Official Xbox Live Arcade Thread

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snatches said:
Yeah, I downloaded Cloning Clyde based on some positive impressions here and the game is fantastic. Great sense of humor and a much bigger game experience for the money than a lot of other XBLA titles.

Support the indie community on Live. The retro games are alright but the future of indie development could be huge on XBLA.
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I had 850 points left when I played the demo of Clyde and I ended up grabbing it within a half an hour. It's the best game I've played on Live so far outside of Marble and Geometry.

It's like Oddworld mixed with Donkey Kong Country with a bit of Earthworm Jim like humor and graphics thrown into the mix. You CAN'T go wrong.
 
My daughter and I just did two-player co-op on Cloning Clyde. Just went through the training level since she's still learning to use a controller, but we had a blast. She got the hang of the controls and was jumping off ladders, picking me up and throwing me, jumping onto the platforms pretty good.

Probably better than sp0rks as this point. :D
 
okay i am ****ing DONE with frogger

i need 2 more achievements: level 5 and 30,000 points in online co-op

now as far as the online co-op one goes, it's SO hard to find a non-laggy game.

as far as the level 5 achievement goes, they REALLY did a sloppy job with the controls. or maybe the 360 d-pad is just THAT bad. if it's the d-pad, then 360 without question has one of the worst d-pads in history.

i press a direction twice sometimes and no response. i press up and i go right, which is probably because of the d-pad.

uggghhh.

and the enhanced graphics could have been a LOT better.

.. but i cant stop playing it because i want the achievements
 
omg rite said:
okay i am ****ing DONE with frogger

i need 2 more achievements: level 5 and 30,000 points in online co-op

now as far as the online co-op one goes, it's SO hard to find a non-laggy game.

as far as the level 5 achievement goes, they REALLY did a sloppy job with the controls. or maybe the 360 d-pad is just THAT bad. if it's the d-pad, then 360 without question has one of the worst d-pads in history.

i press a direction twice sometimes and no response. i press up and i go right, which is probably because of the d-pad.

uggghhh.

and the enhanced graphics could have been a LOT better.

.. but i cant stop playing it because i want the achievements
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use the analog stick... i get better accuracy from it. i need 3 more achievements, level 4, level 5 and 30k co-op. i can see myself beating the 4 & 5, but i would have to agree w/ you, the lag sucks. it's just bad network code in general. i'm hoping they have an autoupdate soon.
 
The 360 dpad isn't very responsive, if you press the button in a bit rough it goes in just fine, I believe it was said that it has a 'sensor' that is responsive once held in, but not for light taps so much, it's why combos in games like doa4 aren't hard to do while pressing up up up in frogger is a bitch to do.

I got used to the frogger controls but I will admit, the 360 dpad needs work. I got all the achievements in it, level 5 wasn't too hard.
 
I thought I had found a great buy from an impromptu stop by Wal-Mart today: A 12-month starter kit for XBox Live Gold for 360 for $20. Woo! The $20 rebate has expired, but the free Arcade game, 200 points and 12-month member extension for $20 is a great deal. I resubscribed a few months ago, but this will just be tacked on to the end of that subscription.

However.

I just spent 30 minutes punching in those giant codes. It took that long because they errored out a few times. I started with the XBox Live 12-Month extension. That ran into an error while processing. It put up an error number, but I didn't write it down. That may be a mistake, because upon punching the code in again, I'm told it's invalid now. :(

On to the second item: the free Live Arcade game - Bankshot Billiards 2. That goes just fine, and I start downloading it. While it's downloading in the background (yay dash update!) I start to enter in the 200 points card.

That one errors out. I punch it in again, from scratch. It works! Points added to the account. The next message, displayed immidiately after that one, is that the pool game cannot be fully downloaded. Um, what?

The game does not show up on my Arcade game list. So I punch in the code again. The code is no longer valid.

So for my $20 I got 200 points worth $2.50. Owned? Probably. I'm calling tech support tomorrow. Dammit.
 
GhaleonEB said:
I thought I had found a great buy from an impromptu stop by Wal-Mart today: A 12-month starter kit for XBox Live Gold for 360 for $20. Woo! The $20 rebate has expired, but the free Arcade game, 200 points and 12-month member extension for $20 is a great deal. I resubscribed a few months ago, but this will just be tacked on to the end of that subscription.

However.

I just spent 30 minutes punching in those giant codes. It took that long because they errored out a few times. I started with the XBox Live 12-Month extension. That ran into an error while processing. It put up an error number, but I didn't write it down. That may be a mistake, because upon punching the code in again, I'm told it's invalid now. :(

On to the second item: the free Live Arcade game - Bankshot Billiards 2. That goes just fine, and I start downloading it. While it's downloading in the background (yay dash update!) I start to enter in the 200 points card.

That one errors out. I punch it in again, from scratch. It works! Points added to the account. The next message, displayed immidiately after that one, is that the pool game cannot be fully downloaded. Um, what?

The game does not show up on my Arcade game list. So I punch in the code again. The code is no longer valid.

So for my $20 I got 200 points worth $2.50. Owned? Probably. I'm calling tech support tomorrow. Dammit.
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Our local Walmart has never dropped the Starter kit's price less than $70. How did you get so lucky?
 
GhaleonEB said:
The game does not show up on my Arcade game list. So I punch in the code again. The code is no longer valid.

So for my $20 I got 200 points worth $2.50. Owned? Probably. I'm calling tech support tomorrow. Dammit.
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Not possible to just select "download again" on the marketplace? Start a download once and it's forever tied to your gamertag regardless of rebate codes. As it is, you most likely still have it incomplete on your harddrive which will resume once you continue downloading.
 
Seriously, the old arcade games are a nice suppliment to Live Arcade, but more originol stuff is needed.

I can't believe after all the consoles I've owned since Atari 2600 that a decent D-pad is still out of reach at the moment.

Nintendos D-pads are all rediculously small, Xbox & 360's don't seem to hit every angle and aren't always correct in angle positioning, and the PS D-pads which are probably the best option right now are reall great for blisters and need a smoother pad.

Oh well go Galaga!
 
Cloning Clyde is relaxing and funny. It clearly comes from the "downloadable PC games" mindset rather than the console platformer one.
 
Sweet, I desperately need it for Frogger, lol.

My high is only 10,000 andI can't see getting much past it without a good D-pad, the analog stick I can't move fast enough.
 
Frogger has shitty controls by nature, and they've come through untouched in the XBLA version. A better controller isn't going to do much to change that, unfortunately.
 
I just use an analogue stick for Frogger.

Been on the phone with tech support for 46 minutes now....got everything working but the 200 points and the guy drops me by accident trying to pull in his manger. Time to call back. :lol

(I thought the 200 points worked last night, as I was given the "points added" message, but my balance hasn't actually changed. When I enter it, it's invalid. But tech saw it as a valid, unused card on their end. WTF.)
 
I got back to service, and got another rep. He said he'd taken five calls today about people having issues with points purchases. Apparantly everyone who purchased points last night during a brief window - an hour or so - had the points fail to charge. This was the first time someone had called with a pre-paid point card.

He transferred me to a supervisor. She went into the "Okay, sir this is what we are going to do to help you...." and I'm thinking she will give me the pionts. Then she says, "...I'm going to refer your case to Microsoft and someone will do a callback in the next 72 hours." I was so surprised I said something along the lines of, "Okay...." She said, "Sir, it's points." As if that's all that needed to be said.

At any rate, everyone was friendly and knew what they were doing. It's just funny that we've spen a good half hour on the phone, and now a three-day callback window, to troubleshoot 200 points, which is $2.50. :lol
 
joaomgcd said:
LakeEarth, aren't you going to buy Cloning Clyde? It's better than Feeding Frenzy ;)
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I'll get Cloning Clyde sooner or later. Just my life's a little busy right now, and that's my cousin playing Feeding Frenzy. Hey, someone's gotta get 40000 pieces in the foodbank.
 
Anyone see the new Small Arms screens blim posted over at Xboxyde? Looks great, imo.

1118_0002.jpg


1118_0001.jpg


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And here's a video of it in action.



Looks like a Power Stone/SSMB kind of game.
 
you just need a torx drill set. They sell for about $10 (in Australia) in most places like kmart (which is the equivilent of walmart over here), so i certainly wouldnt recommend importing such a simple tool from hong kong :)
Most auto parts and hardware stores carry these as well.
 
Yeah I forgot Lik-Sang's free shipping only applies to game software, I just ended up buying it from the website that beermonkey gave me. Thanks :)
 
Mike G.E.D. said:
Yeah I forgot Lik-Sang's free shipping only applies to game software, I just ended up buying it from the website that beermonkey gave me. Thanks :)
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You could have gotten it from Sears or any major hardware store. It isn't as rare an item as you might think.
 
Aaron said:
You could have gotten it from Sears or any major hardware store. It isn't as rare an item as you might think.
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Again, the bit is pretty fat...I'm not 100% sure that it will fit the deep recesses. A key or a precision screwdriver will be skinnier. I'm not sure if Sears has a hollow T8 that is skinny. Non-hollow, fat T8s are common, but that may not do it. That Titan set is pretty sweet...it even starts at T6, where some sets start at T7.
 
First Frogger and now Galaga...these classic arcade releases are making me realize just how much I suck at these games. I guess when I was 5 I thought I was the **** but it's clear that I am weaksauce...

I am *lovin'* Galaga though. At least there's more of a background than a nondescript rainbow starfield (Konami, I'm lookin' at you). Instant purchase.
 
I could not find one game I wanted to play last night so I booted up Hardwood Spades. I bought it when I was off work over winter break and only played it once so far.

This game has to possess the worst AI I have seen in the history of video games. It's impossible to play a single player game. I was trying to get the nil achievement and my AI partner everytime would just lead with the 5 of Clubs or some insane crap like that. He would also decide to bid 8 and proceed to only get one trick. Does anyone know how these systems are programmed (if they are at all)?

Online was just as bad. I was against two dudes following each other around to ranked games. I had a partner come in, bid 9 after 10 tricks were already called by the other players and then just quit. So I was stuck playing with the super awesome CPU again.
 
Well, this article is disappointing.

For a variety of reasons, it seems Microsoft isn't that interested in making Live Arcade a legitimate indie distribution system. Choice quotes include:

IGN Article said:
Developing a game for Xbox Live Arcade can cost a few hundred thousand dollars and take a small group of passionate game makers anywhere between 4-6 months to develop and test the title.

...

Xbox Live Arcade is a managed portfolio, which means that only certain concepts are accepted, and approval is based on the ongoing needs of the Arcade service and the gamer.

...

Creative, innovative concepts that utilize features like Xbox Live multiplayer, co-op play, downloadable content and use of the upcoming Xbox Live Vision camera are all desired and help set your concept apart from the rest. Due to the volume of concept submissions, don't be surprised if it takes a while to hear back from Microsoft on your concept one way or another.
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And my favorite:

IGN Article said:
Once approved, you get access to all the developer tools and documentation that you need to develop an Arcade game. You also get access to buy Xbox development kits.
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That's right. You have to get accepted so that you can get permission to purchase dev kits costing thousands of dollars. Yes, I realize this is standard practice, but the concept of applying this "pay for permission to develop on our fancy hardware" mentality to indies is hilariously misguided. Legitimately indie studios will simply develop on free platforms (which basically just means the PC).

Anyhow, if you're an indie developer with a few hundred grand laying around, and happen to have an idea that fits Microsoft's current needs for their arcade service, then hey! You'll probably be joining the XBox Live Arcade community soon! If not, sorry.

I understand having quality standards and the inability to accept all comers. But I don't understand this draconian practice of letting so few pass. If they literally get "well over a dozen new submissions per week" then why is new content so slow to trickle out? Looking through Live Arcade, I'd say they're starving for content - not to mention variety. I love Geometry Wars, but between Geometry Wars, Robotron, Smash T.V., and Mutant Storm they have four versions of what is essentially the same damned game on there. But it seems they're more interested in showing off their hardware itself rather than letting the hardware shine as the host to some great software. I.E., coming up with an interesting game is great, but we've got plenty of those. However, coming up with an interseting game that could make use of our upcoming expensive accessory will certainly net you a pass!

What I estimate you're going to end up with is the emergence of the same middle-indie developemnt studio you've seen arise in film lately. They're not truly indie - these games aren't shoe string budget affairs by any stretch of the imagination, they've sometimes got big names attatched, and mid-sized development teams with decent experience. They're simply indie and experimental compared to the overblown brain dead eyecandy that serves as the meat and potatoes of the industry. Which is fine - it'd be nice to have that as well - but it means one less possible distribution channel for legitimate garage games. I'm eagerly awaiting the opening of Manifesto to see what Costik has up his sleeve.
 
it certainly doesn't exactly seem like its optimistic, but that is the reason why we see a lesser amount of turdy games on consoles as on PC. If everyone and their mother could make a crappy game and put it on a console, then it would suffer the same quality concerns that PC games (as a whole market) have minus the spec requirements, imo.
 
Campster:

Everything you listed strikes me as a good thing. For example, the IGN article:

Developing a game for Xbox Live Arcade can cost a few hundred thousand dollars and take a small group of passionate game makers anywhere between 4-6 months to develop and test the title.
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Sounds good to me. Up from the millions of dollars, dozens of people and years of development on retail games.

Xbox Live Arcade is a managed portfolio, which means that only certain concepts are accepted, and approval is based on the ongoing needs of the Arcade service and the gamer.
Click to expand...
Again, this is a good thing. As the guy in charge of XBLA said, he doesn't want five versions of poker landing at the same time, which is what would happen if they didn't manage the content.

Creative, innovative concepts that utilize features like Xbox Live multiplayer, co-op play, downloadable content and use of the upcoming Xbox Live Vision camera are all desired and help set your concept apart from the rest. Due to the volume of concept submissions, don't be surprised if it takes a while to hear back from Microsoft on your concept one way or another.
Click to expand...
How is that a bad thing? MS wants developers to use all the tools on the platform. A simple game like Cloning Clyde rocks in MP and co-op, when it would be so much more limited had it not. All that article did was get me more more excited for XBLA. Good stuff.
 
I'm not convinced about this logic where you won't get /sufficiently/ creative "indie style" games if you don't enjoy the luxury of $400 budget and a couch with a Pentium 2 300 to develop on.

As a few examples, Geometry Wars, Marble Blast Ultra, Mutant Storm Reloaded, Cloning Clyde, Outpost Kaloki X, and Wik: Fable of Souls are not sufficiently non-stereotypical mainstream big-budget fare?

It almost sounds like a sort of sort of anti-establishment attitude ("screw da man!") to assume that the only thing keeping game design "down" is working for a developer who can afford a nameplate on the door. Has it occured to some folks that many or most of the people working at bigger developers might like to make small quirky shit as well, if they had an outlet to sell it within the reality of the market?

I mean, they could call it Live Arcade or som-- oh snap :)

While I would agree it is true that Microsoft having some entry requirements that are not a cakewalk could be abused to keep "little ideas" out, I also have to look at the quality to quantity ratio of the Arcade library and think "you know, they're doing something right".
 
Kaijima said:
I'm not convinced about this logic where you won't get /sufficiently/ creative "indie style" games if you don't enjoy the luxury of $400 budget and a couch with a Pentium 2 300 to develop on.

As a few examples, Geometry Wars, Marble Blast Ultra, Mutant Storm Reloaded, Cloning Clyde, Outpost Kaloki X, and Wik: Fable of Souls are not sufficiently non-stereotypical mainstream big-budget fare?

It almost sounds like a sort of sort of anti-establishment attitude ("screw da man!") to assume that the only thing keeping game design "down" is working for a developer who can afford a nameplate on the door. Has it occured to some folks that many or most of the people working at bigger developers might like to make small quirky shit as well, if they had an outlet to sell it within the reality of the market?

I mean, they could call it Live Arcade or som-- oh snap :)

While I would agree it is true that Microsoft having some entry requirements that are not a cakewalk could be abused to keep "little ideas" out, I also have to look at the quality to quantity ratio of the Arcade library and think "you know, they're doing something right".
Click to expand...

It's not really a "Microsoft is being a big meanie idea oppressor!" sort of thing. I like the fact that Live Arcade exists; I think the industry is better for it. You'll get way more quirky titles and innovative takes on traditional formulas on Live Arcade than you would from any twenty million dollar production, to be sure.

My problem is basically that a distribution channel that should be bubbling with creativity and ideas is producing maybe one original title a month, despite supposed "dozens" of applications a week. Meanwhile, about a third of the current Arcade lineup is composed of rehashed arcade games from the 80's. Not that there's anything at all wrong with the classics, mind you. But how would you feel if you and your startup company of seven other guys were hoping to get picked up on Live Arcade only to be passed over in favor of Frogger? Live Arcade is excellent technology, but it won't reach its true potential until more studios can develop for it. And before we even worry about stuff like how insanely expensive a dev kit for a 360 is, we have to worry about letting developers know it's a platform they can even work on.
 
Well, the arcade classics are likely much more important to MS than the indie games, because if they sell well they gain the good graces of Namco and Capcom who are essentially making money for almost nothing, and the Xbox 360 will seem a more substantial platform in their eyes to develop full price titles for. People in general tend to be more interested in the familiar, and even though there are trial versions of every game (which is brilliant btw) most people will probably pass on them despite the quality. I'm more interested in Small Arms than SF2, but I'm pretty sure which one will sell better.
 
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