XBLA’s Most Wanted

Call us nostalgic if you want, but we want yet another Quake game to come to Xbox Live Arcade. We’ve got Quake Arena Arcade, which is an enhanced version of Quake III Arena. We’ve got Quake IV via retail, and we’ve already petitioned id Software for the original Quake on XBLA. Now it’s Quake II‘s turn.

Here’s the thing: it’s already been released on the Xbox 360 once before, in a manner of speaking. It came as a bonus feature with Quake IV. It had the entire game, system link, and four player splitscreen. While it didn’t feature any graphical improvements or Xbox Live support, it was a proper port (read: not emulated) and so gets the ball rolling for an XBLA release.

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Beat em’ ups are awesome. There’s nothing like delivering some blows to a virtual bad guy to calm a rough day. The list of great beat em’ ups is a mile long, but one stands out as a great candidate for re-release on Xbox Live Arcade: Def Jam Fight for New York. Of the four Def Jam fighting games it stands head and shoulders above its peers. Vendetta, the first game in the series, was great, but didn’t have the features New York first exhibited. The PSP version of New York, subtitled The Takeover, had a few new gameplay elements but removed all voiceovers. Finally Icon, the only current-gen title, was absolutely horrible, taking fighting far beyond over-the-top to a point where it’s comically awful.

No, there’s only one in the series that could truly make a comeback.

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In 1997, a unique side-scrolling platformer launched for the Sony PlayStation called Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee. Featuring innovative gameplay, impressive graphics, as well as a unique, engaging, and creative universe packed full of humor ,the Oddworld franchise officially made its way into player’s hearts. By 2005, the franchise’s creators, Oddworld Inhabitants were ready to take their love child in a bold new direction; Enter Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath. Deviating from its platforming and puzzle solving roots, Stranger’s Wrath was a first/third-person shooter hybrid that traded the franchise’s traditional industrial setting for an all new adventure set in the wild west.

After releasing Stranger’s Wrath for the original Xbox, Oddworld Inhabitants closed up shop deciding that they were no longer happy with the direction of the gaming industry. Fans of the franchise were left to fret about what could have been, and the reality that the franchise may have come to an end. Luckily for us, that is not the case. Developer Just Add Water Inc, has inherited the Oddworld mantle and is currently working on a high-definition remaster of Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath. You know what that means: we want it on Xbox Live Arcade.

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It was only a matter of time before Half-Life hit our list. While there are mountains of great first person shooters (FPS) out there the list of FPS games that truly changed how we played the game is small. It includes games such as Doom, Quake, Halo, and Half-Life. It was the game that put Valve on the map, the one that paved the way for titles like Portal and Team Fortress 2. It spawned a plethora of amazing mods, some of which have since gone commercial, such as Counter Strike.

But what was it about silent protagonist Gordon Freeman’s adventure that’s so captivating? While the graphics were good for its day, it wasn’t the visual tech. While the multiplayer was fun, it wasn’t until the mod Firearms hit the web that competitive play really caught on. No, we submit that it was a compelling story and incredibly tight gameplay that made Half-Life what it was and still is today–an innovative classic that changed the way we play shooters. While players wait patiently for Half-Life 2: Episode 3 Xbox Live Arcade is a simple-yet-effective way for console gamers to get their classic fix .

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Long before Tim Schafer was the head of Trenched developer Double Fine he was a game designer at LucasArts. He started out as a tester in 1989 on Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Action Game and worked his way up, taking the reigns of Designer on Full Throttle in 1995. Three years later Schafer designed one last game for LucasArts, Grim Fandango before moving on to found Double Fine.

Grim Fandango marked the beginning of the end of the adventure game era at LucasArts. While the game received critical acclaim sales were lower than expected. It follows Manny, and travel agent at the Department of the Dead who helps those passing into the afterlife find their way to the Ninth Underworld, a place of rest. Sounds morbid, but this title was imaginative, funny, and most importantly it had solid gameplay.

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Oh San Fransisco Rush, how you robbed our pockets of quarters and our Saturdays of time in the late 90’s. We don’t mind though, we walked out of the arcades with heads held high having been the only ones to complete the Extreme courses. You’d think that all these years later with PlayStation, Nintendo 64, and Midway Arcade Treasures re-releases we’d have had our fill. You’d be wrong. It’s time to bring Rush back yet again, but bigger and badder.

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The Battletoads series is one largely unknown to the younger generation. It was one that ultimately didn’t make it past the Super Nintendo era. Some called it a blatant ripoff of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but in reality it was so much more than that. It starred three toads — Rash, Zitz and Pimple — in an intergalactic beat em’ up complete with a sexy villain and a difficulty level that rivaled Super Meat Boy. To top it all off the toads even had a crossover game where they joined forces with Billy and Jimmy Lee, the two iconic characters from the Double Dragon games.

With all of their success and the fact that publishers seem to be digging into past franchises it surprises us that they haven’t tapped into the trio’s charisma and power. While the classic games may not provide a large enough base to make a retail epic we certainly see the potential in an all new Xbox Live Arcade title.

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In the glory days of the Dreamcast Sega produced a lot of high quality titles. Unfortunately the ease of piracy on the DC along with several other reasons killed Sega’s hardware department. Luckily they realize that Dreamcast games themselves are still very much in demand today. They’ve brought Crazy Taxi and Sonic Adventure to Xbox Live Arcade.  Those were bundled with Space Channel 5: Part 2 and Sega Bass Fishing on disc earlier this year, and the former two titles are slated for later XBLA release. Even still we have a long list of titles that are must have on XBLA. Among those are Jet Grind Radio, Shenmue, ChuChu Rocket! and Sonic Adventure 2.

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Before the Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon games were popular there was Police Quest, a point and click cop adventure from Sierra Entertainment. In 1999 the series changed to a first person tactical shooter with SWAT 3: Close Quarters Battle. The next in the series, SWAT 4, was released in 2005 to critical acclaim. Developer Irrational Games created an amazing experience and moved on to create the Bioshock series.

SWAT 4 follows a fictional Los Angeles SWAT team through several tactical situations. You play as the team leader, giving commands, taking down suspects, and securing evidence. It was powered by Unreal Engine 2.5, one of the most powerful for its time, and still looks strong today.

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The 80’s were a decade that truly fits the oft-repeated opening line from A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” On the one hand you had crimped hair, the Chevy Chevette, and leg warmers. On the other there were great bands like U2, Poison and Aerosmith. There were also a handful of truly classic movies. The Back to the Future trilogy was brought to life mostly here, with the third film being released in 1990. It’s a series that plays to so many childhood fantasies, but adaptations to other media have been, well, less than stellar. That is until Telltale Games got hold of the rights.

Back to the Future: The Game isn’t actually a game, it’s five games. In true Telltale format this point-and-click adventure game is split into episodes, much like the Sam & Max games that later were combined into one release for Xbox Live Arcade. In the game you once again live vicariously through Marty as he travels back to 1931 to rescue the jailed Doc Brown. But the changes made in 1931 skew the timeline causing Marty to travel from 1876 through 1986 — and beyond.

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