Recently XBLA games I have been enjoying

[twmac]

Instead of creating a separate thread for each of these, I thought I would mention 4 games I have playing the shit out of in the last three weeks.

Panzer General: Allied Assault - The game is a mix between turn based strategy on a board combined with a card game similar to Magic the gathering but with Tanks!

The game is really stat heavy with each unit reacting differently depending on who they are up against, how much health they each have, what combat and action cards are played, the terrain each unit is on and what support is in range. The non-combatant cards are a really good mix and can be used as sacrifice to save an ailing unit in combat. I can't really do this game enough justice in a short post I will say that the screenshots made it look kind of rubbish but aside from the cheating AI (which every TB game seems to suffer from) this game is a must for fans of the genre.

Afterburner Climax - This game is pure gold, brain-numbingly fast paced and all out pure arcade experience. The game adds legs to the experience by unlocking stat bonuses like wider aim reticule and extra continues. There loads of clean blue skies and the option to use the original Afterburner soundtrack is so in the spirit of SEGA the only thing I missed was the cabinet that moved.

Earthworm Jim HD - Gameloft did some really good work in HDing this game. It is essentially the same game from the Megadrive with the extra levels but now all of the sprites look like the orignal cover art. It is still as tough as I remember it.

Neo Geo Battle Colliseum This was originally out on the PS2 and I never got to play it. It is a love song to SNK games with characters from Metal Slug, World Heroes, Last Blade, Fatal Fury, King of Fighters and Samurai Showdown mashed up into a pretty interesting fighting game. Although no way near as polished as some fo their other games this has a level of nostalgia that the SNK fan in me really appreciates (Marco's super is the Metal Slug tank, characters that only appeared on the Pocket Colour versions of games appear here etc). If you are a 'Marvel vs' fan this is well worth checking out.

On top of that, all of these games have bucked the trend of pricing themselves at 1200 MSP. I highly recommend supporting this in itself.

Soooo... Anyone else played them? Got any recommends of some of the more obscure XBLA titles?

[SiN]

I've been meaning to try Zeno Clash...

[twmac]

Got that, I should really sink some hours into it. The visual style is so different from other games and the pugilism is ace (I played the tutorial and uppercutted a birdman).

I think it has Xbox LIVE Co-Op, really should check it out.

[Garple]

I think it has Xbox LIVE Co-Op, really should check it out.

If that turns out to be true...PM me and we'll do some co-op Z-Clashing...I already own this game but haven't tried it yet...I just finished the game I was playing so I'll probably jump into either Zeno Clash or Alpha Protocol.

[ThunderPeel2001]

That Snoopy game got a good review somewhere, but I've yet to check it out.

Any tried the new "arcade room" (edit: it's called Game Room) thing yet? Boy, does it suck balls. Although there's one or two playable games, it's just such a complete waste of time. WHY should I bother creating an arcade?? I just want to play some games, WHY do I have go from room to room checking each and every cabinet to find out what games I just downloaded. It's like the people who made this whole thing did it in a vacuum and never bothered to actually ask anyone what would be fun or useful or interesting.

Pants!

Edited June 14, 2010 by ThunderPeel2001

[juv3nal]

That Snoopy game got a good review somewhere, but I've yet to check it out.

I've read/heard that it's quite good as well. But I have an ideological bias against paying for XBL Gold. Still, I have the demo/trial downloading to see if the single player is any fun.

[Kolzig]

Does that Panzer General game have anything to do with the old 90's PC games that were called Panzer General?

Some of my friends had some hardcore floppy save file swapping duels back in junior high years ago. I remember watching those and not understanding anything that was going on.

Edited June 14, 2010 by Kolzig

[juv3nal]

I just tried out some trial/demo things tonight.

Aqua is decently fun and very polished presentation-wise. It's basically a twin stick shooter with a steampunk story to it.

Neat special attacks like mines, torpedos, and you can have little follower ships that you can issue orders to as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYKwWjYIRj0

Arkedo: Pixel! is this retro style platformer with adorable music and this weird mechanic were you use a magnifying glass to zoom into objects to unlock hidden stuff.

Both were pretty tempting but I ended up not getting either. I may still change my mind about Aqua.

[gdf]

Puzzle Fighter HD and Marble Blast Ultra are all you'll ever need, I've probably spent about a hundred hours on those two combined. Overall I love XBLA, don't really want to think about how much money I've spent on Microsoft Points.

And you guys should totally check out Text Zedventure on Xbox Indie Games. A guy I used to write about games with made it and it's really good!

[twmac]

Does that Panzer General game have anything to do with the old 90's PC games that were called Panzer General?

Some of my friends had some hardcore floppy save file swapping duels back in junior high years ago. I remember watching those and not understanding anything that was going on.

It might do, as it seems to be part of Ubisoft's reinvention of known franchises (they made a DS Might and Magic game that bares no resemblance to the original).

If you get a chance, try out the demo as the tutorial gives a pretty good idea of what to expect.

Really tempted by the Snoopy game as a friend of mine is raving about it. I didn't pay much attention until he used the words 'Crimson' and 'Skies' in close conjunction.

[Kolzig]

If you get a chance, try out the demo as the tutorial gives a pretty good idea of what to expect.

Oh I propably would if I had a 360, but as my only options are PC/Wii/DS, then I don't think there's a chance to try it out...

[ThunderPeel2001]

Puzzle Fighter HD and Marble Blast Ultra are all you'll ever need, I've probably spent about a hundred hours on those two combined. Overall I love XBLA, don't really want to think about how much money I've spent on Microsoft Points.

And you guys should totally check out Text Zedventure on Xbox Indie Games. A guy I used to write about games with made it and it's really good!

Good to know. For me it's been Geometry Wars 2 -- damn, so good.

[Garple]

Trials HD and Shadow Complex are both 53% off

[ThunderPeel2001]

Trials HD and Shadow Complex are both 53% off

Ooh! Thanks for the heads up. I tried Trials HD and did enjoy the "trying to beat friend's ghosts" bit.

[twmac]

You just added me as a friend. Good luck fighting for first on Trials (earlier levels only mind)