The Best of Xbox Live Arcade

Top 5 Xbox Live Arcade Games

#5
Zuma Deluxe
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

This puzzle game controls a lot like the popular Bust A Move series and is almost as addictive, but the similarities end there. A train of colored gems snakes its way across the screen. If they reach the hole, it's curtains. Using your fully rotating frog idol, you shoot gems of your own at the line.

Make a row of three, and they disappear; but the train doesn't stop. Combo chains equal big points, and slow the gem brigade long enough for you to mop them all up before they -- and your game -- go down the tubes. Zuma isn't very dynamic from an audio or visual standpoint, but the 360-degree control mechanic is innovative and it's tough to quit playing.

Zuma Deluxe Outpost Kalioki X

#4
Outpost Kalioki X
Rating: 4 out of 5

Kalioki is one of the best attempts to bring real-time strategy to a console audience. It's a lighthearted title -- best described as a sim lemonade stand in space -- but ends up being a deep, satisfying experience than can immerse even the biggest RTS detractors.

Each level is a space station, where you must make expansions. Most expansions -- like lemonade stands, labs, and parks -- are for making money. However, you also have to worry about powering everything. The game requires plenty of strategy, and each stage presents a different challenge; but all are comical in presentation. Outpost Kalioki X is one of the better looking and more original Arcade titles so far.

#3
Hexic HD
Rating: 4 out of 5

A good puzzle game is easy to pick up, but difficult to master. Hexic comes from the master himself, Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov, and comes pre-installed on Premium units. Like that legendary title, Hexic goes a lot deeper than you would first assume. The screen is full of colored hexagons. You can rotate three at once -- either clockwise or counter-clockwise. Make three like-colored hexes touch, and they disappear.

Easy enough, right? The real key is completely surrounding a piece with like-colored hexes (i.e. a yellow surrounded by blues). This turns the middle piece into a star. Get six stars in that flower formation, and you create a black pearl -- but you've also got to watch out for bombs. The gameplay is criminally addictive, and each of the three modes brings something different to the table. Two don't even have a time limit attached, making Hexic a good game for anyone, regardless of skill level.

Hexic HD Marble Blast Ultra

#2
Marble Blast Ultra
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Like the beloved Super Monkey Ball franchise, Marble Blast Ultra has players piloting a ball around several perilous courses. Where Sega's series has cute characters, this Arcade title features a bevy of useful power-ups to help you reach the next imposing level.

In terms of graphics and physics, Marble Blast Ultra is tops on Live Arcade. The control is spot-on -- and it has to be, since stages will throw countless obstacles at you: floating platforms, pinball-style bumpers, gravity switches, icy ledges, etc. You even manually control the camera like a first-person shooter. Trying to achieve a par time on each of the three difficulty sections inspires replay, and a cool scavenger hunt multiplayer mode of Xbox Live gives you even more value in this robust game.

Geometry Wars Evolved

#1
Geometry Wars Evolved
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

What started as a minigame in Project Gotham Racing 2 is now standing on its own. PGR developer Bizarre Creations mixes old-school gameplay with trippy, new-school visuals in an insane shooter. Move with the left stick, shoot with the right -- much like Robotron or Asteroids. Enemies swarm you relentlessly, the backgrounds warp under your firepower, and your eyes will be transfixed to your screen.

Geometry Wars strikes the perfect balance of shoot 'em up Zen, making you feel at one with your onscreen ship. It brings back the days of trying to work your way up the scoreboard -- which, of course, is worldwide thanks to Xbox Live. Not only is this the best Xbox Live Arcade game, it's one of the best 360 games, period. Not too bad for the price of a fast-food value meal.