Here's the lowdown on the 21 Xbox Live Arcade games currently available for Bill's boffo 'boxes of buffness, plus how many keener achievement points you might earn for each and, of course, how fun they are (Part 2).




Geometry Wars
Fun factor: High
Easy achievement points: Nope
The short version: It's like Asteroids in high-def, with geometric shapes replacing the, err, geometric shapes...

Geometry Wars' goal is simple: zoom around and shoot pretty much everything on screen. It might not sound like much, but the graphics are brilliantly minimal, gameplay is surprisingly deep, and it's incredibly challenging—achievement points don't come easy. As the game progresses enemies grow more challenging. They'll zigzag in unpredictable ways, become more aggressive, and gain in number. You can earn a few power-ups along the way to help your cause—bombs, better weapons, etcetera—but rarely will you feel as though you out-match your foes. If old-school shooters are your bag, Geometry Wars is a great place to get started on Xbox Live Arcade.


Hardwood Backgammon/Hearts/Spades
Fun factor: Medium
Easy achievement points: Yes for Backgammon, no for Spades and Hearts
The short version: Good for gray haired gamers, but kind of like watching those damned eagles and their eggs on the Internet for anyone with an ounce of vitality.

These three classic games from Silver Creek Entertainment help round out the selection of Xbox Live Arcade games, but, compared to the rest, they're dull as dull can be. All three offer extensive game customization, online play, and the chance to earn some achievement points (though in the cases of Hearts and Spades it will take dozens of hours, most of them spent online, to earn more than a handful), but none of these features alleviate the lifelessness of the games themselves. And it doesn't help that all three games use the same collection of budget backgrounds and repetitive new-age spa music. If they want us to spend hours with a game the least the developers could do is mix things up a bit with a few different tracks and more dynamic background art.


Hexic HD
Fun factor: High
Easy achievement points: Not really, but they come with time
The short version: It comes preloaded on Xbox 360 hard drives, and it's one of Xbox Live Arcade's best.

In a recent interview, Hexic HD creator Alexey Pajitnov said that he was incredibly proud of this particular game, that it might be the best he's made. Keep in mind this is coming from the man who invented Tetris. Indeed, Hexic HD is an impressive and innovative puzzle experience. It looks simple on the surface; working on a board composed of dozens of colored hexagons players rotate groups of three in an attempt to match a trio and make them disappear. But wait until you create your first star—which will probably happen by accident—and, later, your first pearl. Suddenly the game's objectives change and it becomes far more challenging... and addictive. Puzzle fans may well lose themselves intermittently for weeks in this brilliant little game.


Jewel Quest
Fun factor: High
Easy achievement points: Yes
The short version: Think Bejeweled, but good.

Bejeweled didn't have to be a bad game, and Jewel Quest—which, on the surface, is a Bejeweled knockoff—is proof. Remove (or, as Jewel Quest has done, severely limit) the luck factor, add in some strategic objectives, and you have a great little brain teasing game. Jewel Quest changes its objectives as the game progresses, but everything basically boils down to trying to clear at least one jewel from each of the game board's tiles by matching it in a row of three or more like jewels. Once a jewel has been cleared from a tile, the tile changes color. The level ends once all of the tiles have been changed to the desired color, or time runs out. As things plod on, the board changes shape, non-jewel pieces are introduced, and goals become more difficult, such as having to change the color of every tile twice. What makes it work is that success or failure is virtually entirely dependent on the skill of the player. As one cheesy reality TV host might say, luck is not a factor.


Marble Blast Ultra
Fun factor: Very high
Easy achievement points: Yes
The short version: Probably the best looking game available in Xbox Live Arcade, and an outstanding play to boot.

Marble Blast Ultra is basically Super Monkey Ball, minus that franchise's bizarre aesthetic and atmosphere, plus a fun little online mode that pits players against one another. You control a marble as it rolls through complex mazes that have steep cliffs where walls ought to be. The objective is to try to reach the goal area of each maze before time runs out without falling off a ledge. It comes with sixty levels of varying difficulty in single player mode, many of which require deft reflexes and coordination. The online mode sees players employing the skills they used in single-player to zip past their opponents in a race to collect gems. The sugar on top is that it sports breathtaking visuals, featuring complicated reflection and lighting effects and realistic textures. Of all the games available on Xbox Live Arcade, Marble Blast Ultra is perhaps the only one that could be packaged and sold on shelves as a regular Xbox 360 game—albeit at a budget price.


Mutant Storm Reloaded
Fun factor: High
Easy achievement points: No
The short version: A strong, if less popular, alternative to Geometry Wars.

While Geometry Wars and Mutant Storm Reloaded were both launch titles and feature similar game play (they're both simple, space-themed shooters), Geometry Wars got far more press—likely because many critics got their first taste of Geometry Wars as they reviewed Project Gotham Racing 3, which included the game as a hidden (but easy to find) unlockable. And that's a bit of a shame since Mutant Storm Reloaded is a terrific shooter—easily on par with Geometry Wars or most any other 2D shooter released in recent years. It's got some fantastically psychedelic graphics, a tight control system, and provides quick gratification through small but challenging levels that take only seconds to complete. Definitely worth checking out if you get your groove on simple shooters.


Outpost Kaloki X
Fun factor: Medium to high
Easy achievement points: Yes
The short version: A simplistic strategy game about building space outposts.

A full-on Tycoon-style strategy game might seem incongruent with the Xbox Live Arcade motif, but Outpost Kaloki X does a pretty good job of being accessible to the masses. Based on a similarly titled PC game released a couple of years ago, Kaloki requires players to build profitable space stations by creating expansions such as docks, energy generators, restaurants, parks, and the like, keeping tabs on income and energy usage along the way. The story mode has dozens of missions, each with its own objectives and success criteria. Like most strategy games, Kaloki is not for everyone, but fans of Tycoon games may well be surprised at how much fun Kaloki delivers.


Uno
Fun factor: Medium to low
Easy achievement points: Yes... if you play enough.
The short version: If you own the card game you won't be missing much by skipping the video game.

One of the newest additions to Xbox Live Arcade, Uno is simply an electronic version of the decades-old card game of the same name. Sort of a suped-up version of Piggy-in-the-Middle, players simply try to match the color or number of the last card thrown, or use one of several special cards with the power to, say, change direction of play or force another player to pick up extra cards. The only advantage of owning the video game as opposed to the card game is that you can play any time you like, either by yourself against the computer or online against other humans. Speaking of which, Uno is one of the first games to support Xbox Live Arcade's webcam functionality, which replaces your avatar picture with a live video feed. Creepy, huh?


Wik: Fable of Souls
Fun factor: Medium to high
Easy achievement points: Yes, though some achievement requirements are a bit odd (like fitting 500 bugs in Wik's mouth)
The short version: A weird game involving tongue swinging and bug chomping, but well designed and oddly compelling.

Wik is a little frog-like fella with an awesome orange coiff who uses his tongue as a rope from which to swing. He shoots his little red licker out to latch onto branches and travel Tarzan style around the screen, collecting coins and sucking back grubs. He can also inhale bugs and shoot them at his foes. It sounds like an action game, but it feels more like a puzzle game in that it involves a bit of hand/eye coordination. The story mode will take several hours to complete, and the challenge mode and unlockable bonus levels will keep you playing for hours more. Don't let the goofy Oddworld-esque vibe keep you from giving Wik a shot—there's fun to be had here.


Zuma Deluxe
Fun factor: Very high
Easy achievement points: Yeah, right.
The short version: An aggravatingly difficult but remarkably addictive puzzle game.

If you're down with puzzle games and you want bang for your buck, Zuma is the game for you. This one could steal away a hundred or more hours of your life. Modeled after classic games like Puzz Loop, Zuma requires players to shoot balls from a launcher in the center of the screen into a long string of balls slowly snaking its way to a skull—essentially the game over point. Hit a grouping of two or more similarly colored balls, and they'll disappear. Miss, and the string of balls will inch that much closer to the end of the line. An incredibly long and demanding adventure mode and some great music help make Zuma one of the best games available on Xbox Live Arcade.

Also See:

• Astropop to Zuma: The definitive guide to Xbox Live Arcade
• Xbox Live Arcade hits its stride (new!) (aka Part 3)