I don't know, if half the game doesn't work then I'd give it poor ratings too. I've played Mr. Driller before and thought it was pretty fun. I'm sure if the online portion actually worked it would be higher. Considering they said 3 other editors had the same trouble, I don't blame them. Sucks to hear there's no local multiplayer either.

Nah, they are idiots. Read any of the other 'reviews' they have posted there.
They gave Pinball FX a 6.0

Not that far off from other critic reviews.

http://www.metacritic.com/games/plat...q=pinball%20fx

At launch, i only liked one of the three pinball tables, so I can't say I disagree. The additional free tables were pretty good though and the new Rocky and Bullwinkle one looks fun too so i'd rate it higher now then before. It's just someone's opinion and obviously people's taste in games differ.

If i rated one of those CCG games it would be pretty bad

Okay, almost anything. I do have some standards.

Well Pinball FX is easily an 8.0 if not more, with the launch tables only, IMHO.
You could only play one table you like and it's still a great game.
In no way could it ever be considered a 6.0 by anyone who likes pinball games,
and if they don't they should be writing the review in the first place.

It's fine to have differing opinions, but if you read the actual review it's clear the person is an idiot.

My favorite idiotic IGN expression is when the reviewer says they were waiting with 'baited breath'.

GameSpot gave it a 2.5 (Driller)

Clearly they're idiots!

That's pretty harsh and I've never played a Mr. Driller game before (unless Dig Dug counts). It seemed from the brief demo like it could be a little fun. Still, there seems to be a consensus that the online portion is seriously broken. That's a real problem in a game that has the word "Online" in its title. I have to agree with giving a low score under those circumstances. Some of these XBLA games are in limbo forever; I wonder why this one was rushed out too early instead of putting out one of the many games already reviewed in this or last month's OXM.

I only hope that IGN and Gamespot revise their reviews after the inevitable patch comes out.

First of all, Mr. Driller isn't a puzzle game.

Secondly, the online feature will be fixed. It's not like so many other XBLA games that it works, just poorly. This one doesn't work. They can't sweep that under the rug. So, it'll be fixed. On the other hand, the mutli-player games of Mr. Driller are pretty shitty. It just doesn't work well as a multi-player game. Buy it for the single player game. It's excellent and a steal at $10.

For me, the game is like going ten years backwards. It's such a stripped down game compared to what I've got (the import GameCube game where the entire XBLA game is one of five games on that disc) that I really don't have any interest in it. But, if haven't played it before or have only played what's been released here, you'll probably enjoy it.

I think the reviews are fair in that the game has the word online in the title and that doesn't work. But once it does work, you probably won't be using it anyway.

I didn't even know this was released and stumbled upon it when I was going to download the COD4 maps. Appears to be a really good table but I only played a very quick game on it.

Is the Rocky & Bullwinkle table a license from a real one or an original table made for the game?

And I agree on the opinions on the Pinall game. Anyone who enjoys pinball should buy it now! And those who aren't sure should download the demo. It is one of the few Arcade Live titles I play consistently.

Went through an "arcade" night on Saturday playing everything from Frogger to Carcassonne.

Tried out N+ and Boogie Bunnies. Hate to be the bitch to bring it up again, but I would buy these in a heartbeat at $5 but at $10, the demos got deleted off the hard drive. Sucks that the 400 point tier has all but disappeared.

I also got to my free pile that I hadn't even tried out yet, Contra, Undertow & Carcossonne. I, of course, used the Konami code on Contra and flew through it pretty quick. The achievements look like a P.I.T.A. Not sure if I'll go back to try for some or not. Undertow was disappointing. Great concept, great graphics, it just didn't click for me.

Carcossonne, on the other hand, was a blast. I only went through the tutorial and about 4 rounds with the computer on Easy but it was a damn fun game. I obviously don't think I understand everything yet, but it's definitely a game I'll be going back to. I should have tried this one out sooner.

I completely agree with you about Undertow. Don't see why the reviews were so good.

I was also pretty unimpressed with Undertow.

Carcassonne and Catan (both board games) are phenomenal on the 360. I'm glad more people are "discovering" those games. I have played Carcassonne tabletop for years.

I like Carcassonne but I still think I don't quite "get it." We might have to do a tutor session xmiyux.

No problem. I'd be happy to play a game with you, explain the rules, discuss really basic strategy.

My wife and i play this game (tabletop) every few weeks. On lazy Sundays we will break out Carcassonne and listen to some NPR. I always chuckle at how stereotypically white and liberal we are on those days.

Just let it be known, I know how to play both Carcassonne and Catan, but I really am a Catan addict, and would love to play some Dvdtalkers.

As a huge Rocky and Bullwinkle fan, I bought the table... how's the other table (the one that's not the Bucanneers table)? Worth the 200 points?

I suck at pinball in general (I can't even get the ball up to the top of the R&B table to use the flipper up there), but it is a fun pinball game, and I hope they continue adding tables.

So Ikaruga and two Poker Smash expansions this week, nice.

Looks like I'll have to play Ikaruga horizontally, as there's just way too much wasted space vertically - it'll be easier to see things during the bullet-hell parts too, since the play-screen will be twice as big.
(spoilerized for space)

The wasted screen space bugged me the first few times I played it, but I got used to it pretty quick.

Playing Vertical sucks unless you can turn your TV vertical.

I would buy Ikaruga if it were 400 points. 800 points seems a little high for me.

As far as the other pinball table question (Nightmare Mansion), it is well worth the $200 points. It is a good little table. The theme is kinda old school horror and it has a small (but dull) mini-pinball game in the middle of the table. The table is fast and the ramps are not crazy hard to shoot on. The music is very Danny Elfman-like (not a fan but they did pretty good with the music). I definitely recommend it.

Any more info on the Poker Smash expansions? Most gaming sites are blocked here at work, so I don't really have anywhere else to look.

Cool, guess I'll buy it tonight.

I wish X-arcade would come out with a 360 adapter, so I can use their side buttons for pinball...

No More Space Shooters Please Xbla!!!

Considering it was a $50 game (and higher) just prior to it's XBLA announcement, 800 points is solid. Is still my favorite DC game, guess I can finally put the sucker in storage. IMO, it's one of the few XBLA games worth it's price (through replay value alone, the only other $10 games I've purchased have been Worms and Symphony of the Night).

In addition, the highly regarded newb Poker Smash will be offering two expansions. The Environment Pack (with two new action mode environments) and the Puzzle Pack (with 15 new puzzles) will each be available for 100 points.