News > Top 15 Xbox Live Arcade Titles Thus Far
May 14, 2007
When a game comes out with a cheap price tag, it's usually a bad sign. But for some reason, I never learn from my mistakes. Even if the reviews say a game is the most abysmal piece of crap ever released, I still end up purchasing it because of the twenty dollar price tag. Then, when I play it I complain and it ruins my day. Unlike most systems, the Xbox 360 has been releasing actually decent cheap titles; you can spend five dollars and get a really good game. Well, the 360 has been out a little over a year now and after ample playing and experimenting, here are the fifteen best XBox 360 Arcade games released thus far…
15. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
Senator Joe Lieberman said this one was going to make the youth of America into a wild bunch of savage beasts...but how many animalities have you done in real life lately? Anyways, what we've got here is a beautiful port of one of the best Mortal Kombat games in the series. They included the full arcade game with unlimited continues as well as online multiplayer. My one problem with the online play is the same problem I seem to have with every fighting game online; it seems as if the people competing have been playing this game nonstop since it came out. I consider myself to be decent at the Mortal Kombat series, but after playing about 20 games online, I have yet to win. In fact, I feel that I have some kind of bragging rights with the fact that there have been a few times I have prevented my opponent from getting a flawless victory on me! The game holds up perfectly and it feels most like the Super Nintendo version.
14. Lumines Live!
What exactly are Lumines? How are their species pronounced? I've heard Lumeenz, Loomenez, Loo-mines, Loomeenez. More importantly, who cares? Lumines was the first good game for the PSP, and believe me, I spent hundreds of hours on it...and continue to play on the Xbox 360. There are two different colors of bricks. Your goal is to match as many of these colors as you can on top of each other to make squares. Once you make a square with four bricks of the same color it vanishes and you get points. Annoying sound and some gameplay problems that weren't on the PSP show in this game and if you want to get a decent score, you are going to have to play for over an hour, which can get really bothersome. On top of that it costs 1200 points and for that you don't get a whole lot of content. Its a very fun game, but not really worth the price.
13. Double Dragon
Okay kids, time for a history lesson in sidescrolling beat ‘em ups. Double Dragon came out in the ‘80s on the NES and was freakin awesome! Your goal? Walk down streets and kill all the bad guys that are trying to hurt you by pressing the same two buttons to do attacks. This game is perfect for everyone! Those who weren’t there to see some of the earlier sidescrolling beat ‘em ups. Those who remember it on the NES will likely have a blast going back to give them some good ol’ nostalgia and have the choice in seeing the new revamped graphics. It’s only five bucks! Go for it!
12. Jetpac Refuelled
Okay, most people aren’t going to remember the original Jetpac game. Jetpac came out in 1983 on a little computer we like to call the ZX Spectrum. The original company who made the game is now Rare, the fine developers of some of the best games of the past century! In Jetpac Refuelled you take control of a guy in a jetpack on an alien infested planet. You’re stuck in one section of the planet and have to go back and forth using your jetpack to boost and killing all the aliens in your path. While doing this you increase your score and are trying to get to the next level. It’s a pretty interesting concept that may sound a little confusing on paper. To put it simply, it feels like the original Mario Bros. or Joust mixed with Gradius.
11. Eets: Chowdown
Even though Eets: Chowdown is a total Lemmings clone, it’s still a fun game. Your goal? Get a guy to the end of each level by placing items on the map. You’ll place whales that will suck the guy into their mouths and then spit him across the level. You’ll place beans that make the guy scared. You’ll place punk beans that shoot the guy until he gets mad and can hop long distances. Eets is Lemmings with an even more humorous twist. The whole game is just absurd but still a lot of fun. The game gives you 120 with your $8 which will take you a long time. Some of the levels on here will take you a few minutes, some will really challenge you to think and will take you much much longer. This is a very fun game that may not be fun for everyone, but those who liked Lemmings will get a kick out of it.
10. Assault Heroes
Assault Heroes is a great top down dual joystick shooter in which you commandeer a tank and try to destroy all the bad guys in various levels. It mixes the arcade gameplay feel of Smash TV with the futuristic war landscapes of Metal Slug. The game features online co-op which is a ton of fun to play if you can find a friend that has the game. Its fairly short and can be beat in one sitting,which isn't horrible considering it is an Arcade title. Both modern and old school shooter fans will find this game a blast. Get it, a blast? Listen, just play the frickin' game.
9. Contra
Contra for the 360 is a perfect emulation of the arcade hit of the same name. Remember how tough it was in the arcades? Well now its going to be even tougher because they only give you a few lives (and don't try sticking quarters into your 360...trust me, doesn't even remotely come close to working). The game is a blast to play on single player and the online co-op mode is great as well, although it is hard to find a good game.
8. Heavy Weapon: Atomic Tank
This Popcap release borrows almost all of its elements from the Metal Slug series. Its a futuristic war sidescroller that is comparable to the greats. The game boasts cheesy heavy metal, which is always a blast to listen to while playing (though infinitely less fun when the game stops). There are a ton of great weapon upgrades and many have great cheesy like titles the fire megalaser harbinger of death. This game provides hours and hours of non-stop tank shooting arcade style action and features a fun single and multiplayer game, making it a worththy purchase.
7. Doom
Like many of you, I associate the PC classic, Doom, with dark rooms, being surrounded by friends joined together at the LAN and a strong scent of poop. A perfect emulation of the original (minus the smell) can be found on the 360. An added Xbox Live multiplayer and co-op mode is a blast, though usually very laggy. All the different difficulties are on this one and it has 12 achievements that are a challenging and will make you coming back for more. At least in this one you aren't throwing the controller because you can't tape the flipping flashlight to the gun.
Mutant Storm Reloaded is pretty much a better, less challenging, version of Robotron 2084. You have an overhead view of a ship and you move it around with the left analog stick and shoot bullets in all directions with the right analog. As you progress through the game, the levels get harder and you get more points. There are about ten different difficulties making this have a great deal of replay value. There is no form of online multiplayer, which would have really improved the game. But... mutants. Nuff said.
5. Marble Blast Ultra
Remember that game with the super monkeys and the balls? What was that called? Oh yeah, Super Monkey Ball. Marble Blast Ultra is a better version of that game. There are 60 levels of rolling marbles through complicated courses. Your goal? Simply get to the end and collect any of the jewels that are on the course. It gets really challenging at the end, but that challenge is brought down by an unlimited lives for each level. Can anybody beat my score of forty minutes on the last level? Even though the par on that level is two minutes, I thought I did pretty well...listen, don't rain on my parade. Online multiplayer is a ton of fun but not very many people play anymore.
Alien Hominid is based off of the Newgrounds classic by the same name. Yes, the Newgrounds classic that was nearly impossible to get past the first level. This Alien Hominid is a straight port of the PS2 and Gamecube version of the game, which is one of my favorite sidescrolling shooters ever. You must sidescroll through various levels shooting government agents trying to capture you, an escaped alien. It’s got that whole Metal Slug feel going for it, and it is an absolute must buy!
Uno is an great card game to video game conversion that is first online game to use the Xbox Vision camera. There really isn't much use to the camera, you can just show others what you look like. In essence, it will be a disadvantage in the game if you are a bad bluffer. When the announcement was made that Uno was going to have camera support, thousands of people jumped up in rejoice. Finally a way to moon someone without getting in trouble. Be warned that there are many people online that will abuse the camera support. This is definitely not one where kids should hang out! The rules in in this are a little different than the way some people play, but you can switch up the rules, so...who cares? The game holds up very nicely online and is rarely ever laggy and is a ton of fun to play with friends.
Probably the most played Arcade title as of yet has been Geometry wars. It is another Robotron-esque game that is a remake of a practically unheard of unlockable game that appeared in Project Gotham 2. Geometry Wars feels like a more hectic version of Mutant Storm Reloaded. With your tiny space ship and few attacks, you will be shooting fifty to a hundred shapes that are flying right at you. It may not have a story or particularly deep gameplay, but this is one of the most addictive games of its kind, and you'll be frantically trying to beat your high score and get higher on the leaderboard. On top of the superb gameplay, it is also only 400 points which equates to five bucks. Buy this as fast as you can. And don't complain when you're five bucks too short for the pizza delivery guy. It was worth it.
When Microsoft announced that Castlevania: Symphony of the Night was coming to the Xbox Live Arcade, I did a spontaneous backflip. Symphony of the Night, in my opinion, is one of the best side scrollers ever made. Going back to kill Dracula for the second time is just as fun as the first, especially with the updated graphics that are brought to the table. This epic adventure is yours for only 800 points ($10) in the Xbox Live Arcade.
Written By Josh Stevens
