XBLA game recommendations

[Eticket]

Tecmo Bowl Throwback is worth a mention.

No license, but all the ratings are exact from '93 and there are rosters out there so you can get the player names fixed.

[Atreides]

From Major Nelson:

New releases:
August 25 - Shank, Scott Pilgrim, Snoopy Flying Aces DLC

Xbox Live Deal of the Week:
Week of August 23:
* BioShock 2 Rapture Metro, 400 Microsoft Points
* BioShock 2 Sinclair Solutions Tester Pack, 240 Microsoft

Week of August 30:
* Zeno Clash Ultimate Edition, 800 Microsoft Points
* Alien Breed Episode 1, :400 Microsoft points
* Galaga Legions, 400 Microsoft Points


I guess I might finally buy Zeno Clash's full version for 10 bucks, I tried the demo for Alien Breed and it seemed like it might be fun with 2 people but eh.

Looks like no Hydrophobia until after this month

[Dontkare]

Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance

Did they add a port of this? When? Granted it's my least favorite of the GBA castlevanias. I want to see a Circle of the Moon port :D

[Kaisha]

He likely confused the title with the recently released Harmony of Despair.

[Dontkare]

Oh hurr forgot it's called that. Harmony of Despair is a little underwhelming. I get what they were going for, but it doesn't feel like Castlevania to me, which is was I was hoping for.

[Atreides]

oh whoops, I fixed it

There is a port of Symphony of the Night on XBLA btw, I dunno if it's the cool Saturn version with the extra content though.

[Dontkare]

Yeah I got the SotN, would be sweet to see more ports though. I guess I could always download them for an emulator but I like playing through old games on the 360 just to get the new achievements

[Atreides]

so... I played the demo, and Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is really good. It's like what you'd expect if they made those twin-stick zombie shooting action games and turned it into a full fledged action adventure game, the puzzles are really neat and there's loads of collectibles and upgrades too. I normally don't like paying 15 bucks but I'm definitely considering biting on this, I liked it that much.

Anyone get the full version of Lara Croft yet? Supposedly the multiplayer is really good and the game is about 6 hours long, with 5 DLC packs on the way (Xbox users will apparently get the first for free, for 30 days after it comes out).

Reviews are really good too, currently 88 on metacritic
http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-...critic-reviews

[Atreides]

and here, a preview for Hydrophobia. Game looks so fucking awesome, I really can't wait til it comes out

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/pr...ophobia/703202

[Doombear]

so... I played the demo, and Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is really good. It's like what you'd expect if they made those twin-stick zombie shooting action games and turned it into a full fledged action adventure game, the puzzles are really neat and there's loads of collectibles and upgrades too. I normally don't like paying 15 bucks but I'm definitely considering biting on this, I liked it that much.

Anyone get the full version of Lara Croft yet? Supposedly the multiplayer is really good and the game is about 6 hours long, with 5 DLC packs on the way (Xbox users will apparently get the first for free, for 30 days after it comes out).

Reviews are really good too, currently 88 on metacritic
http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-...critic-reviews

Played the Demo, and I really quite liked it. The Multiplayer on the demo at least was local only. Is that the case with the full game as well? Not online? Either way, the game feels, looks and plays great! If anyone is on the fence and hasn't played the demo, that will likely convince you.

[Atreides]

online multiplayer is being added on September 28th supposedly, I think the reason they're offering the first DLC episode free on XBLA is to make up for not having it at launch? Idk, I'm definitely gonna buy it this week and play through it single player, then just wait til after the DLC comes out to play it again MP.

[Atreides]

Lara croft is getting some great reviews, I really can't wait til my points card ($16.54 on amazon!) gets here next week so I can get it. GT review if anyone wants more info:
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/re...a-croft/703356

Looks like this game could be up on Shadow Complex/Castle Crashers tier. Whee~

[Atreides]

fucking sweet, thanks for pointing this out Qalbert

http://kotaku.com/5617364/we-get-a-s...uel-next-month

Deathspank sequel, 50% longer adventure than the first game. I guess it's not that surprising considering how the first one ended, but I didn't think we'd get the new one so soon. 15 bucks again, I need so many fucking points over the next 2 months (like 5200 lol)

[Qalbert]

Deathspank II: Thongs of Virtue just got announced for next month. Was apparently in simultaneous development with the first.

In one of the fastest sequel turnarounds you'll see in gaming, last month's fun and funny fantasy action game DeathSpank will be succeeded in September by DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue. It turns out they were making two DeathSpanks all along.

The new DeathSpank, Thongs of Virtue, is a promised 50% longer new adventure that brings the first game's ridiculous and overconfident swordsman into strange new settings, from the one teased at the end of the first game (and shown in the image atop this post), to the high seas, the North Pole and elsewhere.

The downloadable game, which was being made at the same time as the first DeathSpank, will launch on the PlayStation 3's PlayStation Network on September 21 and follow on the Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade a day later.

"There will be more adventure and puzzle questing in this game, but the hack and slash remains," producer Hamish Millar at development studio Hothead Gmes told Kotaku in an interview about the sequel. The gameplay mechanics and style won't be different. Thongs of Virtue, like its predecessor is a cartoonish comedic riff on the kill-fest and loot-collecting of Diablo. But the occasional adventure-game-style puzzle from the first game — combine this inventory item with that one to satisfy this farmer's request in order to open this gate, for example — will be more pronounced.

Millar isn't just promising that the game will be longer. He promises it'll be funnier. Of all things, we might consult the Thongs of Virtue press release to test that boast. It describes the plot of the game: "A long time ago, nine mystical thongs were planned to bring balance and harmony to the universe, but when marketing got in the way, only six thongs were produced, and the result was disastrous. Granting great power to those who wear them, the thongs corrupted all those they touched—except DeathSpank. DeathSpank must find all six thongs and destroy them once and for all." That's not proof, but there is potential."

The plot technically follows the events of the first game, but Hothead producers told Kotaku that gamers can comfortably play Thongs of Virtue without playing the original. They'll just miss some background references.

The first DeathSpank was promoted as the brainchild of Hothead and Secret of Monkey Island designer Ron Gilbert. Gilbert's involvement was supposed to be a guarantee that the game was funny. "Ron is as involved in this [new DeathSpank] as he was in the first one," Millar said. "The humor didn't just come from Ron. We have a huge amount of the personality of the team injected into the game.

The two DeathSpanks were made in parallel at Hothead, with the added time for the second ensuring that the new game could be bigger. That creation schedule does't mean that the new game could incorporate much of the fan feedback toward the first one, though. Thongs of Virtue won't reflect any major changes demanded by the DeathSpank public. Online multiplayer, for example, still won't be in the game, though the off-line two-player co-op will now allow the second player to alternate between two characters, conrollingthe returning Sparkles the Wizard or using — quoting the press release again — "the ninjatastic Kung Fu moves of DeathSpank's new partner in crime, Steve."

Players won't bring their progress from the first game. DeathSpank sequel players start leveling their hero up from scratch.

Because it depicts into more modern settings, the new game will introduce a greater percentage of projectile weapons to its arsenal (translation: DeathSpank gets guns).

One other small change: DeathSpank will sail a pirate ship.

Thongs of Virtue will sell for the same price as the original, $15 on PSN or XBLA. Millar acknowledged that Hothead is "seeing some demand" for a PC version, a natural given DeathSpank's PC adventure-game and Diablo roots, but he said Hothead is focused on the two consoles it is supporting for the series. A PC release and any third game in the series are hypothetical, to be released if the gaming market demands them

gdi atre

[Octavious]

Castle Crashers, Warlords (Awesome Atari remake), Castlevania: HD

[Mizango]

Ive been playing alot of Tombraider GoL and Limbo, both are fantastic games.

[Atreides]

my only problem with Limbo is that it's 15 bucks for only around 3 hours of gameplay, without all that much replay value. I definitely want to play it but I'll probably wait for when there's not so much stuff I need points for.

[Kyo]

Ive been playing alot of Tombraider GoL and Limbo, both are fantastic games.

Co-signing, new tomb raider is tits, some of the plate spike puzzles have made me rage, but Im really enjoying it.

[Atreides]

bought Zeno Clash for 800 points, normally 1200 but it's on sale this week. This game is WEIRD as hell but really cool. It's a first-person brawler with some guns, the gameplay is really fun and the story is oddly engrossing. Definitely worth trying the demo at least.

It's published by Atlus but developed by Ace Team, who have a sequel in the works as well as the Rock of Ages game they teased at E3.

[Atreides]

lots of XBLA news from Major Nelson today:

Here is a list of upcoming content scheduled for the Xbox LIVE Marketplace*

Please see the blog post I’ll make for each of these for pricing and/or regional availability.

Dead Rising 2: Case Zero (400 Points) is now available exclusively on Xbox LIVE and Games for Windows LIVE. Any status and items you earn in Case Zero will carry over to the full game of Dead Rising 2 when it releases next month.

This year’s Summer of Arcade may be over, but you still have time to reap some rewards. Purchase all five featured titles before August 31, 2010 11:59pm EST and receive 1200 Microsoft Points for free! Or, purchase at least three Summer of Arcade games and receive 400 Microsoft Points. Details here.


It’s time for some Fall fun with The Game Feast. Starting September 29 through October 20 we’ve got a solid line up of XBLA games:
September 29: Hydrophobia, 1200 Microsoft Points
October 6: Comic Jumper, 1200 Microsoft Points
October 13: Pinball FX 2, Tables purchased individually, free import from original Pinball FX
October 20: Super Meat Boy, Pricing TBD


From September 17 (12pm ET / 9am PT/1600 GMT) through September 20 (12pm ET /9am PT/1600 GMT) Xbox LIVE Silver members can take advantage of industry-leading multiplayer, not to mention exclusive access to movies, TV shows, music and friends via Netflix, Last.fm, Facebook and more. These Gold-only features will be available all weekend long for the whole Xbox LIVE community.


Xbox LIVE Arcade:
September 8: Plants vs. Zombies, 1200 Microsoft Points
September 8: Dance! It’s your Stage, 800 Microsoft Points
September 15: Sonic Adventure, 800 Microsoft Points


Xbox LIVE Deal of the Week** :
Week of September 5th: Select Resident Evil content
Week of September 13:
BUST-A-MOVE Live!, 400 Microsoft Points
Gyromancer, 800 Microsoft Points
Tower Bloxx Deluxe, 400 Microsoft Points
Puzzle Chronicles, 400 Microsoft Points
**Special pricing available for Xbox LIVE Gold Members


Xbox Game Add-Ons
September 2: Crackdown 2 Toy Box available at no cost to Crackdown 2 owners; 560 Microsoft Points for additional content and available worldwide
September 7: Mass Effect 2 Lair of the Shadow Broker , 800 Microsoft Points
September 7: Dragon Age: Origins Witch Hunt , 560 Microsoft Points
September 7: Rock Band Snoop Dog 8 Single Tracks, 160 Microsoft Points for each track and available worldwide

Hydrophobia and the ME2 DLC are definites for me, and I've been waiting a long time for Gyromancer to go down so I'll definitely be picking that up as well. I'll probably skip sonic adventure, but it's nice to see it finally coming to XBLA.