What Are The Best XBLA Games

I really like Trials HD for a fun wacky crazy game. ilomilo is a fun little puzzle game with some collecting. Hydro Thunder. Plants vs Zombies and Peggle are classics. Lumines if you like tetris type games. Geometry Wars Evolved is crazy cool.

Zuma
Cloning Clyde
Pac-Man Championship Edition

Make sure you track this thread to see what deals are there every week. Great thread.
Watch this one too.
And this one to watch for points card deals.
 
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Does anyone not like Peggle? I've showed that game to tons of friends and family members and its been a big hit with all of them. Other than that, if you told us what kind of games you like, we could suggest better games.
 
Depends what kinda game you're looking for. Just download loads of demos to see what you think.

My favourites are:

'Splosion Man
Costume Quest
Limbo
Stacking
 
Not mentioned yet:

Castle Crashers, especially if you are into multiplayer.

Pac-Man CE. If you enjoy that, follow it up with Pac-Man CE DX. Similar presentation but gameplay is varied enough to warrant owning both. Both are good (and both are fairly easy 200/200 achievement games, if that matters to you).

In the classic console port category: Castlevania SOTN

In the classic arcade port category: TMNT 1989 Arcade
 
Yeah pretty much whats on the best rated. Though people will rate games that aren't even out (Section 8 for example is not even out, despite being rated so high. I'm guessing based in trailers?). Free games are obviously going to be rated high (See Doritos).

Games that are less then 4 stars that deserve a try: Monkey Island 2 SE (Why is this rated so low?), and Commando 3.


You can try trials of any game.
 
Others worth checking out that haven't been mentioned:

OutRun Online Arcade (soon to be unavailable due to Ferrari licensing issue)
BF 1943
Lara Croft: GoL
Uno
Mega Man 9 & 10
DOOM II (now that DOOM is no longer available)
Duke Nukem 3D
Snoopy Flying Ace
 
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I'm personally biased in that I dislike a good majority of the XBLA releases, but I've bought (mostly on sale):

Toy Soldiers
Duke Nukem 3D (classic!)
Shadow Complex (I regret this one, not a fan, though it is a high quality game.)
Serious Sam: The First Encounter
RISK Factions

Torchlight also comes out on the 9th (tomorrow). That will probably be one of the top XBLA games for a while. Its key value comes from massive replay value.

Castle Crashers is apparently a very popular game, as well, though I never bought it. Worth looking into. Most people I've met on XBL seem to own it.

Several people I know adore Castlevania HD, but it's not for everyone.

Other notable games:

DOOM
Peggle
Puzzle Quest 1 or 2
Defense Grid
Magic the Gathering
Monday Night Combat
Lara Croft: Guardian of Light

Also worth trying trials of anything that looks neat.
 
lots of great games, and like others said, all depends on what you like!

Easy recommendations -

Castle Crashers
Lumi
Shadow Complex
Pac Man Championship Edition DX
Scott Pilgrim (if you have friends to play with locally, no online and little eh solo)
Peggle
Plants vs. zombies
 
My top 5 favorites:

Bionic Commando ReArmed
Shadow Complex
Braid
Peggle
Castlevania HD, this is the only one which is hard to recommend to a newcomer. It's not that the community is dead, but anyone still playing is most likely a god. People might boot you for being a dead weight. And seeing people dominate the level leaving you in the dust is no fun. You would have to find a group of people willing to level with you. With that said It's quite addicting especially when you get 6 people going and are all evenly experienced. I put more hours into this than any game I played in the past 3 years. But even I had my limit and hung it up. Not for good, but just for now.
 
Shadow Complex.

More people need to add this to their list. Best game not avilable any place else. If I had to pick one game this would be. But there are a ton of gems on there like Rez, Ikaruga & Trials HD but Shadow Complex you can only find on XBLA.
 
Meh, Shadow Complex is good... until the frackin' enemies respawn once you load a checkpoint and even then the developers got lazy with a Nathan Drake rip-off.
 
I tried the Shadow Complex demo a while back and really didn't see what the fuss was about. It was OK. I might pick it up if it ever goes on fire sale.

On the Indie front, last night I rediscovered Miner Dig Deep. That's a great little $1 indie game. Relaxing and enjoyable. Well, relaxing, except when you foolishly continue in the dark and then get hit on the head with a boulder. :)
 
Shadow Complex is a competent metroidvania game rendered with a 3D engine in a modern era with sci-fi weapons/gadgets. Had that been the offical game description, I would've bought the game sight unseen. The guy moves sluggish compared to the Belmonts and Samuses (Samusi?) of the world, but other than that, I enjoyed the campaign.

To the list I'd add:
Rocket Riot
Chime
The Maw
Age of Booty

Enjoying Aqua right now too.
 
My personal quick recommendations are:

Shadow Complex (best XBLA game IMO, one of the best games of all time probably)
Limbo
Lara Croft and Guardian of Light (on sale this week)
Marvel vs. Capcom 2
Super Meat Boy
Torchlight
Beyond Good and Evil
Splosion Man
Portal
Trials HD
Castlevania SOTN
N+
 
Scott Pilgrim is great, especially if you have friends to play it with!

I love me some Super Meat Boy and Splosion Man, too!
 
Of those that said Shadow Complex, how many have read the books along with it? (Empire and Hidden Empire by Orson Scott Card)
I'm just wondering if you need to play Shadow Complex to understand Hidden Empire (I plan on getting Shadow Complex soon, but I already have Hidden Empire and have been waiting to read it until I get the game.)
 
Trials HD is by far my favorite XBLA title. Yes. I put a ton of time into it. Certainly the most time I've put into any Xbox game of any type.
 
I usually download arcade titles, play them for a week then never touch them again. However the ones that I still continue to play regularly are Battlefield 1943, Peggle (with my girlfriend), Marvel Pinball, and I just bought Torchlight which I'm sure is gonna keep me occupied for awhile!
 
[quote name='ROB64']Of those that said Shadow Complex, how many have read the books along with it? (Empire and Hidden Empire by Orson Scott Card)
I'm just wondering if you need to play Shadow Complex to understand Hidden Empire (I plan on getting Shadow Complex soon, but I already have Hidden Empire and have been waiting to read it until I get the game.)[/QUOTE]

No. The game takes place in the same universe but nothing within the game effects the plot of the books or vice versa. Though books are so bad that it might in turn effect your enjoyment of the game.
 
Raskulls, battlefield 1943, ultimate mortal kombat 3 (haha) and there are so many more. I'm kinda biased cause I have so many arcade games and enjoy just about all of them.
 
[quote name='Dezuria']Everything that's been said. + Super Meat Boy![/QUOTE]

Seriously... I was shocked to see how many posts skipped Meat Boy.

I'll add Beyond Good and Evil HD.
 
shadow complex, both geometry wars games, n+, bomberman, splosion man, lumines and a bunch of other games that aren't coming to my head at this second :)
 
Deathspank is hilarious and, in my opinion, there are entirely too few Diablo clones on Xbox. I also like shmups like 1942 or Triggerheart Exelica, or Shoot 1Up which is a dollar and also probably the best Indie game I've played. I've been needing to get Duke Nukem 3D and the Metal Slug games, among a ton of others.
 
Uno
Castle Crashers
Super Meat Boy
Shadow Complex (It's pretty good, but I still think it's overrated as hell)
Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
The Maw
Banjo-Kazooie
 
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