The unlikely pairing of Real Networks (you know, the RealPlayer folks) and Ninja Bee (you, uh, might know – they've done Outpost Kaloki X, Band of Bugs, and the upcoming A Kingdom for Keflings for XBLA), Boingz is a spring-physics-based puzzle-platformer for WiiWare reminiscent of a slower-paced Lemmings.

In this case, the Boingz – stretchy, sleepy creatures – need to be directly maneuvered to various exits in the level, rather than just mindlessly marching forward. In addition to using the Wiimote to "pinch" their heads and snap them skyward at various angles, we were able to pin them to the environment in order to create bridges, or to rocks so that we might pick up sparkly underwater treasure.

We've soaked up Tetris on countless platforms. There's a balance to strike between versions that retain enough of the core game to be authentically Tetris, and adding new puzzle elements. Tetris Party for WiiWare nails this demand, providing about a dozen game modes, many of which, are all-new. Call it "yet another Tetris?" Maybe. But this is a Tetris on which we'll gladly spend 1,200 Wii points with its release sometime this month.

Nintendo claims there are 18 modes, 10 of which are new, but we only agree technically; the company counts some modes twice as single- and multi-player games. (Most modes support up to four players on one system, and a few work with up to six online.) We tore into as many as we could before overloading like a kid on a Halloween sugar-high. Here's how they stand up.

When we raved about the Othello-based, Neopets Puzzle Adventure, we couldn't scrub away the sadness of endorsing something built on a Tomagotchi-knock-off. We name-dropped how it's being developed by Infinite Interactive, creators of Puzzle Quest, but that wasn't enough. We shivered for weeks.

Capcom let us know that the PC and DS versions are due by the end of October, while a Wii edition is coming later. So you'll soon be able to share our love of the puzzler (and self-loathing). Check out our original impressions again for the full details.

As revealed at the end of Nintendo's second fall media summit press conference, 2D Boy's World of Goo has been confirmed for an October 13 launch on WiiWare. The stick 'em and stack 'em puzzle game was a winner of three Independent Games Festival awards this year. World of Goo is also coming this year for PC and, according to 2D Boy's website, "shortly after" for Mac/Linux.

Nintendo has kicked off the second day of its fall media summit with a close look at Tetris Party, a robust addition of the evergreen puzzler for WiiWare. The game's producer has confirmed an October release, priced at 1,200 Wii Points ($12) -- or roughly 67¢ per mode (there are 18 of them!). Included in the bunch is a Balance Board mode exercise that requires squatting to rotate the pieces. Betcha can't beat 10 lines!

Gallery: Tetris Party

We regret to inform you to that Mr. ESC has again ran, jumped, and slipped through the fingers of modern retail, keeping the escapologist's touchable adventures in Exit DS unrestrained, at least for a little while longer.

Not to fret, however, for while the game will miss its previous release date on October 7, publisher Square Enix seems confident that the escape artist's puzzle-adventure exploits will be on store shelves on November 4. No reason was given for the delay, though we like to think that when it comes to Mr. ESC, sometimes you just can't keep a good escapologist down.

[Via press release]

For PS3 owners somehow unacquainted with Puzzle Quest, we suggest stocking up on antibiotics and extra time. D3Publisher has revealed plans to bring not only the original Puzzle Quest but also its recent fan-named expansion, Revenge of the Plague Lord, to the PlayStation Store this winter, a move that according to our calculations will make it scientifically impossible not to have lost sleep playing the puzzle-RPG hybrid.

Both titles will be released as a single purchase and download, though the publisher has not announced how much the time sink combo will cost. We're currently waiting to hear back from our man on the street, who's diligently checking the alleys to see how much a twofer of digital crack goes for these days, anyway.

[Via PS3F]

Here's one to slide right between Thrill Kill and Earthosaur: The Terraforming Bike in the "Games We're Sad We'll Never See" file. LittleBigPlanet devs Media Molecule told Kikizo that, before they started work on their user-generated platformer with Sony, they had been crafting a game "more Portally than Portal ... Portal, but with scale factor."

As intriguing as the game sounds, we're more upset we'll never see if Media Molecule could have come up with other incrementally better things. Could they have made an AI more GLaDOSy than GLaDOS or a company more Aperture Sciencier than Aperture Science? We, of course, don't ask if there could be a songwriter more Jonathan Coultony than Jonathan Coulton, as that's a position handily filled by Jonathan CoulT-2000, an android currently in cold storage somewhere in New Mexico.

Duh.

We're usually into featuring more fully formed products on the Free Game Club, but they are, after all, free, so we hope you won't be too bothered by the inclusion of I Wish I Were the Moon, a precious little experimental gem by Daniel Benmergui.

In the simplest terms, you're manipulating a short story with the use of a camera frame that can relocate objects from one location to another. With a few clicks, you can alter how the story of a boy, a girl, the moon and a seagull comes to an end.

By Benmergui's own admission there are some failings, but the central idea is really solid. In fact, the designer went on to use a similar mechanic in a more fully-formed concept called Storyteller.

So please, play around with IWIWTM and then come back to let us know what you think. We're curious as to whether you see this as more of a toy or the possible cornerstone of a full, compelling game.

With the release of Braid, Jonathan Blow became not only the creator of one of the highest-rated Xbox 360 games of all time, but a household name, at least among gamers. Infatuated as we are with his game, we sent Blow a stack of questions that he was kind enough to answer -- everything from why there aren't many games he enjoys these days to why Space Giraffe is the best action game on XBLA.

Read on.

It seems like such a personal game and personal story, I'm curious how you felt the day before the game released to the public. Terrified? Excited?

I was interested to see how the game would be received, but I can't say that I was super-emotional about anything. In terms of public reception -- if that turned out badly, well, I thought that it was a pretty good game for my own tastes, so that would just mean that my tastes differ pretty widely from the market's. Which isn't necessarily so bad if your goal is not to make money. (At the same time, I am pretty glad that the critical reception was highly positive, much better than I could have expected).

I was definitely relieved that the game was done and was finally getting out there to an audience, though. I had been working on it for a long time.

The second quarter has come and gone, and while our XBLA download queues have be left decidedly Peggle-free, PopCap's Greg Canessa remains adamant that the addictive puzzler is still on its way. In a recent interview, the PopCap exec blamed the game's tardiness on the addition of further polish and improvements, including 4-player local and online multiplayer over Xbox Live. Goodbye, free time!

Canessa also let slip Peggle's XBLA pricing of 800 Microsoft Points ($10), and while a firm release date for the title still remains up in the air, puzzle addicts can rest a little easier knowing that their addiction-of-choice is still expected to drop like so many colored pegs sometime before the year is out.

[Via X3F]

There are many ways to deal with the boredom that can sometimes strike during lengthy World of Warcraft sessions -- other than walking away from the computer to partake in a more enjoyable activity (that's just unthinkable). Some people level up new characters. Some people head to the Barrens area to spew their hate-speech towards like-minded scoundrels. However, the virtual denizens of Azeroth will soon be wasting their time using a popular, real-life time wasting engine -- PopCap's uber-successful casual puzzler, Bejeweled.

The in-game add-on began as a homebrew Bejeweled clone from Michael Fromwiller, cleverly titled Besharded. Fromwiller developed the add-on as a method of killing time during long raids and farming sessions, but it wasn't too long before PopCap caught wind of the MMO mini-game. Instead of issuing a timely cease and desist, the casual gaming colossus hired Fromwiller to create a more polished version of the application. The add-on will launch this coming Thursday -- it would probably be wise to put in as much quality time with your WoW-playing acquaintances before then, as you won't be seeing them again for quite some time.

Joystiq One-Step Style Guide: How to Feign Excitement

Step 1: Establish a reliance on excessive exclamation marks

Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade service will feature two new titles this Wednesday!! Those with a clam-oring for aquatic morsels should note the appearance of Feeding Frenzy 2: Shipwreck Showdown, an 800 whopper which features 60 new levels, couch co-op and the ability to jump out of the water and possibly over sharks!!!!

It's joined by the similarly priced Domino Master, a fairly self-explanatory domino game boasting Mexican Train, All 3s, All 5s, Straight Dominos and Bergen modes!!! We hope it doesn't fall down online!!!!!! LOL!!!

If neither of those float your cup of tea, there's a "1910" Ticket to Ride expansion (including 35 new destination tickets!!!) for 400!!!!!!!

While we're sure you've already constructed your Scrooge McDuck-esque pool of golden, nefariously-obtained Fable II Pub Games earnings, Peter Molyneux might be preparing to pull off the biggest gamer prank since the anti-Spore Rick Roll.

According to a quick blurb in IGN's Fable II preview, "Just be warned. Molyneux has said that the cheat was no accident and that those who used it to earn their money will be in for a surprise." Something tells us that "surprise" isn't being filthy rich in-game. Is he bluffing? We'll find out soon enough when our sea of coins is quickly drained from under us. Fable 2 is due out October 21.

The reviews for Rock Band 2 acknowledge that the game doesn't do anything radically new, but the improvements are enough to justify its existence. For those who don't have friends living close by, being able to play World Tour mode online will certainly be a vast improvement on the original's main method of solo gameplay. The game doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it sure does put some sweet rims on it.

• Giant Bomb (5/5): "... With its large library of licensed master recordings and vastly improved approach to multiplayer play, Rock Band 2 is a terrific value at both ends. It's both a must-own for fans of the genre and a great place for new players to get started."
• GamePro (5/5): "It's more Rock Band and that is not a bad thing at all. With a new setlist of songs and more features, it's a no-brainer for anyone who loved the first Rock Band."
• OXM (90/100): "The game's true enhancements come in areas that are arguably more important than playing dress-up. This time, there's no guitar career or drum career; there is only the Tour. The Tour is whatever you want it to be - a solo path through the venues of the world (on any or all instruments - switch between them at will), or a shot at stardom with up to three friends, whether they're in the room or across the country (thanks to the brilliant and long overdue Xbox Live support for co-op careers)."
• IGN (90/100): "Rock Band 2 improves in several areas over the original. The track list is better, the difficulty has been bumped up, it's more accessible, all previously released DLC works from the get-go, and Battle of the Bands is a brilliant online mode. But there's no getting around the fact that almost nothing was done to the main mode, World Tour. This is still the primary feature of Rock Band and yet it seems to have been neglected. It's hard to notice the newness when there's a big chunk of game that is just the same as it ever was."