Yes. It then tells my other gamertags (and when I'm offline) that I can only play the demo. Instead of "play game" it says "play demo".

I finally picked up some cheap points cards, so I'm going to d/l some Arcade games and try them out. What do you suggest?

where'd you get them cheap (want more)


id recommend Geometry Wars ( i suck, but its good) Pacman CE

and bomberman, if you don't suck like me

Pac-Man CE

If you like board games, Catan & Carcassonne.

I think we determined that this only works if you are signed in to XBL.

Here's what I've got on my XBLA thus far:

Aegis Wing - Free, mediocre shmup that's pretty fun in multiplayer.
Bomberman Live - There are MUCH better version out there, but this has 8 players online.
Castlevania: SotN - One of the best 2D adventure games out there.
Hexic HD - Comes with the system, decent puzzler, the bombs are annoying.
Geomtry Wars - Awesome, awesome manic multi-directional shooter! A must buy.
Jetpac Reloaded - Decent little retro Rare title, good for its price (400 points).
Mutant Storm Reloaded - Trippy Robotron clone. Longer (but less fun/frantic) shooter than Geo Wars.
Pac-Man: CE - Juiced up Pac-Man, my absolure favorite on XBLA.
TMNT Arcade - S'okay, good for four players.

Thanks, I'll check out the demos.

"Cheap" is probably relative - got them by pre-ordering Halo @ BB, and got $10 off Halo by pre-ordering Madden. Net cost ended up being only a buck or two less than buying all 3 separate from different online stores.

A lot of these Arcade games (and DLC for other games) seem awfully pricey, considering most you can (I'm assuming) find online for nothing...so is the primary appeal the online/co-op play, achievements, and high scores?

Yep!

I have all of the old arcade games on my MAME system, but none of them are fun when you can't bump your scores against your 'friends list'.

Both of my HDMI 360's just arrived from Amazon, in case anyone was wondering if it was actually the HDMI version being sold in their listing that says "with HDMI" in the title.

Exactly. I have a few of those games (galaga, pac-man, ms. pacman)in a stand-up multi-arcade game, and while I enjoy playing the stand-up game better...there is something about getting that high-score against your friends list.

I'm looking forward to getting in on the shit talk that goes on around here like in the Pac-Man thread.

How bad is Eragon?

I ask because it is $9.99 at Amazon and I'm wondering if it's worth it or not. I heard it wasn't very good, but is it not-worth-$10 bad?

depends if you're into those games man. Its a lot of walking, and a lot of slashing

I can usually only stomache them for about 15-25 minutes before I've had my "fill"

id seriously recommend some BC titles over it, but its only 10 bucks. I spend that much in cigs in 2 days

What's your time worth to you?

Pac Man CE is really a remarkable game. It's such a subtle improvement over the original; at first it may be hard to even notice much of a difference. But you'll soon see this is a far better, much deeper and more enjoyable game. Well worth the 800 points, even if that may seem a lot for Pac Man with no multiplayer (which I still think is unfortunate).

Wait till you try Black Belt mode. You can try it on Cumulative. It is downright hard. Some levels I still cannot finish in Black Belt (you only get one life and no items in cumulative mode).

Geometry Wars I always seem like I die because I don't notice the tiny pink 4-pixel block floating behind the giant explosion. It feels cheap, but it's damn thrilling. Mutant Storm Reloaded just makes me curse and sweat, but I think it's the better game.

I'm already excited to play it due to all the talk it got on the 1up podcasts when it first came out. It's going to be a day 1 purchase for me. That, Uno (cause I'm a dork) and geometry wars. I want to see with all the fuss was about.

I can't see myself buying too many straight classic games, but I'm all for new casual and beefed up classics on XBLA. That is one thing I regret about not having, or planning on getting anytime in the foreseeable future, a PS3 -- the PSN looks to have some really nifty things on there (or coming) that I would like to try.

Uno and Geometry Wars are great games and only 400 points each, but remember : all Live cameras come with Uno, so if you think you might ever get one (and I lucked into the camera live package with a year of Live for under $40), then you might want to wait on that purchase. And Geometry Wars is part of the Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged game disc that lists for $20 and goes for less sometimes. With the other games included (Texas Hold Em, Bejeweled 2, Backgammon, Wik and others) plus a month of Live; it's probably worth the purchase (even though it's much less convenient than just having the games on the hard drive).

I just picked up the Arcade Unplugged disc off half.com for $5 sealed. Check there. A great and cheap way to get a half dozen good arcade titles.

Dude tell me about it Geo Wars is one of those games that get me so pissed I sometimes scream out FUCK YOU!! to my TV because I die from some bullshit with all the crap going on in that game. My neighbors probably think I'm crazy I do love my Geo Wars though

It's a shame that you suck then isn't it

Your score is next on my radar since I've smoked past Martin.

piss off

ugh I'm going to have to put you both to shame.

It wasn't tough to pass Martin. I think my fish passed him the other day.

Be warned Pixy - if you beat me, you will be beaten with a stick.

Now THIS is how you redo a classic game in HD:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1153/...b92d1e17_o.jpg

Yes, that's what the new sprites look like.