Okay, I should point out from the beginning I'm talking about XNA Community Games, but despite how messy that part of the marketplace has already become, I do believe Microsoft should be commended for supporting struggling, home brew developers.
So, I've downloaded loads of Community Games and so be fair, there's more misses than hits, but here are five 200 point games that for £1.70 each are pretty much guaranteed to put a smile on your face.
Drum Kit
This is perhaps a little late, now Rock Band 2 has a proper drum tutorial, but if (like me) you're still playing the original Rock Band, Drum Kit from Big Daddio is a nice little app. It not only let's you pretend you're Carl Palmer with your plastic drums without interruption, it also lets you do it to your own music (as long as it's on the 360 HDD) and using a variety of drum sound effects.
Bricks4Ever
It's surprising there's not been an Arkanoid clone appear on XBLA, especially with Gameloft's Block Breaker Deluxe being on Wii-ware. However, there is this on the Community Games marketplace and it's corker. Not only does it have a brilliant, 80s disco neon look (the bricks even have gaps in them like proper neon lighting), but it also has more modes than just about any Arkanoid or Breakout clone I've ever played. Most modes are exactly what you'd expect, but there are two particularly interesting ones:
- Zen mode is a clone of Taito's classic Puchi Carat. So instead of having lives and trying to clear a single field of blocks, the game takes on a more puzzley approach, with blocks sliding down the screen and failure coming when they reach a certain point.
- Bipolar mode is bonkers. Two bats, two balls, both analogue sticks and a pair of chameleon eyes if you're to have any chance at all.
Lines
As you might expect, there's bloody loads of puzzle games on the Community marketplace. I've picked out Lines not only because it's 200 points, but also because it's one of the more original and polished offerings. I suppose you could say it's a cross between Lumines and Pipe Dream... sort of. Red and white blocks drop down the screen with various patterns of lines on them. Your task is to align the lines on these blocks; when you connect 5 together they disappear. However, while you can move the blocks left and right, you can only rotate the white blocks. This is where the challenge comes in, as less and less white blocks appear as you progress through the game.
RC-AirSim
RC-AirSim is short for Radio Control Air Simulator. Now I've never flown a remote control plane, but people who have tell me this is pretty accurate. The analogue sticks are mapped to match a proper radio controller and your viewpoint is fixed in one location, as you send your plane zooming around the sparse looking park. Sounds naff, but try the demo, it's fun and it's loads cheaper than crashing the real thing.
Johnny Platform's Biscuit Romp
In the words of Johnny Platform, “Yer beauty”. This is a corking little retro platformer and probably the best £1.70 of gaming I've ever spent – seriously. The looks are early 16-bit sprites, but the gameplay shares more in common with seminal 8-bit classics like Manic Miner and Chuckie Egg.
The objective is simple, with the aid of bourbon creams, chocolate chip cookies, slices of Battenberg and copious amounts of coffee, you must negotiate the platforms and traps, stomping on enemies' heads to make the portal to the next level appear. And unlike many Community Games, which are a bit light, the Biscuit Romp consists of 55 single-screen levels of retro brilliance. Seriously, it's one of the best downloadable games I've ever played.
So take it from MDub, next time you're thinking of buying 1000 Microsoft points, check out these cheap but very cheerful little games.
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