As the Xbox One release gets closer, we began to reminisce about the games we’ve spent hours on and have made our Xbox 360 experience enjoyable. Today at TXH we are going to share our top 10 favourite Xbox Live Arcade games. These might not be highly rated, nor big budget titles, but they definitely had an impact on us.
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Neil – So first up, I’ve got to mention Marble Blast Ultra. It wasn’t the first arcade game I bought (I think that honour goes to Bejeweled 2), but it was the first one to grab me in a way no other game had done before it. I remember fondly the days of Marble Madness and I guess the whole marble vibe was the deal sealer for me with Ultra. It handled well, looked beautiful (for the time anyway), and had a learning curve that was just about right for me. None of the levels were too easy, and none had me pulling my hair out in frustration. It was just ‘right’ and had a decent enough number of levels to keep me interested.
Multiplayer was okay at best, but was a little lacking and wouldn’t stand up to the online stuff of today. But I didn’t play it for the multiplayer, I played it to challenge myself with bettering my level times over and over again. Oh, and it was also the first game that made me notice achievements, even though I never did manage to smash the par times in the advanced levels!
It’s just a shame that a petty rights issue forced it off the Xbox Games Store a few years back.
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James – One of my earliest purchases was Peggle, an addictive puzzle game that had me shooting balls all over the place to hit the pegs until they were all gone. It is arguably the only game that has become a family favourite in my house, with even people who once entertained themselves using a wooden yo-yo. Each level was designed to look fresh and later on a few obstacles would mean skill shots were the only way to reach that last peg. Then in super slow-mo you would be in agony as your ball floats past like a rebel.
As well as Adventure mode which invited the player to use the various special powers, there were challenges that seemed endless. It consumed time but I would happily play it all over again right now and fortunately Peggle 2 is in the pipeline. Super excited doesn’t quite explain it!
If there’s one last retro purchase to be made it is this one, go on, do it – Peggle (still holding its value at £6.75).
Neil – Oh my, what a game Peggle is, and I can agree wholeheartedly with James when he says he’s excited for Peggle 2. The first could be happily played for 5 minutes, or 5 hours (usually the latter) and never got boring. You may think that something that involves pressing one button every now and then wouldn’t have a lot to it, but Peggle is something different. Something special!
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Neil – Next on my list is Cloning Clyde. This may come as a surprise to many of you, but it was at a time that I was hitting the arcade hard, and this stood out amongst all the others of it’s time. A 2D side scroller, in which, with the help of numerous clones, you would have to safely guide Clyde to the exit. A very simple premise, but when you throw in the numerous clones that can be made, it’s one that gave me hours of fun. Even after completion, I kept going back for more, using the cheat codes to ‘enhance’ Clyde even more.
Still available on the Xbox Games Store for £3.39, I can guarantee that Clyde and his clones will give you hours of fun and for the price, it’s an amazing deal.
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James – Interpol: The Trail of Dr. Chaos sounds like a very low budget James Bond style game but you’d be half wrong. It is an extremely simple looking object hunt where scenes of crimes appear on the trail and you need to search them for clues. Search the area for the list of items, find them, point and click, there’s no doubt you are thinking that cannot be one of my favourites.
The fact the whole game was co-op added a competitive edge to not only work with a friend to put an end to Dr. Chaos reign of terror but to be the one to find that last mischievous Chinese Lantern hidden behind a grinning cat. A feeling of accomplishment comes over you during the boss level puzzles, I felt ready to take on my next case once Dr. Chaos was caught. Sadly the sequel only made it to PC; however the original is still hanging around, at the bargain price of £3.39, ready to be bought by the next Sherlock wannabe.
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Neil – And then we move on to what is still arguably one of the very best games on XBLA. I’m a big fan of Twisted Pixel and don’t think I’ve ever seen a game come out of their studios that I did not love. Hell, despite it’s flaws, I even liked The Gunstringer! But it’s the original Splosion Man that wins the day and launches it’s way onto the list. I guess it’s the combination of a unique ‘getting around’ mechanic, over 100 levels, an outstanding single player game and a seriously fun coop one, which means Splosion Man will never be far from my mind. It’s just laughs and mayhem from start to finish and that’s something that can be seriously lacking in todays games.
If you’ve yet to experience the world of exploding men, I seriously advise you to check it out. Splosion Man can currently be picked up from the Xbox Games Store for £6.75, and will be possibly the best £6.75 you’ve ever spent on a game. Once you’re done with it, be sure to check out the sequel, Ms Splosion Man as well because that’s almost as good. Just a bit pinker!
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James – I had spent many hours on browser based RPG action games before Torchlight came along to the Xbox Live Arcade and set a new level of brilliance for me in this genre. Featuring beautifully crafted areas, a shed load of loot to find and increasingly difficult enemies, offering quantity in the amount of time that you can spend just on the main quest in addition to quality gameplay. It’s the type where you will just clear out one more area of monsters before switching it off… and then just this cave… maybe one last quest.
Whatever your style of play is, close combat, range or even magical spells it will have a character tree for you to develop. To this day I am still awaiting Torchlight 2 to be ported to XBLA, whether it will or not is a question I do not know the answer to. Spend some time on the first one whilst you wait – Torchlight.
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Neil – I’d also like to make a case for Mercury HG to go onto the list. Maybe a little controversial as there are most definitely ‘better looking’ games out there. There are also games out there that have no doubt had more money thrown at them, but Mercury HG is one of a kind. Graphically, it’s a little like one of my previous entries, Marble Blast, but the similarities end there. The game sees you controlling a blob of mercury around 60 stages by tilting the levels in accordance to where you want the mercury to go. The aim is to get to the other end of the level, simple as. With 4 different goals attainable for each level, the replay value is extremely high and I remember sitting around for hours on end, trying to complete certain levels within a set time, and others without losing an x amount of mercury along the way. The Heavy Elements and Rare Earth Elements DLC packs brought even more things to play around with and increased the game time even more.
With the full game coming in at a little over £3 and the packs retailing for less than £2 each, the game is a bargain for anyone wanting a relaxing few hours. Oh, and I forgot to mention…..the levels ‘dance’ in time to the music whilst you’re playing. What’s not to like?
James – I was rather amazed at the sheer lack of cost for this one, there is a whole lot to do and on the whole it is rather relaxing (until you spend fifty attempts on one level). Not sure what else I could mention that Neil hasn’t already covered except that I paid more attention to this and learnt more about chemical elements than I ever did in Science class at school. What I’m saying is if teachers are reading this… you know what to do!
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James – The original Joe Danger was one of just two games I played on the PlayStation 3, yes I actually found two decent ones. So imagine my child-like excitement when Joe Danger 2: The Movie arrived on the Xbox and whisked me away into a land of big budget films. This time it felt like you were a real movie star, doing stunts in themes similar to Indiana Jones. The amount of levels was boosted by all the additional objectives to complete during them meaning replay-ability extended the fun.
It also unleashed the inner stuntman in me with the Movie Maker mode that allowed the player to create their own stunts. Hop behind the scenes and create a truly wacky course to put your skills to the test. A rare example of a sequel building on the foundations of previous outings and producing an even better game.
Neil – I think this is one I need to go back and visit again. I really liked the first (at least the first on Xbox, I never experienced the dark side), but for one reason or another, never really got into the sequel, probably due to having too much else to play at the time. I vaguely remember liking what I saw, but on this occasion will have to bow to James’ better judgement.
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Neil – And then we get on to the biggy. What I personally class as the daddy of all Xbox Live Arcade games.
Sometimes, a game comes along on the arcade that is so good, so gorgeous and so addictive that no matter how hard you try, you just can’t leave it alone. A game that really belies it arcade status and could quite easily have dropped as a full retail title.
Step forward (or rather shuffle forward!), The Walking Dead Season 1. Stunning. Amazing. Heart wrenching. All in one go!
Having never watched the TV show or read the comic, I was a little slow to the Walking Dead party. I picked the game up in a sale knowing next to nothing about it, and paid around 1000 Microsoft points for all 5 episodes, with the first one dropping for free. What a bloody bargain that turned out to be. I was hooked from near enough the first minute, felt a love towards many of the characters and shed a tear when it came to say ‘goodbye’ to them. It’s a game that I recommend to anyone and everyone who asks what XBLA they should play, and with the latest 400 days DLC pack add-on, there’s even more to it.
The GOTY Edition of Season 1 and a new series in Season 2 have both been mentioned on this very site in the last few weeks and that’s something I really cannot wait for.
If there is only one game for you to play from the arcade, then The Walking Dead Season 1 should be that game. You won’t regret it.
James – Looking at this from the other side I was well into Season 3 of the american television adaptation before even taking a look at this game centered around different main characters whilst seeing a couple of familiar faces. I immediately purchased every episode of DLC and although I haven’t finished it, what I have done has been an emotional rollercoaster. Seriously do not miss this.
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James – There was a time when every man, woman and child collected Pokémon cards but most had no clue what you actually did with them. I was one of those who just loved them for being shiny until a few years later Magic the Gathering 2013 found itself on my console. It wasn’t until the follow-up game Magic 2014 that I truly understand the art of playing these types of cards. The strategy involved in playing not only the hand you’re given but also the hand of your opponent is a real mental test.
By finding the right deck of magical cards, you felt comfortable in taking on the world via multiplayer and every evil being in the game. No doubt there was a bit of luck involved in winning a match, however every duel was varied and could change in the blink of an eye. It taught me patience, enhanced my memory as I racked my brain for what could come out next and most importantly it was enjoyable to play even when you got torn apart.
Should you fancy testing your mental toughness then it’s only £6.75 for the full game and hours will pass you by.
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So that’s it. Our top 10 XBLA titles that have served as so well over the last seven or so years on the Xbox 360. Do you agree or disagree with any of the entrants? Let us know in the comment below or on our various social media outlets.
Let’s hope the next seven produce just as many great games.
