Actually it's going to be 800 points. Seems the 400 points thing was a 'typo' by Minter on his blog (something has me feeling it wasn't a typo and M$ have decided they can get more money for it). See this Eurogamer article for details.

That's a bit disappointing, 800 points makes it far more of a 'maybe'.

Why is it that I'm frustrated in the lack of new killer releases for XBLA recently?

Since when? It's been a pretty good time of late if you ask me, stuff like Bomberman Live and classics like Track & Field. Plus there's Puzzle Fighter HD coming up (so looking forward to that). I would think we would naturally enter a drier time as we ramp up to Christmas and more big titles are coming up. Maybe not though.

Okay, Space Giraffe IS 400 points, and well worth the price. I haven't played more than a couple of levels, but the humour, while not very prominent, is quite entertaining.
"A Winner Is You
I'm sorry, but our giraffe is in another castle"

And the end of level ratings are quite good too. None of this S, A, B, C and such crap, no, instead it's "You are a bit crap".

Super Puzzle Figher II Turbo HD Remix is arriving this Wednesday: link. Chalk that up as one I'll most certainly be getting, unless somehow they've managed to cod up the gameplay, which seems unlikely.

Also, Bomberman Live is getting an expansion pack - hell yes.

[ source ]

Sounds like something I may just be picking up, given how awesome Bomberman Live is, especially if it's 250 points.

Awesome, I'll definitely be getting both of those.

If I remember right, the original plan was to roll out Bomberman updates at the 30, 60, and 90 day marks after it's release. Has it already been a month? I guess that's about right.

I dunno if they're gonna stick to that, or if the plan's changed, or what. But the more the merrier when it comes to this one.

How do you guys up there actually ENJOY Space Giraffe? I'm not saying the game is bad, but... it's just so weird. Like, incredibly weird. Incomprehensibly weird. I mean, even Katamari was accessible, but something about Space Giraffe makes me feel like there's this colossal joke that I'm not getting.

Don't feel bad; I didn't get it either. I tried the demo and it was just...odd. The humor was good, but there's such a thing as too retro. It was difficult telling the difference between bullets and powerups, and the whole thing just looked like a big mess.

Not only do we get SPFIIHDR and the Bomberman Live expansion today, no we also get Streets of Rage 2:

[ source ]

This could make for an expensive M$ points day if Streets of Rage 2 holds up (I remember enjoying it a fair amount when younger).

See, now this is what I call a killer release. :)

Well there you go, be frustated no more. ;)

It's definitely an awesome day for XBLA. Not as much for my wallet, but that's a temporary pain I can easily get over.

Well, get ready for more spending, soon.

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2

Excellent, Sonic 1 was a blast to play through again and I have fond memories of 2. For 400 points that could be another worthy addition to my ever growing XBLA collection.

Holy SHIT. This is one of the best weeks ever. Between Puzzle Fighter and the SURPRISE RELEASE of Streets of Rage 2, my wallet is going to be raped this week. :(

I like SURPRISE RELEASES, Microsoft, do more of them.

Gee, I thought my bank account was going to take damage enough with DistorteD, Blue Dragon, and DW Gundam this week, but I see now I MUST get SoR2 and SPF2T.

Damn you Microsoft, it's at least 80% your fault I'm gonna go broke this week.

And then Sonic 2? Aiyee....

Hmm, I'd heard that War World was due this week. Next week, perhaps?

It was originally scheduled for August. I am unsure of what it's status is now.

Has anyone else had any trouble with finding matches through the custom match search in SPFIITHDR? Last night, if I selected custom match under ranked games it seems to lock up on the 'refreshing' message. Most irritating.

Indeed, the first few times I ran the custom match filter, it did that. However, later on (and ever since), it started working fine. I figured it was a problem with the matchmaking server. Is it still an issue?

Not tried it yet, been at work. Will give it a go in a bit, but fingers crossed, as you say, it was a server issue that's been sorted now.

Additional Spam:
Would seem not, in as much as it doesn't lock up on that screen anymore. Still only managed to return one game, which it failed to connect to. That's not great, but at least it's not killing it anymore, which is a bonus. Played Mo0 last night and mostly got my ass handed to me. Will definitely have to get some practise in.

Additional Spam:
Woo, three posts on the trot, but this seems a worthwhile mention:
[ source ]

Also, they've announced next week's XBLA releases: Cyberball 2072 and Fatal Fury - [ source ].

The demo of Small Arms failed to impress me, but I'll definitely be picking up Dig Dug, and maybe Zuma. <3 Dig Dug

I think I'd be inclined to give Dig Dug a play. Might have a read up about Zuma, as if it's half decent, for 200 points you can't go too wrong. Like you I wasn't impressed by the demo of Small Arms either.

Dig Dug would be good for 200 points, but Zuma has about 80 billion free flash versions.

Small Arms was a disappointment. Like Smash Brothers except impossible to follow and you spent way too much time getting ammo.

I've already got Magnetica for DS, which I think is the same thing as Zuma, but I don't get acheivement points for that. :)

As for flash games, I don't play any games on my computer, so that doesn't matter to me.