6 Best Games on Xbox Live Arcade

If you have an Xbox and you’re not connected to Xbox Live then you are greatly missing out. Many people will tell you how playing games on Xbox Live is completely different from playing games against the computer and how it can really transform the experience.

That’s not all Xbox Live is good for though – and if you plug your Xbox into the net then you’ll also be able to download some excellent games very cheaply and play them straight off of your hard drive. Here we will look at some of the best games available on the arcade store.

Sonic 4: Episode 1

The Sonic games have well and truly stood the test of time and are great fun for anyone who loves hurtling at high speeds and pulling off acrobatics. The music is jolly and the colors are bright and it comes with a load of nostalgia thrown in for good measure.

The central concept here is basically ‘the old Sonic games + new graphics’ and this works really well to give you the same action many people are missing in 2D along with some glorious HD reimaginings.

Sonic Adventure

While we’re talking about Sonic you can also use Xbox Live to download Sonic Adventure – Sonic’s first and certainly best 3D outing which has a lot of high octane thrills and spills and which still has pretty good graphics even today. It’s pretty cheap, so why not?

ReZ

And if you want something else from the Dreamcast, then look no further than ReZ – a very trippy and surreal experience that has you moving through wireframe 3D worlds to an electronic soundtrack while shooting enemies on rails. It’s weird and short, but it’s pretty hypnotic and worth a try for something completely different.

Super Meat Boy

Super Meat Boy is one of the best and most original indie games out there and is also highly addictive and hard without being frustrating. You play as the titular Super Meat Boy and it’s your job to leap between saws and lava pits while doing impressive wall-jump combos and outrunning missiles in a bid to save Bandage Girl in a series of bite-sized levels. The control is absolutely spot on making this perfect for people who love skill-based games, and it harkens back perfectly to the days of games like Super Mario.

Limbo

Limbo is an incredibly unique game that sees you controlling a little boy lost in what must presumably be limbo. To survive you have to solve puzzles in usual 2D platforming fair, but it’s a lot more interesting than that thanks to the eerie atmosphere and black and white graphics which create a gaming experience unlike anything you’re likely to have encountered before. It’s the encounters you have with the huge spider and other lost people that make it feel truly original though and it’s remarkable what can be conveyed without any dialogue – or even any music to speak of.

Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet

This is another game that boasts unique 2D graphics and great 2D gameplay, but this time with a more two R-Type style gameplay and more Super Metroid style level layout (in that you unlock more of the level as the game goes on). It’s a tad short, but it’s another game that will leave you with your mouth on the floor at the originality so it’s certainly worth a download.

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Sebastian is blogger and loves to write articles related to technology/gadgets. Apart from writing/blogging he spends his time in watching sports/HD movies on newly installed Sky TV.