XBLA Thread

[Azazel]

I looked for a thread like this but couldn't find one. So I'm making it.

So what games are people finding to be the better ones on XBLA? Interested in? Disappointed by?


Not a list of games you own, but ones worth buying. A one-line BiiF for people that have played beyond the few opening hours, if you like.



Here's mine:

Got and like a lot:
Worms - classic-style worms, almost like it originally was on the Amiga. None of this 3-d malarkey.
Bomberman - not the best Bomberman ever, but it's still proper Bomberman, so it wins.
SWOL (Sensible World of Soccer) - another classic Amiga game, with nicer visuals.

Interested in:
Assault Heroes - reminds me of an arcade game I used to sometimes play but can't remember the name of.
Band of Bugs - Tactics games, I usually like these.

Disappointed by:
Arkadian Warriors - as noted in it's own thread, it's not the Diablo clone you're looking for.
Catan - one-player local play? What the fucking fuck?

[Velorath]

Haven't really picked up too many XBLA games, but I have heard good things about the upcoming Poker Smash (although it doesn't have a release date yet), so I'm a little bit excited for that one.

[Moaner]

I’m a huge sucker for arcade games.  I think I have 24 XBLA titles?  In any case I have bought far more than what I have time for.

I would stay away from Assault Heroes and Band of Bugs.  I bought Assault Heroes the day it came out because it almost reminded me of an evolved version of Ikari Warriors, it’s not that fun.  Band of Bugs is a shallow TBS game, seems to me your much better off picking up Disgaea, FFT, Makai Kingdom, or any of the newer ps2 SRPGs.

Games I like:

Mutant Storm Reloaded - 8 way shooter with style.  It has a fun point system and great graphics.  (sequel is fun too)
Jetpac Refuelled -  If you played Jetpac as a kid you have got to play this.  Great remake.
Zuma - Simple stupid fun.  I’ve played this way too much.  Try it and see if it hooks you.
Puzzle Quest - I played the fuck out of it on DS and bought it again on XBL.  Great game.
Lumines - Great puzzle game you’ve probably seen or heard about. 
Pac-Man CE - Best fucking game on XBLA, hands down.  I didn’t even like Pac Man growing up and this game kicks my ass.  I can’t recommend this one enough.
Pinball - Fun if you are aching for some Pinball.  It’s nothing special, but not bad.

I think we are supposed to get Ikaruga and Rez by summer as well.  I can’t wait for Ikaruga leaderboards, I’ll actually stand a chance for once.

[MisterNoisy]

Lumines Live - The most addictive puzzle game since Tetris.

Every Extend Extra Extreme - This game - a 'reverse shooter/rhythm game' of sorts - can consume entire afternoons or days if you let it - it's the perfect 'space-out' game.

Worms - It's Worms

Bomberman Live - It's Bomberman

Band of Bugs - if you played Gladius and enjoyed it, I recommend this highly.  TB tactical strategy with custom maps in multi.

Geometry Wars - It's cheap now, so there's almost no reason to not have tried it.

Alien Hominid HD - If you haven't played AH, you really should.  Great visuals and Contra-level difficulty.

Assault Heroes - I enjoyed this, but largely because I enjoyed Jackal back in the day.  Good fun, but not a must-have.

Space Giraffe - If the idea of 'Tempest Remix' appeals to you, it's cheap and pretty fun, though the visuals are insanely fucked-up.

Omega Five - Pretty slick side-scrolling shooter with very slow pacing - recommend for shooter junkies only, but I dig it.

[Azazel]

As fun as they are, I'm trying to hold off on buying any of the Popcap games, since I can access the entire lot of them on Steam. Otherwise there's several I'd have picked up or would be on "the list".

Jackal - thank you! That's the arcade game I was thinking of. I don't think I knew the nme of it even as a kid since I got to play it rarely.

I tried the demo of Lumines for a couple of minutes. it seemed somewhat meh. I may try it again and see if I can see what all the fuss is about.

Looks like a few other demos I need to try out!

[Strazos]

OMFG Jackal, Fuck Yeah. I may still have an original cart around somewhere.

That game is super awesome.

[Lantien]

Okay.  Friend and I have Xboxes, limited times to play.  Want to pick up a game with multiplayer capability at the least, better if it's co-op.  Huge bonus points for high replayability.  No card/board games.  Any suggestions?

We're already looking at Bomberman, and I have Puzzle Fighter already.

[Phildo]

I think I'm the only person that loved Cloning Clyde.

[Valmorian]

Catan - one-player local play? What the fucking fuck?

Umm, this is because your hand of resources in Catan is private information, which is a little difficult when everyone is looking at the screen.

[sidereal]

Haven't you ever played hotseat?  Tell the other player to go make a sandwich!

[Morfiend]

Cloning Clyde was awesome.

[Tebonas]

Hotseat Catan would be like Musical Chairs, and even then how would you do the trading part with each other? All but one closing their eyes in turn?

That simply can not work from a game mechanic perspective.

Edit to clarify: The board game asks for constant interaction between the players, the getting your trade in with the active player before others can beat you to it is one of the key elements. You can't remove that from a computer version and still call it Settlers of Catan.

[Simond]

Space Giraffe - If the idea of 'Tempest Remix' appeals to you, it's cheap and pretty fun, though the visuals are insanely fucked-up.

Judging by this description combined with the name, I'm going to guess that this is a Jeff Minter game. 

Anyone else hear about the fate of Goldeneye XBLA? 

[Yegolev]

Judging by this description combined with the name, I'm going to guess that this is a Jeff "I'm A Certifiable Nutjob" Minter game. 

fify

[Phildo]

The first episode of the Penny Arcade game is due out pretty soon, too.

[Jain Zar]

I've got like 30 XBLA games, though mostly the 5 dollar arcade ports.

I currently need to get Speedball 2 and Sensible Soccer.

[Velorath]

The two latest Xbox Originials, Ninja Gaiden Black and Sid Meier's Pirates, are up on live now for 1200 points each.  An original turn-based tactics game, Commanders: Attack of the Genos launches on XBLA on Wednesday for 800 points, which I'll likely be picking up if it turns out to be even halfway decent (an original, multiplayer tactics game on Live for that price would have to be below average for me to not give it a try).  Also, Discs of Tron will apparently be going up the same day for only 400 points.

[Moaner]

N+ is up.  The original almost got me booted out of nursing school.

I'm 9 episodes in and everything seems to be intact.  The difficutly ramps up much smoother than the free PC version and the 360 controller is just about perfect.  This may be my new favorite XBLA title.

[Azazel]

I don't have the HDD space to bother with XBox Originals on Live. If it were as simple as buying the bigger HDD, I'd be there. Since upgrading a HDD is all fucked up in all kinds of other ways.. meh.

[Velorath]

Haven't checked it out yet, but it seems that you can now try out a bunch of demos of games made using the XNA Games Studio by downloading the free XNA Creators Club Game Launcher.

[Azazel]

Looks like Assault Heroes (and Doom) are being bumped down to 400 MS points from 800 today (Wed 19th March). It's after midnight but the priced haven't changed yet. Maybe they're waiting for US times, (despite our Live being different and far lesser anyway).

Downloaded the demos for N+ and Commanders as well.
Also upgraded to Gold Live for a month in anticipation of 17 days off work beginning in a day and a half. I hope to see you fuckers online and get my arse handed to me in a few games!