Amazon has been continually expanding their operations, and they sell practically everything now! From books to apparel to electronics to food – Amazon pretty much covers everything. As luck would have it, though, Xbox Live Arcade players who like purchasing game codes from Amazon have been let down.

Some time last week, Amazon stopped carrying XBLA game codes. If you drop by the Xbox Live Page, this is what you will see:

We are no longer selling Xbox LIVE arcade game codes on Amazon.com. You can continue to purchase Xbox LIVE points on Amazon.com and those points can be redeemed through your Xbox 360 console to purchase any of the games that were previously available.

Even though this announcement is right there in the middle of the page, you will still see some game titles in the right. They’re clickable all right, but you still won’t be able to purchase any. For example, when I clicked on “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1989 Classic Arcade [Online Game Code],” this is what I got.

Take note that it simply says that the item is not available and that it is unknown as to when the item will be available again – in short, don’t hold your breath!

This is a surprising move, especially since Amazon only starting offering this service a little more than a year ago. It’s not as if Amazon and XBLA have totally parted ways – you can still buy Xbox Live Points from the online store. Has anyone heard any rumors as to why this has happened? In any case, GameStop is going to start selling gamecodes, so it’s not like you’ll have a shortage.

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If you haven’t played the game, you will probably find it difficult to believe that this seemingly inconsequential flash game has reached this far. If, however, you have tried playing Plants vs. Zombies, then you are totally stoked about the recent announcements about the XBLA version!

Of course, rumors had been flying around prior to the official announcement, but we are now certain that we’re getting the XBLA version come September of this year. In the publisher’s announcement, it was mentioned that the game will cost 1,200 MS points, or $15. The new version will have two additional multiplayer modes. These two multiplayer modes are coop play or versus play. Can you just imagine how much fun you can have with these two modes? On top of this, there will be 12 achievements and 21 minigames (fun, fun, fun).

Of course, more interaction will be included with the XBLA version of Plants vs. Zombies. Friends can track each other’s progress on Xbox Live via houses which are customizable. In order to see what a friend is up to, you simply have to visit his house.

Plants vs. Zombies used to be an obscure game which not many people knew of. Today, it has spawned so many materials, including videos on YouTube. If this development isn’t enough to convince you of the game’s worth, then I don’t know what will. In any case, I strongly suggest you give it a try if you haven’t already. Get ready for the XBLA version – you have roughly a month to do so.

How much has your life been disrupted by the ongoing World Cup in South Africa? If you’re a decent football fan, you’re probably working your schedule around the games of your favorite teams. No one’s faulting anyone for that – if anything, that makes things more fun and exciting!

Now, if you are really that much of a fan, you should go take advantage of the deal of the week being offered by Microsoft. In keeping with the spirit of the World Cup, they are offering Football Genius – The Ultimate Quiz for a half of what it’s normally worth. For a mere 400 Microsoft ® Points, you can get your hands on arguably the most fun trivia game about football (or soccer if you wish).

The game is the brainchild of RTL Sports, which is a branch of RTL Interactive Games Publishing. This group is based in Cologne, Germany.

Football Genius is a multi-player game designed to be enjoyed by a group of soccer fans, or the whole family. It can be played offline so that groups of people can best each other in the realm of football knowledge. For more glory, it can also be played online and you can compete with countless football fans across the world. The game is supported by the Xbox 360 ® Big Button Pad, making it even more enjoyable for everyone. There are different variations to the game, allowing for your mood – play whichever mode you feel like engaging in!

Get the game while it’s featured from June 21 to 27.

Chime is one of those games that try to push the boundaries of game design. The Chime gameplay mechanic is quite simple — put shapes on a grid with the aim of making music.

Gamers will take control of one shape at a time, and then move and rotate it around the game space in order to place it on a grid. There is also a beatline that moves across the screen in time with the music being played and this triggers events when it hits the shapes.

The very interesting game will have two modes that will really feature a great opportunity to really get immersed in the game. Chime will have full leaderboard support for full bragging rights with other Xbox gamers.

If there’s one game that you should check out this month it should be Chime. The game is available at Xbox Live Arcade for 400 Microsoft Points.

Xbox 360 gamers should look forward to February 10 because that is the day Darwinia+ is going to be released in the Xbox Live Arcade.

Darwinia+, which is developed by Introversion Software Introversion, is a digital theme world for artificially intelligent polygons by Dr. Sepulveda. The world is “housed” in a network of ancient Protologic 68000 machines from the 80s. where single-poly Darwinians that possess an elementary but evolving AI grow and evolve. Darwinians live, work and grow and even die, where their virtual souls are released and then reincarnated.

Darwinia+ is one of those hard to classify games that is bound to become highly addictive once you discover its many nuances. It will cost 1200 Microsoft points.

The recent earthquake in Haiti has brought such devastation and loss of life that everyone is doing their best to try and give help to the country and to Haitians who are suffering so much right now.

The gaming community is joining in on this humanitarian effort in their own different ways. For example, The Behemoth announced that it is going to donate 100 percent of the revenue it will get from the downloadable content of two of its games on the XBLA – Castle Crashers and Alien Hominid HD. The gaming company said that all purchases of the DLCs made until the end of January will all be funneled to the Haiti disaster relief. What’s more, the company also said that it will match the total amount generated by the DLC downloads, effectively doubling the money that they will donate. The donation will be funneled through the American Red Cross Haiti Relief and Development.
With Castle Crashers being declared as Xbox Live Arcades Game of the Year, it’s expected that a lot of people will be downloading its DLCs. In fact, Castle Crashers is one of the largest games on Xbox Live Arcade’s roster of games.

EA Play Label, which is a part of Electronic Arts, Inc., is going to bring one of the most recognizable board games in the world to the Xbox Live Arcade.

Hasbro’s Risk, one of the most popular strategy games of all time, will be coming to the Xbox this 2010. Risk will feature different warring factions and a very distinctive art style that will set it apart from other games. There will be new gameplay changes that will make seasoned Risk players interested enough to give it a try. This new Risk iteration will surely attract both new players and veteran Risk players. The XBLA style gameplay is surely one of the best come-ons for this new game. It’s going to be refreshing to play on a new medium. I myself am quite intrigued as to how the Risk game will translate into a video game. We’ll find out soon enough though.

Risk: Factions will feature both objective based and world conquest modes and will offer five different factions that have different strengths and weaknesses. A cool feature of the game is that when engagingin in the combat missions, enemis can trigger “overkill” moments, which will unlock new avatar awards.

There are still no information on the exact game release and how much it will cost. We’ll keep you updated as soon as information is released.

Microsoft has officially announced another addition to the XBLA experience that will surely hook fans.

The Game Room is being described as a modern and virtual take on classic video game arcades. The Game Room will seek to replicate the look, sound and feel of a video game arcade. It will be virtual place that your avatar can visit and play in.

At launch, the Game Room will feature a library of 30 arcade and console classics, among them Centipede and Asteroids Deluxe. The games will be shown in their original arcade cabinets. You can the games yourself or challenge friends in beating your high score. The Game Room can be personalized — you can move and rearrange the cabinets, decorate the room with carious themes and icons from classic video games. And every week, a new title will be released to add to your Game Room experience. What’s more You can enjoy the Game Room not only on the Xbox 360 but also on your Windows PC. Yes, the Game Room is a cross platform virtual room where you can play the games your purchase on either platform.

Microsoft has been playing with the Game Room idea since early last year so it’s a good thing that they have finally pushed through with the project. I think this will be a great way to make the kids today better appreciate the history of gaming by giving them the opportunity to play classic games where gameplay is the most important aspect of a game and not the graphics. Although PS3’s Home also offers free games, I think the Game Room is a much more fully realized concept. It will be interesting to see how Sony will react to the Game Room announcement.

NinjaBee, an independent video game developer, is kicking off 2010 with a new game that it is developing for the Xbox Live Arcade. And to mark this event, the developer is going to allot each Tuesday in the month of January to show off new art from the game in development. The artworks can be seen on the company’s blog at www.ninjabee.com/blog. The teasers all lead up to a more detailed and announcement of the project by the end of the month.

Ninjabee’s management is quite excited about 2010, saying that this is the year where things will get big for them. And a lot is riding on the as-yet-secret game. But there are some details of the game that are already made available to the public. First, it is a game that will be based on avatar experience. It will allow gamers to actually play the game as their avatar. This game mechanic is nothing new to Ninjabee, as it has already developed other avatar-based games for the XBLA, among them A Kingdom for Keflings and Band of Bugs. Add that to the fact that some of the developers currently working at Ninjabee had a hand in making the free Xbox Live Indie games Dunk Tank, Football Toss, Snawball Fight and Fireworks, and you’ve got a team that has the know-how and experience to really deliver on their promsie.

I’ve been playing the hell out of Call of Duty: World at War 2 for the last couple of weeks. The multiplayer campaign is still as challenging as ever (good thing I can hold my ground against some of the better players in the deathmatches). And for those of you who I know bought the game primarily for the multiplayer component, do try to play the single player campaign. It’s an overlooked part of the game that should be played because it is a really cool and immersive campaign, albeit very short.

My love for the Call of Duty games has been reignited so much that I just bought Call of Duty 4 and Call of Duty World at War. Two of the best FPS games in the venerable Call of Duty series. But if you really want to get into the Call of Duty games and experience it from the very start, you’re in luck. Infinity Ward’s original 2003 game that basically launched the top-selling and award-winning franchise is now coming to Xbox Live Arcade. Call of Duty Classic is the original Call of Duty given a high definition sheen. The classic in new clothes will still include the online multiplayer component that really put the COD games in the map. A great addition for multiplayer fans is support for Leaderboards.

Callof Duty Classic will officially be made available today. It will retail for 1200 Microsoft Points and is rated T for Teen.

“Call of Duty Classic” goes to war on December 2nd at 9 a.m. GMT (2:00 a.m. PDT).