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Feeding Frenzy is not one of the first games that come to mind on XBLA that you would think desperately needs a sequel. Even with a skeptical mind going in, Feeding Frenzy 2: Shipwreck Showdown reminds players of how much fun it is to swallow underwater creatures over and over again.

Gameplay is extremely simple and will appeal to hardcore and casual gamers alike. The objective is to eat fish bigger than your fish. As you eat more fish, your character grows and can eat the next size. Controls are somewhat loose and take time getting used to. Your fish floats through the water and sometimes you have to steer it away from the larger fish more often than you should have to. There is no rumble feedback, which is always disappointing.

The interface on top of the screen gets in the way of the fish's action at the top of the ocean. Some new variations on the original gameplay include jumping out of the water and gulping down insects in the air. Also, by pressing the B-button, swallowing a school of fish is strangely satisfying. Graphics are simple, yet stylish and work well for an underwater XBLA game. FF2's sound effects are a little too simple, yet somewhat soothing (minus the announcer's Feeding Frenzy! call during every stage).

The story behind the developers of Shred Nebula should make gamers fall in love with this title. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

CrutchTime Games is the definition of a small game developer. Working out of a converted garage, two first time game developers and a few former Street Fighter designers pitched an idea to Microsoft and this week saw their title released to the public on XBLA.

Shred Nebula is a top down Sci-Fi space shooter in which the player can only shoot in the direction the ship is facing. The objective of each level is to locate and scan a beacon. However, it is not always clear what the objective is and you will spend time flying around the level waiting for the next text box to pop up.

With a dearth of retail releases this week, the arcade comes to the forefront with the anticipated release of platformer, Braid on XBLA this Wednesday. This week's WiiWare title is Wild West Guns, a Gameloft game which features on rails shooting and duckhunt-esque moments. Also, available now on the Virtual Console are Sonic The Hedgehog (Sega Master System) and Splatterhouse 2 (Sega Genesis).

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With an overall weak retail launch lineup, the XBOX 360 found its first must buy game in a new medium, a downloadable title. Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved was a smash hit and was the most talked about game in the first few months of the system's release. Since that time in late 2005, we have seen the downloadable game industry flourish, but finally, the much anticipated sequel his virtual store shelves as the first title in XBOX 360's Summer of Arcade series.

With XBLA full of dual joystick shooters and an overabundance of arcade ports, new releases sometimes become stale. Go! Go! Break Steady strays from this mold and as a combination of Zuma and Boom Boom Rocket, with break dancing sprinkled in, offers lighthearted, addictive gameplay.

Double D Dodgeball, an adaptation of the old schoolyard game, is a one trick pony that does not provide much in the way of variety or options. Gameplay is shallow and not very engaging and will only appeal to those desperate for a dodgeball fix. Double D Dodgeball includes two gameplay types: western and eastern. Western is the standard single elimination format and eastern gives players a second chance. After getting hit, players are moved to the outer border where they can still participate in the action. Each game is extremely short, and with such simple 2D graphics, this title does not correlate to the amount of fun had during school recess.

Announced during Microsoft's press conference on Monday, the Xbox 360 dashboard will be receiving a full redesign, including the addition of avatars. Fortunately, your existing themes will be compatible with this new design. Gamers have split opinions on these changes.

What do you think? Was there a better way to simplify the dashboard without eliminating the blades? Post your thoughts below!

As if the mere thought of another Rock Band so soon wasn't shock enough for you. How about the ability to have all the DLC added to your game as well as music from the original disc. This will push the set list for the game to an all time high, especially since Rock Band 2 will already have over 100 songs from an Unrivaled Blend of Classic, Developing and New Artists. This is big news for Harmonix and will definitely keep people happy since a lot of content was put on DLC for the first game. Also DLC will keep on flowing onto the market since they will be ported over to the next installment anyway, so don't expect them to slow down for one second on the albums and packs released on a weekly basis. Rock band 2 will also have an Upgraded World Tour, Battle of the Bands, Set Challenges and Drum Trainer which you should have know would have been added but the biggest addition is the ability to Compete Against Other Bands Online. This of course is a great inclusion to the franchise since last time around you could only play with others online, not compete head to head. I for one am truly excited to get a group of friends together to take on another set of people and rock their faces off.

There are a huge number of great downloadable games available for all three major platforms, but these titles are not as popular as traditional releases. Compared to retail products, there is little buzz for games on the Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and Wii Channel. For example, with more than 12 million 360's sold this generation, it is astonishing how few downloads occur. Sales figures are not readily available, but for example, in the first week of sales, the top selling XBLA rhythm shooter, Rez, had only 25k downloads! Here are a few ideas to enhance the success of downloadable games:

1. Make the purchasing process painless: Microsoft point conversions confuse the consumer and do not have any benefit. Why can't Rock Band songs just be $1.99 instead of 250 points like they are on the PSN? A simple one-to-one conversion is the easiest way for consumers to make a well-informed purchase.

2. More advertising: Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony need to take it upon themselves and advertise downloadable games in magazines, online and television, similar to what we see with AAA releases like Halo, Metal Gear Solid and Super Smash Bros.

With many best selling board games like Monopoly, Clue, and Risk still absent from XBLA, this week, a third lesser known European title arrives on the Xbox 360. Following the release of Carcassonne and Catan, developer Next Level Games launches an adaptation of the board game, Ticket to Ride.

Ticket to Ride is not for everyone. Expect slow-paced gameplay that requires thought before each move. The objective of Ticket to Ride is to travel from one North American city to another. Colored cards are necessary to make connections from city to city until reaching the ultimate destination. The game complicates things by adding wildcards and points awarded based on distance traveled. Also, a variation of the number of cards is necessary for each move. With multiple options always a possibility, strategy is at the forefront. A tutorial explains the basics, but doesn't fully detail the scoring system. The game's graphics are no better than average. The playing surface is colorful but as a port of the board game, it is understandable that Ticket to Ride does not push the graphical limits of the system.

Multiplayer features up to four players locally and up to five players over Xbox Live (although you'll have a tough time finding many players online). There is already information about a USA 1910 expansion in the game's option menu, but no pricing details are currently available. Like Uno, the underused Vision camera is also compatible with this title.

Ticket to Ride will split gamers' opinions. For those who love this genre, there is no reason not to enjoy this game. But for people who do not like slow-paced European board games, Ticket to Ride is not likely to change your view of the genre.