Official Xbox Live Arcade Thread

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Chiaroscuro said:
Yeah, that was really nice from you (seriously). But keep it going on for Zuma and later announce no prize was like taking the candy from a child...
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what? no! Timedog won the game! What I meant by that was 'if you didn't get a pm, you didn't get the game'

sorry if that was unclear :p
 
The problems with the new "Tempest" have not been exaggerated. In the Evolved version pink-ish clouds explode up the panels and blank out everything around them. And the emulated version is missing some of the explosive sound effects of the real Tempest (now your shots sound like muffled turkey gobbles or some such nonsense). That isn't truly the Tempest many of us loved from days back.

Bah.
 
Rlan said:
I finally beat Marble Blast Ultra. Man that last level is a BITCH! :lol Beat it purely by chancing it, using Supe Jump to launch myself to the diamonds and bouncing off. Fuck those moving targets! :D
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Nice. Now go for all par times! :D

One of the most satisfying games on XBLA to complete. Especially figuring out your own little shortcuts, then going to YouTube to check out just how smart you were...only to see your times completely decimated by some of the most amazing shortcuts ever. Then you go try them yourself and you're like lol wat.

Oh, man, MBU2 please!
 
aku:jiki said:
Nice. Now go for all par times! :D

One of the most satisfying games on XBLA to complete. Especially figuring out your own little shortcuts, then going to YouTube to check out just how smart you were...only to see your times completely decimated by some of the most amazing shortcuts ever. Then you go try them yourself and you're like lol wat.

Oh, man, MBU2 please!
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I made sure I went for Par Times before I went onto the next level, so I got the Par Achievement :)

Won't be going for high scores though, that hasn't grabbed me like Gripshift has. My previous Gripshift high scores have been all beated, but I'm still in the top 5 for quite a few. "SMASHING DRIVE", is top in essentially everything, and is a fucking maniac at this game :(
 
If you are looking for Marble Blast action, I can recommend the prequel Marble Blast Gold on the PC as well as its cousin Orbz.
 
Went on a bit of a shopping spree these last few days. I have to post about what is the most shockingly bad port I've ever seen of anything on anything. I know it's old news by now, but holy shit the Contra port is so bad. How the hell did DE even manage to give a 20 year old arcade game a poor framerate on the god damn Xbox 360?! And the netcode! Geez. Saying they didn't care about that port is the understatement of the decade.

Which brings me to Super Contra. It's a much better port in every conceivable way. They put some thought and effort into the remade graphics (the weapon effects are so rad), the new tunes are awesome and the netcode is fine. What happened between these two games? Did the entire team that did Contra get fired and replaced? Or is the niceness of Super Contra their way of apologizing? Either way, I guess I'm glad they fucked up the right game. Contra is easy enough to be playable even with piss-poor framerate and all, Super Contra would've been a disaster with the same problems.

Speaking of crappy things, I also bought Pinball FX and...wait, what. Why was this popular, again? This has the dullest pinball tables I've ever seen in my life! And the incredibly lame attempts at being "hip and cool" in the Xtreme table really make my eyes bleed. Did somebody's grandfather design that after watching MTV for a few hours? What a waste of money. :(
 
aku:jiki said:
Speaking of crappy things, I also bought Pinball FX and...wait, what. Why was this popular, again? This has the dullest pinball tables I've ever seen in my life! And the incredibly lame attempts at being "hip and cool" in the Xtreme table really make my eyes bleed. Did somebody's grandfather design that after watching MTV for a few hours? What a waste of money. :(
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I love it... but I love pinball games and since Pinball Fantasies / Illusions there's not exactly a lot of choice out there.
 
Since when was Wik: Fable of Souls 800 points? I added 1000 to the 200 I already have and bought SWOS, then I was expecting to buy Wik as I thought it was 400 and it turns out it was 800! >.<

All annoyed now, especially as there haven't been any new decent 400 pointers in a while.
 
Spider_Jerusalem said:
Spongebob Squarepants next week. Oh well, I presume my son will be happy :)
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Yea, children are about the only ones who will be happy about this news.

This Wednesday: SpongeBob gives XBLA 'Underpants Slam!'

22 Comments by Ludwig Kietzmann Dec 21st 2007 1:10PM
Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Action

The aquatic antics of our obliviously cheerful pal, SpongeBob SquarePants, have once again been transformed into a video game, this time for Xbox Live Arcade. Though we can't guarantee that "Underpants Slam!" will be any more enjoyable than the unexpected punch to the groin as suggested by the title, we can confidently inform you that it'll be available for download in North America from the Xbox Live Marketplace this coming Wednesday, December 26th.

THQ's "side-scrolling slap-happy extravaganza" absorbs players into SpongeBob's quest to collect King Neptune's 99 pieces of laundry, with garment hunting parties being comprised of up to four players over Xbox Live. If that sounds like F.U.N. to you, prepare to get slammed in the pants for 800 MS Points ($10).
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Here is to hoping something like N+ or Poker Smash pops up next week, for I give Spongebob no thread.
 
steverulez said:
Since when was Wik: Fable of Souls 800 points? I added 1000 to the 200 I already have and bought SWOS, then I was expecting to buy Wik as I thought it was 400 and it turns out it was 800! >.<

All annoyed now, especially as there haven't been any new decent 400 pointers in a while.
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It would be cheaper to get it off the XBox Live unplugged disk, which is selling for $8 on amazon.

I think they will release Poker Smash the day after Christmas, because a lot of people will be opening their shiny new XBoxes and MS would want something with casual appeal up on Live.
 
SapientWolf said:
It would be cheaper to get it off the XBox Live unplugged disk, which is selling for $8 on amazon.

I think they will release Poker Smash the day after Christmas, because a lot of people will be opening their shiny new XBoxes and MS would want something with casual appeal up on Live.
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Yea, now I am not so sure, the news sorce is from GamerScoreBlog and no other game was mentioned.

http://gamerscoreblog.com/team/archive/2007/12/21/555413.aspx
 
The latest Bomberman add-on finally has ninjas. So that is the only one I'll be buying. Now we can finally get some pirate vs. ninja action.
 
MicVlaD said:
Well, that doesn't automatically rule out a second game. They already did this before. For example: they didn't announce Speedball II & E4 / SWOS & Tempest simultaneously, so I'm hoping they'll "reveal" N+ (I have no need for Poker Smash) later on.
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It's hardly a worthy source, but the ever-updated XBLA WikiPedia site has N+ materializing sometime in late February.
 
Hey MicVlad, you know all those mp races of Switchball we did yesterday right? We won a couple, but they don't count towards the ach :( You have to actually play ranked matches. If you want to burn through some lvl 1's quickly to get it, I have time now
 
Darunia said:
Hey MicVlad, you know all those mp races of Switchball we did yesterday right? We won a couple, but they don't count towards the ach :( You have to actually play ranked matches. If you want to burn through some lvl 1's quickly to get it, I have time now
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Yeah maybe tomorrow, I don't feel like it now.
 
LakeEarth said:
Its always been 800 points.

SWOS is up! About damned time.

And buy Gripshift! Its not getting nearly enough love. Marble Blast Ultra... with cars!

Here are the GIFs that made me buy the game, courtesy of Kenta.

Time: http://chode.org/misc/gs-bobapalooza.gif
GS Token: http://chode.org/misc/gs-dinofall.gif
Time: http://chode.org/misc/gs-dreadloops.gif
Stars: http://chode.org/misc/gs-minefield.gif
GS Token: http://chode.org/misc/gs-steppingstones.gif
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Actually that looks pretty good - the demo didn't wow me. I might have to revise my policy on not buying it, but I have to finish Marble Blast Ultra and Switchball first.
 
steverulez said:
Since when was Wik: Fable of Souls 800 points? I added 1000 to the 200 I already have and bought SWOS, then I was expecting to buy Wik as I thought it was 400 and it turns out it was 800! >.<
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Since always, but come on. It's 10 bucks, and the game has like a billion levels and challenges and a totally fun minigame (Loopnastics). So worth it.

Shard said:
Here is to hoping something like N+ or Poker Smash pops up next week, for I give Spongebob no thread.
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N+ is so good, it's the only upcoming game (besides Omega Five) I always have to play for a bit when I sit down with the PN machine. Anyone who doesn't buy it or writes some cheapskate post about how it "might not be worth 800 points" or whatever should be banned from GAF. And shot.
 
Anyone want Uno? Got it with camera, don't really care for it. Guess a number 1-65. I'll give code to whoever comes closest. Same for free month of XBL gold code. 15 minutes remaining.
 
SapientWolf said:
It would be cheaper to get it off the XBox Live unplugged disk, which is selling for $8 on amazon.
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Didn't see your post before mine, I've spent a large part of the night drunk and playing SWOS (its almost 4am here).

I would buy it but im in the UK and im not sure its region free or if Amazon ship to the Uk (the .com one), that said, my best mate who got a 360 last year, well, I just ordered it for him for £8 so I might get it for myself although I do own Texas Hold 'em, Geo Wars and Outpost Kaloki X already and I might be able to just borrow it off him after a while :P

Plus, i'd much rather do it over Live so the devs directly get the money, i'll get some more points and do it tomorrow actually, might as well.
 
steverulez said:
Didn't see your post before mine, I've spent a large part of the night drunk and playing SWOS (its almost 4am here).

I would buy it but im in the UK and im not sure its region free or if Amazon ship to the Uk (the .com one), that said, my best mate who got a 360 last year, well, I just ordered it for him for £8 so I might get it for myself although I do own Texas Hold 'em, Geo Wars and Outpost Kaloki X already and I might be able to just borrow it off him after a while :P

Plus, i'd much rather do it over Live so the devs directly get the money, i'll get some more points and do it tomorrow actually, might as well.
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Plus playing from the disc would suck ass, which is what you would have to do from that Unplugged collection.
 
Shard said:
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/usermovies/149708.html

Right, found this in the user movie section of Gametrailers, I think this is the first moving video footage of Rez HD that I have seen, I would imagine it is the same for a bunch of people, the area depicted in said movie is Area 5.
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Rlan was already ahead of you, with the correct source at that.

Rlan said:
Gamevideos have new HD versions of RezHD, and it looks AWESOME

http://www.gamevideos.com/video/id/16804
http://www.gamevideos.com/video/id/16805
http://www.gamevideos.com/video/id/16806
http://www.gamevideos.com/video/id/16807
http://www.gamevideos.com/video/id/16808

I assume this means it's up on Partnernet now. Can't come soon enough :)
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Only the first two Rez vids work for me... When I do a search on GV only those 2 pop up so I guess the other ones have been pulled for some reason

but man does that game look awesome. Never played it before so I can't wait
 
Icarus said:
I feel like a heathen, but I'm still not feeling Rez. I appreciate what it is, but I think it's more "game as art" than "fun".
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I think Rez had some good ideas that were better realized in other works, like Lumines, Everyday Shooter, and the Chemical Brothers' Star Guitar video.
 
Speaking of Rez HD, Gamespat has a hands-on preview of said game.

Rez HD Hands-On
We dive into a near-final version of Q Entertainment's atmospheric shooter as it heads to Xbox Live Arcade.
By Ricardo Torres, GameSpat
Posted Dec 19, 2007 5:01 pm PT

The last time we got some time with Q Entertainment's HD upgrade of Rez for XBLA, the game looked like it was well on its way to delivering exactly what we wanted: HD Rez. Now that we got our mitts on a near-final version of the game, we can say that view hasn't changed. Q and developer Hexa Drive appear to have nailed a faithful, gorgeous upgrade to the unique Sega shooter from back in the day. Although we're obviously longing for some content, we have to say we're pleased by what Rez HD will be offering.

The futuristic shooter was always big on atmosphere, and the HD upgrade serves that very well. You'll cruise through five totally insane, but gorgeous, levels that blend a striking mix of light and sound. The framework for the madness is a cerebral story that's often overlooked when the game is discussed. The action is set in a futuristic computer network called the K-project. The vast machine manages a staggering array of information and is overseen by an artificial intelligence named Eden. Unfortunately, Eden's having an existential crisis because of the overwhelming load of info pouring through it and has entered into a shutdown sequence. While a shutdown might seem like a sensible thing to do, it will have catastrophic consequences for society, given how vital the K-project is to day-to-day life. You play the role of a hacker who's logged into the network with the hope of rebooting Eden before that happens. Sadly, it's not as easy as hitting ctrl-alt-delete, and you're forced to venture through the network to reach Eden in the core. You'll have to contend with firewalls, viruses, and Eden's general lack of enthusiasm at your efforts on your journey, which all makes for some stunning visuals.


While Rez's story is deep, its gameplay takes a minimalistic, old-school approach that ensures anyone can play the game. Your journey through the network happens on rails, requiring you to target enemies with a cursor and shooting them individually or lock on to several of them at once. Your arsenal of weapons numbers two: your standard shot and a smart bomb like overdrive attack that you'll be able to trigger if you've collected the appropriate pickup. Although this may not sound like much to rely on when facing off against hordes of computer enemies, you get one perk with your main weapon on your journey that helps out considerably. Besides collecting red overdrive pickups, you'll also be able to collect blue orbs that fill a meter in the lower left-hand corner of the screen. This lets your virtual avatar evolve into one of six different forms, which improve your main weapon. Given this simple scheme, it shouldn't be surprising to learn that the game's control is good and basic. You'll have one button to shoot, which you can use to lock on to enemies by holding it down, and one to trigger an overdrive. Outside of that, you'll just have to use the analog stick to move your cursor around. On paper, all of the above may not sound terribly compelling, but in practice, Rez just works incredibly well, even after six years. The five levels are made up of 10 subareas you'll have to journey through to reach a boss.

Besides the single-player game, you'll find several other modes with which to play around. The game offers two main modes to choose from: Rez HD and Rez Standard. Rez HD is the sexy, upgraded version of the original game with widescreen support, 5.1 audio, and enhanced art. The game mode offers several suboptions, which include a tutorial movie; a "travelling" mode for beginners that doesn't sweat lives; score attack, which challenges you to get the best score possible; and beyond mode, which includes several different game types using the existing levels, as well as a brand new one exclusive to the mode. The more you play beyond mode, the more customizable options you'll unlock. The Rez standard mode offers all of the above in the original 4:3 standard-def resolution, jaggies and all. While the standard-def mode is basically a throwaway mode, it does a good job of highlighting how much the game has benefitted from the HD makeover.


Rez's audio is right up there next to its visuals when to comes to selling the whole experience. The game's trace-y music tracks hold up well after all these years and still manage to feel fresh. Better still, the 5.1 upgrade helps highlight the game's finely crafted audio. Everything from the main music tracks to the various, often subtle, sound effects that crop up during a game have some nice kick to them.

From the looks of everything we played and heard, Rez is definitely going to be a game worth picking up when it hits late January. The upgraded visuals really stand out in HD, and the price--800 Microsoft Points--makes it a no brainer to pick up. While it would be nice to have gotten some extra content, preferably new levels or something along those lines, Rez HD still packs a lot of appeal and is one to watch out for next month.
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