XBLA August: Braid, BC:R, Galaga, CASTLE CRASHERS, more

Post by **Flak Beard** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 2:47 pm

Here's a video showcasing all these titles except BC: Rearmed...

http://uk.gamespot.com/video/0/6194181/ ... 32008_live

I know it strays from the original formula, but damn Galaga Legions looks sweet to me. It's seems more inspired by bullet-hell shooters than the original Galaga games...

http://kotaku.com/5026439/galaga-legion ... alaga-hell

Post by **Gamerforlife** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 10:12 pm

I'm actually starting to be quite impressed by the original products available on Xbox Live Arcade. Aside from the cool games mentioned in this thread(Castle Crashers is starting to look pretty awesome), today I discovered Cloning Clyde, Eets:Chow Down, Wik:Fable of the Souls and Puzzle Quest. I dowloaded the demos for all of them except Puzzle Quest and I was quite impressed by how fun these games are. I just downloaded Streets of Rage 2 and Golden Axe today, so I'm a bit short on points but I think I will download each of these eventually.

Have you guys played any of them? What do you think?

With all this great stuff on Xbox Live Arcade, plus tons of exclusive and multi-platform games coming, I think the 360 is THE next gen console to own right now. Not trying to get all fanboyish here, but damn, the 360 is starting to really impress me. I mean for people who don't like modern games, you have tons of retro style new AND old classics on Xbox Live Arcade. Plus, some game on there have very original ideas. It's pretty awesome. Great for gamers on a budget, though I'm seeing so many Xbox Live Arcade games I want to try right now, I can see it getting pretty expensive. Must get second job, but damn that would mean less gaming time

Post by **RadarScope1** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 11:46 pm

I spend much more time playing XBLA titles than retail titles. I'm sinking time into N+, Doom and PacMan CE while GTA4 just sits idle in the tray. It does make the 360 an attractive platform right now. This upcoming run of releases just reaffirms it.

I'm really hoping there will be more than a few indie/amatuer games that stand out once the XNA Community Games begin to come out this fall, and I hope some of the good ones will be at the 200 and 400 point level ($2.50 and $5). It would have been nice if MS would let some free games through but I guess huge corporations don't do "free" very well, do they?

Post by **ZenLogikos** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 5:56 am

Any of you guys happen to check the fine print on the sweepstakes associated with this "Summer of Arcade"?

"*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open only to legal residents of Canada, France, Germany, United Kingdom, and the 50 United States or District of Columbia 17+. Skill testing required for Canadian residents. Game ends September 2, 2008. For details including free, alternate method of entry, see Official Rules."

Canadians have to prove they're worthy?

Seriously though, what does that mean? Am I overlooking something simple?

Post by **Doctor Fugue** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 6:14 am

ZenLogikos wrote:Any of you guys happen to check the fine print on the sweepstakes associated with this "Summer of Arcade"?

"*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open only to legal residents of Canada, France, Germany, United Kingdom, and the 50 United States or District of Columbia 17+. Skill testing required for Canadian residents. Game ends September 2, 2008. For details including free, alternate method of entry, see Official Rules."

Canadians have to prove they're worthy?

Seriously though, what does that mean? Am I overlooking something simple?

There's a law here that prohibits contests as a pure game of chance unless it is being overseen by the government. But, contests are allowed as a mix of skill and chance...so there is always a skill testing question to get around the law.

In reality, you are rarely actually asked to answer them...nobody goes to claim their free drink at McDonald's and then stands around figuring out a math question.

A common question might look like this:
(5+4) x (9-3) = ?

Even the Doctor cannot handle this one!

Post by **Flak Beard** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 2:56 pm

Well I guess I won't be getting Braid or Castle Crashers.

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/30/japan ... ints-brai/

I see the appeal of both of these games, but I personally feel like no XBLA game should be more than 800 points. $22.50 is entirely too much for Castle Crashers.

EDIT: Ok, there's been an update to the story with MS saying the prices are incorrect. I have my doubts though.

Post by **Gamerforlife** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 4:40 pm

Flak Beard wrote:Well I guess I won't be getting Braid or Castle Crashers.

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/30/japan ... ints-brai/

I see the appeal of both of these games, but I personally feel like no XBLA game should be more than 800 points. $22.50 is entirely too much for Castle Crashers.

And here I was telling people what a great service this was for its affordable prices. I guess I should have seen the Penny Arcade game as a sign of things to come. For twenty two bucks, you might as well just buy used copies of major retail releases. You're pretty much looking at the same price range. I got Bioshock for under twenty bucks at a local Blockbuster

Damn, I'm suddenly much less enthused about upcoming Xbox Live Arcade games. Once people buy these games, they'll go ahead and start pushing prices towards the thirty dollar range because they'll know they can get away with it. Come on now, Rez is a PS 2 classic that is only ten bucks. Castlevania:Symphony of the Night which is a long game with lots of content is only ten bucks. Twenty two dollars they want us to pay now?

I might not mind if the prices dropped over time like retail games, but it seems like Xbox Live Arcade titles have prices that are forever set in stone, which is lame

Post by **RadarScope1** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 10:46 pm

*sigh*

I've just got done reading a bunch of threads elsewhere with people complaining about prices on XBLA. First of all, there's no way they'd charge $22.50 if only because it's an odd price point that doesn't jibe with what you can buy on a card. $20 maybe but not $22.50.

And would $15 or even $20 really be too much for CC? This is the kind of game that can't be done at retail anymore. The kind of 2D retro sweetness that we all crave on this board. The kind of thing that simply cannot exist as a $30, $40 or $50 retail product. Yet 15 or 20 bucks is too much for a DLC game according to some (I know you're talking about $22.50 but elsewhere a lot of people seem to think there's NO WAY a DLC game should be more than 10 bucks - and it's only because all the others are $10 up to now).

It's still a product. It still was created by a dedicated team of people who give a crap about 2D gaming. It still has to recoup costs for two years of development. I just don't understand why it can only be $10 as DLC or $50/$60 at retail. Why is there no room for anything in between? If it doesn't sell, the market will adjust. If it does, then people get what they pay for. It's that simple.

PS - I'm calling it right now. No way that SSF2THDR is going to be 800 points. It's going to be at least 1200 if not 1600.

Post by **ZenLogikos** » Thu Jul 31, 2008 12:06 am

Doctor Fugue wrote:There's a law here that prohibits contests as a pure game of chance unless it is being overseen by the government. But, contests are allowed as a mix of skill and chance...so there is always a skill testing question to get around the law.

Thanks for the info, Doc! I appreciate it.

RadarScope1 wrote:*sigh*

And would $15 or even $20 really be too much for CC? This is the kind of game that can't be done at retail anymore. The kind of 2D retro sweetness that we all crave on this board. The kind of thing that simply cannot exist as a $30, $40 or $50 retail product. Yet 15 or 20 bucks is too much for a DLC game according to some (I know you're talking about $22.50 but elsewhere a lot of people seem to think there's NO WAY a DLC game should be more than 10 bucks - and it's only because all the others are $10 up to now).

It's still a product. It still was created by a dedicated team of people who give a crap about 2D gaming. It still has to recoup costs for two years of development. I just don't understand why it can only be $10 as DLC or $50/$60 at retail. Why is there no room for anything in between? If it doesn't sell, the market will adjust. If it does, then people get what they pay for. It's that simple.

PS - I'm calling it right now. No way that SSF2THDR is going to be 800 points. It's going to be at least 1200 if not 1600.

Totally agree with you. At $20, it's still 1/3 the price of retail games, and if you don't think THIS game is worth that, I don't think you've been following it that closely. Castle Crashers is bigger and better than Alien Hominid before it, and that warranted a $30+ price tag I believe. The only reason some of those other titles mentioned sold for less is because they were rereleases. If you want new, original, GOOD content, expect to pay a little more. LIVE Arcade isn't a flea market. Bionic Commando should be $15, but because we (and others)are having this discussion, Capcom bit the bullet and is taking a chance that they can sell enough copies at $10 to warrant it's production. Right now, it's a no man's land of digital download pricing. What's the right price to charge? It's been $10 for so long, but most of that was for rereleases and simple arcade/console ports. $15 or even $20 for original content seems totally reasonable to me.

PS - SSF2THDR is an odd duck. It's an HD makeover which you might think would sell for $15 (at most, I think), but because Street Fighter has been repackaged ad nauseum, and with Street Fighter IV coming soon, I think it might remain at the $10 price point.

Post by **Doctor Fugue** » Thu Jul 31, 2008 5:04 am

ZenLogikos wrote:PS - SSF2THDR is an odd duck. It's an HD makeover which you might think would sell for $15 (at most, I think), but because Street Fighter has been repackaged ad nauseum, and with Street Fighter IV coming soon, I think it might remain at the $10 price point.

Don't tell Capcom or Microsoft...but I'm willing to spend 60 bucks on this, probably more.