Summer is at its bitter end, and as it is, coming across good downloadable XBLA games is getting harder as developers are pushing their release cycles to the holiday season or the start of 2012 in order to get the most profit out of their titles. So, it is pretty rare to find gaming gems in such a stagnant period.
However, there are some XBLA games that defy the norm and provide you with some of the best gaming experiences available in downloadable content. The following list of the 3 best XBLA games hopes to make this summer a little better and make it more memorable with regards to gaming.
The Best XBLA Games #1. Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet (XBLA)
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, available on the Xbox Live Arcade for 1200 Microsoft points, starts of with a big bang, literally, when a black mass launches into space, splashing onto a distant sun and transforms the star and engulfs it in blackness. Fragments of the eruption fall into a nearby planet also starting to transform it. You are an alien in this scenario, and as observer to all this chaos, get into your flying saucer to save the planet and stop the transformation of the sun into an evil menace.
The graphics of this XBLA game are stupendous and perhaps unlike anything you may have ever seen and the game presents you with a world that begs to be explored. The flow of the game and the way you progress through it, although some may draw comparisons with games like Metroid and Castlevania, is nothing short of artistic and there is a sense of poetry to the motion.
Your UFO is very small compared to the setting, giving you a sense of scale and feelings of isolation as you progress. But you are not alone as the Shadow Planet hosts a large number of hostile creatures. The world is a living one and this means that nearly every surface moves, sometimes unlocking upgrades and bonuses. The environment is filled with obstacles that you can surpass with your abundance of gadgets. One thing you will notice however, is the complete lack of music in the game, a step down from the orchestral score at the start of the game, and this is perhaps to induce the feeling of loneliness in the game, but actually serves as a deterrent.
Having gone through every bit of the twisted world and uncovering its many secrets, you will definitely crave more of this spectacularly made XBLA game, which deserves and demands the attention of every type of gamer and is definitely worthy of it.
The Best XBLA Games Games #2. From Dust (XBLA, PC, PSN)
“What would you do if you were god?” is the question From Dust poses in its scenario, and although you are only referred to as “The Breath” in the game, you are given the powers of a supernatural deity to absorb elements like water, dirt and lava, and redistribute them. The Breath has the duty of leading native peoples through a series of islands, all of which have their own challenges and all of the said challenges are based on manipulating the environment.
The people establish villages granting The Breath other powers like the ability to turn water to a jelly like substance or putting out fires, and the villages can defend as well by getting totems to protect from water or flame. This XBLA game is impressive in the graphics department and watching a ball of water transform a lava flow into a rock wall is breathtaking. Watching a tsunami hurtle towards a village as a native goes to get a water-protection totem one of the most exhilarating experiences.
From Dust may seem like a simple game, but the difficulty level is increased as you progress, and the game only lets you use the full extent of your powers a bit later. Once you get the virtual shackles off, the game becomes immensely fun and it is really enjoyable to experience the level of control you have over the landscape.
The conclusion: It is fun to play god! This XBLA game is extremely polished for a downloadable title and should even give full-length titles a run for their money with its impressive new concepts and by just being a great game overall.
From Dust is available on Xbox Live Arcade for 1200 Microsoft points and $15 on Steam. It is expected to be available on PSN in September 2011.
The Best XBLA Games Games #3. Toy Soldiers: Cold War (XBLA)
Toy Soldiers: Cold War is a tower defense title and unlike its predecessor, which is based in World War I settings; it is based on the Cold War atmosphere of the 1980s. The game incorporates many styles of the era, with GI Joe inspired art and a soundtrack reminiscent of Top Gun. The most interesting thing about the Toy Soldiers games is that all of its battlefields are actually toy-like play sets with their cardboard backdrops, along with actions figure-like soldiers, and just to make the play room sort of setting believable, you will find makeshift vehicle ramps, CD players and other stuff strewn about the area.
The object of the game, as with all tower defense titles, is to take into account the waves of enemy units and build your defenses appropriately. You get several kinds of weapons, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. One new thing here is that you get more controllable vehicles than the previous game, this time ranging from tanks and jets to helicopters.
After you get done with the game’s campaign mode, there are several other modes including versus, survival and a collection of mini-games and each of the modes has its own characteristics, all of which are enhanced by leaderboards that challenge players to do their best in the game and show their friends, rivals their metal. The game modes also allows local or online play for two players, and also offering campaign in co-op, which wasn’t available in the first Toy Soldiers. The addition of a second player for controlling turrets and getting barrages can quite a bit of difference in some of the more difficult missions.
Toy Soldiers: Cold War is a fun XBLA game (available for 1200 Microsoft points) that reminds us of the old times when we used to play with army men and Lego and for those who want to remember that and maybe share some of that 80s magic it is definitely the perfect game.
Conclusion
Overall, if you are on a short allowance this summer or just want a game to have fun, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet is the way to go, with From Dust coming in at a close second, but all of these games are worth a play through and it would be a shame to miss out on any of them.
Looking for more games? How about:
- Top XBox Live Arcade, PSN Network Games That Will Make Your Summer
- The 5 Best RPG Games For XBox, PS3, PC That You Must Play
- 3 Furious, Best Fighting Games To Play When You Feel Like Brawling
Which downloadable XBLA games are you playing? Any titles you think should be on this list of awesome XBLA games? Let us know in the comments.
