mean time, you can get up to speed with UFC 2010 by visiting our Undisputed coverage page. Also, players can jump into the Iron Man suit with a demo that launched soon after the full retail game.

Games on Demand – EndWar, Battlestations, Raiden Fighters
Xbox LIVE’s newest digital offerings serve up Tom Clancy’s EndWar and Battlestations Pacific for $29.99 and Raiden Fighters Aces for $19.99. If you want to know what Raiden Fighters Aces is all about, you can check out Diehard GameFAN’s review of the title.

Xbox LIVE Avatar Marketplace – Army of Two, A World of Keflings
Major Nelson has again placed Army of Two in a slot for Avatar items (which should mean some cool masks), but joining the offerings will be A World of Keflings, which is an upcoming sequel to Kingdom for Keflings.

Music Marketplace
With many music game titles receiving expansion content on a weekly basis, it may start to become hard to follow, especially with these updates usually covering up the entire line of recent updates on the Xbox Dashboard. This week, new updates unfold for our usual lineup of titles:

Rock Band
Judas Priest Live Pack
“Breaking the Law (Live)”
“Rapid Fire (Live)”
“Metal Gods (Live)”
“Grinder (Live)”
“United (Live)”
“Living After Midnight (Live)”
“You Don’t Have to Be Old to Be Wise (Live)”
“The Rage (Live)”
“Steeler (Live)”

Guitar Hero
Alternative Pop Rock Track Pack
Alpha Rev – “Face Down”
Capra – “Low Day”
Snow Patrol – “You’re All I Have”

Lips
Miley Cyrus Bonus Song Pack
“7 Things”
“See You Again”
“The Climb”
“Fly On the Wall”

Barrett Strong – “Money (That’s What I Want)”
Dazz Band – “Let It Whip”
Jimmy Ruffin – “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted”