This week sees the start of a fun phase of game releases (Vandal Hearts and Death by Cube). There are also weird little rumors about upcoming features for the Xbox. Does anyone really want to watch sports on their console? Well, maybe.

It's party time on XBLA this week. Well, for some of us anyway. This Wednesday sees the release of Vandal Hearts:Flames of Judgment (woot) and Death by Cube (wazzat?). The former is for 1200 MS Points while the latter is for 800 MS points.

Vandal Hearts is definitely the big news of the day. Imagine an RPG that maintains most of the fun elements of quest-based games. Alright, so that description doesn't quite do it justice but you know what I mean. Think of a game where the story is important, the character's skills matter and there are limitations which enables you to refine and adapt your strategies! Thus far, I like what I see about the game. Yep, the gameplay is fun (love the planning out bits for battle). But I wasn't too happy about the camera angles. Unfortunately, that is a feature common to most console games and thus, something that can't be helped. Consider me an old foggy for complaining about that in first place. As for other details, the game was developed by Hijinx Studios, LLC and published by Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.

Death by Cube is a action/shooter game of sorts developed by Premium Agency and published by Square Enix. So basically, you have a choice of characters, each with their own special powers, with which you fend off enemies. Fair enough. How does it fare? I checked out the gameplay and it comes across as something that I would enjoy playing opposite my friends. As a single player game, I am not so sure about it. But hey, Xbox thrives because of its multiplayer games so am guessing that's how this game will fit in with its peers. The graphics of the game is pretty (you know, sleek pretty, not pony pretty) and the over-the-top gore adds to its high-paced battles.

When I said exciting news for Xbox this week, this is not what I had in mind. But I'll mention it, just in case this can somehow warm the cockles of someone's heart. According to play.tm, ESPN might soon be available as one of the Xbox services. It will be accessible only to Gold account members as can be expected. They mention that there will be an extra fee for accessing this service. I wonder what prices they have in mind.

Here's some welcome news. Destructoid points out that the Xbox will be brining in a Sherlock-based game in March. The game in question is Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper and it sounds like a fun puzzle-solver type of game. I hope so. I hope it contains more mystery and possibly more RPG-style elements than … gun blasts, fist fights and jumping from buildings. Sorry, I think I ended up describing that horrid Downey Jr. Remake. I'll just have to wait and see: will they ruin a legend in the game as well or will they do justice to good old Holmes' image?