Xbox Arcade games

[buntyman]

Couldn't find the other thread but as I probably have spent more time on my Xbox playing the simple downloadable games than the big £40 epics, I felt I should drum up some enthusiasm.

Pinball FX 2 is great, definitely the best pinball simulation I have played although some of the things you have to do for the missions can be a bit unlear. It's got the best leaderboard system I've encountered where it flashes up the avatar of your friend when you are close to bettering their top score and it keeps you coming back.

Pacman DX took over my life for about a week with it's different take on the classic game. Very frantic and psycadelic with a very gradual difficulty curve. It's a shame there isn't a multiplayer element and the leaderboard stuff is pretty detached but it's a great game to go back to and pick up for half an hour of pissing about.

I downloaded Doritos Crash Course last night which is free and looks like a great multiplayer game. It's basically a series of assualt courses that you run your avatar guy through so a 4 player between some of you goons might be good fun. Let me know if you fancy it!

My other recent acquisition has been NHL arcade 3v3 which, despite the poor reviews i've read, is the best simple, arcadey sports game i've played since NBA Jam. Lots of fun power ups, very fast paced and not many buttons to learn so easy to pick up.

Give us your recommendations or get in contact if you'd care for a game one evening.

[bitesize]

yes i too spend most of my time playing XBLA games, i can't get enough of em.

recently been playing:
Monkey Island 2 - re-release of old LucasArts point+click.
Trials HD - bastard hard side-scrolling motorbike obstacle courses (basically Kickstart: The Game), great for hi-score gaming with friends.
ilomilo - incredibly cute little platform/puzzle game.
The Undergarden - trippy game about growing flowers. psychedelic.
Comic Jumper - below average side-scrolling shooter with v funny script that raises it just above the mundane.
Super Meat Boy - bastard hard platformer. very old skool.
Lara Croft + The Guardian Of Light - top down co-op shooter, a big departure from Tomb Raider games.

some older ones well worth getting:
Shadow Complex - amazing Metroid-style side scrolling adventure thing. probably my fave XBLA gate to date.
Banjo-Kazooie - re-release of old Rare platformer.
Limbo - wonderful little puzzle game, very disturbing.
Dead Rising 2: Case Zero - small chunk of Dead Rising 2 prequel. very cheap, so good i never even bothered getting the full game...
Sam & Max Save The World - another LucasArts point+click re-release.
Braid - great time-bending mind-bending platformer.
Portal: Still Alive - one of the best games ever.
The Maw - charming little platform/puzzle game, really nice.
Rez HD - re-release of the Dreamcast psychedelic on-rails music shooter.
Splosion Man - hilarious and addictive platformer.
N+ - old skool platforming.


  i love XBLA.

[Penfold]

The XBLA was my main reason for getting a 360 last year.

I'm currently all over Pinball FX2. Trying to keep by fancy crown as the Pinball King is hard work.

I bought the Madden and NHL arcade games cheap but not had chance to try them yet.

[Neomod]

Don't know if it's an xbox arcade game (probably not) but it was a tenner and i've been playing it consistently.

1943

Never get bored of it.

[VegaLA]

Dead Rising 2: Case Zero - small chunk of Dead Rising 2 prequel. very cheap, so good i never even bothered getting the full game...

In that case your'll be pleased to hear that sometime this week (maybe today?) Dead Rising Case West is released on XBLA!
I played Case Zero to 100% completion and look forwards to some co-op action on this as it has both Chuck Greene and Frank West teaming up for some Zombie mayhem!

[Junglist]

The only 2 games I play, really (I spunk my wad all over the new shiny games, then give up after a day or two):

Trials HD: Without doubt the greatest game on the Xbox, and the greatest game ever (scientifically proven, probably). As mentioned earlier, bastard hard (dependent on which bastard), but when it clicks, the sense of achievement is like no other. Clocking your first top 1000 (1.3million people have played this game, says the leaderboards) score, then top 500, top 100 and finally top 10 is akin to shooting your load right up the chuff of a blindingly beautiful prostitute. Also, a game where being stoned, and/or drunk makes your skills improve (medically proven, probably).

Peggle: Ode to Joy! Ode to Joy! Ode to Joy! Firstly, it seems completely random, firing your balls out of your pipe straight onto pegs like a heartless nonce, but there's some strategy involved. You learn the angles, what shots to play when, AND ITS VERY FUCKING PRETTY. Seriously, its like tickling your eyes with hi-def tentacles. Utterly addictive in multiplayer (I still play this near enough every night), and being soundly beaten going into your last shot and hitting 100/200k+ to dump one on the head of your opponent is magical. ODE TO JOY!

[Famous Mortimer]

I play Peggle via Steam, and love it like a good old friend who always buys you beer. I might not play it for 6 months, and then back into it and another run through the fun.

It's so sweet and nice and there's no death or mayhem or anything like that and it's just lovely to play. I fuckin love Peggle.

[Benjie Trufflesnort]

Another vote for Pinball FX - plus the new Marvel tables are that plus "ous".

Trials HD is great till it gets too hard - which is a little too quickly.

Oh, and Peggle is great, but it's been a long time since I've felt the desire to blast away - but when I did I did almost solidly for about 2 months.

[Space ghost]

I recommend outrun online arcade. For any one who loved outrun in the arcades as a youth it's a real treat, lovely hd visuals but still retains the core mechanics that define the series, smooth cornering, easy to learn drifting, 15 courses, all the original arcade music. Well worth the 8 pound.

[Hollow]

Everyone one this thread please add me to your friends list, I need your additions to my leaderboards, the man who mentioned Outrun, there is no love for this game at all and its the game of the decade, whats your best score for outrun moEde? Ive got pretty much every good XBLA game there is, oh and OP, Pacman DX is awesome isnt it?

EDIT forgot my GT!
StoicVampirePig

[Hollow]

I recommend outrun online arcade. For any one who loved outrun in the arcades as a youth it's a real treat, lovely hd visuals but still retains the core mechanics that define the series, smooth cornering, easy to learn drifting, 15 courses, all the original arcade music. Well worth the 8 pound.

Yeah the original Outrun 2 arcade music, but it really lacks the 1986 versions, which were loads better.

[waste of chops]

Is Geometry Wars 2 too obvious to mention? Because fuck it, I'm going to mention it anyway.

Geometry Wars 2.

[Neomod]

Are any of the new track sets for Trials HD worth getting? I've nearly finished the original.

[buntyman]

Yeah it's good. The tracks seem a bit shorter than the last add on but there are certainly more of them.

[Benjie Trufflesnort]

I busted out a huge score on Pinball FX 2's Spiderman table last night. 106 million so it was. Took me about 40 minutes - I couldn't stop getting extra balls. Anyway - eat that everyone else - I'm now well and truly the pinball king - well, at least of the seven friends I've got.

Stoic Vampire Pig - I'll add you later - Brian Shelf.

[Penfold]

I busted out a huge score on Pinball FX 2's Spiderman table last night. 106 million so it was. Took me about 40 minutes - I couldn't stop getting extra balls. Anyway - eat that everyone else - I'm now well and truly the pinball king - well, at least of the seven friends I've got.

Stoic Vampire Pig - I'll add you later - Brian Shelf.

IT'S ON!

[Junglist]

Are any of the new track sets for Trials HD worth getting? I've nearly finished the original.

All platinums?

And yes, both DLC packs are fantastic value for money. Only 400 points for a ton of tracks.

[Space ghost]

Yeah the original Outrun 2 arcade music, but it really lacks the 1986 versions, which were loads better.

I'm preeeeeety sure the original versions are present and correct, splash wave, risky ride etc

[Hollow]

I'm preeeeeety sure the original versions are present and correct, splash wave, risky ride etc

What from 1986?, the original music for outrun, not outrun 2, It was in the old xbox version, but not this one, to cut down space I suppose.

[Hollow]

I busted out a huge score on Pinball FX 2's Spiderman table last night. 106 million so it was. Took me about 40 minutes - I couldn't stop getting extra balls. Anyway - eat that everyone else - I'm now well and truly the pinball king - well, at least of the seven friends I've got.

Stoic Vampire Pig - I'll add you later - Brian Shelf.

Cool I got it. Nice one.

[bitesize]

Stoic Vampire Pig - I'll add you later - Brian Shelf.

  ah, BrianShelf is you - you seem to be the one on my friends list who's closest to my Trials skill level. everyone else is miles ahead of me but we always seem to have times near each other. i'm gonna aim for your scores from now on... ;)

  just sent you a request too Hollow - there's a gamertags thread here with loads in that i keep meaning to send requests to. i've sent a few more out now too.

[Junglist]

I'm Dark Junglist if anyone wishes to rock some Peggle/compete at Trials.

[Benjie Trufflesnort]

  ah, BrianShelf is you - you seem to be the one on my friends list who's closest to my Trials skill level. everyone else is miles ahead of me but we always seem to have times near each other. i'm gonna aim for your scores from now on... ;)

Yes! Everyone else does seem to be a yard and a half ahead.

[Lt Plonker]

Don't know if this counts, but Perferct Dark has been given a HD revival on the old Live there. Looks great and seems to be holding up after...fuck, ten years. They've also added an online multiplayer to it too! Rocking.

[Hollow]

Don't know if this counts, but Perferct Dark has been given a HD revival on the old Live there. Looks great and seems to be holding up after...fuck, ten years. They've also added an online multiplayer to it too! Rocking.

Why wouldnt it count? And I don't like the controls, they've added an auto-aim as a fix, but it ruins the skill of the game. And it came out in March :-)

[Hollow]

I got quake arena the other day, it runs so smoothly, so smooth, but the twitchy nature of play will take some getting used to with a pad.

[buntyman]

Has anyone here got Risk Factions? I bought it today in order to have a family game this evening but I can't work out how to add more than one human player using the same controller. It must be possible as it says there's a maximum of 5 players and as far as I know, you can only connect 4 controllers to an Xbox.

[Penfold]

Has anyone here got Risk Factions? I bought it today in order to have a family game this evening but I can't work out how to add more than one human player using the same controller. It must be possible as it says there's a maximum of 5 players and as far as I know, you can only connect 4 controllers to an Xbox.

http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/posts/list/1087745.page

unfortunately it doesn't look like it.

[buntyman]

Thanks for locating that, I did some forum searches to no avail. That's saved me from any more pressing buttons at random hoping that one would allow me select player 2. I'm glad I only paid half price for that game and I suppose it does look like it might be quite fun 1 player but I'm still a bit pissed off. There are a lot of games on the xbox that are rubbish that way, forcing a second player to have to sign into a different profile from player 1 to join a game rather than just being able to join like on any other console.

[chocky909]

Double post shit