That was Summer of Arcade, that was.

**King Slazo** · by **King Slazo** on Wed 3 Sep 2008 - 21:44

So yeah, Summer of Arcade is now over. From July 30th to August 27th, Xbox Live Arcade has seen a "big" release of some sort each week (and Fable Pub Games...not that anyone really cares about that ).

Geometry Wars - Retro Evolved 2

"The latest version of the wildly popular retro shooter offers screen-melting intensity and insane new features, including six action-packed gameplay modes."

Seemingly a simple little blaster, the neon graphical style, addictive gameplay and varied game modes enthralled a lot of us to download it. Sadly, with no online multiplayer (what were Blizzard thinking), it is just a score attack. Still, at 800pts, you can't go wrong. Heck, it made Will a minor celebirity among us for a day for his then 32nd in the world Pacifism score.

90% on MetaCritic

Braid

"From acclaimed developer Jonathan Blow, Braid is a mind-bending and artistic puzzle-platformer in which you manipulate the flow of time in strange and unusual ways."

One of the most original platformers in a decade or so, this game proved 2D games still had a place in modern times. The graphical style and multiple interpretations of the story, as well as the ability to rewind your mistakes all the time and many interesting ideas based upon it, made it a hit. Sadly, the 1200pt price point split people in two on whether it was worth it.

93% on MetaCritic

Bionic Commando - Rearmed

"The classic eight-bit side-scroller reports back for duty in a stunning remake, complete with all-new HD graphics and features that put 2-D gaming back on the map."

A classic style of old-school game, except with no jump, just a grappling hook mechanic to...grapple with...
Although an interesting idea, from the Trial alone it was hard to get used to this new style of gaming, hence the lack of us who own it. It costs 800pts.

85% on MetaCritic

Galaga Legions

"The legend lives on with Galaga Legions, a reimagining of the classic arcade shooter featuring table-turning game dynamics and updated graphics."

Another old-school style shooter, except the unaminous word among us was that it was hard. Having multiple ships to help you out didn't do much to stem the tide of enemies, and again, was generally left by the way side by us lot. This also costs 800pts.

77% on MetaCritic

Castle Crashers

"Award-winning studio The Behemoth brings red hot adventure with Castle Crashers, featuring hand-drawn characters and an array of weapons to choose from as you defend your kingdom and save the princess."

And to finish, quite possibly the most anticipated XBLA game of all time. Its has infinite charm, quirks, jokes, and is damn good fun into the bargin. A hack and slasher style game it may be, but Castle Crashers just feels right. At 1200pts, this game may seem expensive, but its actually a fair price. The only niggle is that for some unlucky people, the online hates their connection. DAMN YOU BEHEMOTH, WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE ME? WHY? Still well worth it though.

84% on MetaCritic

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So yeah, did you download any? What did you think of them? And more importantly, did you remember to play the Trial of each in the week they came out to enter the sweepstake?

Shocksystem93 · by Shocksystem93 on Wed 3 Sep 2008 - 21:55

i downloaded castle crashers as it was the game which excited me most

a great art style and it just never gets boring

couldnt ask for more really

Its Blue Nose · by Its Blue Nose on Wed 3 Sep 2008 - 22:03

Yea i played all the trials
Only CC's trial was good enough to make me Buy it

Shortay · by Shortay on Wed 3 Sep 2008 - 22:16

I've only downloaded Braid and Castle Crashers, both of which are really good. In the future I'll most likely get BC:R

Toxicity · by Toxicity on Wed 3 Sep 2008 - 22:17

I've downloaded, Braid, Geomatry Wars and Castle Crashers. All awesome games.

cyclops

TKOAC · by TKOAC on Wed 3 Sep 2008 - 22:19

Downloaded GW2, Braid and Castle Crashers. Got the PC version of BC: Rearmed, though. Galaga Legions wasn't really my cup of tea - demo didn't click with me at all.

Inofa · by Inofa on Wed 3 Sep 2008 - 22:21

I'm not really one to download games from the Marketplace. But I'd wanted Castle Crashers for a while, so I just bought it with points I had.

**Will n that** · by **Will n that** on Wed 3 Sep 2008 - 22:26

I got CC, GW2 and Galaga Legions. Downloaded all the others as demo's and didn't fancy them much, especially Bionic Commando. I thought that was pants >_<

red lobster51 · by red lobster51 on Wed 3 Sep 2008 - 22:30

I downloaded Geo Wars 2, Braid and Bioinic Commando all day 1. Fantastic games, all of them. Braid is up there with my Game of the year so far; it's certainly this years Portal, and I adore Geometry Wars 2 to pieces.

Will grab Castle Crashers soon.

There are more games coming: Meteos Wars, Flock, Banjo XBLA, Portal: Still Alive, Fez, Darwinia, Quake Arcade, Lode Runner, Megaman 9, Duke Nukem 3D and more.

Captain Calcium · by Captain Calcium on Thu 4 Sep 2008 - 0:40

red lobster51 wrote:I downloaded Geo Wars 2, Braid and Bioinic Commando all day 1. Fantastic games, all of them. Braid is up there with my Game of the year so far; it's certainly this years Portal, and I adore Geometry Wars 2 to pieces.

Will grab Castle Crashers soon.

There are more games coming: Meteos Wars, Flock, Banjo XBLA, Portal: Still Alive, Fez, Darwinia, Quake Arcade, Lode Runner, Megaman 9, Duke Nukem 3D and more.

Sweet Jesus.

Purple Kitsune · by Purple Kitsune on Thu 4 Sep 2008 - 18:10

I bought Braid, Castle Crashers, Geometry Wars 2 and Galaga Legions.

Braid: Meh... Good, but not worth that many points.
Castle Crashers: Awesome all the time.
Geometry Wars 2: Amazingly simple and so hard.
Galaga Legions: Meh...

**PureFifaRules** · by **PureFifaRules** on Thu 4 Sep 2008 - 18:27

I bought Braid, CC,Geo,Bionic Commando

Braid: Need to play more beautiful game though
CC: Need to play more but so far awesomme
Geo Wars 2: affraid

Love it though just so affraid

Bionic: I like it...Need to play that more too

Purple Kitsune · by Purple Kitsune on Fri 5 Sep 2008 - 5:21

PureFifaRules wrote:Braid: Need to play more beautiful game though

I've put Braid, turned up the volume and just listened to the piano before. It's very relaxing for a very frustrating game.

yoshi · by yoshi on Fri 5 Sep 2008 - 20:30

I downloaded GW:2 and Castle Crashers. Both pretty good, but need to play Geometry wars more :G

Happy Lou · by Happy Lou on Sat 6 Sep 2008 - 12:05

I got Braid and BC: Rearmed.
Both fun games, the challenges on BC:R can get extremely annoying though.

That was Summer of Arcade, that was.

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