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[Son of Godzilla]

Also how has this thread gotten by without a mention of Zoomaroom? I forget if it's 200 or 400, but it's a fantastic little 2d monkey ball meets... I dunno, some floaty bizarre game where you control lots of powerups... game. You even control a damn monkey in a ball.

My top 3 are probably Zoomaroom, World Revolution, and Miner Dig Deep.

MDD really is the ultimate zen game. Just so relaxing.

 

[Notorious_Roy]

If you don't mind going through some hoops to download (and buy) Community Games, then do the following:

- Create a US XBL account
- Purchase US Microsoft Points from www.maximuscards.com (by using a credit card through Google Checkout or just PayPal)
- Reedem the code (you get after buying) with your US XBL account
- Download (and buy) the games with your US XBL account

And get achievements on another account? NEVER :lol

No seriously, if MS doesn't want my Dutch money, so be it

 

[Brakara]

And get achievements on another account? NEVER :lol

Two points need to be made here:

1. Community Games don't have achievements

2. And even if they had, you can still play them on your main account (the US account is only required for doing the purchase)

 

[Speevy]

I've only got 200 points left so I'll get Blow next round.

 

[Phthisis]

I've only got 200 points left so I'll get Blow next round.

Grooooooooooooov

At least try the demo. Game is 200 points.

 

[Flyguy]

I've only got 200 points left so I'll get Blow next round.

bricks4eva or Miner Dig Deep.

 

[Speevy]

bricks4eva or Miner Dig Deep.

Got Miner Dig Deep

 

[Flyguy]

Got Miner Dig Deep

bricks4eva

 

[Brakara]

Got Miner Dig Deep

Solar.

Spoiler

But bricks4ever is good too.

 

[Peronthious]

Grooooooooooooov

At least try the demo. Game is 200 points.

.

 

[EazyB]

The ones I've bought and have really enjoyed:

Carnivale
Groov
Zoomaroom


Blow looks really interesting, I'll probably download it this weekend. Miner Dig Deep looks cool too.

 

[CrunchinJelly]

Wow, Supercow is really quite a good little platformer. Really nice presentation, sorta reminds me of Rayman. Collecting coins, jumping on enemies, finding little secret caves, it's all in here.

Zoomaroom is also a really good game. Physics platformer with a level editor (which I find really hard to use).

 

[killdatninja]

I like this thread more than the official one, the other one people were more like "well download some games and try them yourself!". Yeah that doesn't work when I don't know what I'm looking for and when i randomly picked a few games they were beyond terrible. So far it's left a bad taste in my mouth, but I'll look into going through some of these recommendations, thanks!

 

[Speevy]

There are some games which at first glance appear to have nicer production values, but I'm assuming we've played them and they're garbage, correct?

 

[Son of Godzilla]

There are some games which at first glance appear to have nicer production values, but I'm assuming we've played them and they're garbage, correct?

:lol Are you trying to say the games you are playing don't have nice production values?

Artoon, Weapon of Choice, and Carnyvale are decently put together. Not really sure what you are referring too though.

 

[Brakara]

There are some games which at first glance appear to have nicer production values, but I'm assuming we've played them and they're garbage, correct?

Probably, yes, but not necessarily. E.g., Blast is a good looking title and a somewhat original take on the breakout genre. But I can't really recommend it at 800 MSP. But if you dig the genre and space bucks isn't an issue, then by all means, give the trial a whirl.

 

[mujun]

my recommendations:

loot, steal n destroy 400pts
this game is multiplayer only (local unfortunately) but mega fun. you play as a pirate ship on a single screen map. on each map there is a pile of gold on one island and each players base. the controls are simple, to steal gold from the gold pile (or your enemies base) you alternate pressing the left and right triggers. to shoot you push the a button. the goal is to have the most gold when the timer reaches zero. there are also randomly appearing power ups like speed boost, free gold, larger hull (so you can carry more gold), mega cannons, etc. very simple so anybody can get in and play and absolutely hilarious when you piss someone off by swinging by their base and stealing their gold while they are out looting from the gold pile

video here

battle havoc 400pts
i bought this a couple of days after i bought death tank and ill tell you what this is the better game by quite a ways. its a real time scorched earth style game with a tonne of weapons to buy between rounds, recharging jet pack, a good selection of maps, great controls and nice presentation. it seems well balanced (unlike death tank) and also has a challenge mode giving you something to do besides play multiplayer. has online multiplayer.

video here

carneyvale showtime 400pts
my wife was hooked on this and she isnt a gamer which is a good indication of how fun and easy to play this is. super polished presentation, fun gameplay and heaps to do. you basically shoot a ragdoll clown out of a cannon and then use spinning arms placed around each level to grab the flying clown and throw him off towards the next one. to complete the level you have to get your clown through a hoop but if you want to get a five star score for the level then you also need to collect all of the balloons on the level, find the secret star, do it within a time limit and complete the level without dying. a hard game to describe so check out the video below.

video here

solar 200pts
a relaxing game that basically goes on for ever. you begin as a yellow sun and you cruise around the universe. anything you approach will move towards you due to the pull of your gravity. if it hits you then you will eventually down grade to a blue sun. if you manage to get planets into your orbit rather than bashing into them then you can suck them into you and "level up" to the next color level. you can also get asteroids to orbit your planets and suck the asteroids into the planets to level the planets up. when you level them up enough they will gain life and send out spaceships to defend you from asteroids and enemy spaceships. there are many other suns out in the universe that you can destroy and steal their planets. great music too!

video here, begins 50 seconds in

more to come.

 

[GDJustin]

Started a new Miner Dig Deep save, thanks to think topic. I hadn't played it in a while. This game is like CRACK. The "into the mine, out of the mine" gameplay leads to an INCREDIBLY STRONG "OK, just one more go..." gameplay loop. I had "one more go" like 10 times before finally managing to turn it off and get back to work.

I ended up playing through basically this ENTIRE GAME for a 2nd time, this afternoon. After what started as "I'll just play for a few minutes."

Spoiler

It's all about the royalite, bitches.

 

[cluto]

I feel guilty paying only 200 points for Miner Dig Deep.

 

[Juice]

Defiantly one where I would suggest everyone tries out the demo here on GAF, should be us a few people's alleys.

Ugh. http://www.d-e-f-i-n-i-t-e-l-y.com/

 

[Narpas Sword0]

didnt easy golf used to be 800 points? its 400 now

 

[Speevy]

:lol Are you trying to say the games you are playing don't have nice production values?

.

Absolutely not. I'm talking about the games which have more of a PS2 look to them, I saw some examples, but I'll have to go back later to get the names.

 

[drakesfortune]

Okay, bought

-Supercow
-Easy Golf
-Fading Melody
-Johnny Platform and the Biscuits or whatever
-Being
-Carnyvale Showtime
-TV Calibration (I needed one of these)


Need two more, probably will go for Miner Dig Deep and something else.

Definitely try Miner Dig Deep, I just picked that one up and am liking it quite a lot.

Solar is an interesting game too, it's only 200 points and it's pretty fun. You're a sun that can fly around in space, you find planets that then start orbiting you, and your planets can pick up asteroids in space. You then press a button to have the planets suck in the asteroids into the planet to grow the planet. Your planet once mature creates ships which will protect your system from asteroids, which when they hit a planet or a sun cause it to lose mass. Your sun can also grow and become mature (have a huge mass) by sucking planets into it. I haven't figured it all out yet, but I've already had a couple hours of enjoyment out of it, so I'd say that's worth $2.50, and I'm not done with it.

 

[Rlan]

I haven't personally bought it, but I'd like to know any thoughts on this game:

http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/games/media/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802585501a8/

I never actually saw it show up on the new releases, I only found it via going back through the demos. From the trial it actually looked like a fun Soccer game, which is actually beatable unlike Sensible Soccer :lol

 

[Sydle]

Thanks for the recommendations. I tried out Carnyvale, Supercow, Weapon of Choice and Miner Dig Deep. I bought Miner Dig Deep, and I'll eventually get Carnyvale and Supercow.

I was surprised at the production values of Supercow and Carnyvale. They have a wonderful presentation, and they're fun as well. Supercow reminded me of the original Rayman (a good thing).

 

[daycru]

I am enjoying Supercow, very easy but pretty fun. It's even got it's own in-game achievements.

 

[soldat7]

I've only got 200 points left so I'll get Blow next round.

You chose....wisely.

 

[SickBoy]

I'd recommend Philip Muwanga's Hexy Trench. The unfortunate thing is that the demo time limit sucks for this game, because it takes a little while to play through the tutorial.

I'll start off by saying I think the game is well worth the $2.50. There's definitely more than enough meat there and the game is good enough that you'll be able to get at least a few hours of fun out of it if it's up your alley. Still, I feel like it needs a bit of explanation, so I'll go ahead... To do a Bettenhausen, Hexy Trench is a (very) simple puzzle game meets a tower defense game meets a real-time strategy game. (BTW, I have no idea who Philip Muwanga is, but if he's planning more XNA games, it's not a bad idea to make your name part of the game title... it'll make it easy to find the next game in the series)

Anyhow, the puzzle aspect is trench-building - you get random pieces to build a trench out from your base. The trenches are the only place you can build structures, and they also link you to supply-producing outposts.

The structures you can build are spawn points for grunts, who are like tower-defense enemies who march blindly in a straight line, damaging whatever enemy structures are in their place -- bases, trenches, buildings, etc.). There are also machine guns (anti-grunt gun batteries) and artillery (slow-to-recharge offensive weapons you control to soften up emplacements such as those pesky machine guns)

It's all pretty simple "destroy the other guy's base" gameplay, but it works well. There are weapon drops -- some of which may be a little overpowered -- but the game is generally pretty intense (and there's an option to create custom rules. It would be nice to see the ability to vary the AI a little (you can only choose one AI level for all your opponents), and I don't think you'll ever find someone random on Live, but the game is still very entertaining.... it also comes with a low-rent twin-stick shooter (not at all worth the price of admission, BTW). For a hardcore strategy fan, it might not fit the bill, but for my shallow tastes I'll be going back.

I think generally, the game is a bit busier than this screenshot, but it was the first one I found

Everyone else has mentioned Miner, which is good. Someone referenced the "produce a game ad" submission so I'll repost it here

 

[GDJustin]

I started a new Miner Dig Deep game, after

Spoiler

choosing to keep my equipment

. My new goal is to harvest every single mineral in the game :lol :lol

It's completely crazy. Even in my powered-up state it took FOREVER to get everything in just the first 100 meters.

 

[MisterAnderson]

Bought Weapon of Choice and Groov so far. Holyshitpantsawesomesauce good shit.

 

[Speevy]

Groov is Everyday Shooter with cooler music.

 

[Waikis]

How do I buy these in Australia?

 

[Brashnir]

Groov is Everyday Shooter with cooler music.

sold.

 

[PIMPBYBLUD]

Groov is Everyday Shooter with cooler music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2wecBkM_KI&feature=PlayList&p=2302E4B96BA0BA21&index=0&playnext=1

Because of this thread I'm buying this now. Looks and sounds awesome.

 

[Zachack]

There are some games which at first glance appear to have nicer production values, but I'm assuming we've played them and they're garbage, correct?

Yes, there's a really creepy weeaboo match game thing which is just terrible but at a glance looks decent if you're into horrendous anime design. Also, I agree with the criticism of this thread, because while it's nice right now that's mostly because we're still on the first page. Eventually it will decay into the current XNA thread because there's nothing being updated in the OP. An ideal XNA recommendation thread would have a 3-4 post OP, with a structure like:

Hall of Fame (the best games)
Mall of Game (worth playing, maybe buy)
Stall of Blame (pretty bad, not worth buying but maybe worth playing to see bad design in action)
Wall of Shame (cancer)

which would get updated as people discover new titles/sort out existing ones.

I'd also hope that people in this thread attack bad recommendations. Not that I've really seen any yet (although Welcome to Mexico probably shouldn't be bought), but eventually someone will mention FreaKick.

 

[Gowans]

Hall of Fame (the best games)
Mall of Game (worth playing, maybe buy)
Stall of Blame (pretty bad, not worth buying but maybe worth playing to see bad design in action)
Wall of Shame (cancer)

which would get updated as people discover new titles/sort out existing ones.

OK Cool, Op Updated!

Let me know if there are any additions or changes (best I could do behind my work firewall on my break).

 

[Stumpokapow]

I disagree with a lot of those characterizations. That's why I think segmenting things into an official "Best / Better / OK / Bad" list is not as good of an idea as just having everyone recommend what they personally enjoyed.

 

[Rlan]

Better double check those links. Firstly, a lot of them aren't working due to a "http//" and the prices for ZoomaRoom, Biology Battle and Being are all wrong.

 

[Gowans]

I disagree with a lot of those characterizations. That's why I think segmenting things into an official "Best / Better / OK / Bad" list is not as good of an idea as just having everyone recommend what they personally enjoyed.

I kinda agree but atleast this way people have a list of list of things that have been posted here.

Stumpokapow also I couldn't lift your recommendations as I couldn't see what games you were talking about.

If you could post in that format I'll past them in. All for discussion about category tho if people say strip them out I will.

When I get home tonight I'll jazz it up with some pics too. (and correct links, prices etc. that I'm sure I will have got wrong)

Better double check those links. Firstly, a lot of them aren't working due to a "http//" and the prices for ZoomaRoom, Biology Battle and Being are all wrong.

Rlan could you PM me a 'fixed version' if its not too much hassle and I'll correct them. I'll fix the https

 

[Rlan]

(GAF Memember Made)

Download Trial - 400 points - Easy Golf (Sports) by barkers crest
Download Trial - 400 points - Snake 360 (Action) by yyr


Hall of Fame
(the best games)

Download Trial - 200 points - Being ()
Download Trial - 400 points - Blow (Puzzler)
Download Trial - 200 points - bricks 4Ever (breakout/arkanoid clone)
Download Trial - 400 points - CarneyVale Showtime (Swing Platformer)
Download Trial - 200 points - Groov - (twin stick rythim shooter)
Download Trial - 200 points - Johnny Platform's Biscuit Romp (platformer)
Download Trial - 200 points - Miner Dig Deep (Mining Sim)
Download Trial - 200 points - Solar (Gravity Collection Game)
Download Trial - 400 points - Supercow (platformer)
Download Trial - 400 points - Weapon of Choice (Platform Shooter)
Download Trial - 400 points - Word Soup (Word Puzzle)


Mall of Game
(worth playing, maybe buy)

Download Trial - 200 points - A Fading Melody (Artsey Platformer)
Download Trial - 400 points - Battle Havoc (Multiplayer Combat Game/Death Tank)
Download Trial - 800 points - Biology Battle (Twin Stick Shooter)
Download Trial - 400 points - CaveIn - Miner Rescue Team (Puzzle)
Download Trial - 400 points - Colossemum (Action/Combat)
Download Trial - 400 points - Duotrix (Puzzle)
Download Trial - 400 points - Hexothermic (Puzzle)
Download Trial - 400 points - Lines (Puzzle)
Download Trial - 400 points - Loot, Steal n Destroy (Multiplayer Ship Combat)
Download Trial - 200 points - sin(Surfing) (Action)
Download Trial - 200 points - Philip Muwanga's Hexy Trench (Towerdefence RTS)
Download Trial - 400 points - World Revolution (Strategy/War Games)
Download Trial - 400 points - Zoomaroom (Physics Platfro)
Download Trial - 400 points - ZP2K9 (Platforming Combat Game/Smash Bros)


Stall of Blame
(pretty bad, not worth buying but maybe worth playing to see bad design in action)

Download Trial - 400 points - Welcome to Mexico (Platformer)


Wall of Shame
(cancer)

Let me know if there are any additions or changes (best I could do behind my work firewall on my break).[/QUOTE]

 

[Kafel]

Beware, Biology Battle is still 800 points. Too bad.

 

[Gowans]

op updated.

Also picked up Bricks4ever for my bird as she has a phone breakout game then played Peggle and loved it and now she is totally into this. (steals the last block thing from Peggle too).

 

[SickBoy]

I would maybe consider changing the categories a little bit when there's time to think about it:

GAF-made
Hall of Fame
Recommendations (in order of number of recommendations here)
Disputed (games that some recommend and others don't).

This is supposed to be the thread about games that don't suck, so hopefully none of us are downloading the crap

Still, thread is looking good. As I said in the other thread, I think it's good that as a community of gamers we're supporting/promoting the stuff on the service that's actually worth playing.

 

[Speevy]

I think HDTVs are the best thing that ever happened to 2D platformers.

Seeing a massive, expansive stage in front of you is great.

 

[Roquentin]

I think the OP is too hard to read right now. My suggestion for different layout:


Made by GAF members:


Easy Golf by barkers crest - Sports - 400 points - Download Trial

Hit a hole-in-one with Easy Golf! Features: Create and share courses over Xbox Live, 8 player online matches, unlockable character accessories, player statistics, course records, weather conditions and much more! With a Metacritic score of 70, Easy Golf is one of the best values on the Marketplace. Golfers of all skill levels can have a blast with Easy Golf, so get in on the fun today.


​

Snake 360 by yyr - Action - 400 points - Download Trial

Fast-paced arcade-style Snake game with 300 levels, 9 game modes including battle modes for up to 4 players, a Goal Board with 12 unlockable features, Internet Ranking, full 3D graphics and a pumping soundtrack from SCI Recordings featuring almost 30 minutes of music! Many hours of fun and challenge...a great value! For more info, please visit www.snake360.com.


​

 

[PIMPBYBLUD]

I just downloaded Groov. At 200 pts its a fuckin steal. I would have paid 400 for this game. Awesome job, it's really a must download!

 

[SovietStriker]

i downloaded the demo for sin(surf), holy shit that music is awesome!

Miner is pretty cool, and so is that desktop defense ripoff. Didnt buy any XNA games (might buy points card soon though) but am sampling the demos.

All in all pretty cool

 

[Zachack]

I disagree with a lot of those characterizations. That's why I think segmenting things into an official "Best / Better / OK / Bad" list is not as good of an idea as just having everyone recommend what they personally enjoyed.

The problem is that your method ultimately turns this thread into a clogged PYF thread, because by and large everyone is going to say they all enjoyed the stuff in the "best" category like Carnyvale, Miner, or Blow, which is fine at first but by post 200 do we really need people saying how much they like Weapon of Choice? I'm not saying that my categories are necessarily the best idea, but at the same time I'm also taking the ease of access of XNA trials into account. Some of us may not want to (or be able to easily do) add games via the XBL marketplace, and the way that the dashboard is setup doesn't make trying out games as quick and easy as it should be. There are trials that I downloaded that actually annoyed me because of the lost time. I gave you crap in the other thread because you had "A Wizard's Odyssey" in your list, which IMO is a good example of what I'm talking about: it's a big download, it has enough menu stuff to eat a bit of time getting into, and I thought the game was pretty awful.

I ultimately agree with your attitude that everyone should just try everything, but as it stands the service has, in less than 6 months, acquired over 200 games. Until MS gets the lead out and improves the selection mechanisms (both in the dash and on the website), some sort of ranking structure will be needed to direct people who have no experience with CG to stuff that won't immediately turn them away from CG alltogether.

 

[SickBoy]

That's why I think there should be a couple of categories for the most-recommended games, one for stuff that's gotten a few, and then a category specifically for stuff that there's division over.

I don't presume anyone will be recommending pure garbage.

 

[Gowans]

Yeah guys maybe we need a rejigger of the category's, up for any suggestions.

PS: Has anyone bought and checked out SLAM? from the demo it seems ok but slow to get doing, worth a check out I'd say.