Xbox Live Arcade To Get Poker Smash, Crystal Quest Update

Microsoft has announced that its latest Xbox Live update will see the addition of a new title, card puzzler Poker Smash, and an update to the Arcade classic Crystal Quest. In Poker Smash, developed by South Carolina-based independent developer Void Star Creations, players must clear rows of cards quickly by arranging them into poker hands. It also adds card-blasting bombs and a slow motion trigger to help players out of a crunch. Poker Smash features over 30 minutes of original music and seven game modes: action, timed, puzzle, practice, custom playlist, split screen head-to-head and multiplayer tournaments. It also contains 12 achievements for a total of 200 points. In conjunction with the game's launch, Microsoft also announced the Poker Smash Play & Win Sweepstakes, through which players who download and play either the full or trial version of the game are entered into a sweepstakes to win an Xbox 360 Elite console. Crystal Quest developer Stainless Games has also updated the title by incorporating a score multiplier, allowing players to achieve higher scores. The multiplier increases every time players pick up a crystal, but ends when they fail to do so or get zapped. Though still viewable, old leaderboards will be retired to level the playing field. The developer has also improved the downloadable content.