Xbox Live ARCADE Games... definitive thread

[Cyan]

Yeah I kinda agree, the idea was badass but it wasn't executed well. I'm also considering ditching my iPhone to go with a Win7 phone for it's better email handling so I kinda wish I could have played all these retro games on the phone as well. Maybe they just need to reboot the whole game room idea, don't ditch it but start fresh. Then again maybe it wasn't profitable enough for them to care to continue with it.

I had tried it, they gave me an achievement for nothing, but I also didn't like it. The games were very expensive for what they actually offered and as far as I remember paying for them didn't mean the game was yours, it was just mainly more like a "tenancy agreement".

 

[NavNucST3]

Yeah I kinda agree, the idea was badass but it wasn't executed well. I'm also considering ditching my iPhone to go with a Win7 phone for it's better email handling so I kinda wish I could have played all these retro games on the phone as well. Maybe they just need to reboot the whole game room idea, don't ditch it but start fresh. Then again maybe it wasn't profitable enough for them to care to continue with it.

OT: The WP7 e-mail is exponentially better but I have so many small issues with the current release that I'm not advising friends to switch if they already have iPhones.

I had tried it, they gave me an achievement for nothing, but I also didn't like it. The games were very expensive for what they actually offered and as far as I remember paying for them didn't mean the game was yours, it was just mainly more like a "tenancy agreement".

You had two options for purchasing the games, one where you could only play the title in 360 Game Room the other whereby you could "Play Anywhere" on 360 and PC EDIT: Maybe I was wrong, it seems as if MSFT announced Game Room for WP7 at CES

 

[Cyan]

The new Xbox LIVE Arcade games hitting this weekend are Nin 2 Jump, Outland and Trouble Witchew Neo! Great great games this week.

I downloaded all of them and my favourite is Outland, which I purchased.

This little gem -Outland- is an action platformer with a beautiful visual style. I rated it 5 Stars.

Visually amazing, very sharp and colourful, the gameplay style is similar to Ikaruga, and some other games from different genres, and the mix of 2D platforming in old civilizations with a very modern gameplay is really good.

http://www.gamerankings.com/xbox360/605724-outland/index.html

It's from the creators of SuperStardust HD, so you get the idea.

I also bought Nin 2 Jump, from Japanese developer Cave, and I am very happy with the purchase.

Especially because this will be my little contribution to the people in Japan --the proceeds will help the cause, The developers will donate all the game's sales to the Red Cross to support the earthquake/tsunami relief efforts in Japan.

I will also purchase Trouble Witches Neo! whenever I go online again. It's a horizontal scroll shooting in which comical and cute little witches roam the skies of Xbox Live Arcade.

 

[Scott_Arm]

Outland looks pretty cool!

 

[RobertR1]

Outland is awesome and it has co-op. Buy it people!

 

[NavNucST3]

Outland is truly excellent. Trouble Witches Neo I bought though I was unimpressed with the trial I'm hoping the full title is much better. I downloaded but have yet to trial Nin2Jump. Also, bought Might & Magic Clash of Heroes. Last week, maybe it was before then, I bought Islands of Wakfu and Strania.

 

[Arwin]

I played a fair bit of the demo at least, but hate to admit that I was getting quite bored. I'm vaguely hoping it will get better once the light/dark thing comes into play (or blue/red thing), but so far hmmm. I don't even feel that the graphics are that awesome, and the tech isn't very exciting yet either - it's buttery smooth, but nothing much is happening and it might as well be completely old-school 2D parallax. Best thing I can say about it right now is that it feels QA'd to death - very smooth, flawless execution. Just the meat of it isn't quite to my taste.

Maybe I've seen enough of these type of games, or maybe I just never liked them enough. So far, I'd rather have a Gods (Bitmap Brothers) remake. Stuff like the statues coming to life in this opening level would be awesome in 2.5D with nice lighting effects. I don't remember the game being this choppy by the way, I hope that was just bad capturing.

The major fault by far if you compare Outland to this game is that I see about 20 types of different enemies in the space that I hardly get to see 2 different types in Outland. It's the bane of many games today and I can't stand the boredom of it all.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Gods was choppy. The Bitmap Brothers Amiga games were never smooth. I know Magic Pockets on PC was much smoother than the Amiga flavour, when most other titles ported from Amiga suffered on PC.

 

[AlNom]

I played a fair bit of the demo at least, but hate to admit that I was getting quite bored. I'm vaguely hoping it will get better once the light/dark thing comes into play (or blue/red thing), but so far hmmm

If you're looking for combat, I think you're missing the point of the game, which is mostly the platforming dynamics with the blue/red mechanic. Throwing in enemies just mixes up the tension when you have to switch quickly between the two modes.

 

[Arwin]

Gods was choppy. The Bitmap Brothers Amiga games were never smooth. I know Magic Pockets on PC was much smoother than the Amiga flavour, when most other titles ported from Amiga suffered on PC.

I played through it on Atari ST back in the day. It may actually have been slightly smoother (that very occasionally happens in multi-platform titles, when the Atari ST isn't running mods in the background and it had a slightly higher clock for the Motorola 68k).

If you're looking for combat, I think you're missing the point of the game, which is mostly the platforming dynamics with the blue/red mechanic. Throwing in enemies just mixes up the tension when you have to switch quickly between the two modes.

Well there happened to be a lot of bugs in there, all the same. I wasn't actually looking for combat at all, but because the enemies are there, I wanted more variation in them.

 

[AlNom]

Well there happened to be a lot of bugs in there, all the same. I wasn't actually looking for combat at all, but because the enemies are there, I wanted more variation in them.

There are definitely more later as you gain powers and progress through the different regions. I suppose the demo couldn't have everything to showcase, unfortunately.

edit: the other thing about the levels is that there are areas that require certain powers that you get later on in the game, but I gather it's more for replay value in trying to get all the money chests and mark of the gods collectable, the latter of which unlocks concept art as you collect them.

 

[NavNucST3]

I'm spending HOURS playing Might and Magic Clash of Heroes, I think I'm at 15+ hours in single-player and only at the second "story". My wife also loves the game so we play 2 vs AI frequently and have a lot of fun; I highly recommend this game especially if you have never played it before.

 

[AntShaw]

I'm spending HOURS playing Might and Magic Clash of Heroes, I think I'm at 15+ hours in single-player and only at the second "story". My wife also loves the game so we play 2 vs AI frequently and have a lot of fun; I highly recommend this game especially if you have never played it before.

Just picked this up over the weekend and am loving it as well. Used to play a TON of Heroes games back in the day, and this game keeps a lot of the similar flavor. Really enjoying the combat system.

 

[NavNucST3]

Slew of local co-ops recently but Gatling Gears is definitely a household favorite.

 

[AntShaw]

Thanks for the recommendation of Gatling Gears. These type of games are right up the alley of my household. Even the wife enjoys these kind of shooters. We've been having a lot of fun with this one.

 

[RobertR1]

Almost done with Outland. Really great game through out. The boss battles are very fun and the game keeps adding enough to maintain good pacing. The controls are fantastic.

 

[AlNom]

I'm stuck on the giant dragon boss. :/

 

[RobertR1]

The flying serpent? Platform your heart out and once you're riding him, just jump and strike down (jump, down + A) on his glowing bubbles. He will die quickly.

 

[AlNom]

I just really suck at dodging the raining bombs.

 

[NavNucST3]

Almost done with Outland. Really great game through out. The boss battles are very fun and the game keeps adding enough to maintain good pacing. The controls are fantastic.

I plan on restarting Outland when (read: if) I get finished with Clash of Heroes.