Aussie emulation mash-up April 1

Leading the charge on Xbox Live Arcade this week is Rush'N Attack: Ex-Patriot, a Shadow Complex-esque side-scrolling shooter. The plot revolves around an American spy trying to rescue POWs from a Russian military installation. While there are firearms and grenades in the game, the majority of the combat revolves around close-quarters knife fighting. The other two releases on XBL this week are: Strania, a top-down shooter set in space; and a game called Islands of Wakfu, which is a spin-off of the French massively multiplayer online game Dofus.

Again the PlayStation Network Store plays catch-up with XBLA this week, getting Microsoft’s seconds--Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime and Swarm. Excluding those two games, PlayStation 3 owners also have the choice of downloading Chime Super Deluxe, a brick-based puzzle game, and a side-scrolling driving title called Moon Racer, from Square Enix.

On the off-chance that there haven't been enough side-scrolling games released this week, Nintendo has managed to squeeze one more out, with Brawl Brothers being unleashed on the Virtual Console. Like Double Dragon and Final Fight, players walk through 2D levels smashing henchmen down like it's going out of fashion.

For the full list of games out this week across the various digital download services, check out the list below:

Xbox Live Arcade:
Islands of Wakfu - 800 Microsoft points
Strania - 800 Microsoft points
Rush'N Attack: Ex-Patriot - 800 Microsoft points

PlayStation Network Store:
Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime - A$14.45
Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime trial - free
Chime Super Deluxe - A$14.45
Chime Super Deluxe trial - free
Swarm - A$19.94
Swarm trial - free

Virtual Console
Brawl Brothers - 800 Nintendo points