Racing games are an interesting sort. Like shooters, they’re at times so oversaturated with decent-yet-forgettable titles that it’s hard to pick the quality ones out from a sea of titles. Luckily XBLA is limited to 20-ish titles that revolve around the genre. Even still we have our favorites that we feel best represent what Xbox Live Arcade racing games should offer. While 20 participants enter the ring, only five make our list.

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From Mario to Sonic, one of the most prevalent genres in gaming has always been platforming. It hasn’t been as important as it used to be but games like Rayman Origins prove people still care about platforming. On the XBLA side, the platforming genre has seen many leaps forward with hard difficulty, precise platforming or a creepy atmosphere. We’re not even done with the genre either with upcoming games like Pid and Fez. Today we thought we’d take a look at five really great platformers and discuss why they’re so good on XBLA.

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Love is in the air or so it would seem with Valentine’s Day just around the corner. At XBLA Fans we thought we’d take a moment to celebrate our love affair with games by taking a look at some of the top romantic relationships that can found on XBLA. Whether you’re wining and dining your sweetheart or hiding under the covers till this whole commercial scam of a holiday blows over, set aside some time for a romantic evening of XBLA. Keen matchmakers that we are, we’ve created a list of possible partners so read on to find out our Top Five XBLA Romances. Oh XBLA, you had us at “Deal of the Week”.

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Parties are one of the oldest institutions of humankind, from the time fire was discovered to the latest significant party somebody everyone cares about attended. Perhaps something involving Tony Stark. Whether pre-historic or in fantasy land, parties always need something fun going on. Gaming, as it so happens, is pretty darn fun. However, recently the retail video game industry has decided partying with people within smelling distance means no gaming, and we here at XBLA Fans think that’s mighty stinky of them. In light of that, we’ve made this week’s Friday Top Five about XBLA games that dominate parties in one way or another.

5. Fruit Ninja Kinect 

Not every party has a Kinect, and not every party needs one, but those parties which have one should definitely be slicing fruit with as little regard for fruit-kind or remorse for the millenniums of fruitocide which they have suffered through as possible. FNK is the absolute funkay (get it?) fun time when it comes to arm flailing, personal space invading, or reputation undermining (sometimes all at once)! While this game isn’t four player inclusive like the other games on this list, it’s very fun to play and is a great ice breaker. Since Fruit Ninja Kinect takes advantage of abilities most people acquired and mastered at age three or four (the waving of the arms) there’s really nobody that can’t play this game.

There’s not a lot of depth to Fruit Ninja Kinect unfortunately, and when the party gets over the gameplay, there’s not much chance they’ll get back to it. However, one person can play or two people can play competitively and there will be enough for players to rotate and get their dose of being silly and enthusiastic before everyone’s guilt for the countless fruit deaths starts to take its toll.

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Voltron: Defender of the Universe proved that we could get our nostalgia back in downloadable titles. But while it’s a great cartoon universe, think of the possibilities for other classic cartoons to come back as XBLA games. We were raised on some of the best cartoons back then and some of them didn’t have games or had poorly licensed games that made no sense. So for the Friday Top Five today, we present you five cartoons that could use a comeback on XBLA for a new audience of fulfilling your need of nostalgia:

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Everyone loves playing games with their friends. Some of the best moments aren’t the game itself, but some interaction with each other: the trash talking, the gloating–you know how it is. But let’s be honest, sometimes we want to game solo: just you, your controller and some awesome gameplay. That’s why this weeks Top 5 is all about the best single player games on Xbox Live Arcade. Here are some great experiences that are definitely worth your time, whatever your play style: action, adventure, puzzle, artsy, you name it and it is here.

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The real world can be depressing at times but so too can the world of video games. If you’re looking to take a break from war, zombie outbreaks and bleak post apocalyptic realms then check out our Top 5 cutest characters found on XBLA. In the first of a new weekly feature, we’ve analyzed each XBLA character in turn and selected only those scientifically proven to induce warm fuzzy feelings in your tummy. So without further ado let’s check out this week’s Friday Top Five.

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