The Indie Games section of Xbox Live has been a point of contention for indie developers since its launch, in part because the app was hard to find and confusing to navigate. Microsoft has since made improvements -- with the most recent dashboard update, even -- but a group of indie devs and industry enthusiasts are speeding up the process with a new app for Windows Phone, tentatively called the XBLIG Companion.

The XBLIG Companion scrapes the RSS feeds of XboxIndies.com and gathers the XML and CSV data for every applicable game, updating the app's listings as the games are updated themselves. XBLIG Companion will offer easy browsing of Xbox Indie Games' selection and will allow users to purchase games for their consoles directly from their phones.

Created by Casey Young and organized by Dave Voyles, XBLIG Companion is currently in beta testing -- anyone with a Windows Phone 7 can check out the prototype now by contacting Dave [at] ArmlessOctopus [dot] com, and leaving feedback right here. Now that wasn't so difficult, was it, Microsoft?

We enjoyed our time with Assassin's Creed Recollection, enough to recommend it to you now that you don't have to pay for it. For a limited time, the iPad app is available free of charge.

Assassin's Creed Recollection is a real-time trading card game where players aim to capture territories. There's a story mode, online multiplayer and Game Center support -- oh, and stabbing. It wouldn't be Assassin's Creed otherwise, would it?

In space, no one can hear you fling. Rovio's next title is indeed another Angry Birds game, because why not? Angry Birds Space is, presumably, Angry Birds in space.

The official site for Angry Birds Space suggests a March 22 launch. Outside of the teaser trailer above and the site, that's all we have to go on right now. But it's not like you needed more, right? We're pretty sure this'll just be more Angry Birds.

Razer is releasing a series of Mass Effect 3-branded peripherals, and you'd better believe every single thing in the product line comes with DLC codes. The wares include N7-themed versions of the BlackWidow Ultimate keyboard, the Imperator mouse, the Onza Tournament Edition 360 controller, the Chimera 360 headset and the Vespula mousepad. There's also an iPhone 4(S) case and messenger bag available to "protect and safeguard peripherals and gadgets from the intensity of the intergalactic warfare in Mass Effect 3."

Available for pre-order now and shipping sometime in March, each piece of kit comes with a code for a "Collector Assault Rifle" and "multiplayer content packs," although the contents of those content packs remain a mystery. We don't know about you guys, but playing a video game has never caused our cell phone to spontaneously suffer extensive physical abuse.

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The Max Payne series, originally created by Alan Wake's Remedy Entertainment, follows a few traditions -- no driving, no brawling, and an emphasis on blazing noir-style gunplay. None of this is going to change in Max Payne 3, Rockstar said in this week's Asked & Answered session.

"As we've stated in the past, we're working very hard to ensure that we're being faithful and true to the heritage of Max Payne -- and the heart and soul of Max Payne gameplay has always been as a pure shooter," Rockstar said. Max will have melee opportunities in close-quarter combat, but otherwise Rockstar has "no intention of betraying that to introduce driving/racing or brawling elements."

Rockstar also provided a brief update on its mobile installment of the original Max Payne, saying it should see an official launch in the next couple months, with a release date to be announced soon.

Rockstar fields more questions about Remedy and Max Payne 3 on its Asked & Answered page.

Adam Saltsman, the mastermind behind Canabalt, Gravity Hook and Capsule, has rallied an indie dream team to make an original iOS title based on The Hunger Games movie. The Hunger Games: Girl on Fire is Saltsman's brainchild, backed by production company Lionsgate, and in collaboration with designers/programmers Mark Johns (Tap Tap Dance) and Kevin Coulton (Hot Throttle), lead artist and animator Paul Veer (Super Crate Box), and composer Daniel Baranowsky (Super Meat Boy, Canabalt).

Saltsman says he was skeptical about taking on the adaptation, as most companies who approach him want to re-skin Canabalt and call it a day. Not Lionsgate though. "I pitched them on an original touch-based action game instead," Saltsman said. "It does feature a running character, but the focus of the game is more on marksmanship and strategy... but we'll have more to say and show about that later! It's a small idea, but a tight one too."

The Hunger Games: Girl on Fire will launch for iOS devices "timed to the theatrical release," which is March 23.

Remedy's downloadable darling, Death Rally, is pulling off the iOS highway and heading for Android country. A preliminary launch goes down in Canada today, ahead of Death Rally's planned worldwide release in March.

Death Rally boasts 4 million players on iOS. The version going out to Android owners next month sports all of the flashy rims and gigantic spoilers of its iOS counterpart.

Double Fine has just announced that its upcoming Kickstarter-funded adventure project will be DRM-free on the PC, Mac, and Linux when the project finally launches. A closed beta for Kickstarter supporters will be available on Steam.

"We got a little bit more money than we thought we'd get," Double Fine's Tim Schafer said in a YouTube video announcing the platforms. "So the game is going to be just a little bit better. Well, it's going to be a lot better, actually." The project will also be available on iOS devices and "certain Android phones."

Schafer also added that, due to the astounding amount that has been donated (now over $1.8 million!), the game will include full voice in the English version as well as subtitle support for French, Spanish, Italian, and German. Another few bucks and we're sure they'll add Klingon.

Update: Double Fine's Greg Rice tells us that backers of the project will have access to the PC, Mac, and Linux versions of the game. Granting access to the mobile version by backing the game via Kickstarter is "not currently possible."

Ace Attorney, feature-length film, is hitting North American shores this June at the AM2 (anime, manga and music) convention in Anaheim, California. Ace Attorney, directed by Ichi the Killer's Takashi Miike, debuted as a feature film in Japan earlier this month.

AM2 will hold two exclusive screenings at the Anaheim Convention Center, one for passport holders only and one with pass holders preferred and general audience as seating permits. The AM2 convention runs from June 15-17.

While this isn't exactly a widespread theatrical release for Ace Attorney, it does open the doors for US screenings. Keep your eyes on your local independent theaters for a chance to see all the cartoony flair (and hair) of Phoenix Wright in reality.

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Zynga's 2011 financial report is chock full of unexciting numbers (we'll get to them in a moment, if that's your kind of thing), but it does contain a few interesting morsels. For instance, Zynga completely owned the top five most played games on Facebook -- according to daily active user numbers -- refuting a report from Facebook late last year which fudged the numbers to bizarre effect.

The company dominated Facebook's annual game charts with 54 million of the approximately 800 million users playing Zynga games every single day in Q4 (roughly 4.25 million fewer than Zynga's annual average DAUs). And those users were buying up enough microtransacted goods to earn Zynga $1.07 billion solely online for the entirety of 2011, with a total of $1.14 billion earned in revenue for the year.

Now here's the bad news: despite earning over $1 billion in 2011, the company ended up with a net loss for the year of $404.3 million. According to the quarterly financials press release, Zynga paid out $510 million for "stock-based compensation expense for restricted stock units issued to employees" -- compensation it didn't have to pay until the company went public. The company's stock is currently trading $4.35 north of its introductory $10 price per share.