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The XBLA Essential List

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Games Are Evil writes:

"Xbox Live Arcade has grown somewhat since its humble beginnings in late 2004, when it launched for the original Xbox with a whole six games. Now boasting a catalog of 170 titles made up of original games, remakes and releases, the choice on offer can be overwhelming. Never fear though, as we're here to give you a push in the direction of a few games we have singled out as 'essential'.

And so, without further ado, and in no particular order, here are the XBLA titles we have deemed 'essential.'
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killyourfm - contributor
Published: 322 days 4 hours ago | Article | Xbox 360
 
 

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CrAppleton - 322 days 4 hours ago
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1 -
Haha.. You know.. UNO isn't the greatest game.. but two of my buddies.. one of them now one of my best friends.. I met in an online game of UNO.. LAME I know.. but still
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bgrundman - 322 days 4 hours ago
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1.1 -
As long as you both had your clothes on it is all good. No more Xbox Vision Cam penis views, please!
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killyourfm - 322 days 4 hours ago
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1.2 -
Say what you will about UNO - but it has a certain magic to it, especially when one is drunk...
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bgrundman - 322 days 4 hours ago
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1.3 - @KillYourFM
It seems to be the case with most of these games that they are better when you are a bit sauced.
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CrAppleton - 322 days 4 hours ago
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1.4 -
Texas hold 'em is great drunk.. Oh.. and Bomberman Live should be on the list too!
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bgrundman - 322 days 4 hours ago
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2 -
There is not a single game on this list that is not a must have!
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CrAppleton - 322 days 4 hours ago
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2.1 -
no doubt.. these are all great games
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hankmoody - 322 days 4 hours ago
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2.2 - Agreed
I have pretty much all of these save for Braid, Ikaruga and SSF2. I want to get Braid but there's no way in hell I'm paying that much for it. As for your other comment on Xbox Vision penis shots, I'm still scarred from the time I was playing Bomberman and the winner was jacking off in front of the cam when the end results appeared.
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CrAppleton - 322 days 4 hours ago
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3 -
Castle Crashers, Geo Wars 1 & 2, and Portal = XBLA FTW
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bgrundman - 322 days 4 hours ago
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3.1 -
Castle Crashers is probably my favorite game on this list. My wife and I have lost hours to that stupid little time waster. But it was so much fun.
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Dark_Vendetta - 322 days 3 hours ago
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3.2 -
XBLA games I played through from that list:
Braid
Ikaruga
geometry wars 2
portal (played it on the PC)
bionic commando
Street fighter
and I can say every game was worth the money (while I spent the most time with Ikaruga and GW 2, trying to get the highest rank or highscore)

games I'm going to buy:
Castle Crasher
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Cajun Chicken - 322 days 4 hours ago
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4 -
What, no Doom or Duke?
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bgrundman - 322 days 4 hours ago
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4.1 -
It would make sense to have those on the list, but they are pretty much just dirty ports. Most of these games have gone the extra mile and have alot more polish.
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Cajun Chicken - 322 days 4 hours ago
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4.2 -
Duke has a GREAT rewind feature and some snazzy motion blur.

Probably right about Doom though, but its a nice classic to have.
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CrAppleton - 322 days 4 hours ago
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4.3 -
True.. I like the list.. Duke & Doom.. while great.. I'm over em
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roblef - 322 days 4 hours ago
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4.4 -
I totally dig your icon. Dr. WHO?
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Cajun Chicken - 322 days 4 hours ago
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4.5 - @roblef
Yeah, its David Tennant the Tenth Doctor, but I attempted to see what DT would look like as a live action Lupin III.

It sort of worked, but sort of didn't.
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5 YeOldeGamer | 322 days 4 hours ago - User only got 1 bubble - Show
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Nevers - 322 days 4 hours ago
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6 - Great List
Some of those I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole but that's cuz it's not my thing..

Glad SotN made that list... god that's one of my all timers ever.

I'll add some other goodies in no specific order that were not mentioned... proly all further down than Top 10 but still crazy awesome games.

Heavy Weapon - loved the retro "Red-Scare" propaganda crap.
Omega 5 - Greatest EngRish ever!!
Mutant Storm - Most challenging achievement pts I've encountered
Mutant Storm Empire - pretty lil' sequel to above.
Duke Nukem' - mentioned above, classic.
Geo.Wars Retro - to see how the madness originated.
Alien Homonid HD - If you <3'd Castle Crashers....

XBLA regrets - the "Y da hell can't I take these back ?" list

Contra - it ain't the NES version and it's glitchy to all hell
Double Dragon - See Contra
TMNT 1989 Arcade - See Double Dragon
Street Fight 2 (non-Turbo) - I used to be an expert, along w/ my friends...now we can't even win a fight on the easiest setting... is the difficulty just broke ? =[
Space Giraffe - WTF !?
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JohnR - 322 days 3 hours ago
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6.1 -
space giraffe is incredible
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6.2 YeOldeGamer | 322 days 2 hours ago - User only got 1 bubble - Show
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Nevers - 322 days 1 hour ago
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6.3 - Space Giraffe
.... I tried.. I really really tried... but I just didn't "get it".
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Cajun Chicken - 321 days 22 hours ago
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6.4 - Space Girrafe is an acquired taste.
Depends if you've followed Jeff Minter all through your life or not.
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Nevers - 321 days 21 hours ago
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6.5 - Followed him....
like the Grateful Dead ... or PHISH ??
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Cajun Chicken - 321 days 21 hours ago
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6.6 - @Nevers
He was a highly acclaimed indie developer on the C64, but mainly got the most famous on the Commadore Amiga (which is where I caught on), he's all about the concept of sythenaesia and fast pased shooters.
His most famous is Llamatron or Revenge of The Mutant Camels, seriously amazingly fun games back on the Amiga.
He made a new version of tempest that was also critcially acclaimed.
He also designed the NEON engine visualiser for 360s media player.

He likes Llamas and calls himself 'Yak' and is one of the most famous early indie developers with Llamasoft.
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Jenzo - 322 days 2 hours ago
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7 - Some more I like
Assault Heroes 1&2
Banjo Kazooie
Worms
N+
Alien Hominid
Carcassonne
Cloning Clyde(my first, got all achievements)
Exit
Galaga Legions
Golf: Tee it up
Marble Blast Ultra
Puzzle Fighter HD
Rez HD
Puzzle Quest
Streets of rage 2
Switchball
Vigilante 8 Arcade
Wik: Fable of souls
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JohnR - 322 days 1 hour ago
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7.1 -
n+ is a good one, rez is on the list
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Jenzo - 322 days 1 hour ago
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7.2 -
Oh ok. Worth mentioning twice though =)
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dgroundwater - 322 days 1 hour ago
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8 -
I want to buy Portal:Still Alive a lot. But I feel ripped off for having to get the original game over again as well.
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Johnny Rotten - 322 days 1 hour ago
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9 -
I agree with most of those but I would have to add in Heavy Weapon!
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Lygre - 321 days 3 hours ago
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10 - My favorite XBLA games
Some of my favorite multiplayer XBLA games are:

Marble Blast Ultra, Bomberman, Worms and Carcassonne.

Favorite singleplayer XBLA games:

Braid and Marble Blast Ultra.
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