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Lesser known XBLA title recommendations

What, and WHY? No lists.

I wanna spend 2400 on a few arcade games, but I've got all the big titles already. I'm getting Scott Pilgrim, so I've got 1600 left to spend so I figured I'd spend it on a couple of lesser known titles. GripShift is winning in my head at the moment, with Axel and Pixel also a consideration if it's good. What other games are worth looking at?

Games that people don't recommend in these threads every single time :D
 
Super Puzzle Fighter 2 is an addictive little puzzle game. Definently work a look if your into those type of games. Outrun is also a good choice if your looking for a fun arcade romp.
 

Sew

Member
If you're into board game conversions and that sort of thing (think Carcassonne) check out an Indie game called Ancient Trader. review

(I'm sure it would have been hyped in the official XBLA Indie thread but I haven't read it for a few months.)
 

kadotsu

Banned
Switchball 800 Allards - Like Marble Madness with more emphasis on puzzling
Exit 1 and 2 800 Allards + DLC - Excellent puzzle game with a alot of content. The controls are a little bit shacky. Try the demo. The second game is better.
Eets: Chowdown 800 Allards + DLC - A great puzzle game from the devs that went on to make Shank. IMO its the best game they made
 
truth-lasers said:
Space Giraffe, 400 points.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijpYa9Lx3lU

Read Stuart Campbells review here.
Got

squ said:
Got

riceandbeans said:
Super Puzzle Fighter 2 is an addictive little puzzle game. Definently work a look if your into those type of games. Outrun is also a good choice if your looking for a fun arcade romp.
Got :)

kadotsu said:
Switchball 800 Allards - Like Marble Madness with more emphasis on puzzling
Exit 1 and 2 800 Allards + DLC - Excellent puzzle game with a alot of content. The controls are a little bit shacky. Try the demo. The second game is better.
Eets: Chowdown 800 Allards + DLC - A great puzzle game from the devs that went on to make Shank. IMO its the best game they made
Ah, Switchball and Exit 2 are definite considerations. I've got Exit and Eets. Cheers!

Sew said:
If you're into board game conversions and that sort of thing (think Carcassonne) check out an Indie game called Ancient Trader. review

(I'm sure it would have been hyped in the official XBLA Indie thread but I haven't read it for a few months.)
:lol
 

C4Lukins

Junior Member
Chime
Rocket Riot
A kingdom for Keflings
Catan
Cloning Clyde
Heavy Weapon
N+
Outpost Kaloki X
Poker Smash
Puzzle Fighter HD
Risk Factions
Roogoo
Tecmo Bowl Throwback
The Maw
The Misadventures of PB.........

Normally I would recommend the two Geo Wars games first. But I thought I would make a list of the games that are not typically mentioned as top tier XBLA games. And all of these games are awesome.
 

BiggNife

Member
After Burner Climax: An absolutely fantastic arcade shooter with an amazing sense of speed. It's very short but it's the kind of game that's meant to be played a ton of times for high scores, special paths, etc.

You might want to look at some of the Arkedo Series Indie games. In particular, PIXEL! is pretty rad because it's got a fantastic visual style plus entertaining platforming: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mdrag9lynQ

t C4Lukins: He said no lists.
 
BiggNife said:
After Burner Climax: An absolutely fantastic arcade shooter with an amazing sense of speed. It's very short but it's the kind of game that's meant to be played a ton of times for high scores, special paths, etc.
Yes! You can never have enough After Burner Climax.

Also, check out Space Invaders Extreme.
 
Greed Corp

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greed1.jpg


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Gel Set & Match: The action mode is absolutely awesome. You're basically connecting 4 blocks to try and clear the way for a big ass tank that will blow up if it hits the blocks, making for a really fast paced, fun puzzle game. It also has a pretty run of the mill puzzle mode, which is pretty cool for a more relaxed slower pace, but action mode is about the most instant, pulse-pounding puzzle fix you can find.

Ticket to Ride: I remember seeing the achievement icon and name on my friends' gamertags and thinking "Wtf is this shit about? Trains? Fuck trains! Fuck this game!" Then, in the heat of my moment of inexplicable train bias, I tried the demo and absolutely loved it. The art of blocking other players' routes and the satisfaction of completing your own is really something special, going from Seattle to New York is just a total "Fuck yeah!" moment every time.
 

Snuggles

erotic butter maelstrom
Tetris Splash.

Presentation is kinda 'bleh', but that's what custom soundtracks are for. The best and the only way to play Tetris on XBLA.
 

V_Arnold

Member
Defense Grid.
Because it can get hard, and it is not short. And it has good replayability. And you will have to use your brain cells to beat it.
 

Persona7

Banned
I second Ticket to ride.

It may take an hour or so to get into it at first, but it is fantastic.

ALSO

Commanders Attack of the genos
 
Age of Booty
The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom (like Braid but without the pretense)
Chime
The Maw
RooGoo
Lucidity (it's not great in terms of game play but it does a fantastic job at telling a story)
 

SapientWolf

Trucker Sexologist
sweetvar26 said:
Greed Corp

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greed1.jpg


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Yes, this. It's right up there with Catan and Carcassone. The chain-able, collapsing levels make for some really great moments. The tutorial is nearly worthless so you'll have to learn as you go, but it's well worth it.

Schizoid is a great co-op game, but it can be played in singleplayer if you can control two ships at once. Death Tank is a brilliant multiplayer title that's sort of like real time Worms. Wik Fable of Souls is worth a look if you're a fan of Bionic Commando.
 
D

Deleted member 1235

Unconfirmed Member
hello friend

have you heard about super meatboy?

because if you don't play it, you're whats wrong with gaming. Everyone should blind buy full price and rate it 5 stars before they even play it, because its that good.
 

Larsen B

Member
I'm probably one of the very, very few people who bought Gyromancer and even fewer people who thinks it is really great.

Made by Square Enix and Popcap, it's Bejewelled mixed with an RPG where you choose from three monsters and take them into "combat", much like Puzzle Quest.

Also echoing the Zeno Clash recommendation. Loved on the PC but hugely overlooked on XBLA.
 

Shard

XBLAnnoyance
Panzer General: Allied Assault
Tactical based card game, unquie and rather fun if you are into this sort of thing

Jetpac Refueled
One of the better remakes on the XBLA, fun and addictive, and only 400 MS Points

Switchball
A marble game in the vein of the Marble Blast, though slower and more focused on puzzles.

Lazy Raiders
A very polished and fun puzzle game, vastly overlooked at the time of released.

Carcassonne
XBLA adaptation of the German-style board game, quicker then Catan and also has local multiplayer.

Schizoid
I'll be honest, this one you should only consider if you have a friend willing to play with you, one of the better co-op experiences on XBLA, but the thing is it is all co-op.

Space Invaders Infinity Gene
Worlds better then the janky XBLA release of Space Invader Extreme, frantic as all hell, Space Invaders for the modern era.

Wik and the Fable of Souls
Charming little platform game from around the XBLA launch era, still stands out with its mechanic of only using acrobatics and grappling.

Lode Runner
A pit on the pricy side at 1200 MS Points, but still a damn good version of the classic Lode Runner, with all of the XBLA accoutrements one could expect.

Trigger Heart Excellica
XBLA version of a Dreamcast shump, admittedly not as good as Omega Five or Ikaruga, but still a good bull-hell vertical shooter.
 
I really like Marble Blast Ultra. At least I did back when it was released. I haven't played it in a long time, but I hope it still holds up.
 

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
wwm0nkey said:
Street Trace NYC

street_trace_nyc_xbox_live_arcade__1_.jpg


Reminds me of Twisted Metal a bit but its still a VERY fun game that was completely over looked.

I've gone through the entire XBLA list like three or four times and played probably 75% of the games on XBLA and I've literally never heard of this. :p
 

wwm0nkey

Member
Stumpokapow said:
I've gone through the entire XBLA list like three or four times and played probably 75% of the games on XBLA and I've literally never heard of this. :p
A lot of people hated it lol, really dont get why, I though it was a pretty fun for $10
 

besiktas1

Member
Shard said:
Switchball - A marble game in the vein of the Marble Blast, though slower and more focused on puzzles.

Probably my favourite XBLA game (though I got it on PSN lol) got really frustrating at the end, and as for the end,
nothing to show for my pain. Not even a congratulations text and unskipable credits. I just wanted it to give me something damn it!!! :lol was so upset. Beat the final level, got ready to moonwalk during the credits music but NOTHING!!!! grrrrr

I love it.
 
Cheers for suggestions, I have literally got nearly all of them already :lol

Switchball is a winner though, I remember playing the trial of that years back and thinking it were alreet.

GripShift too. And Scott Pilgrim.

That's me done!

Kinda want Omega 5 and Exit 2 and Gel too though. Bad thread. Now I need another offer!

Thanks for indie game suggestions too. I know about them all, and they don't count for the offer, but it's nice that people are thinking of them :D
 

ShapeGSX

Member
Boom Boom Rocket - It is basically DDR, but you play by hitting AXBY buttons or the D-pad. And it gets fast enough that you have to use both. You can also use a guitar controller. The graphics have you flying around a virtual city, setting off fireworks with your button presses. You have to time the button presses to when the firework crosses a line on the screen. But some of the fireworks travel faster than others. All of the music is classical, which seems to go really well with the fireworks theme. The versus local multiplayer is great and addictive.

http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Product/Boom-Boom-Rocket/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d8025841086a
 

Rlan

Member
From my Overlooked games of 2009 article:

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Command & Conquer - Red Alert 3: Commander’s Challenge (Electronic Arts, XBLA / PSN)

Over the past decade companies have been trying to find a way of making real-time strategy games on consoles – we’ve seen Halo Wars, Lord Of The Rings and Command & Conquer take a jab at it, but there is still a lot of insecurity about whether it works on a console and not a PC.

Many people think the genre doesn't work on consoles just by looking at it. The high tier PC players will talk about their short-cut keys and elaborate strategies and already they’ve lost you.

In comes Commander’s Challenge, an XBLA and PSN version of Red Alert 3’s expansion pack. This was a set of missions that let new players slowly understand and unlock new weapons, while also ramping up the difficulty over 50 missions. For a measly ten dollars it has a lot of content – 50 missions is not a light amount, the game took me a good 10 hours or more to get through, and then I went back to try and compete old levels with my unlocked weaponry.

It’s the perfect setup for anyone who’s been afraid of trying a console RTS, but it seems like it was still ignored. Having not played an RTS since Warcraft 2, I was able to jump in and enjoy the hell out of this game, and now I’m looking to go back and grabbing Red Alert 3 and C&C3 on the Xbox 360.

The biggest thing holding it back is the file size – 2GB is a large chunk for anyone who still has a 20GB hard drive on the Xbox 360, but for anyone else – if you’ve even thought of trying a console RTS at some point, download the demo of Commander’s Challenge.

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Lode Runner (Tozai Games, XBLA)

Lode Runner XBLA is a great revitalization of the series – it’s has a ton of levels to complete, numerous modes to play, online cooperative play and you can create your own levels. It’s got everything you’d want in a Lode Runner game.

Unfortunately its release was a troubled one – the game was announced at being a $15 title, a little expensive but it had a lot of content to back it up. But due to a screw up on Microsoft’s behalf it was accidentally released at $10 for the first 10 hours of release, and was then hiked back up to $15 once the problem was fixed.

This caused an instant backlash on the developer and Microsoft, and basically made a lot of people not want to pick up the game, and wait for a price drop at a later date. It’s sad to see a mistake like this causing such a problem. There was a price drop later on, but few people picked it up as the newer titles got top billing.

Definitely give the demo a go though, it's still tons of fun and perfect for some coop play with the missus.

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Rocket Riot (Codeglue / THQ, XBLA)

A twin stick shooter of sorts, Rocket Riot is a game with a funny premise, cute character designs and is a lot of fun to play. So what happened?

Basically, Rocket Riot just took an awful long time to come out. With a lack of promotion of THQ’s behalf (alongside the Major Nelson blog not announcing it for its week of release), few people knew it came out. The only thing it had was buzz from some website editors who had been playing it on a development system, and absolutely loved it.

The game had been done for an awful long time, it just had to come out, and in a week that included several other high profile titles , it got thrown under the bus.

It's still quite fun to play, you may not find much of an on-line audience anymore, but grab a few friends around an Xbox 360 and you'll have a blast. Download the demo here.

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Axel & Pixel (Silver Wish Games / 2K Play, XBLA)

With the event of Secret Of Monkey Island: Special Edition on XBLA, you’d think that more point-and-click adventures might be viable on the platform, but it seems there might be a ways to go before that happens. Case in point – Axel & Pixel.

The journey of a nonsensical artist and his dog companion, Axel & Pixel is a mixture of point-and-click adventure and a hidden object game, wrapped in a bizarre and fascinating art style. The game is filled with character and was plenty of fun to play through.

Its problem was getting out just what it was. The game didn’t have a trailer until about a week before it came out, and the 2K Play label never really had much dealings with the gaming press either with their previous titles being Dora The Explorer or Carnival Games.

But for a simple point-and-click adventure it was great, and I had fun playing it. I hope Silver Wish Studios continue on this trend, or release a PC version onto Steam. For now, download the demo.

And absolutely Gripshift. It and Pac Man CE were some of the first games that really got me thinking about the XBLA.
 

DaBuddaDa

Member
Rocket Riot is a riot (lolol) but the online is dead as a doornail, which kind of defeats the purpose. Single player just isn't the same.
 
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