Band of Bugs expansion ahoy

Developer NinjaBee has released a new expansion for popular XBLA title, Band of Bugs.

Dubbed Red Kingdom, it will cost you 250 points (GBP 2 / EUR 3), and shifts the focus of the turn-based strategical action down into the Southern Kingdom - where you can control new characters with nifty abilities. You'll also be able to take them to a higher level than before, control two new troop types - artillery and cavalry - and earn more achievements. Thank God.

Red Kingdom will be playable in single-player or co-operatively, as well as in multiplayer battles with your friends on Live. The level editor has been spruced up, too, with added desert tile sets and new items - like stone huts, rock formations, and all sorts of things insects normally crawl out from under.

And in an effort to promote its hard work, NinjaBee is running a design-a-level competition. Just post some screenshots and a description of your creation over on the official forums, and regulars cast their votes on it - whittling the entire list down to three entries. From there, responsibility is passed over to NinjaBee staff, who will pick an overall winner and dish 4,000 Microsot points out to them, along with a t-shirt.

Band of Bugs was released in June on Live Arcade, and challenges you with leading a group of insects with different abilities strategically around a map, trouncing anything that gets in your way.

It was a solid and entertaining effort from the experience XBLA developer, which we thought was well worth the 800 points asking price. Head over to our Band of Bugs review for more information.