I sat down and ran through the demo of Geon: Emotions for the Xbox Live Arcade this week. The game has a cool premise, but just doesn’t deliver, in my opinion.Geon plays like Pac-Man on crack. You go through all kinds of 3D maps with loops and different levels picking up dots. Yeah, you move around picking up dots. Once you collect enough dots, you hit the X button to flip to your opponent’s side of the map and race to the middle to score a goal. This goes on until one of you gets to 5 goals to win the match.There are various power-ups in each game, with each having a distinct effect. One allows you take away dots from your opponent, others allow you to attach an opponent through the map. Each one has a different effect depending on which Emotion you choose to begin the game. There are pros and cons to each Emotion, so you have to choose which works best for your playing style. I couldn’t figure out a playing style other than move around and get dots, so it just matters which power-ups you like best.I can’t see spending $10 on this game. It doesn’t offer enough depth, even for an arcade game, to keep me coming back. I think I’ll pass.

Microsoft sent out a press release to let us know that there will be discounts on three Xbox Live Arcade games this week.

Bankshot Billiards 2 will be dropped to 900 MS Points from it’s normal 1200 MS Points, while Frogger and Hardwood Spades will be 300 MS Points instead of 400 MS Points.

The reduced prices run from 12:00am GMT (8am EDT) September 26th through 11: 59pm GMT (7:59 p.m. EDT) on Tuesday, October 2nd. So in case you don’t have these games and want to save some cash, get downloading this week.

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Here is the second part of our interview with Brent Fox of Wahoo Studios/NinjaBee where he discusses with us some of his plans for the future as well as his preferences in development medium. He also talks about his thoughts on the PSN and VIrtual console, what is coming next and even a possible exclusive title only discussed with us.

Again we thank Brent and the folks at NinjaBee for the interview and the information. We will keep on the lookout for more great titles from this camp.

– Any plans to develop titles for PSN or Wiiware?

We love Xbox Live Arcade but we are also certainly open to other possibilities. We plan on maintaining our position as a driving force in downloadable console games and we will see where that takes us.

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We recently had a chance to ask a few questions of Brent Fox, Art Director and partial company owner over at Wahoo Studios/NinjaBee about what his thoughts were on the future of their game developments and how they first got started in the business.

NinjaBee is a pretty big contributor to the Xbox Live Arcade and has many downloadable games like Cloning Clyde, Band of Bugs, Outpost Kaolki X, etc. also available for PC.

We broke this up into two parts to make it an easier read, expect the second part tomorrow.

– How was NinjaBee started?

At Wahoo Studios we had done a lot of development work for publishers. In fact, that was really all we had ever done. We had an idea for a game so we did what we always did and made a demo to pitch to publishers. It wasn’t the type of game that was typically found on a console. We talked to a lot of developers and it seemed to be too risky for all of these publishers. We had a friend suggest that we make it a downloadable PC game and sell it on our own. We spent the time to convert it to a PC game and, without knowing anything about the downloadable market, released our first PC game.
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The long anticipated Puzzle Fighter HD has dropped in on Xbox Live Arcade today and chimes in at $10. This classic puzzle game mixes together two great things, Street Fighter and Tetris, together they make an awesome team. I spent many hours in high school playing this against friends and my wife, (who is better than me) nothing beats watching super cute versions of Street Fighter & Capcom characters pummel each other as you destroy gems. I am looking forward to seeing how this plays in both HD and with new drop patterns made specially for the new version.

From Major Nelson:

Content: Puzzle Fighter HD
Price: 800 Microsoft Points
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OK let me start off by comparing Space Giraffe for the Xbox 360 Arcade with a really bad acid trip. This game is a basic top down shooter similar to Galaga, but just not very good. The developers put in a ton of weird colors and animations in the hopes to stimulate the eye, I would assume, but all it does is confuse and distract players. The game made little to no sense and played horribly. You steer your “ship” and destrou “monsters” and earna score but the graphical representation of your “ship” and the “monsters” are just odd. This title is not even worth the demo download, steer clear.

With all the hype surrounding the launch of Puzzle Fighter HD on Xbox Live Arcade everyone ignored the release of Streets of Rage 2. Coming in at $5 and providing both online and offline co-op play, this is a must pick up. So once you finish gettign Puzzle Fighter go grab this title as well.

From Major Nelson:

Content: Streets of Rage 2
Price: 400 Microsoft Points
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Here is a press release from the creators of Bomberman Live. There is a lot going in one of the best XBLA games to date. New levels, characters, and add-ons are what is in store. Read on for more info. Not to be confused with the forgettable Bomberman: Act Zero

REDWOOD SHORES, CA – August 27, 2007 – Hudson Entertainment, the North American publishing arm for Hudson Soft, today announced that they are releasing Bomb-Up Pack 1, the first add-on pack for their “IGN Editor’s Choice Award”-winning Bomberman LIVE game for Xbox LIVE® Arcade. This new add-on pack will add over a dozen new features, including ten new characters, two additional levels, two new leader boards, and a brand new game mode. Bomb-Up Pack 1 is expected to launch on August 29 and will cost 250 Microsoft Points ($3.13).

With these add-ons, players will be able to further enjoy the frantic, explosive action of Bomberman LIVE in new areas, including “High Stakes,” a Las Vegas-style casino level, and “Zeppelin,” a level set aboard a dirigible which features tornado environmental hazards that incapacitate players.

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Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness will make it’s way onto the Xbox Live Arcade in early 2008. No longer will you be restricted to the PC.

This isn’t really surprising, as there are tons of Penny Arcade gamerpics on the Xbox 360 Marketplace. There’s been no announcements of the game coming to the PlayStation Store, but I wouldn’t hold your breath on that one either.

Hopefully the game shapes up better than what we’ve all seen so far.

If you have not picked up an Xbox 360 yet and wanted to get some free stuff, go to create your own set up at Xbox.com and you can score yourself two free Xbox Live arcade games with your purchase.

The two titles are Frogger and Robotron, but they are both free with your purchase, so the price is right.

Just go here.