XBOX Arcade Madness

[Jason Tandro]

So... yeah.

I got a little crazy this paycheck with XBOX Live Arcade. Spent, no joke, about $75 on arcade games.

Got:
--

Braid
Limbo
Portal: Still Alive (good call SBF)
Geometry Wars
Marble Blast Ultra
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Sonic The Hedgehog 2

and one a three-in-one disc:
Plants vs. Zombies
Peggle
Zuma

I also picked up some Indie Games:
Aphelion
The Impossible Game
Madman's Guide to Happiness
Kodu Game Lab


Below is my capsule review, if you are so interested:

Braid- Without a doubt one of the best puzzle platformer's I have ever played. Unique time manipulation tricks with each level and a great atmosphere.

Limbo- I got this game because it's just really creepy. Not like "scary" creepy, but it's got that eerie ambiance that makes the game so interesting. It kinda reminds me of the old Playstation game Heart of Darkness.

Portal: Still Alive (good call SBF)- It's Portal, man, sans the Orange Box. With some bonus maps. What's not to like?

Geometry Wars- Probably one of the most intense retro-shooters you will ever play.

Marble Blast Ultra- Keep rollin, rollin, rollin, rollin... seriously it's a really fun puzzle game and it's very cathartic to watch your marble speed down a long hill!

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World- This game is what made me watch the movie and read the manga. It's 8-bit Double Dragon style fighting at its best.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night- Aside from the original NES game it's the first Castlevania I've ever played. So far it's as good as the hype, but the controls are slightly confusing and the non-linearity can make it a bit challenging. Especially if you suck at Castlevania like I do.
(re: controls- pressing up and the attack button should make you attack upwards, not throw your special weapon)

Sonic The Hedgehog 2- Really? Do I gotta explain this one?

Plants vs. Zombies- Surprisingly it's not my first tower defense game, but I love the gameplay and the quirkiness of it.

Peggle- Uh yeah, haven't played it yet.

Zuma- Color-matching, ball-blasting, time trial fun. What more could you want?


Before I say anything about the Indie Games, allow me this preamble. What the hell is the point of downloading a game if you have to be connected to XBOX Live to play it?! I spent 800 points on these four games and I can't play them at my house (got all this from my friends internet).

Aphelion- Haven't played it, but it's rated pretty highly. It's supposed to be reminiscent of Star Ocean.

The Impossible Game- I got this for the lols. It's a rhythm-based browser game on your XBOX. It's fun but (as the name implies) pretty hard.

Edit: Oh, you can play a very brief demo: http://flukedude.com/theimpossiblegame/

Madman's Guide to Happiness- It's kinda like what would happen if a guy who writes Saw fanfiction got flash. Only got through a couple screens before the ughs set in. Creepy music, though.

Kodu Game Lab- I've played it, but I don't get it. Granted you can't learn much in only a half-hour test play.

[tay120n64]

Should've gotten Geometry Wars 2. Much more better.

[Ocie Denver]

Jason, I may recommended Shadow Complex since it's inspired by Metroid elements. I was pretty pissed off because the creators (Chair Entertainment/Epic Games) still kept the game as exclusive X-Box LIVE arcade game for years. Come on, put the game on Steam then you can have my money!

[SoulBlazerFan]

Good choices Jason. Also... a few more games went down in price this week. I picked up Tetris Splash (I've wanted it for some time but the ten dollar price tag was a bit hefty). That's 400 points now. Also, Uno Rush went down to 400 as well as a few others. I usually wait for these deals to get arcade games. Wait until New Years- if it's anything like last year, I scored all the Fallout 3 DLC for half off, Street Fighter Turbo 2 for 400 (Which it's normally 1200) and a few other solid deals.

[Horowitz]

SF 2 - I am really excited about this one
Uno - I don't know, I will probably get it because I will have friends to play with
Poker - I don't know how to play poker, but I am looking forward to learning

[Jason Tandro]

Horowitz wrote:

Poker - I don't know how to play poker, but I am looking forward to learning

Dude, I actually run a couple of Casino games on the Contest and Games boards. You can learn by playing them

But seriously I'm a poker wizard. I can teach you if you'd like.

As for Street Fighter 2, I loved this game as a kid and have an emulator version on my PC and a mobile version on my Android, so I think an XBOX version would be a tad over-the-top. Plus I got Soul Calibur now.

Okay... so time to update my list (thanks Horowitz. You resurrected an old thread, which is normally taboo, but you saved me the hassle of creating a new one for it. )


=====JASON TANDRO'S XBOX LIVE ARCADE MASTER LIST======

Xbox Originals

GTA: San Andreas- Hell yeah. To this day its still my favorite GTA (although GTA IV had a better story and Vice City had better radio stations and a quirkier aesthetic.)


Arcade Games

Braid- Already reviewed.

Castle Crashers- I got this one on a recommendation from a friend, and while I don't play it unless I have people playing with me (as is kind of the point) it's still really fun. And it has Chaoz Japan as one of the tracks, which made me go because I used that track in one of my first RPGs.

Castlevania SOTN- Already reviewed.

Deadliest Warrior- Probably the worst fighting game I've ever played, but the special moves are sometimes hilarious. Plus any game where I can instantly kill somebody by shooting them in the head while they scream in frustration is always a good thing.

Geometry Wars- Already reviewed.

Hexic HD- Like the original XBOX Arcade game. Pretty cool game if you're in a chill mood but I rarely play it.

Limbo- Already reviewed.

Marble Blast Ultra- Already reviewed.

Portal: SA- Already reviewed.

Raskulls- I reviewed this in another thread, but lemme recap by saying it is the best puzzle platformer I have ever played in my entire life. Bar none. Yes that includes Braid (which is too restrictive and at times too challenging) and Limbo (which is very challenging, linear and has pacing issues).

Scott Pilgrim: The Game- Good beat 'em up, but honestly it's impossible to play alone.

Sonic The Hedgehog - It's Sonic, I need not explain it.

Sonic The Hedgehog 2- Already reviewed.

Sonic The Hedgehog 3- I bought this to round out the trilogy, but honestly it's my least favorite, probably because I don't have as much nostalgia for it and I can never get past Hydro City.

Soul Calibur- Not as good as Soul Blade or Soul Calibur II, but still, you can't go wrong for fighting games with this franchise (Tekken and Mortal Kombat be damned; yes I know I've made some powerful enemies just now.)


Indie Games

A Madman's Guide To Happiness- This game is so bad it deserves no description.

Ambient Travels- Not really a game, just basically music and wallpaper for your tv.

Aphelion- I played a little bit of this game, but it looks really really good. More thorough review later.

Avalis Dungeon 2- I had to play this game because I wanted to review it. Suffice to say, it shows that most Indie gamers thing with their (ahem) joystick than their brain. If it weren't overrun by pseudo-sexiness it's actually a pretty cool point-and-click with some very good music, but just tried to hard to be sexy.

Beat Hazard- The best 400 MSP you will ever spend. It's an simple 2D shooter in the style of Asteroids and Galaga. But the enemy waves are based on the music you play and it will play ANY album you have stored on your XBOX. The more intense the music, the more powerful you are and the more enemies you face. Theoretically there are infinite levels based on the music you play. And yes it can be ANY song on your HD. I wanna be a douche and play it to audiobooks.

Boogeyman- Simple flash-game fun. Eat up the kiddies in their beds. Pretty simple, but pretty fun too.

Cthulhu Saves the World- RPG which solves all the problems about RPGs. And it's about Cthulhu. Nuff said.

Cute Things Dying Violently- OMFG This may be one of the best Indie games out there. Look it up. It's so addictive and has a built in level editor not to mention some of the coolest music I've heard in a game.

Death- QTE Hell, but a very trippy aesthetic which almost redeems it, but not quite.

Games Master- GameFAQs for your XBOX. Not recommended.

Halloween HD- See Ambient Travels.

Hide and Scare- Pranking tool by the same guys that made Boogeyman. Not that great, honestly.

Kodu Game Lab- Game designer that claims to be aimed at kids. So naturally I with my 12 years of programming experience and game design couldn't figure it out at all.

Mind Warp- a one-trick pony, but still pretty trippy. Just a series of optical illusions.

Scare Me- See Hide and Scare, although this one is MUCH more detailed. If you have to get something like this, this is the one I recommend.

Skully- An interactive halloween decoration. A skull. You move it around and control it's mouth and eyes. I use it to re-enact Jeff Dunham's Achmed the Dead Terrorist routine.

Solar- A really cool pseudo-physics game with great music and unique sandbox experience. You play a sun and try to complete a series of objectives. It's actually pretty cool, but again kind of a one-trick pony.

Techno Kitten Adventure- Fly the Copter on acid. Vibration, visual feedback based on the music and other screen tricks that mess with you. Surprisingly addictive and kickass techno music (as the name suggests).

The Impossible Game- Simple rhythm game which is legit impossible to beat unless you have unbelievable skill and patience. Fortunately there is a practice mode, but there's only one level built-in. You have to buy the levels separate! Kinda cheap...

Total Miner: Forge- Read: Minecraft. And it doesn't even try to hide that fact. But still, if you're a console tard like me, it's fun to have Minecraft on your XBOX.

True Exorcism- QTE Hell and poorly executed. Looks much better in screencaps than it actually is.


(now I also have a bunch of demos, but I think that's enough for right now.)