Xbox Live Arcade

[MartyG]

Has anyone else gone mad for this? I've spent 4000 credits on these games and I've really been enjoying playing them, which seems daft when I've got "proper" games sitting there.

So far I've gotten:

Zuma
Geometry Wars
Mutant Storm
Bejeweled
and Bankshot Billiards

I was playing Billiards online earlier, and lost but meh, it really is a lot of fun to play. Mutant Storm and Geometry Wars are mind bending mad and trippy experiences :S

[sj33]

Only had a play of a few of the trials so far, namely Geometry Wars and Zuma - both of which I plan to purchase. Intend to try the others.

The whole thing is fantastic. It's very easy to just take it for granted, but it's just something no other console manufacturer has even considered doing with what has, until now, just been a basic internal memory card manager and CD Player.

[Brats]

The thing I love about the arcade games is that they are a perfect antidote after a solid session on one of the bigger games. After playing PGR3 last night, I played a bit of Hexic to relax.

I did go to sleep dreaming of those hexagons though .

[Jashin]

I'm not convinced about Hexic yet. The idea is good, but the implementation is a bit odd. For example, I played a survival game last night, and was still there 90 minutes later, without the game getting any more difficult. I switched it off in the end because I felt that I could have still being playing it this morning. Perhaps I need to ramp up the difficulty settings - what impact does this have on the game? On the plus side, the sound track and effects are really good, and suit the game well.

[Brats]

Hexic gets hard as you try to get the black pearls. I can get the flower stars fairly easily, but getting six of them in the right place is very difficult and you need to do this three times to win.

[Ish]

I love both Mutant Storm and Geometry Wars. But then I loved Robotron when I was a kid.

I got really into Zuma last night when I felt too tired to play anything intense.

There are some great diversions on there perfect for chill out gaming sessions.

[Jashin]

Hmmm. Looks like I haven't given Hexic a fair shot then. A few questions:

1) What are black pearls?

2) Are you saying that three flowers beats the game, or have I got the wrong end of the stick here?

Brats - so the aim of each level is to clear the screen with six flowers? If that's the case, then I definately haven't given the game a fair chance.

[MartyG]

Black Pearls are Flowers Stars made with Flower Stars - if that makes sense :S

Not something I've managed to get yet.

Also with the survival mode - the game carries on until you clear the screen entirely, so the fact it went on for 90 minutes means you were just a bit rubbish at it

I got really into Zuma last night when I felt too tired to play anything intense.

Zuma is intense though when the music changes when you're getting close to losing, the pressure piles on - I've managed to get up to 5-1, and it really starts to get tricky. Looking at the leaderboard people are at temple 12 odd. These people must never play anything else.

[Spatial]

Survivial also goes on for 50 rounds until it stops. The change in difficulty really comes from unused hexagons getting locked if they aren't used up by the end of the round.

I always thought the object of that mode was to score as much as possible within 50 rounds

[Jashin]

Trying to clear the screen sounds more sensible to me. A 50 round game would take a loooong time.

[JamesS]

I read in an interview somewhere a while back that the Xbox Live Arcade games are tied to the specific console you buy them on, and you have to buy them again if, say, your Xbox breaks. Annoyingly, I can't seem to find the interview any more, and the Xbox site doesn't seem to mention it. Anybody know if this is the case? I really like the idea of the system, but I don't really want to buy loads of games that I'll lose should I need to change the console.

[momobeast]

I think the games you have paid for and downloaded are linked to your gamertag - So if you get a new xbox it will recognise you have paid for these already when you link your GT on startup. So then you can just download them for free to your new 360

[Jebus]

and Bankshot Billiards

I'll be getting that when I get my Hard drive since I've enjoyed it on MSN many times!

Absolutely sprayed everywhere over playing Gauntlet again after all those years though, still an amazing game!

[El Leone]

I've downloaded Smash TV! its wonderful I want to someone to go co op with me though, and none my friends have bothered to download it yet

[robrymond]

The thing I love about the arcade games is that they are a perfect antidote after a solid session on one of the bigger games. After playing PGR3 last night, I played a bit of Hexic to relax.

I did go to sleep dreaming of those hexagons though .

I did exactly the same, and spent my time getting to Level 50 on Survial!