Super Meat Boy cuts up XBLA this week

Leading the action this week is Team Meat’s Super Meat Boy. The title will be released on Wednesday and cost gamers 800 Microsoft points ($10) at launch "for a limited time." In November, its price will rise back to the Xbox Live Arcade standard of 1,200 MS points ($15).

As for the title, it’s part of Microsoft’s Game Feast promotion and follows Hydrophobia and Comic Jumper. It precedes next week’s Pinball FX 2, which was delayed. The title casts players as a solid block of meat and tasks them with attempting to save his girlfriend from the clutches of a nefarious tuxedo-clad fetus in a jar. Super Meat Boy will feature more than 300 levels in the game's story mode, as well as cameos from the stars of indie games like Alien Hominid, Braid, the bit.trip games, and more.

Added to the Games on Demand hub today was F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin ($20). Developed by Monolith Productions and published by Warner Bros., the title released in February 2009 to tepid reception. A survival horror first-person shooter, F.E.A.R. 2 thrusts players into the boots of Michael Becket, a Delta Force operator fighting through harrowing supernatural sequences.

For those who enjoy trying before buying, a demo for Fist of the North: Ken’s Rage is now available to download from the Xbox Live marketplace. The title is due out on November 2, and the sampler gives players a look and feel for Omega Force’s beat-'em-up.