Here's a great way to start the new year – trying out Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond on XBLA. Yea, Matt Hazard is the arcade release for this week, where folks can grab for 1200MS points.

The game itself is a fun action-based side scroller. Think of it as a quirky blasting-em-up game that comes complete with hilarious little parodies. The write-ups for the game keep focusing on the 3-D aspect but I'm guessing that most folks only want to know about the actual content of the game. Is it really funny? Will it be a great co-op game? Well, I'm going to check it out later today; as it is, I am intrigued by the ninjas and penguins reference. But wait, what about the 'naughty cowboys'; do they mean evil evil or is this 'naughty' in an Izzard style executive transvestite way?

In other news …

Fans of Darwinia will be mighty pleased with this one. <a href=">Rumor has it that the XBLA port of the game, now called Darwinia+, will be available on Xbox Live … soon, very soon. It's taken 2 years to get here but seems like eager fans can nab it sometime this year. Promises, promises! Anyway, it seems that the game is a double bonanza for the console gamers; the sequel, Multiwinia, will also be part of this wonderful package. If you can't get enough of this Introversion Software game, the version with the plus just might be the one for you. 

NinjaBee was making headlines recently as well. Apparently the good folks behind Band of Bugs have hinted at an XBLA game that will be playable using your avatars. According to Joystig, there will be more details/official word about it sometime at the end of January.

Here's your weird news of the day. Destructoid was talking about the top rated indie games of 2009. So far so good, right? Seems like bashing up zombies is a universal interest that crosses cultural boundaries … good to know. What I didn't get was how Avatar Drop made it to that list. Avatar Drop? Seriously?! I suppose it could have been worse. After all, I should be glad Fishing Girl didn't make it to either list.