In Need of Some XBLA Recommendations

Ichigo1993

Ichigo1993

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I have a ton of points leftover to spend and need some recommendations on anything on the XBLA. I'm a fan of all genres.

Arcade Games Owned:
Castle Crashers
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2
Shadow Complex
Cloning Clyde
Peggle
Battlefield 1943
TMNT 1989 Arcade
Bomberman Live
South Park: Let's Play!
Splosion Man
Defense Grid
A Kingdom for Keflings
Sam & Max Save the World
Uno
Rez HD
Puzzle Fighter HD
 
IF you enjoy FPS games, Serious Sam The First Encounter and Perfect Dark should be out sometime relatively soon. No date on either yet iirc.
 
Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords

Both have free trails that teach you most of what you need to know to play either game. I've sunk so much time into both games.
 
Pac-Man CE - one of the best games on the service. It's addictive, its a whole lot of fun that makes the right tweaks to make it new but old
Panzer General: Allied Assault - really cool hybrid of a table top game and Magic. The online community is dedicated
Trials - physics based time trial game
Ikaruga - Doesn't live up to all the hype but its still really good. Cheaper than tracking down a Dreamcast or Gamecube copy
Megaman 9 - Oldschool Megaman with all of it's warts and perfections. Turn on the flicker and be transported back to 1991
The Dishwasher - Really cool beat'em up
Pinball FX - Pretty cool pinball game. And if you sink the money into buying all the tables, there is a lot of variety
Military Madness - Pretty good version of the classic hex-based strategy game. Online is dead though
 
[quote name='life.exe']Portal: Still Alive[/QUOTE]

Please don't waste points on Portal: Still Alive. There isn't much additional content vs what comes with the Orange Box. Get it for PC, or the orange box for 360.

If you like motorcycles, time trials, and platformers, Trials HD is a great game. DLC coming soon too.
 
N+ : A deceptively evil platformer where you play as a ninja evading all sorts of traps to complete levels.
Doom: The classic FPS for only 400 points.
 
Not really XBLA per-se but I'd recommend giving the Indie Games channel a chance, at least set aside like 800 points for it, you'd be surprised at the vast amount of cheap entertainment on there (although there are a significant number of crappy games but if you read some reviews and give trials a go, you should be fine).
 
Download the top 20 games off top rated. If you are looking for more than that go to xbox marketplace on the web, then games, sort arcade games by rank and start downloading.

I have 80 arcade games and I think the rating system is right 90%+ of the time.

I'll throw out omega 5, gripshift, and poker smash for 3 games that are pretty good that aren't rated in the top 100
 
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Based on all of your recommendations, I ended up picking Puzzle Quest, Magic, and Sonic 2. I also threw in Borderlands DLC. I'm enjoying all of them so far! (even though I need some practicing on Magic!)
 
Ikaruga is overratted IMHO. I had it for the Gamecube and it wasn't as much fun as I thought it would be. The need to switch back and forth was actually kind of annoying. I'd call it just OK. Obviously that's IMHO, of course.

Trials HD is awesome fun. Definitely pick that up if you like the demo.

So far I haven't had much luck with the Indie games. I'm sure there's some gems out there, but I haven't found them yet. Would love to see a list of Indie games worth buying/trying.
 
[quote name='crunchewy']Ikaruga is overratted IMHO. I had it for the Gamecube and it wasn't as much fun as I thought it would be. The need to switch back and forth was actually kind of annoying. I'd call it just OK. Obviously that's IMHO, of course.

Trials HD is awesome fun. Definitely pick that up if you like the demo.

So far I haven't had much luck with the Indie games. I'm sure there's some gems out there, but I haven't found them yet. Would love to see a list of Indie games worth buying/trying.[/QUOTE]

You should check out the top rated games from the Indie Game Marketplace. The top rated games are really the best games on the service. And you actually might want to go to xbox.com and sort Indie games by top rated to see what 21-40 are as well. Weapon of Choice, Avatar Golf, and Johnny Platform's Biscuit Romp which are all really good games are currently #21-#23.
 
Braid is a really good puzzle game and I really like how hidden stars are and how some puzzles get really confusing. The game also has metaphors in it and I think it makes it a bit more interesting.
 
trials hd is okay but definately not worth the $15. check out poker smash, madden nfl arcade, cod classic, alien hominid hd, castle crashers, bomberman live, braid, castlevania: sotn, contra, double dragon, doom, geometry wars 1&2, hexic 2, ikaruga, lumines live, marble blast ultra, marvel vs capcom 2, mega man 9, metal slug 3, mr driller online, outrun online arcade, peggle, penny arcade episode 1&2, pinball fx, puzzle arcade, puzzle quest, puzzle quest: galactrix, r-type dimmensions, schizoid, shadow complex, south park let's go tower defense play, space invaders extreme, super street fighter 2 turbo hd, tetris splash, texas hold 'em, the dishwasher: dead samurai, tmnt 1989 arcade, trials hd, turtles in time rs, ultimate mortal kombat 3, undertow, uno, uno rush, word puzzle, zombie apocaylpse, zuma and of course older retro games like frogger, pac man, ms pacman and many others..
 
[quote name='wakawakawa']You should check out the top rated games from the Indie Game Marketplace. The top rated games are really the best games on the service. And you actually might want to go to xbox.com and sort Indie games by top rated to see what 21-40 are as well. Weapon of Choice, Avatar Golf, and Johnny Platform's Biscuit Romp which are all really good games are currently #21-#23.[/QUOTE]

Can you give recommendations of the higher rated games, because I've tried some of the top-rated Indie games (demos) and so far they've proven to be pretty terrible across the board. When the best of the best includes that Miner game, the name of which is escaping me at the moment, and that ZP2HGK (or whatever letters) game, it's a bit disheartening. I'll check out the three lower rated ones you mention, though.
 
Can anyone tell me if Perfect Dark is going to have multiplayer? It would be awesome to see 007 Goldeneye in the arcade.

My recommendations

Streets of Rage 2
Banjo & Kazooie
Worms
 
[quote name='crunchewy']Can you give recommendations of the higher rated games, because I've tried some of the top-rated Indie games (demos) and so far they've proven to be pretty terrible across the board. When the best of the best includes that Miner game, the name of which is escaping me at the moment, and that ZP2HGK (or whatever letters) game, it's a bit disheartening. I'll check out the three lower rated ones you mention, though.[/QUOTE]

All in all, the Indie games aren't as good or deep as the arcade games, they tend to be more focused on a cool concept. I just like trying new weird stuff out. It reminds me of going to the arcade back in the day.

I guess I'll try to group them by styles

I made a game w/ zombies, groov, biology battle, beat hazard, amniotic - twin stick shooters

Miner Dig Deep, Fishing Girl - Mine or fish and buy better equipment, repeat

Arkedo Jump, Johnny Platform, The impossible game, (maybe Carneyville) - 2d platformers

Platypus - 2d side scrolling shooter

Weapon of choice - 2d scrolling action game like metal slug sorta

Arkedo Swap - matching puzzle game

Solar - Weird (creative) space/galaxy simulation/exploration game

Nextwar - Basic tower defense game

Avatar Golf, Inside Lacrosse, SFG soccer - sports
 
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These have all been mentioned... but I'll second them:

Pac Man: CE - one of my favorite games of all time

Braid - yup

Poker Smash - Fantastically executed riff on Tetris Attack / Planet Puzzle League etc...

Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix - if you like Street Fighter 2 at all, get this

Trials - only worth it IMO if you have a decent amount of people on your friends list to score-chase, still very fun though

N+ - Great, extremely challenging platformer. Great LOCAL co-op too. Online co-op is near unplayable, which is too bad as this is one of the best games on XBLA otherwise.
 
[quote name='mang9432']Trials - only worth it IMO if you have a decent amount of people on your friends list to score-chase, still very fun though[/QUOTE]

That definitely makes it more fun, but I wouldn't say it was only worth it if you have friends who have the game. I get a lot of satisfaction out of revisiting levels and getting better medals. Some of the minigames are awesome too. Last night I finally beat an Extreme level and it was uber satisfying, and that opened up Platinum medals which made me go back to past levels again (haven't yet managed a platinum, though). I've still got a lot of bronzes to improve on as well. Plus there's the level editor which I haven't touch yet (other then to produce a junk level just for the achievement.) It's a really well done game. I'm getting a ton of value out of it, so it was totally worth the asking price for me.
 
[quote name='The3amJunkie']Can anyone tell me if Perfect Dark is going to have multiplayer? It would be awesome to see 007 Goldeneye in the arcade.[/QUOTE]
I don't see it as physically possible that they'd be releasing it without multiplayer, or did you mean online multiplayer? (Which I think is damn likely, but haven't heard anything about yet)

I'd personally suggest at least trying a demo for these:
* Ikaruga
* Triggerheart Exelica
(if you're a big shmup fan. I enjoy it, i could see others not finding it worth 800 pts)
* Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
(Still one of the greatest platformers to date imo)
* Marvel vs. Capcom 2
(If you're a fighters fan, this is one of the "classics/essentials".
* The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai
(Seemed like a fun platformer when I tried it)
* Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram

I can understand why a lot of people love Braid, but I personally found it overrated and not worth the $15. (Honestly not sure I personally found it worth the $10 sale) It's a pretty short game that offers very little replayability. Speed run refining, but that's really it.
 
Agreed Trials HD. Haven't played it in a while, but its one of those titles that you can come back after a couple months and end up playing for the next couple of days.
 
I like Roogoo a lot. It is a pretty interesting puzzle game. I actually have been looking for some good XBLA games myself. I see some good suggestions on here.
 
Not enough adventure game love in this thread. I see you have Sam & Max Save the World. If you enjoyed that, I highly recommend Sam & Max Beyond Time & Space. The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition is another must get. I've also been enjoying the four Wallace & Gromit episodes on XBLA, but if you have a PC to play them on, that's a better value (I like being able to play them in HD on my TV and get achievements, and I only have a Mac, so I don't mind the extra expense).

Ticket to Ride is a great but underrated XBLA title that I haven't seen mentioned. Definitely give the demo a spin and see what you think.

Beyond that, I agree with most of the other recommendations here. Be sure to wait til next week to get Shadow Complex, when it will be on sale for 800 points.
 
If you like fight game, good competition, and lagless online multiplayer then get Virtual On.

In Japan, it is the #1 selling XBLA game this entire year for good reasons. It includes constantly updated Replay leaderboards, observer mode to watch friends play another in a party of 8, significantly improve graphics over the Dreamcast version. Even playing against people in Japan and Europe there is no lag. There is myth that twinsticks are required to play well. Unlike other fighting games like Street Fighter and Tekken, there is no handicap by using a pad.

Japan Top 10 XLA games of 2009
 
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