It's Wednesday and time for an Xbox update. I was going to glide in with the XBLA releases before talking about Xbox-related news and the Guild. Turns out, with one clean swooping motion, I will brush them aside and dive into the most exciting, albeit unexpected, news – the demo for Brutal Legend!

Brutal Legend: Mmm, Undead Delight!

EA and Double Fine Productions are letting folks play the Brutal Legend demo! And, by a stroke of luck, we happened to receive the code for the demo. Actually, it turns out that folks who preordered the game will be given a demo code anyway. So I am guessing there are a few happy rockers out there, drooling and ogling at the game?

As for the game itself, it was everything a metal fan can ever hope for! So far I've judged the game through the trailers and such and was somewhat worried about it being all hype and little substance. May I say “pfft” to that worry. The undead were sumptuous, the music was hardcore and the jokes were hilarious. I love the dialog; it's very Jack Black and, in my mind, pays tribute to the quirky humor of old school games. You know what was the absolute worst bit? Having to wait until the full game comes out!

Zombies, Ion Assault and The Warriors

It must be disheartening to be the follow-up to this bit of news. Good news is, the XBLA games I shoved aside in my intro paragraph appear to be pretty decent games. By the way, all of them are available for 800 MS points.

Actually, what won me over – as I find ways to fill my time until Rocktober – was the Zombie Apocalypse. I'm checking out the demo for that and so far, it looks fun. Do note, I have a soft spot for games that harbor flesh-gnawing back-from-dead creatures. Hence, it is no surprise that I liked this game. All you have to do, in this game, is make it through 55 harrowing days of zombie attacks. No worries, it's not like you are stranded with just a baseball bat as your aid. Turns out you get 11 different types of weapons, once of which is a fire-blazing chainsaw. You also get multi-player functionality so it will be a blast … er blasting the zombies with your buddies.

Ion Assault will appeal to shoot-em up fans. It is a fast paced shooter game where you hop into your trusty battleship and fend off aliens. Spaceship upgrades and various powerups are also there to enhance the gameplay. What was most striking about this game was its graphics; the typical arcade moments are enriched by massive balls of fire as you blast various enemies as well as dazzling colors that trail away from the ships. Very pretty indeed!

And now for The Warriors: Street Brawl. For those of you who are fans of either the 1979 movie or the old school game, this might be a welcome surprise. I saw 'might' because, so far, I have come across mixed reviews. Some folks became a bit nostalgic as they played this game, others felt that too much was taken away. Now, given that this is the first time I ever heard of the game, I don't have much to go on. It certainly looked interesting but I wouldn't be dishing out $$ anytime soon for that (purely because DOA4 is enough of a fight fest for me right now). It is basically a 3-D fighting game where you bash up enemies with a wide variety of weapons. From what I gather you are part of a gang who is heading for a big bash-up with another gang. And you have to fend off bloody attacks from other gangs whilst you head for your great big fight.

Finally …. The Guild

It must also be a tough week for The Guild, releasing an episode when the Brutal Legend hype is wowing people. However, I don't think they have much to fret about. The episodes are worth watching over and over again. 'Get it back' is the name of the fourth episode for season 3 and it sees Codex trying to win back Tink. Plus, the personal problems of other Guild members seem likely to hinder their game progress. No more spoilers, go check it out. It should be out on Xbox Live and MSN … however, do note that there appears to be some problems for folks outside US. Keep checking The Guild site and their Twitter account, they are very good about informing fans about updates and issues.