[Chuck]

Ten of the best XBL Arcade games. Ever. | 4/28/2013 - Chuck


With the rise in more online-orientated consoles this gaming generation; smaller digital-download games have flourished. Indie games are bigger and more successful than ever before, and looking back, I don't think 'indie developer' was even a commonly used term. So it's great that the likes of Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo and Valve offering platforms for indie developers to release their games and reach an increasingly wide audience.

Today I'll be counting down my all-time top ten favorite Xbox Live Arcade games. Although it was not possible to fit all of my choices into such a compact list, therefore I picked some indie games from the glory days of XBL. Sorry folks', no Minecraft here.

In no particular order:

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Spoiler:

Neither sequel nor DLC, the most impressive thing about Alan Wake's American Nightmare is that it offers the same quality gameplay as its full retail counterpart, but in a smaller dose and for less coin.

Once again, players step in to the shoes of the self-absorbed novelist Alan Wake, but this time find themselves trapped inside an episode of The Twilight Z-- sorry, 'Night Springs'. While the story might leave people still wanting, it's a nice expansion on the lore. In contrast to the first Alan Wake, however, more emphasis is put on the action over the plot.

Even so, that's not a bad thing - it creates a nice change of pace from the original and as a spin-off it's a fun distraction. Now here's hoping Remedy are working on the full blown sequel.

Spoiler:

The best way to go into Backbreaker: Vengeance for the first time is to think of it less as an American football game, because really - it's not, and more of a crazy gameshow that uses American football as the theme. It's more Total Wipeout with burly padded men than Madden NFL, and that's exactly what we love about it.

Backbreaker: Vengeance is about as far from simulation as you can get. It's the quintessential anti-simulation game. It revels so delightfully in zany, arcade fun that it's hard not to love. The Euphoria physics engine lends itself so well to the game, and as a result it makes every trip, fall and tackle both bone-crunching and hilarious in equal measure.

Just get some friends over, crack open some drinks and load up the hardest challenge in multiplayer. You'll have a great evening, I guarantee it.

Spoiler:

Shadow Complex took Xbox Live Arcade by storm when it released in August 2009, receiving unanimous praise from critics worldwide. it was so popular that it broke Xbox Live Arcade sales records, selling 200,000 copies in the first week of release.

The game plays out in 2D, side-scrolling fashion with gameplay in the same vein as classics like Super Metroid and Castlevania, where the player is presented with large, more open map, but access to each of the areas is limited by their equipment.

Although it's possible to smash through the story in roughly five hours, much of the fun is gathering up the large arsenal of weapons and collectibles, which in turn add replay value to the core campaign. Aside from that there's also the challenge rooms to test your mettle in.

Also, the game is just damn fun for fans of exploration. Definitely one you should go back and play if you haven't already.

Spoiler:

Castle Crashers is a glorious throw back to the side-scrolling beat 'em ups of old, and the addition of light RPG elements and four player co-op prevents the gameplay from feeling stale.

Humour is another of Castle Crashers' strong points. It's not exactly the most sophisticated, intelligent humour, but if you're more in to crude, 'WTF' funnies Castle Crashers won't let you down.

Variation in gameplay comes from the wealth of levels; character upgrades such as new weapons, attacks and an animal companions that will assist you in battle; and just all the crazy stuff in the game, like a random volleyball match and the ability to ride an alligator and kill enemies with your new mount.

It's nuts, and I love it.

Spoiler:

Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix, simply put, is one the finest iterations of the classic arcade fighter to date. The new redrawn sprites are the work of comic book creators Udon and like all of its work are absolutely gorgeous. Along with cosmetics it maintains the deep and perfectly balanced combat that you'd come to expect from the arguably the greatest fighting series in the industry.

But HD Remix differs itself from the original by introducing some smart tweaks to attacks and character move sets, so even if the die hard fans who played the original 18 years ago picked up HD Remix, it would still feel somewhat fresh and new.

This update also introduces an online mode, meaning that for the first time fans could face off against various opponents from around the world at Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo. HD Remix is one of the best entries in the legendary franchise to date, if you have any sort of love for Street Fighter or the fighting genre in general, you should have this.

Spoiler:

ACE Team's penchant for making absolutely bonkers games is as much a good thing as it is a bad. Their games are definitely fun and original, but they make our job much harder when we're trying to describe them.

Rock of Ages is game about boulders, with a visual style that's directly influenced by artwork from varying time periods. It's a competitive tower defense game, as well as laying down obstacles and defenses to protect your own tower akin to the traditional tower defense games, you have to attack your opponent's tower, and to do this you launch a boulder and roll it down a typically winding path towards their base and smash in to it.

That's the best I could do.

It's quirky, fun and the humorous cutscenes that depict historical figures like Da Vinci keep it entertaining right till the end.

Spoiler:

Think you're hardcore, huh? Well step this way, sir, and have go of this. Oh, you died, did you? Oh well that's a crying shame - have another go. Ah, you're dead again. Go on, keep going. Why are you crying? Too hard for you, is it? Huh? TOO HARD?! PICK UP THE CONTROLLER AND TRY AGAIN!

Above is what we feel Team Meat would be saying if they ever watched us play Super Meat Boy. It's hard. You will die, and die, and die, until you absolutely can not continue anymore and you're left a broken shell of a man, squatting in a puddle of tears and broken controller parts. Then you'll try again...

That image is perhaps a little bleaker than the reality. While Super Meat Boy is possibly the hardest game on XBLA, you never feel cheated when you die. You always feel as if you can do it, but it's your own lack of ability that's caused the demise of Meat Boy. That's what keeps the game so thoroughly entertaining.

]That and watching a hundred Meat Boys all die at once when you do finally complete the level is pretty entertaining. This is old-school platforming at its hardest, and finest.

Spoiler:

Like Super Meat Boy, N+ is the successor to an online Flash game. Assuming control of a ninja, players are tasked with racing through each level in the fastest time whilst avoiding various hazards and collecting gold.

The game is fairly simple in terms of controls, along with general movement, N+ only uses two buttons: jump and explode. The game is more about clever platforming, timing and precise control rather than deep, complex mechanics though, so the two button controls work perfectly. In fact, the explode button rarely, if ever, needs to be used anyway, so it's pretty much a one button system.

The physics and handling of the character is spot on, and there are literally hundreds of levels to play through. N+ sports some fantastic multiplayer modes too, both co-operative and competitive. A solid all around XBLA package.

Spoiler:

There are many words that could describe Trials HD, but if we had to choose one it would be "addictive", and anyone who's played it will know exactly why.

Trials HD is the ultimate "just one more go" game, especially in the mini-game modes which task you with a variety of challenging objectives. The feel of the handling and the physics of the bike are damn near perfect - it's weighty, satisfying and overall just fun.

There are plenty of levels on offer too, and though some of the later ones can get a bit frustrating due to the punishing difficulty, the majority of the game is simply fantastic. Trials HD is undoubtedly one of Xbox Live Arcade's best.

Spoiler:

The great things about Limbo is that the player knows just as much about it's stark, monochromatic world and its inhabitants going in to the game as they do when they finish it. Limbo reveals nothing - the characters and events are intentionally left ambiguous and perplexing, and it will leave you with many unanswered questions about what you just witnessed. Personal interpretation is the only way to make some sense of things, but is that really what happened?

The developer, Playdead, is clearly a believer in 'less is more'. Subtlety is the key to many of Limbo's successes, not just in visuals and plot, but in ambiance and audio. There's no musical soundtrack, instead the developer has opted for striking sound effects work that draws you in better than any piece of music probably could.

It always feels eerie and unsettling, and seeing the boy's gruesome deaths is a little disturbing to say the least. Limbo absolutely nails that uncomfortable feeling.

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Article published by: Chuck
Information gathered from: Source

[Munchlax]

It looks like you've put a lot of time into this post and I'm sure many members will appreciate it.
Thanks, Chuck.

[Sunlight]

Nice effort into this thread.
You forgot Doritos Crash course.

[Google]

I agree with Limbo; nice one topic mate.

[Wonders]

Amazing thread, you've put a lot of work into this and it shows.

[Ruskin]

It looks like you've put a lot of time into this post and I'm sure many members will appreciate it.
Thanks, Chuck.

It looks like he puts time into all his posts Another great post Chuck, my favorite game out there is Castle Crashers. It has to be one of the funnest games I have played, so easy to pick up and play with friends, and a great game to play at a friends house for hours if nothing else is available.

[Sunlight]

You should also add Indie games as well. I hear those are time consuming.

[Valentino]

I only recognize N+, but it an amazing game xD Some other games I prefer playing a lot are Ultra Marble Blast and Geometry Wars!

[MrTomJN]

Awesome thread. It looks like you've spent lots of time on this too.

[Beelzebub]

Out all of those the best one for me is Shadow Complex then Trial HD and Limbo...awesome.