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XBLA (Xbox Live Arcade) News, Announcements, Reviews, and Impressions Thread

C

Clay Davis

Member
speaking of which, now that the year is winding down, what are everyone's arcade games of the year?

mine, in the following order.

mark of the ninja
the walking dead
dust: a elysian tale
trials evolution
alan wake: american nightmare
naughty bear: panic in paradise
quarrel
pool nation.

it's been a amazing year for games, it's impossible to choose only one.
 
P

PixyJunket

Member
There were only four XBLA games this year that I enjoyed.

Double Dragon Neon
Dust: An Elysian Tail
Spelunky
SVC: Monster World Collection

Of course, those are REALLY good games, so I can't call the entire year a bust.
 
Vert boil

Vert boil

Member
The bits release this year.

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Decade Duels Plus
3 Point Contest
Darts Vs Zombies
Ski Race
Planets Under Attack
Warlords
Karateka
Sega Vintage Collection: ToeJam & Earl
Pool Nation
Pid
Home Run Stars
GUILTY GEAR XX ACORE PLUS
Zombie Driver HD
Serious Sam 3: BFE
Intel Discovered
Happy Wars
Naughty Bear Panic in Paradise
Worms Revolution
Sonic Adventure 2
NiGHTS into dreams...
HELL YEAH! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit
Marvel vs. Capcom: Origins
Fire Pro Wrestling
Jet Set Radio
RAW - Realms of Ancient War
Joe Danger 2: The Movie
Red Johnson's Chronicles - One Against All
Double Dragon Neon
Mark of the Ninja
Kung Fu Strike: The Warrior’s Rise
Rock Band Blitz
Dogfight 1942
JOJO's BIZARRE ADVENTURE HD Ver.
Counter-Strike: GO
The Expendables 2 Videogame
Dust: An Elysian Tail
Hybrid
Deadlight
Wreckateer
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD
Dungeon Fighter LIVE: Fall Of Hendon Myre
Quantum Conundrum
Zuma's Revenge!
Frogger: Hyper Arcade Edition
Spelunky
Bellator: MMA Onslaught
Mini Ninjas Adventures
Magic 2013
Jeremy McGrath's Offroad
Babel Rising
Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown
Bang Bang Racing
Sega Vintage Collection: Streets of Rage
Sega Vintage Collection: Golden Axe
Mad Riders
Sega Vintage Collection: Monster World
Sega Vintage Collection: Alex Kidd & Co.
Joy Ride Turbo
Dragon's Lair
Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Episode II
JAM Live Music Arcade
Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition
Fable Heroes
Awesomenauts
The Walking Dead
Deep Black - Episode 1
Bloodforge
Trials Evolution
World Gone Sour
The Splatters
Skullgirls
Fez
Anomaly Warzone Earth
Pinball Arcade
Diabolical Pitch
South Park: Tenorman's Revenge
Wrecked Revenge Revisited
SINE MORA
Rayman 3 HD
Shoot Many Robots
Defenders of Ardania
I Am Alive
Nexuiz
Alan Wake's American Nightmare
Warp
Shank 2
Gotham City Impostors
The Simpsons Arcade Game
Rhythm Party
Double Fine Happy Action Theater
Quarrel
Puddle
Scarygirl
Haunt
Choplifter HD
AMY
NFL Blitz

-----

Fez towers over everything else.

Honourable mentions to Joy Ride Turbo.
 
S

Staal

Member
For me, Trials Evo and Spelunky are not only the best XBLA games, they are among the very best game experiences this year.
I haven't even played Dust or Mark of the Ninja.
 
T

Tain

Member
The best stuff released on XBLA this year is multiplatform: VF5:FS, Serious Sam 3 (going by the PC original), GGXX, the Sega Ages Online collections, Jet Set Radio, and so on.

Not much going on in terms of original games, though. Certainly nothing like 2011's Strania and Uprising combo.
 
T

toythatkills

Member
FEZ, Dust, Spelunky, Trials, Mark of the Ninja, Quarrel.

I can't think of many retail games that come even close this year. Of course, the above will all be overlooked in the GotY poll for stuff like Huge Marketing Budget 4 and Slightly Shinier Graphics 3.
 
P

PJX

Member
canIhasAnAccount said:
The bits release this year.


Fez towers over everything else.

Honourable mentions to Joy Ride Turbo.
Click to expand...

wrongGif.gif
 
C

Clay Davis

Member
joy ride turbo is a good call, I've had a lot of fun driving around the playground, collecting parts and trophies and such.

didn't buy fez, but I will definitely consider if it ever goes on sale.
 
I

Izick

Member
Opinions! Everybody has got em'!

All I can say is that I'm really intrigued to see how XBLA (and PSN games) grows when the next Xbox rolls out. Will we see an even smaller gap between smaller and full blown retail games? What kind of effect will XBLA have on the Nextbox's launch? Will there be another great launch XBLA game?
 
G

GhaleonEB

Member
Reading that list, I'm realizing I bought fewer XBLA games this year than any other. And didn't care for most of those I bought. (Strongly disliked Fez.)

I played some of the Sega Classics more than any other new releases.
 
J

jgkspsx

Member
Bought Quantum Conundrum. It's an unbelievably direct Portal clone, but with some interestingly different mechanics. The focus on platforming was a bad idea, though. Q from Star Trek does the uncle (i.e. GLaDOS) narration, but he does it as if he's imitating John Lithgow. (Two fine things that seem weird together, though not unpleasant.) It's not laugh out loud funny like GLaDOS at her best, but it's consistently amusing. I wouldn't have felt good about the purchase at $15, but at $7.50, I'm OK with it.

Also got the Forza Horizon October pack after getting the game for $15. Was that a bad idea? The Forza 4 packs don't work with Horizon, do they? (Rock Band has spoiled me, I guess.)
 
A

Alphahawk

Member
The black friday sales list on the Xbox is a mess. You've got three pages of items and games are just thrown haphazardly around with expansion packs. For instance, Daytona USA is listed at the bottom corner of a page full of Forza add ons. It also neglects to tell you the price only how many space bucks off it is.
 
G

Grisby

Member
Mark of the Ninja and Dust are two of my tops. I also bought fewer games this year.

I liked Fez but ended up being disappointed in it. I liked the jumping switching mechanic more then the 'other' mechanic. That, and after an hour of play the game's framerate would go to shit because of a memory leak.
 
eso76

eso76

Member
Tain said:
The best stuff released on XBLA this year is multiplatform: VF5:FS, Serious Sam 3 (going by the PC original), GGXX, the Sega Ages Online collections, Jet Set Radio, and so on.

Not much going on in terms of original games, though. Certainly nothing like 2011's Strania and Uprising combo.
Click to expand...

Dust and Trials evolution don't know what you're talking about.
Most enjoyable year ever for xbla
 
R

RadarScope1

Member
I'm catching up for the year. Just finishing Fez now. It's amazing. It's flawed in some ways, but mainly because its reach exceeds its grasp. I'm OK with that kind of effort.

Spelunky is up next, thanks to the BF sale. Dust and Mark of the Ninja after that. 2D-based God in full effect.
 
P

Plasma

Banned
I think Fez has been my favourite this year I had loads of fun just trying to figure things out. I still need to finish Mark of the Ninja, pretty sure I'm on the last level so I should really go back to it. Same with Dust but I'm right at the start of the game on that one, not sure when I'll get a chance to go back to it though as there are loads of other things to play at this point.

Most disappointing game so far this year on XBLA has to be Deadlight for me, maybe it was my own fault going in with some expectations on how it would play but I thought it looked great but the gameplay was a bit shallow.
 
D

Daigoro

Member
this year was fucking awesome for XBLA.

Spelunky, Trials Evo, Pinball Arcade, Jet Set Radio, VF: FS.

Staal said:
For me, Trials Evo and Spelunky are not only the best XBLA games, they are among the very best game experiences this year.
I haven't even played Dust or Mark of the Ninja.
Click to expand...

eso76 said:
Dust and Trials evolution don't know what you're talking about.
Most enjoyable year ever for xbla
Click to expand...

agree 1000% (except the dust part. demo didnt wow me, havent bought it yet. sorry Noogy!)
 
F

Feindflug

Member
toythatkills said:
FEZ, Dust, Spelunky, Trials, Mark of the Ninja, Quarrel.

I can't think of many retail games that come even close this year. Of course, the above will all be overlooked in the GotY poll for stuff like Huge Marketing Budget 4 and Slightly Shinier Graphics 3.
Click to expand...

This year's line-up was amazing IMO...definitely one of the best years of XBLA.

I loved all the above games but I'll also add in there I Am Alive, Alan Wake: American Nightmare, Warp & Sine Mora.

As for the GOTY poll I'm pretty sure that Journey will be 2012's gaf GOTY...it won't be in my top 10 since I think that it's a highly overrated game (comparing it to ICO and SOTC is ridiculous IMO) but I can see it getting a ton of votes mainly from the PS3 only owners. :p
 
Vert boil

Vert boil

Member
Some more DLC for Fruit Ninja Kinect popped up overnight.

Fruit Ninja Kinect
--High-Tech Vault - 160msp

-----

Izick said:
Opinions! Everybody has got em'!

All I can say is that I'm really intrigued to see how XBLA (and PSN games) grows when the next Xbox rolls out. Will we see an even smaller gap between smaller and full blown retail games? What kind of effect will XBLA have on the Nextbox's launch? Will there be another great launch XBLA game?
Click to expand...

I'm really pessimistic about the future of downloadables on MS consoles. Their continuous shifting focus from one hairbrained scheme to another just undermines any good intentions they have.
I'm sure there will be a push to grow grander experiences but if studios can't survive making B tier retail game, they aren't going to have more success expecting people to pay more for digital releases. Hyper stylised graphics could aid them but to generalise, xbox gamers are xbox gamers.
Given the way this gen has played out, if I was a dev/pub I wouldn't give an specific focus to their next system unless they had a critical mass again. Why deal with MS if they are their own worst enemy.

In the short term it will be interesting to see what they do with XBLA games as they switch between the two systems. Hopefully they'll have learnt from Sony and not just dump the 360 outright by giving devs the option to have downloadable titles be available on both systems for the first year or so.
 
J

jetsetfluken

Member
The new Warlords remake is still de-listed. Not sure when if ever it will be brought back.
Another newer game, Kung Fu Strike was pulled without warning a few weeks ago, and it's not back either.
Long de-listed game Yu Gi Oh 5D's was re-listed days ago then pulled again less than 10 hours later from what I understand.

What the...?
Strange times ahead for the console digital platforms.

Also, the SEGA Model 2 collection....everywhere I look I only see the three fighting games releasing this week. But what about Virtual On and Virtua Strikers? If nothing is known, hopefully by the end of the year.
I mean, SEGA has been releasing too much at once and not spacing things out, leading to geniune gems being ignored for more popular name recognition (NiGHTS HD ignored by many for SA2, ironically they all played SA2 before but never NiGHTS).
 
S

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
I'm not too worried about the future of DL games on MS systems, because I've whittled down my XBLA backlog a lot and devs have been pretty good at porting stuff to PC as well, so I feel like I have the option to rebuy if playing a few years down the road is in the cards.

I feel like if the next console comes out and doesn't have BC for XBLA, well... I'll definitely grumble a bit and I certainly will stop buying digital titles on it, but for the most part I'll still be able to play the games I want to play.
 
B

brandonh83

Banned
Dust is by far the best downloadable game I've played this year and probably somewhere in the top five digital purchases I've made on any platform.
 
G

GotchaForce

Member
Trials Evo
Walking Dead
Dust
Skullgirls
VF5: FS
GGX2 AC+
Rock Band Blitz
Mark of the Ninja

All GOTY contenders for me. XBLA continues to be the best thing this gen.
 
T

toythatkills

Member
Shadow Complex for 800? :lol

Pretty much anyone that doesn't own this already isn't going to buy it for that. They should do, obviously, but I'm sure it's been less than that in one of its ten other sales.
 
A

akilshohen

Member
Gowans said:
Blurg!

How nice of them to give us a Free to Play PC game for 600 points and Free DLC (on PC) for 280.
Click to expand...

It was free on PSN too. I will jump on the L4D2 deal. Dead Island is still tempting, but Riptide is coming out soon and I would only be trying to get to level 50.
 
N

Nyx

Member
Clay Davis said:
speaking of which, now that the year is winding down, what are everyone's arcade games of the year?
Click to expand...

1. Awesomenauts
2. The Walking Dead
3. The Pinball Arcade
4. Trials Evolution
5. Joyride Turbo
6. Happy Wars

Got these in 2012, from best to worst.
 
P

pswii60

Member
There were lots of decent XBLA games this year, but FEZ was the only one that took it to the next level and truly blew me away. There were also too many games priced just that little bit too high for me to bite - Joe Danger 2 comes to mind. Otherwise I'd probably have bought more.
 
G

Gaspode_T

Member
I totally disagree about it being a weak year, people's expectations are just out of whack these days with too many games to play. The mediocre XBLA games are still more pure fun than many flashy retail games

Stumpokapow said:
I'm not too worried about the future of DL games on MS systems, because I've whittled down my XBLA backlog a lot and devs have been pretty good at porting stuff to PC as well, so I feel like I have the option to rebuy if playing a few years down the road is in the cards.

I feel like if the next console comes out and doesn't have BC for XBLA, well... I'll definitely grumble a bit and I certainly will stop buying digital titles on it, but for the most part I'll still be able to play the games I want to play.
Click to expand...

Journalists etc really need to say this sort of thing loudly enough for the people who are in position of power to hear and include in any plans they are working on...heck, I would even love to see Indie Games carried over in any hypothetical future plans but that might be asking a lot...

Maybe the need to BC is a little tied to how long the legs of 360 go and what sort of strategy they have towards making sure it has a zombie end-of-life doesn't-stay-dead scenario like PS2 did.
 
C

CecilRousso

Member
Clay Davis said:
speaking of which, now that the year is winding down, what are everyone's arcade games of the year?

mine, in the following order.

mark of the ninja
the walking dead
dust: a elysian tale
trials evolution
alan wake: american nightmare
naughty bear: panic in paradise
quarrel
pool nation.

it's been a amazing year for games, it's impossible to choose only one.
Click to expand...

Mine:

1. Spelunky
2. Mark of the Ninja
3. Trials Evolution

I´m suprised to lists with Spelunky not even mentioned. Not everyone has to like it of course, I just hope people haven´t missed it.
 
R

Rlan

Member
Loving what Sega's doing at the moment, especially this year for classic games, though I worry that by the end of next year they're going to run out of old games I care about :p
 
U

UpperCaseN

Member
In for L4D2 Cold Stream. My days of playing L4D co-op are long gone but these new campaigns are worth at least a solo once through for me.
 
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