Rainbow Islands, Dead Space open up on XBL

Except for the flap surrounding Blizzard Entertainment's art direction for Diablo III, rainbows haven't gotten much play in the gaming industry of late. That changes this week, though, as Taito releases Rainbow Islands: Towering Adventure! through Xbox Live Arcade for MSP800 ($10). Supporting play for up to two, Rainbow Islands is a platformer in which gamers attempt to navigate 10 different levels across four game modes.

Joining Rainbow Islands on XBLA this week is the latest billiards sim, Inferno Pool. Also available for MSP800 ($10), Koch Media and Dark Energy Digital's Inferno Pool features 8-ball and 9-ball gameplay modes. The game's defining mode, however, is Inferno Pool, which lets up to four compete in a battle mode of sorts, where jump shots, combos, bank shots, and other tricky maneuvers become an individual player's ordnance.

Having laid out its Games on Demand schedule for October earlier this month, Microsoft said today that Dead Space and Dirt are now available for download. Released to a warm critical reception in 2007, Codemasters' off-road racer carries a $29.99 sticker tag. Considered one of the best games of 2008, EA's survival horror shooter can be purchased for $19.99. Both games occupy 6GB of space.