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).

I remember Vandal Hearts from the old, venerable Playstation. It was an RPG that I enjoyed and spent hours playing. I’ve always wondered when I’ll ever see a sequel to that game.

A couple of console generations later, Vandal Hearts makes another appearance, but now on the Xbox 360, specifially Xbox Live Arcade.

Vandal Hearts: Flame of Judgement is the first iteration of the classic franchise for next gen consoles. The tactical RPG game will feature new game mechanics couple with great graphics.

Vandal Hearts: Flame of Judgement will again have memorable characters that will help propel the game and make the story so interesting. This is a quality that the original also had. The gameplay will be similar to Final Fantasy Tactics in which your characters move through a 3D isometric battlefield with grids. One new addition to the gameplay of Flames of Judgement is the ability to allow your characters to specialize in a specific task.

Look for Vandal Hearts: Flame of Judgement in Xox Live Arcade.

Without a doubt South Park is one of the greatest cartoons ever made. Its quirky characters and hilarious stories has made it a perennial favorite for both young and old viewers.

Now, Xbox 360 gamers can play as Kyle, Stan, Kenny, Cartman or any of the other zany characters in South Park Let’s Go Tower Defense Play. The new South Park game is an action/strategy game that will task you to defend South Park. Your characters will throw snow balls while strategically thinking how best to defend the town. Continuous play will be rewarded with unlockable content and characters that you can also view in your in-game scrapbook. Up to four players can team up on Xbox Live.

Get South Park Let’s Go Tower Defense Play for 800 Microsoft Points.

“South Park Let’s Go Tower Defense Play!” defends South Park on October 7th at 9 a.m. GMT (2:00 a.m. PDT).

Zeno Clash garnered a lot of accolades when it was shown at the Independent Game Festival. The first person melee action adventure game even bagged the Excellence in Visual Art award in the event. Xbox gamers can now find out for themselves why this game is getting rave reviews because Zeno Clash Ultimate Edition is going to be made available at Xbox Live Arcade.

Zeno Clash Ultimate Edition will include new game modes like an online cooperative mode for the Tower Challenges. There will also be additional content that, along with improvements to the game, will make fans want to play over and over again. Zeno Clash has a unique feel and look that makes it one of the most distinctive games in the roster of games in the Xbox Live Arcade.

Watch for Zeno Clash Ultimate Edition to appear in XBLA sometime in Spring 2010.

The new Warriors game is finally out.

Warriors: Street Brawl is based on the cult classic 70’s film that is famous for its controversial nature. The new game is a 3D side scroller with fighting mechanics. Gamers can choose to play characters like Swan, Vermin, Cochise or Rembrandt and use their fists and various weapons to battle their enemies on their way to the final battle with Luther and The Rogues.

Expect The Warriors: Street Brawl on September 23 at the Xbox Live Arcade. The game will cost 80 Microsoft Points.

Fans of the animated cartoon series Wakfu will be happy to know that a game based on the series is coming to Xbox Live Arcade. The game, Tales of Wakfu, is being developed and will probably be released either in late 2010 or early 2011. Ankama, a French company, is developing the game.

From the demo presented by Ankama, the art work of the cartoon was recreated well in the game. Being a demo, the controls are still a bit wonky. This Action RPG adventure game will be a great addition to the games on XBLA.

A month ago, I talked about the release of the robot badminton game Blazing Birds. Now that it’s been released how does the game fare?

On paper, Blazing Birds does sound exciting. The thought of robots playing badminton sounds like a cute and quirky idea. But unfortunately, the reality is far from impressive. First of all, graphics wise it pales in comparison with other games released on XBox Live. The reason is that Blazing Birds was developed using XNA tools. It just doesn’t cut the mustard when compared with games like Braid. The badminton based gameplay is also quite shallow so don’t expect a lot of replayability here. On the upside, Blazing Birds is just $5, which will certainly attract gamers with a tight budget.

The Pong-type gameplay may be the first game mechanic ever programmed and obviously has it has seen gameplay iterations that are just too many to mention. But the game mechanic has maintained its popularity and proof that it is a tried and tested classic are the number of new games that still come out today that still use the same mechanics – albeit in new innovative ways.

A great example is Blazing Birds, a form of robot badminton. The new Xbox Live game will allow players to battle sixty computer-AI controlled opponents through three different difficulty levels. Multiplayer mode will surely extend the life of the game, allowing players to compete in round robin multiplayer contests that can be participated in by up to twenty players. The easy to use and learn controls is, of course, the biggest draw of the game because even casual gamers will immediately get into the game.

Blazing Birds is available at the Xbox Live Arcade for 400 Microsoft Points.

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of The Warlords and Puzzle Quest: Galactrix were two RPG-style puzzle games that gained a lot of followers. In fact, it was quite a popular game in whatever platform it was released in. Now, Infinite Interactive is set to release its new puzzle game, Puzzle Chronicles, which was once known as Death Bringer. The company has finally found a publisher that will help it distribute the game.

Just like the two previous “Puzzle” games, Puzzle Chronicles will be a Puzzle/RPG hybrid. Aside from Xbox Live, the game will also be released for he PC, PSN, DS and PSP. There are still no definite release dates for the game but we will provide more details of the release date as soon as it becomes available.

Family games are a great genre to get at the Xbox Live Arcade. These are games that the whole family can enjoy, which makes the cost of actually getting the game worth it.

A family game that you really should seriously consider is the Hasbro Family Game Night. This title features several popular Hasbro games that include Battleship, Connect Four, Yahtzee, Boggle, Sorry!, and Sorry! Sliders. There are also new versions of games that have been especially made for the Xbox Live Arcade. All of the games will be played inside a virtual game room that will include your avatar. Up to four players can play on the Xbox Live Multiplayer and one to four players on your local console. These configurations will not be applicable to all games though.

You should first download the free Hasbro Family Game Night game room before you can download the games. This will include:

Battleship – 800 points

Connect 4 – 800 points

Scrabble – 800 points

Yahtzee – 800 points

More games will be made available soon and we’ll report it as soon as the information is available.