D3 Publisher will be bringing Puzzle Quest: Galactrix, Naruto and Bangai-O to the Penny Arcade Expo later this week.

This year's Penny Arcade Expo seems to be an interesting mix of announcements, unveilings and games that aren't just dated, but already available at stores. It's as if some of the publishers and developers in attendance haven't gotten the message yet: PAX is kinda a big deal.

Full D3 break-down on the jump. The only thing on the list I'm looking forward to messing around with this coming weekend is Galaxtix.

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Why should Wii owners have all the bikini zombie slaying fun? Eagle-eyed Kotakuite Jeff caught a listing on D3Publisher's website for Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad, an Xbox 360 exclusive version of the game. Control both sisters, Aya and Saki, as they strive to save the earth from zombie infestation. A special dress-up mode allows you to unlock special costumes and outfit the girls as you see fit, so I'm pretty much sold already. Others might enjoy Story Mode, Free Play Mode, Survival Mode, and Quest Mode, but I'm all about playing dress-up and then showing off my outfits via co-op multiplayer.

D3Publishers is being a bit sneaky with this one, as I found no mention whatsoever of the game outside of their page, but we'll be sure to update you as soon as we have info on a release target, more gameplay details, or pictures of the pretty, pretty clothing.

Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad [Official Page]

DS Publishing is looking for a few good gamers. They're looking for folks who live in Los Angeles and own Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords on any platform to help them focus test the next game in the PQ franchise, which I believe is Puzzle Quest: Galatrix... or maybe it's Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords - The Scourge of Antharg. Hey maybe it's some super secret iPhone Puzzle Quest, I'm not really sure.

If you're interested hit up the jump to read the details and email Lisa over at Mind of the Gamer.

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When Dark Sector was refused classification in Australia, we decided to chase not only the publisher, D3, but AFA Interactive, the local distributor and developer Digital Extremes.

AFA today got back to us with the following information.

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Here's the launch trailer for D3Publisher's Dark Sector, and while the gameplay still strikes me as a bit unexciting, the cutscenes certainly seem to pack a punch. This is one of those releases that is going to have me extremely conflicted. Not so much interested in the single player, but the multiplayer sounds nifty and the storyline and voice acting might be just enough to tip me over to the purchase side of the fence. It's one of those games that will have me at the game store on the 26th, endlessly picking it up, getting halfway to the register and then putting it back down again. The GameStop employees absolutely love me.

The announcement of the new Puzzle Quest game, Galactrix has fans of the original game all aflutter. So to add to the excitement, I present you with this gallery of screen shots and some of the space ship concept art. I'm really liking the slick interface and the improved challenge of the "gravity" based movement of the pieces is going to make it one brain twister of a game.

A happy day for fans of the Dreamcast classic Bangai-O, as D3Publisher of America and lovable, cuddly Japanese developer Treasure announce the DS version of the game for North American release later this year. Combining two of Treasure's greatest strengths - puzzle games and shooters - the original Bangai-O was one of the developer's most definitive titles. The DS version features local wireless co-op gameplay for 1-4 players, a powerful level editor, and probably the neatest feature of all - level transfer using sound. The level editor saves files as sound, which can then be transmitted to other DS systems via the built-in microphone, or save them on a PC for upload and sharing via the internet. Players can even use this Sound Load feature to transfer gameplay footage, which means someone needs to come up with a flash app that translates the sound files and set up a website ASAP. Bangai-O Spirits should be hitting US shores sometime in Q2 2008.

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Dead Head Fred has walked away with the first ever WGA (Wrter's Guild of America) Videogame Writing Award. While skeptics like me worry that this award might just be a WGA manoeuvre to eventually get their hands in the small pockets of video game writers, it's positive to see the WGA recognising some of the excellent, overlooked writing in video games.

I haven't played Dead Head Fred since E3 '06—when I enjoyed it quote a bit. So would anyone else like to share some of the game's more quotable lines in the comments?

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Quite surprising for an anime license, the Naruto series has spawned some really excellent games both in the U.S. and Japan, though the Japanese release of Naruto: Ninja Destiny as Naruto: Shinobi Retsuden was pretty mediocre, with a crawling frame rate, poor graphics, and an extremely limited cast of characters. Rather than release the same crap stateside secure in the knowledge that Leaf Village headband wearing fans everywhere would buy it anyway, developer Tomy went and fixed it first.

"We've listened to the fans and made a slew of improvements to the Japanese original, including a much faster frame rate, additional characters, and never-before-seen content," said Laura Yoshioka, director, consumer software of TOMY Corporation.

The 3D fighter now boasts an impressive 16 different characters, with storylines up to the 140th episode of the anime, which I am about 80 episodes away from seeing currently. The new and improved Naruto: Ninja Destiny will be in stores next month. Much love to Tomy for going above and beyond for the U.S. release!

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