The Best of the Best (of Xbox LIVE Arcade)
By Thomas Hodgson

Xbox LIVE Arcade is like a really good Chinese buffet: there are some things in it that you probably don’t like the looks of, but the things you do like they do really well. Hence the greatness of buffets and XBLA ~ the option to try stuff before you buy it. Every game available for download has a trial version so you can decide whether you’ll be keeping that plate of sesame chicken or adding those scary (the menu said pork, but you could swear you found a whisker) ribs to your list of never agains.

Here is my list of some of the best games available to you on Xbox LIVE Arcade. If you disagree, just get a new plate and go and get a serving of something else.

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords – 1200 Microsoft Points ($15 USD)

Puzzle Quest is a beautiful thing, the night at the buffet when they’re serving those éclairs for dessert. An ingenious concept, you match objects on a puzzle board to defeat enemies, gain spells, and conquest through the world. Players must complete combo strings of three or more pieces on the board, gaining bonus experience for stringing together multiple combos. Certain pieces restore mana, while others give you gold and experience and inflict damage on your opponent. Upgrading your skills heightens the percentage of damage you cause with your attacks, your health, and all that other expansive RPG smooth jazz.

At $15, it’s the priciest game on XBLA, but the depth this game offers is the best bang for your downloadable buck. It combines the luck and planning of a puzzle game with the resourcefulness required of and depth found in the role-playing genre. The combination is enthralling and utterly addictive, like the house shrimp and sesame chicken.

Undertow – 800 Microsoft Points ($10 USD)

Undertow makes a big splash. The spastic combat can be difficult at first and frustrating to say the least. But this game isn’t a cheap beer; it’s a fine wine you’re supposed to waft in your glass then swirl around in your mouth once you’re mature enough to appreciate savoring. Once you learn how to oust your opponents, you’ll enjoy every second of sending them to Davy Jones’ Locker with the pristine beauty of the Unreal engine.

The maps are tailor made for exciting battles of attrition in Conquest mode as you try and capture points on deep sea battlefields or blow up anything that moves in team Deathmatch. With three different races and four upgradeable ship classes to their credit, your options manage to blend and balance strategy and pandemonium at the seams. It’s a fairly new game and needs an audience, but once it finds it, this top-rated decision on XBLA will be an easy one to make.

Every Extend Extra Extreme (E4) Rez HD – 800 Microsoft Points ($10 USD)

WARNING: If you have epilepsy, you might want to stick to Pong. An acid trip without the hassle of blotter and dirty hippies, Every Extend Extra Extreme ~ or E4 for short ~ is one of those things you explain to people they have to see to believe. You’re a thingy and have to explode at the right moments to start a chain reaction of explosions with other thingies that fly at you from all sides.

In between the explosions from this TNT rainbow, you have to collect power ups to increase your multiplier and time, all in the while of planning the explosions perfectly to the beat to maximize the multiplier’s potential. Stringing together combos is infinitely rewarding as you produce millions of points and are rewarded with a color explosion nothing short of the fireworks on the 4th of July.

The beat of the music mixed with the vibration of the controller set to the momentum of the explosions which are in synch with the music will put you in a trance. It’s a rave in the comfort of your own home and you never have to leave the couch or pop any happy pills.

Bomberman Live –
800 Microsoft Points ($10 USD)

Bomberman has proven the test of time, like a Twinkie after a nuclear holocaust. The latest incarnation of this age old title offers more confusion and chaos than an MTV VMA duet with Britney Spears and Amy Winehouse. With up to 8 player online battles and over 10,000 possible create-a-character combinations, this simplistic game relying on power-ups, speedy battles, and enjoyable pandemonium has bombed its way into our hearts. With what seems like a surprise being thrown at you at every turn, Bomberman always manages to keep your reflexes on their toes and continues to bring excitement to the table, like the fortune cookie at the end of your meal.

Rez HD – 800 Microsoft Points ($10 USD)

Rez HD is made by Q Entertainment, the same people who brought you E4. A very similar game in respect to art and music direction, Rez HD takes you in third-person mode through the beautiful inner-workings of a 3-D cyber universe.

In what looks like the love child of the movie Tron and the Death Star scene from Star Wars, you must hack into the system and regain control of its AI by destroying enemies and bosses and stringing together combos of 8 as your attacks disperse to the beat of the music. The enveloping soundtrack and controller vibrations again have the pull of the dragon, holding you close and never wanting to let go.

And although the substance of these games doesn’t mach the replayability and length of the other games on this list, the psychedelic style and personality that Q Entertainment brings to the table with its sensory nirvana is a beat you don’t want to skip.

Switchball – 800 Microsoft Points ($10 USD)

In what can only be described as the thinking man’s Marble Madness on crack and Monkeyball less those damn dirty apes, Switchball is a classic example of simplicity rolling a long way. Beginning of level + ball + rolling + end of level = Switchball.

Each stage brings a unique feel, and the levels contained within present unique challenges that stand in your way from start to finish. The namesake is derived from your ability to morph the form of your ball according to the challenges you face. You are awarded with medals for outstanding time performances. For others, such as myself, spending 10 minutes on a level that is supposed to take you three was simply a moral victory, a medal for my pride, as I notched one up for what was left of it.

Outside of a few third person camera angles that go askew, it’s an extremely well-polished game aesthetically and shines like light off of your switchball.

And for those of you who are still a little behind on your game purchases and need to catch up…

Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix – 800 Microsoft Points ($10 USD)
Release Date: August 29, 2007

SPF2THD shoots a hadouken at anyone thinking it’s another Tetris clone. Look a little closer at this game and you might not be able to look away at all. The objective is to build up a big enough chain reaction by grouping colored gems and using Crash Gems to send over Counter Gems to your opponent’s grid. The Crash Gems remove a certain color from your layout and when it comes crashing down, it’s a 1-2 puzzle punch to your opponent’s side of the screen. Each character has its own counter combination, and this is where it turns into a fighter as you choreograph defenses based on your opponent’s attacks. It’s kung-fu for your fingers and chess for your mind.

With online leaderboards, a variety of game modes, and classic faces from the franchises past, this game of skill, patience, and reflexes is a tennis match on the eyes and a sword fight for the brain. As a decision for you, it should be game, set, and match.

Pinball FX – 800 Microsoft Points ($10 USD)
Release Date: April 25, 2007

For 40 quarters, you’ll save yourself the gas money of traveling to the arcade. What’s this “arcade” I speak of? It’s where the buffalo are and glaciers are soon to be. With next-gen offerings at your fingertips from the comfort of your futons, these virtually extinct outlets for teens and their allowances are all but a thing of the past, like parachute pants and Kevin Federline, and a game like Pinball FX is the reason why. Beautiful tables, realistic physics, and all the excitement of pinball paddles and lights without ever having to break open a roll of quarters. It’s a beautiful thing.

Geometry War: Retro Evolved – 400 Microsoft Points ($5 USD)
Release Date: November 22, 2005

An oldie but still a goodie, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved is the epitome of the simplistic and addictive format that creates winners for the LIVE Arcade catalog. The left joystick moves, the right joystick shoots, and the right triggers sets off bombs to bail you out. If you can put your left foot in front of your right foot and move them simultaneously to walk, then you can play this game.