- Must be exclusive to XBLA OR must have been released on XBLA first before being ported to other formats. So no Pac Man Championship Edition or Mega Man 9.
- No Remakes or Re-Releases with the exception of new games for current franchises. Something must have significantly changed or improved upon (other then graphically) So no Ikaruga, Banjo Kazooie or Bionic Commando Rearmed.
- These are MY opinions so if you disagree, please give me your top picks in a comment or possibly suggest a game that you think is more deserving.
With that out of the way, lets dive right in! *Note: Games are priced by Points. 400 pts = $5.00. Don't ask me why...its Microsofts stupid money system..*
NUMBER 5
SPLOSION MAN! (800 MS PTS)
BY TWISTED PIXEL
Released in Xbox Live's second Annual Summer of Arcade last year this game took many people by surprise. Twisted Pixel's previous release, the underappreciated The Maw, was a nice platformer that let the developers get their feet wet. With Splosion Man Twisted Pixel really decided to go all out. In this side-scrolling platformer you control Splosion Man as he wreaks havoc through a laboratory. Along the way you fight scientists and other experiments that try to stop you with missiles, ray guns, and traps such as lava and spikes. The level design is very creative and the whole game is very visually appealing to people of all ages. Out of the 5 arcade titles released in last years summer of arcade, this title may have been overshadowed by (no pun intended) Shadow Complex.
This is sad because I feel that I enjoyed this title more (although Shadow Complex is PERFECT for fans of 2D Metroid games). I highly recommend that you check this game out. Unlike many arcade titles, this game has a lot of meat in it. 50 Single-Player missions as well as 50-multiplayer missions! These multiplayer maps aren't the single-player maps with multi tacked on, no these are actually 50 unique maps themselves! All this for only $10 (in non-stupid cash)? Whether you 'splode on your own, or 'splode with your friends in co-op, you'll definitely be enjoying yourself playing Splosion Man! Besides, how can you say no to that face? NUMBER 4
GEOMETRY WARS RETRO EVOLVED 2 (800 MS PTS)
BY BIZARRE CREATIONS LTD
When many gamers had first gotten their hands on some Microsoft Points, the first arcade titles they probably bought were rereleases (like Contra or Smash TV). However, one of the first and arguably best new games released was a title known as Geometry Wars Retro Evolved. Originally a minigame in Project Gotham Racing 2, the developers knew they had a hit and decided to give it the full scale treatment. Geometry Wars Retro Evolved was released shortly after the 360 was first sent out for a mere 400 pts and quickly became the highest downloaded game on XBLA. Its addictive gameplay kept you going and one more game became 3 more hours spent playing this title, trying to best your last effort. The games simple controls, yet complex gameplay had the player only using 3 buttons: the two analog sticks and the R trigger. The left stick controls your ship and the right stick controls where you fire giving you complete control to fly and shoot where you feel. The R trigger is used to detonate screen clearing bombs. This game is often seen as a spiritual successor to the classic arcade game Robotron 2084 which uses a similar control scheme. But where that first game treaded new waters, Geometry Wars has become a master of the sea here.
Perfectly tight controls help you navigate the insanity that ensues onscreen. Thank God for that because you can easily lose your ship amidst the craziness and bright vibrant colors onscreen. Take a look at the screenshot right here...can you even locate your ship? This game is one of the perfect XBLA games that truly feels like you could pop quarter after quarter into an arcade cabinet playing this. How does Bizarre Creations improve on one of the best early XBLA games? How bout letting up to 4 people play 5 new game modes (6 total including the original survival) cooperative or competitively? There's nothing like working with, or against, your friends in the very addictive pacifist mode in which you must guide your ship from one safety zone to another while leading the enemy ships (shapes?) into traps. Hands down this should easily been in your XBLA library if its not. I guarantee that most of you probably would have dropped well over 10$ in quarters if you saw this in your local arcade, so why not just get the perfect version at home forever?NUMBER 3
TRIALS HD (1200 MS PTS)
BY RED LYNX LTD
This is the first game here that is over 10$ and is it worth the extra Lincoln? In one word: YES. You control a motorcyclist (in case you couldn't tell by the helmet our character is wearing) as you guide him through increasingly frustrating levels with ridiculous obstacles along a 2D plane. How's about you go and take your bike across a 4 inch thick beam 20 feet in the air, then bunny hop through a ring of fire as two pendulums with spikes at the ends are swinging alternatingly in front of you? Over lava! Thats just the first 20 yards of a level! This game goes from almost childlishly easy, to devilishly evil in the span of a couple dozen levels. I guarantee that you'll be getting frustrated possibly halfway through your campaign, which is over 50 levels long. But, this game has that certain type of frustration that hardcore gamers love. You'll come across levels which look nearly impossible to beat and you'll try, and continue to fail and fail and fail. But you'll keep coming back for more because you just KNOW that you can beat it. Once you do, the next obstacle is right there to laugh at your attempts until you inevitably fail again and again on this one. But you almost never can blame the game itself because its controls are truly as perfect as I have ever seen in games like this. Take a look at this video really quickly.
Yes...that is 1 level...granted not all the levels are nearly as hard as that one and I doubt that many (if any) of you out there could ever pull a run as flawless as the one shown, it is possible. I know because I've completed every one of the tracks in the game (DLC not included). One track took me (no exaggeration) an hour and a half. I probably faulted close to a thousand times on that one track and my final time for beating the level was clocked at 30+ minutes (only get a max of an hour to try on one map) but the fact is I did it. This game has over 50 maps and close to a dozen mini games that you can unlock. There's some new DLC out (400 ms pts) and supposedly more in the works. Gamers who can take a challenge, I recommend you try this game out.
NUMBER 2
BRAID (1200 MS PTS)
BY NUMBER NONE INC
How could this list NOT have Braid? And how do you begin to review a game like Braid? This game has been called one of the deepest experiences in all of gaming; a masterpiece and possibly one of the most engrossing stories ever told through gaming as a whole. Some have even said that this is the greatest game they've ever played. With a metacritic score of 93, its hard to argue with some of the high acclaim this game has gotten. The core gameplay of this title is very very similar to the classic Super Mario Bros and its well aware of that fact. You play through 6 different worlds each consisting of a few levels and each world introduces a new gameplay mechanic. One world has you casting a shadow clone of yourself where another one has you completely manipulating the flow of time.
The actual theme of the game seems to be based upon the flow of time and this platformer/puzzle game puts gamers to the test. Like Bioshock, this is one of those games that you truly need to play to understand what makes it so good. You get this great satisfaction after you solve some of these clever puzzles and it only grows as you get closer and closer to one of the better (arguably best) climaxes in recent years. At almost every point in the game you can manipulate time to rewind your recent actions so your character never truly "dies" and therefore there's no need for lives or continues. You continue to play until you finish the game (or grow tired I guess) and the game can be beat in under a few hours (my fastest time clocking in at 35 minutes). If you haven't heard anything about this game or someone hasn't douched it up and ruined the story for you, please do yourself a favor and get this game (that includes you too PSN guys). I only wish that I could erase my memory of this game so that I can re experience it fresh.
NOW
DRUMROLL
PLEASE
RATATATATATATATATA!
NUMBER 1
CASTLE CRASHERS (1200 MS PTS)
BY THE BEHEMOTH
Please don't act like this was a surprise. I have yet to find someone who's played this game that didn't like it. This game is simply amazing with something for every gamer out there. A long and fun campaign (4-player co-op offline or online), multiple characters and powers, beautifully hand drawn characters and backgrounds, and one of the most epic soundtracks you could ever find on the XBLA. This game plays like classic side scrolling beat em ups (like TMNT Turtles in Time) but blends lots of RPG elements into the leveling up system for added replay. You can grow your character into an element using defensive powerhouse or maybe work on your powerful combat skills and speed. You can use the poison spewing green guy or maybe the ice wielding blue guy. And what happens after you beat the game? You can unlock one of the 22 new characters (my favorite being the Ninja)! Whats great is that you won't ever really feel like you're being forced to trudge through the campaign just to unlock a new character, because you'll be enjoying yourself everytime.
You'll traverse through regular adventure fare such as the forest level, ice level, and lava level while fighting through baddie after baddie until you reach one of the many bosses. Some of these bosses can be troublesome, but if you have a buddy or two to help along the way you shouldn't have any problems. In fact, you really shouldn't be playing this game without at least 1 other friend. I beat this game multiple times with my girlfriend, my brother, and even a couple of my xbox live friends. After you beat the game for the first time, you'll unlock the almost ridiculously hard insane mode where you'll definitely need a powered up character and 3 friends. How do you level up some more? By replaying any or all of the campaign levels again. You can also unlock little animal orbs which float around and help you by modifying your character (increasing magic strength, jump height). I don't think that there's anything more that I could say about this game that you probably haven't heard. A huge adventure you can play with your friends, mini games plus arena battles, beautiful characters and environments, dozens upon dozens of unlockable characters and weapons, and one of the best values in arcade..change that..gaming as a whole! You simply can't go wrong with this game.
For those out there with PSN you can actually download my top 2 games now. They were released not too long ago and I've heard that they're pretty much unchanged so I definitely recommend you check them out (well, if there are any PSN fanboys reading this article).
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
games that didn't follow the rules mentioned in the beginning but are still great buys marked with an asterisk*
*Pac Man Championship Edition
*Galaga Legions
*Alien Hominid HD
Marble Blast Ultra
The Maw
*Bionic Commando Rearmed
Boom Boom Rocket
*Lode Runner
Shadow Complex
*Banjo Kazooie (and Banjo Tooie)
*Mega Man 9
A Kingdom for Keflings
No comments:
Post a Comment