Fire away! New games available for Roku 2

Hi there. I’ve got some great news to share about new games for Roku 2.

As many of you know, our new Roku 2 family of streaming players features the ability to play casual games. To kick things off this past summer, we bundled the classic Angry Birds game with our top-of-the-line Roku 2 XS model.

Since then, we have added fun time-killers like Sudoku and Texas Hold’em. But we’ve always looked forward to adding more popular, graphically-rich action games to the Channel Store that leverage the horsepower of Roku 2. And, without further ado, here they are:

• PAC-MAN Championship Edition. Are you a dot-chompin’ champion? PAC-MAN Championship Edition takes competitive eating way beyond Jimmy Chestnut. This true sequel brings slick new graphics and championship-caliber gameplay, with huge scrolling mazes, unique dot patterns and longer ghost chompin’ combos. Click to add.

• Galaga. A personal favorite that I played for hours in a divey arcade known as “The Library” while growing up, Galaga is one of the longest-running hits in arcade history. Pretty basic, but super addictive. Board your fighter, blast away at aliens, escape their sneaky collision-course formations, and retrieve captured fighters from the boss alien’s tractor-beam. Click to add.

• Storm in a Teacup. In this cute, popular little game, you take Storm on an adventure in his magical teacup. Storm’s brother Cloud has created a dream-like world where you solve puzzles, avoid pitfalls and beat the bad guys. Imaginative, unique and visually stunning. Plus, my four-year-old wants to be Storm this Halloween. (Or Tigger, or the King Pig… depends on the day.) Click to add.

• Angry Birds Seasons. Our latest Angry Birds release takes the furious fowl through the world’s celebrations. Enjoy Halloween, Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day-themed levels (no Festivus, unfortunately). The latest update, “Summer Pignic” (heh heh heh), has the birds popping pigs in a most relaxed, cool summer setting. A bit twisted, but it works. Click to add.

To play these new games, you will need the Roku Game Remote, which comes standard with the Roku 2 XS. The Game Remote uses Bluetooth to connect to any Roku 2 model, and features sensors for motion-based game play, as well as hard-capped, game-ready buttons to support furious button action.

You might be wondering how you can play these new games if you own a Roku 2 HD or Roku 2 XD model. Well, all you need is the Game Remote. It’s an easy upgrade. You can buy a Game Remote for $29.99 in our Accessory Store.

With the Game Remote, you also get a 2 GB MicroSD memory card, which gives you a bunch of extra storage capacity for games and other channels. The card fits in the MicroSD slot on the back of your player. The remote even comes with a free download of the classic Angry Birds game. After you set up the remote, go to the Channel Store to get your copy. And you’re off faster than a flightless bird in a slingshot.

If you already own the Roku 2 XS model, getting the games is as simple as clicking on the titles above. Or, you can go to the Channel Store to choose from all of the games that are available. Soon you’ll be joining me in pig-squashing, ghost-snarfing, alien bug-blasting glory.

We’ll be running high score contests on Twitter and Facebook next week (with some sweet prizes), so stop by and let us know what game you would like to start with!