Hi ladies,

I thought it would be cool if we could point each other to XBLA games that are worth downloading or warn each other of games that are a waste of money and time and/or leave you with yet another uncompleted game because the achievements are horrible. I'm gonna review the ones I played - I chose a short format to try and make it clearly laid-out. You don't have to follow this format.

Feel free to "review" or recommend/not recommend the same game again in your post, as we all know opinions are very subjective. Whenever someone recommends or doesn't recommend a game, I'm going to update the list in the first post. Example: "1/2 recommendations" means that two Chix have commented about a game, but only one of them recommended it.

Looking forward to your stuff!

Rated Games:

- After Burner Climax (1/1 recommendations)
- Age of Booty (1/1 recommendations)
- Alien Breed: Evolution (2/2 recommendations)
- Bejeweled Blitz Live (0/1 recommendations)
. Buko Sudoku (1/1 recommendations)
- Castle Crashers (7/7 recommendations)
- Castlevania: Harmony of Dispair (0/1 recommendations)
- Chime (2/2 recommendations)
- Cloning Clyde (1/1 recommendations)
- Costume Quest + DLC (4/4 recommendations)
- Comic Jumper (1/1 recommendations)
- Dash o Destruction (2/3 recommendations)
- Death Spank + DLC (4/4 recommendations)
- Defense Grid: The Awakening (1/1 recommendations)
- Doritos Crash Course (0/3 recommendations)
- Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale (2/4 recommendations)
- From Dust (1/1 recommendations)
- Fruit Ninja (1/1 recommendations)
- Game Room (0/2 recommendations)
- Gatling Gears (2/2 recommendations)
- Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2 (2/2 recommendations)
- Hard Corps: Uprising (0/1 recommendations)
- Harm's Way: (2/2 recommendations)
- Hexic HD (1/2 recommendations)
- Ikaruga (0/2 recommendations)
- Ilomilo (1/1 recommendations)
- Kingdom of Keflings (3/3 recommendations)
- Lara Croft: Guardian of Light (3/3 recommendations)
- Limbo: (3/4 recommendations)
- Outland (2/2 recommendations)
- Paperboy (0/1 recommendations)
- Penny Arcade 1 & 2 (1/1 recommendations)
- Peggle/Peggle Nights (1/1 recommendations)
- Pinball FX 2 (1/1 recommendations)
- Plants vs. Zombies (4/4 recommendations)
- Puzzle Quest 2 (4/4 recommendations)
- RISK Factions (1/1 recommendations)
- Secret of Monkey Island 1&2 (4/4 recommendations)
- Shadow Complex (3/3 recommendations)
- South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play (2/2 recommendations)
- Splosion Man (1/1 recommendations)
- Stacking (1/1 recommendations)
- The Maw (1/1 recommendations)
- Torchlight (1/1 recommendations)
- Trenched (1/1 recommendations)
- Wik: Fable of Souls (1/1 recommendations)
- World of Keflings (4/4 recommendations)


Search this thread if you're looking for comments about a certain game.

Mini Reviews:
(gonna add more when I have the time. You can choose a different format, just include whether you'd recommend it, yes or no )

Costume Quest
Type: Comic-style, fun RPG, turn-based combat
Playtime: around 8-10 hours
Achievements: very easy to get 100% on with a guide, few missable achievements
Would you recommend this game? Yes
Comments: Fun and easy. I also have the addon which adds about 2-4 hours of playtime.

Comic Jumper
Type: Comic-style run & gun 2D platformer
Playtime: around 10-12 hours, slightly more to get all achievements
Achievements: 100% easily possible with decent platforming skills, some grinding required
Would you recommend this game? Yes
Comments: Great style, especially if you love comics, had fun though I probably wouldn't play it again.

Death Spank
Type: Colorful action-RPG
Playtime: around 10-12 hours
Achievements: 100% easily possible in one playthrough, maybe use a guide
Would you recommend this game? Yes
Comments: I also have the addon "Thongs of Virtue" - a bit shorter, but easily completable as well.

Game Room
Type: Provides a virtual arcade in which you can place and play arcade games after you bought them
Playtime: 36+ hours to get all achievements
Achievements: WARNING - Achievement is going to pop when you start this. You can't get all of them unless you spend a lot of MS points to buy new games
Would you recommend this game? No - waste of money.
Comments: If you are a retro game lover (as in 1970s/early 1980s) you might get some fun out of this. Otherwise, avoid.

Hard Corps: Uprising
Type: Anime-style run & gun 2D platformer, "Contra" clone, 2P online/offline co-op
Playtime: I haven't managed to beat it yet. I find it really, really hard due to limited continues.
Achievements: I haven't gotten any yet (played it for 2h). I assume they are really hard as well.
Would you recommend this game? No, probably not to everyone - due to the difficulty
Comments: I actually enjoy playing it with a friend sometimes, but beating it will require old-school practice.

Hexic HD
Type: Puzzle
Playtime: I've played it for about an hour, might play it sometimes when I have nothing better to do.
Achievements: Probably medium difficulty and some patience to get everything if you're good at the game.
Would you recommend this game? No
Comments: Bought this because I felt I wanted a puzzle game, but I regret buying it.

Lara Croft: Guardian of Light
Type: Top-down action-adventure/shooter with puzzle elements, 2P online/offline co-op
Playtime: I think I spent around 12-15 hours on this game, but that included getting all the achievements. One simple playthrough estimated around 6-8 hours.
Achievements: Update: completed the game by now. All very doable, one is slightly time-consuming. One needs an online friend or second controller.
Would you recommend this game? Yes
Comments: It was great fun, especially in co-op!

Awesome Luci! I will have to sit down and make a list and add to it. Just wanted to say with Hexic HD I have put more hours than I want to admit into the game, I really like it but it is almost impossible unless you are a wizard to get the full points. I looked up how to get the ones I am missing and it is all a bunch of crazy math and graph stuff. I'm not bad at math but it was crazy stuff lol. I thought it was a fun, kill time game but I will never have the full points.

I assume if we wanted to add something follow your format? Sorry if not

Penny Arcade 1 and 2
Type: Turn based RPG, has sidequests, collecting all the RPG things you expect. And SUPER funny
Playtime: A bit short only about 4-6 hours for each
Achievements: Fairly straight forward, most are story related or should be easily gotten by people who like to clear RPGs completely. I am short only one for each but they aren't too hard I just need to go back and get them
Would you recommend this game(s): The humor, blocking system, and overkill system are better in the first then the second. I would recommend both but the first a lot more
Comments: A crass sense of humor helps with these games, but honestly they are two of my all times faves

Secret of Monkey Island
Type: Point and click, remake of the original with updated graphics
Playtime: Each playthrough is less then 4 hours but you need two
Achievements: Really easy... They are all marked as secret but there are lots of guides out there. You need at least two playthroughs (or two saves) for the different endings. But playing twice from start to finish is under 8 hours
Would you recommend this game: YES, it's very funny and a good time. Also a nice break from the more modern games
Comments: As far as I can tell it's the exact same as the original just with updated graphics and with voices. You can hit a button and make it look old school though

@Melanopterus: I edited the first post to make it a little clearer ^_^ You do not HAVE to use the same format, because I won't edit your comments/reviews into my posts. My plan is to have a list of recommendations in the first post (like 3/4 users recommended this game), and if anyone is interested in that game in particular, she can search the thread for the reviews/comments people wrote. It would however definitely help to mention shortly what sort of game this is, and the completionists among us would love to know whether it's easy or hard to get 100% in this game.

So whoever posts, you can also just write something really short like - Game xy: I recommend it. But hard to complete. - or whatever
And thank you for your review! I put your recommendation into the list, and it sounds like a cool game to check out, I love the penny arcade comics!

@Incantation: Yeah.. I saw those "flower grids", it's crazy!! It took me an eternity to only get ONE flower. So would you overall recommend Hexic HD or not? Let me know and I'll edit it in

Lucienna - 05 May 2011 06:00 PM

@Melanopterus: You do not HAVE to use the same format, because I won't edit your comments/reviews into my posts. My plan is to have a list of recommendations in the first post (like 3/4 users recommended this game), and if anyone is interested in that game in particular, she can search the thread for the reviews/comments people wrote. It would however definitely help to mention shortly what sort of game this is, and the completionists among us would love to know whether it's easy or hard to get 100% in this game.

Smart plan ^_^ and I like your format... I am probably going to edit and add a few more to just my one thread. Looking good on the thread idea though

Also I would highly recommend costume quest and the dlc for it

@Melanopterus: great, I edited in both Costume Quest and Monkey Island :]

Some more of my games below! I notice I have a lot of DLC games and I like a lot of them. :p If you have some of these games, let me know whether you recommend/don't recommend them as well so I can edit a few more opinions into the first post.


Alien Breed: Evolution
Type: Isometric shooter in the style of Alien Swarm, 2P online/offline co-op
Playtime: Not finished yet, but I estimate the playtime to be around 10-15h
Achievements: Depending on your skill medium difficulty or higher. Does need a playthrough on Elite difficulty. I'm not THAT good yet, I'm only going to complete this with practice and friends. One achievement is apparently glitched and needs a workaround.
Would you recommend this game? Yes, IF you enjoy games like Alien Swarm.
Comments: I personally really like those old-school style games and I think it's quite well made, though a little repetitive. A lot more fun in co-op.

Castlevania: Harmony of Dispair
Type: 2D platformer, up to 6P online co-op, uses a lot of old Castlevania pixel sprites
Playtime: Long. There are only 6 levels, but you will not be able to beat them right away, especially not on your own. Requires grinding and leveling up your character.
Achievements: They will take a loooong time (30-50+h) and require a playthrough on Hard, which is - hard. Co-op with a good team makes it easier. I doubt I'll be able to complete this.
Would you recommend this game? No, probably not, only to Castlevania fans
Comments: I did enjoy playing this game, but I love Castlevania and leveling up my character. I'm only going to play this in co-op though.

Chime
Type: Musical puzzle game, feels a lot like Lumines
Playtime: Casual game, probably around 5-10h to complete all achievements if you're good at that sort of games
Achievements: WARNING - achievement is going to pop up when you start it, so if you're unsure, get a trial first. I think once you get the hang of the game it's not that hard to complete it.
Would you recommend this game? Yes, if you like that sort of puzzle games
Comments: I really like this game, I should play it again. Got 100/200G easily, will have to practice a bit for the rest.

Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2
Type: Casual little addictive shooter in which you move around your screen as a crescent moon and shoot other colourful geometrical shapes
Playtime: It's a survival game with different game modes, so you can play this as long as you like and hunt for scores. If you're really good, possibly around 5-10h+ to get 100%, but it's hard.
Achievements: Difficult to complete. I've practiced a lot and I'm still not able to do certain achievements.
Would you recommend this game? Yes, but not from the viewpoint of a completionist.
Comments: I love this game. Great fun and a "one more time!" sort of game, but don't get it solely for the completion.

Ikaruga
Type: Bullet-hell top-down shooter with polarity switching, 2P online/offline co-op
Playtime: Very long, unless you totally rock at that sort of games, limited continues
Achievements: Incredibly hard. I fear I'm gonna end up with having only one achievement in this game.
Would you recommend this game? No
Comments: It looks awesome in an old-school sort of way and is quite fun, but I'm never going to get past level 2 >.<

Limbo
Type: Black-white 2D platformer with puzzles
Playtime: Around 3-5h
Achievements: Almost all very easy if you use a guide (because they are mostly about discovering hidden stuff), but one requires a playthrough without dying more than 5 times. This needs practice and patience, but IS possible.
Would you recommend this game? Yes, unless you hate its dark style
Comments: The graphics style might not be to everyone's liking. The game has a bit of a melancholic and dark touch, highly recommended to check out the demo first or watch a trailer. It's also rather short.

Outland
Type: 2D platformer that feels like a mix of Ikaruga (in a good way!), Another World and Shadow of the Colossus, 2P online co-op (no offline co-op)
Playtime: Around 10h to finish the game depending on how good you are, 2-3h to get the rest of the achievements.
Achievements: Easy to medium difficulty, I've completed it rather easily. One achievement needs an online friend who has it, one requires some grinding.
Would you recommend this game? Yes, definitely!
Comments: Very distinctive and beautiful graphics style, love the sound as well. Check out a trailer! You might like it.

I also recommend Deathspank and say a big NO to Ikaruga.

Oh and I also want to recommend Shadow Complex. Fantastic game and fairly straightforward to get the achievements.

Concerning Doritos Crash Course: I enjoyed the game, but probably wouldn't recommend it either, mainly because I think the time-related achievements are really hard. I finished the levels without MUUUUCH effort because I love platformers, but I was way too slow and I can't see myself practicing the stages until I'm really good at them. So from a completionist's point of view I'd probably say no. It's free though, so if you don't care about the achievements - why not

I adore chime ^_^ it's got some pretty tough achievements though... Crash Course it's great that it's free but also pretty tough

Melanopterus - 06 May 2011 03:04 PM

I adore chime ^_^ it's got some pretty tough achievements though... Crash Course it's great that it's free but also pretty tough

Not sure if that's a "yes" or "no" for Crash Course, I read Chime as a "yes"

Gatling Gears
Type: Top-down twin stick shooter, online/offline 2P co-op
Playtime: You can finish the campaign in about 4 hours, but there are other modes that you need to play for achievements
Achievements: Seem medium to hard. Not sure if I'm going to be able to finish it, so completionists beware just in case. One achievement needs 2P.
Would you recommend this game? Yes
Comments: It looks really nice (especially after the first chapter) and it's great fun to play it in co-op and improve your mechs.

Castle Crashers
Type: Hack and slash
Playtime: It can take anywhere between 3-1 million hours (very re-playable)
Achievements: Moderately Difficult - lots of secret spots...you will probably need a guide.
Would you recommend this game? Yes
Comment: This game is super ultra cute and fun to play. You can play as many different characters and level them up. Playing with friends online is a blast. After every end boss you must fight off your fellow knights to win a kiss from the princess - what could be better. Castle Crashers is a great game that offers both local and XBL co-op.

Oh I second Castle Crashers, awesome game and super fun with friends Frilly and me really wanted that kiss lol.

I can't seem to get 2 of the 12 achievements for the life of me though. >.< You have to do some online ranked thingy. If this IS possible with XBL friends which I'm going to figure out I'll come and beg you for help. On my knees. Big wet eyes. lol

Luci- No begs necessary...I am always game to play. I love Castle Crashers.

I third Castle Crashers. Super fun! Haha Luci, I was not letting that kiss go without an epic battle of 'near hits' and 'jumpy jumps'. Was trying for the 4 kiss achievement but I'm thinking now it might need to be obtained in one playthrough? Hmm. (: This is a really good thread. I'll contribute properly when I get me some time!

Lucienna - 07 May 2011 07:58 AM

Melanopterus - 06 May 2011 03:04 PM

I adore chime ^_^ it's got some pretty tough achievements though... Crash Course it's great that it's free but also pretty tough

Not sure if that's a "yes" or "no" for Crash Course, I read Chime as a "yes"

Sorry no on crash course free wasn't enough for me to actually enjoy it

Someone brought up dash of destruction, also free and a very very easy 100% (and kind of fun) if it's still up for download I would recommend it

Okay all updated! Thanks for your contributions

Frilly - not sure about the K.I.S.S. achievement, but I got it and I doubt I actually managed to do that in one playthrough. I think you just have to snag a kiss from each of the princesses. Should be really easy to get though, let's play this again soon and I'll be happy to let you have the kisses. ...after the epic fight and douze points lol. Oh god that fight made me laugh so much.

I could definitely use some boosting help sometime too, it seems the two "ranked" achievements can be done with friends, which would be awesome. I would LOVE to finally complete this game.

'frilly why did you use a potion? Don't do that'. Haha! One potion well spent. I'd be more than happy to help out anytime!