Xbox Live Arcade

[nev]

For those of you chaps who are unaware of this feature, there is a plethora of games available for download from your Xbox, providing you have connection to Xbox Live. Every single arcade game has a demo, or trial for you to try before you buy. The games can be bought for Microsoft points, which you can buy from a game shop or with a credit card on your Xbox account. The games generally come in increments of 400 points, with 400 points being roughly £3.40, up to 1200.

Considering there is hundreds of games, obviously some are absolutely dire so I thought I'd make a thread where we can share our views on arcade games.

Some recommendations to start this thread off:

• Castle Crashers - 1200 points, a side-scrolling beat-em up RPG reminiscent of Golden Axe with funky cartoony graphics with 4 player co-operative play on or offline.
  
• N+ - 800 points, an infuriatingly addictive platformer where you play as a ninja, has online (and possibly offline) co-operative and versus modes.


• Geometry Wars Evolved² - 800 points, a top down shooter where you control a ship taking on colourful shapes in 6 gametypes, there is offline multiplayer on offer too.

[The Enigmatic Dr X]

Oooh. I love these games.

Jetpac
Alien Breed
Jetpac
Shadow Complex
Jetpac
Assault Heroes
Jetpac
Outrun
Jetpac
Duke Nukem Manhattan Project
Jetpac
Aqua
Jetpac
Fret Nice
Jetpac
Greed, Inc
Jetpac
Puzzle QUest
Jetpac

and Jetpac's quite good, especially as it has a speccy version too!

[nev]

Any chance of a game of Jetpac sometime? I never found an online match when I played it.

[The Enigmatic Dr X]

I'll message you next time I'm on (Nimeous).

[radiator]

Shadow Complex is wonderful - imagine Super Metroid meets Castlevania meets Gears of War.

Trials HD is mostly great - a physics puzzle-based platformer disguised as a stunt bike game. Sadly about a third of the levels are so hard as to be utterly unplayable by all but sado masochists or those with too much time on their hands.

Perfect Dark is an HD remake of the flawed FPS masterpiece originally made for the Nintendo 64. The new version fixes a lot of the problems of the original, such as the crippling frame rate.

Rez HD is aces - an on-rails shooter with psychedelic Tron-like visuals. Play in a darkened room with the volume cranked up.

XBLA is great - the low-priced, bite sized games on offer slot into my hectic lifestyle (I find most 'full' games too long winded and time consuming these days).

I really, really want to play Joe Danger, but that's currently only available on Playstation 3.

[Roger Godpleton]

Castlevania: SOTN - Pretty much the best 2d game ever that wasn't made by Nintendo.

Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix: IT'S STREET FIGHTER 2

Geometry Wars 2: The only twin stick shooter you need.

Final Fight HD: Streets of Rage can fuck off.

Braid: One of the best puzzle games ever made and a true work of art.

Gunstar Heroes: Probably my favourite game ever (that's "my favourite" not "the best") with most of the best boss fights and some classic design.

MegaMan 9/10: Admittedly an acquired taste

[davethomson]

I'd recommend the Monkey Island special editions, pure nostalgia-fest!.

Also I really enjoyed Toy Soldiers, its tower defense/shoot-em-up that lets you hop into vehicles to help out your towers.

[Radbacker]

my housemate is currently being sucked in by the actual Xbox Live Arcade, the one where you can set your games up in cabinets and go visit mates arcades put your name in their cabinets its brilliant.  Stilln not a huge selection of arcade games and unfortunatly normal Xbox live games dont work in it (so if you must make an exact replica of your old hangout and you already ownm a game you gotta buy it again).  Also a few too many poor Atari 2600 and Intelevision games that aren't worth the points.

CU Radbacker

[RyanBlade]

Shadow Complex was good. As was Dishwasher Dead Samurai. It's been a good few months since I've paid for Xbox live, and bought credits, I always thought the Arcade was kind of lacking. What I am interested in, is the new Tomb Raider, anyone played it yet?

[Satanist]

Got afew indie games for the first time.

Breath of Death VII - The Beginning is an old skool RPG and for 80 MS points (About 60p) Im really loving it. I loved these kind of games on the SNES and playing it with my fight pad just adds to the retro charm.

Got Vampire Rage as well for 80 MS points which seems like a bit of a hard core shooter.

Honest just get the demos as I cant get over the quality/value of these games.

[Keef Monkey]

Got afew indie games for the first time.

Breath of Death VII - The Beginning is an old skool RPG and for 80 MS points (About 60p) Im really loving it. I loved these kind of games on the SNES and playing it with my fight pad just adds to the retro charm.

Got Vampire Rage as well for 80 MS points which seems like a bit of a hard core shooter.

Honest just get the demos as I cant get over the quality/value of these games.

It's always a good laugh to go into Indie games and download some quite obviously terrible ones. Try Not To Fart is a particular masterpiece. The last 2 I downloaded crashed on loading mind you. There is the occasional gem though, and they're reeeeeally cheap.