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Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged Volume 1
Available on:Xbox 360
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07-12-06 Review for Xbox 360
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'Splosion Man 87%
.hack Infection 72%
.hack Mutation 63%
187 Ride Or Die 70%
7 Sins 30%
AC/DC Live 63%
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Review
Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged Vol. 1 (Xbox 360)
concept
8
graphics
7.5
gameplay
7.7
sound
7.5
77%
Where are the times that all youngsters (who by now are elders) gathered at the local arcade hall to spend their money all night on games like Contra, Dig Dug, Pac-Man, ... Now you can revive that experience without having to spend money over and over again. You can buy them all in one package on and play them on Xbox Live! and buy them with MS Points.
But what if you don't have Xbox Live! or MS points? Then up to recently you wouldn't be without the Xbox Live Arcade Games but luckily Microsoft made some sort of Top6 package so that also those not having Xbox Live! can enjoy some of the classics available. A nice initiative but are the games on the disc worthy to be called top games? Well, they're actually the six most downloaded games, not so much the six best ones.
The first game isn't really a classic but rather a popular puzzle game. I'm takling about Bejeweled 2 where you get a field filled with diamonds (jewels) with different colors. Move two blocks that are adjacent so that you get at least three of the same color together so these disappear. That way you earn points and the more you get rid of in one move, the more points you get.
The second title is a classic in a new jacket. Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved is completely based on Geometry Wars. The idea is exactly the same. With your Pac-Man-shaped ship you need to destroy as many geometric shapes as possible. You fly around in a square where enemies spawn and try to kill you by either shooting or flying right on top of you.
Then there's Wik: Fable of Souls. Here you're a frog straight from a fantasy story. The idea is to collect as many points as possible by shooting little green worms in the mouth of your friend and collect diamonds and cions. The game also has multiplayer present and with up to four players you can check out three mini-games. Next to Geometry Wars this is probably the best title in the collection.
Also we get Outpost Kaloki X which is an extreme mini version of any tycoon game ever developed but that doesn't mean it isn't fun. Compare it with Startopia where you had to create a space station, defend it and get as many guests as possible. The idea here is exactly the same but a little less detailed. You've got the possibility to play in story mode or complete some sort of challenges.
Texas Hold'em Poker speaks for itself. A standard poker game where bluffing and cunning are a big part of the game. Little more to say about this. Poker, that's it.
The last one... Hardwood Backgammon. Although I still don't understand why a game like this ends up in this Top6 compilation I can say that it does need some practise and knowledge of the rules. It's a board game where every side (2 players maximum) have a series of "stones" and the end goal is to collect as many possible from the opposition but in the meantime also keep yours.
As said, this is certainly a nice initiative of Microsoft, but no matter how fun the idea, it would be better in my opinion to make a "better" selection of games. I'm saying... Hardwood Backgammon... what is this doing here? I think it's a better plan to get Xbox Live than to give your money to a round object that has the same games (and not even includes all the top games you can find on Arcade)
















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